Archiving Data On Paper Using 2D ImagesIt seems like only yesterday we covered a project using QR codes to archive data on paper (OK, it was last Thursday), so here’s another way to do it, this time with a dedicated codec using the full page. Optar or OPTical ARchiver is a project capable of squeezing a whopping 200 Kb of data onto a single A4 sheet of paper, with writing and reading achieved with a standard laser printer and a scanner. It’s a bit harder than you might think to get that much data on the page, given that even a 600 DPI printer can’t reliably place every dot each time. Additionally, paper is rarely uniform at the microscopic scale, so Optar utilizes a forward error-correcting coding scheme to cater for a little irregularity in both printing and scanning.
The error-correcting scheme selected was an Extended Golay code (24, 12, 8),  which, interestingly, was also used for image transmission by the NASA Voyager 1 and 2 missions. In information theory terms, this scheme has a minimum Hamming Distance of 8, giving detection of up to seven bit errors. This Golay code implementation is capable of correcting three-bit errors in each 24-bit block, with 12 bits available for payload. That’s what the numbers in those brackets mean.
More after the break…

Another interesting problem is paper stretch during printing. A laser printer works by feeding the paper around rollers, some of which are heated. As a printer wears or gets dirty, the friction coefficient along the rollers can vary, leading to twisting and stretching of the paper during the printing process. Water absorbed by the paper can also lead to distortion. To compensate for these effects, Optar regularly inserts calibration targets throughout the bit image, which are used to locally resynchronize the decoding process as the image is processed. This is roughly similar to how the alignment patterns work within larger QR codes. Finally, similar to the position detection targets (those square bits) in QR codes, Optar uses a two-pixel-wide border around the bit image. The border is used to align to the corners well enough to locate the rows of bits to be decoded.
In the distant past of last week, we covered a similar project that uses QR codes. This got us thinking about how QR codes work, and even if encoding capacity can be increased using more colors than just black and white?
Thanks to [Petr] for the tip!

Port of Seattle shares ransomware attack detailsThe Port of Seattle released a statement Friday confirming that it was targeted by a ransomware attack. The attack occurred on August 24, with the Port (which also operates the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport) saying it had “experienced certain system outages indicating a possible cyberattack.” The Port is now describing this as “a ‘ransomware’ attack by […]
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How to create a music website: An in-depth guide
In this in-depth guide, we break down how to create a music website and highlight eight sections that are particularly key.

An 80386 Upgrade Deal and Intel 486 Competitor: the Cyrix Cx486DLCThe x86 CPU landscape of the 1980s and 1990s was competitive in a way that probably seems rather alien to anyone used to the duopoly that exists today between AMD and Intel. At one point in time, Cyrix was a major player, who mostly sought to provide a good deal that would undercut Intel. One such attempt was the Cx486DLC and the related Tx486DLC by Texas Instruments. These are interesting because they fit in a standard 386DX mainboard, are faster than a 386 CPU and add i486 instructions. Check your mainboard though, as these parts require a mainboard that supports them.
This is something that [Bits und Bolts] over at YouTube discovered as well when poking at a TX486DLC (TI486DLC) CPU. The Ti version of the Cyrix Cx486DLC CPU increases the 1 kB L1 cache to 8 kB but is otherwise essentially the same. He found the CPU and the mainboard in the trash and decided to adopt it. After removing the very dead battery from the Jamicon KMC-40A Baby AT mainboard, the mainboard was found to be in good working order. The system fired right up with the Ti CPU, some RAM, and a video card installed.

That’s when the excitement began, as although the mainboard is ‘Cyrix-aware’, its BIOS support is somewhat buggy. Although it technically will beat the living tar out of a 386, the Speedsys benchmark utility was crashing because the internal L1 cache wasn’t being enabled properly. Fixing the problem required an external Cyrix utility application. These issues were why so few people were interested in bolt-on solutions. The sentiment extended to Intel with their ill-fated Pentium OverDrive products.
For enthusiasts looking for a good deal, they were an exciting option, but Intel took offense to Cyrix barging into the x86 CPU market without a negotiated license. Cyrix instead utilized reverse engineering to make their own x86-compatible designs. This included their later 5×86 and 6×86 CPUs. After a series of lawsuits Cyrix was merged into National Semiconductor and later sold to AMD, who sold Cyrix’s latest designs under the Geode name before discontinuing it in 2019.

Roland’s new P-6 Creative Sampler The latest addition to Roland’s AIRA Compact range packs the company’s renowned sampling technology into a pocket-size device aimed at creators on the go.

Chinese gov't mulls anti-money laundering law to 'monitor' new fintechAccording to the Chinese government, 1,391 individuals have been prosecuted on money laundering-related charges in the first half of 2024.

The LinkedIn games are fun, actuallyI have a guilty pleasure, and it’s not that I just rewatched “Glee” in its entirety (yes, even the awful later seasons), or that I have read an ungodly amount of Harry Potter fan fiction in my time. My guilty pleasure is that I play the LinkedIn games. To answer the obvious question: Wait, LinkedIn […]
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Create Custom Gridfinity Boxes Using Images Of ToolsExhibit A: A standard-issue banana.
We love it when a community grabs hold of an idea and runs wild with it despite obvious practicality issues. Gridfinity by YouTuber [Zach Freedman] is one of those concepts. For the unaware, this is a simple storage system standard, defining boxes to hold your things. These boxes can be stacked and held in place in anything from a desk drawer to hanging off the side of a 3D printer. [Georgs Lazdāns] is one such Gridfinity user who wanted to create tool-specific holders without leaving the sofa. To do so, they made a web application using node.js and OpenCV to extract outlines for tools (or anything else) when photographed on a blank sheet of paper.
The OpenCV stack assumes that the object to be profiled will be placed on a uniformly colored paper with all parts of its outline visible. The first part of the stack uses a bilateral filter to denoise the image whilst keeping edge details.
Make a base, then add a banana. Easy!
Next, the image is converted to greyscale, blurred, and run through an adaptive threshold. This converts the image to monochrome, again preserving edge details. Finally, the Canny algorithm pulls out the paper contour. The object outline can be given an accurate scale with the paper contour and paper size specified. The second part of the process works similarly to extract the object outline. The second contour should follow the object pretty accurately. If it doesn’t, it can be manually tweaked in the editor. Once a contour is captured, it can be used to modify a blank Gridfinity base in the model editor.

With a few tweaks to the OpenCV parameters, we were able to create a usable profile from an image of a banana (obviously, Gridfinity is the perfect snack storage system). From there, inside the model editor, we adjusted the box outline to encompass it. Then, we cut out the traced profile to create our banana holder. The web app allows you to download an STL file, which can be fed into your slicer of choice. We would have printed the thing but accidentally ate the banana. Ah well.
More information can be found on the project’s GitHub page.
We’ve touched on Gridfinity before; here’s our first article. Of course, we can’t talk about making outlines of tools for storage without mentioning shadow boards. Finally, on the subject of the awesome OpenCV, it has many, many uses, including catching a dirty stinkin’ thief.
Thanks to [JohnU] for the tip!

Pong in a Petri Dish: Teasing Out How Brains WorkExperimental setup for the EAP hydrogel free energy principle test. (Credit: Vincent Strong et al., Cell, 2024)
Of the many big, unanswered questions in this Universe, the ones pertaining to the functioning of biological neural networks are probably among the most intriguing. From the lowliest neurally gifted creatures to us brainy mammals, neural networks allow us to learn, to predict and adapt to our environments, and sometimes even stand still and wonder puzzlingly how all of this even works. Such puzzling has led to a number of theories, with a team of researchers recently investigating one such theory, as published in Cell. The focus here was that of Bayesian approaches to brain function, specifically the free energy principle, which postulates that neural networks as inference engines seek to minimize the difference between inputs (i.e. the model of the world as perceived) and its internal model.
This is where Electro Active Polymer (EAP) hydrogel comes into play, as it features free ions that can migrate through the hydrogel in response to inputs. In the experiment, these inputs are related to the ball position in the game of Pong. Much like experiments involving biological neurons, the hydrogel is stimulated via electrodes (in a 2 x 3 grid, matching the 2 by 3 grid of the game world), with other electrodes serving as outputs. The idea is that over time the hydrogel will ‘learn’ to optimize the outputs through ion migration, so that it ‘plays’ the game better, which should be reflected in the scores (i.e. the rally length).
Based on the results some improvement in rally length can be observed, which the researchers present as statistically significant. This would imply that the hydrogel displays active inference and memory. Additional tests with incorrect inputs resulted in a marked decrease in performance. This raises many questions about whether this truly displays emergent memory, and whether this validates the free energy principle as a Bayesian approach to understanding biological neural networks.
To the average Star Trek enthusiast the concept of hydrogels, plasmas, etc. displaying the inklings of intelligent life would probably seem familiar, and for good reason. At this point, we do not have a complete understanding of the operation of the many billions of neurons in our own brains. Doing a bit of prodding and poking at some hydrogel and similar substances in a dish might be just the kind of thing we need to get some fundamental answers.

Getting It Done: Last Week in D.I.Y. and Independent Musician NewsLast week in D.I.Y. and Independent Musician news, our news, tips and advice covered Band Shirt Day, how TuneFM is using crypto to pay artists up to 100X more than. Continue reading
The post Getting It Done: Last Week in D.I.Y. and Independent Musician News appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: Top New Music Industry News Last WeekThis roundup of top music industry news last week includes Taylor Swift responding to Trump’s AI lies, the supreme importance of streaming to musicians, an initiative to save independent music. Continue reading
The post REWIND: Top New Music Industry News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

Three-Body Technology introduce Trinity Shaper Along with the usual attack and release stages found in transient shapers, Trinity Shaper takes things a step further by including a third stage that offers control over the body of the sound. 

DrumTraqs is a FREE Sequential Circuits Drumtraks drum machine plugin
Full Bucket Music has released DrumTraqs, a software instrument that simulates the legendary Sequential Circuits Drumtraks drum machine from 1983. DrumTraqs is available for Windows and macOS in VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, and CLAP plugin formats. The code was written in native C++ for high performance and low CPU consumption. I’ve always been impressed with [...]
View post: DrumTraqs is a FREE Sequential Circuits Drumtraks drum machine plugin

Redefine Music with Mackie Thump 210 & 210XTMackie has released the next evolution of the incredibly popular and affordable Thump Loudspeaker Series. With more power, capability, and value than ever before.

MUSIC DUCKINGYou’ve got music playing nice and loud but, it’s time for another announcement. Sure, you could mess with your levels every time, but who’s got time for that? Simply press the Music Ducking button, and channel 2 will automatically turn down whenever you speak into the mic on channel 1.APPLICATION-SPECIFIC VOICING MODESInstantly optimize Thump 210XT for how you use it with 4 application-specific voicing modes: “Music” to enhance pre-recorded music, “Live” for general sound reinforcement, “Club” for a nice low end punch, and “Monitor” for use as a floor wedge.BLUETOOTH® LINKING AND CONTROLStream music wirelessly to Thump210XT via Bluetooth® so you can hear your mix from anywhere on the floor. Dive into the Thump Connect 2 App to link two speakers wirelessly, plus adjust anything from system EQ and voicing modes to channel levels and application-specific presets, all in the app.

More info on mackie.comThe post Redefine Music with Mackie Thump 210 & 210XT first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Crypto may swing election in battleground states — law professorAccording to a 2024 analysis by the Federal Reserve, 7% of adults in the United States currently hold or have used crypto in the past.