Hasta La Gadget!

The last time we featured Bunnie Huang and Sean “xobs” Cross, they revealed that SD cards are computers too. If you look closely at one of the slides in their presentation (pdf), you can see that they used something called “Novena” to crack the firmware of the SD cards they tested. It turns out that Novena is a custom laptop that the two programmers built. It’s a work in progress that they hope will eventually be made of 100% open source hardware.

As with many hacking projects, Bunnie and xobs started working on Novena partly for kicks. Given that they’re also running Sutajio Ko-usagi, a company that specializes in open source hardware products, it’s not surprising that Bunnie and xobs also want to use Novena to promote open source hardware.

The current Novena laptop has an ARM-based Freescale iMX6 CPU, 4GB RAM, a 13” 2560×1700 LED-backlit panel, two USB ports, an Ethernet port, an HDMI port an SD card reader and a microphone and speaker port. But the Novena isn’t just a netbook with a high-res screen.

In a recent blog post, Bunnie enumerated a number of requirements for Novena, the first and foremost being, “All the components should have a reasonably complete set of NDA-free documentation.” Bunnie said that first commandment alone significantly narrowed their choices. They also decided that the laptop should be a viable hardware and security hacking platform, which meant it had to have parts not available in most consumer laptops, such as an FPGA circuit and two Ethernet interfaces. True to its concept the Novena’s internal components can be accessed by removing just two screws.

Still, as Wired notes, the current Novena’s “screen, keyboard, hard drive, power supply, and processor were all purchased off the shelf, and it’s powered by a hacked RC car battery pack.” In other words, it’s not fully open source yet.

As you can see Bunnie and xobs had a bit of fun with the laptop’s exterior. Aside from its aluminum enclosure, the laptop is wrapped in leather and has a paper laminate lining as well as 3D printed decorative parts.

Head to the Novena wiki page for more on the laptop’s specs, including its firmware and software.

[via Wired & Bunnie Huang via tech spotlight]

Chocolate. It may arguably be better than bacon. And today we have some important chocolate news. Hershey has just announced a partnership with 3DSystems to produce a 3D printer that prints in chocolate. Imagine chocolate shaped like anything, maybe even with a hollow caramel maze inside or something.

This isn’t 3DSystems first foray into printing candy – they showed off some amazing printers that could output both sugar and chocolate candy models at the recent 2014 CES:

We don’t know when they will have their new Willy Wonka device ready or how much it might cost, but the ChefJet will sell for less than $5,000 and the ChefJet will go for less than $10,000. No word on the Hershey’s version though. You guys just feel free to throw everything you have at this project. Humanity is counting on you.

I can’t wait for finely detailed chocolate Star Trek starships to start rolling out of this machine. The possibilities are endless.

[via Geekologie]

These days have been marked by efforts to bring to the masses certain products or production capabilities that have mostly been reserved to companies or larger entities. Examples of this … Continue reading

One of inventor Steve Hoefer’s favorite creations is his knock-activated lock: a lock that only opens if you enter the correct knock sequence. Steve says he’s built the lock a dozen times. Instead of becoming increasingly complex, his latest build is actually easier to put together compared to its predecessors, thanks to a couple of Adafruit products.

This build uses Adafruit’s piezoelectric sensor, solenoid lock and mini microcontroller. You can install the lock on any wooden drawer or door that’s at least 2 1/4″ deep. Once installed, you simply record your secret knock, and the device now knows to only unlock if the same knock is repeated.

Knock twice on your browser and head to the Adafruit blog for Steve’s instructions, parts list and Arduino code.

[via Boing Boing]

Apple and the FTC have announced a settlement that parents who have been charged money for purchases made by children will appreciate. As a parent with a daughter that likes to play games on my iPhone, I know from experience how some of the apps don’t do a good job telling you what things cost real money in the games.

I really hate it when you see something in the game and it doesn’t say if it costs money or not and then when you click the item it pops up for your password. Once your password is entered, charges can be billed.

Some parents have reported thousands of dollars in charges to Apple that happen this way. The FTC settlement will see Apple pay at least $32.5 million to settle claims that it didn’t warn parents of potential charges.

The settlement will also see Apple changing its billing terms. The FTC took Apple to task over not warning parents that by entering their password to download an app, they were also opening a window that allowed in-app charges for 15 minutes.

“This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple’s unfair billing, and a signal to the business community: whether you’re doing business in the mobile arena or the mall down the street, fundamental consumer protections apply,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorize.”