This week Hackaday Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi look at the week’s most interesting stories and projects, starting with the dystopian news that several people have had their bionic eye implants turn off without warning. We then pivot into an only slightly less depressing discussion about the poor security of Apple’s AirTags network and how it can be used to track individuals without their knowledge. But it’s not all doom and gloom. We’ll look at new projects designed to push the envelope of desktop 3D printing, and marvel at a DIY robotic arm build so accurate that it can put stitches in the skin of a grape. You’ll also hear about the surprisingly low cost of homebrew hydrophones, the uncomfortable chemistry behind wintergreen, and an early portable computer that looks like it came from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Take a look at the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

You wouldn’t Direct Download a Podcast, would you?

Episode 157 Show Notes:

News This Week:

• Bionic Eyes Go Dark

What’s that Sound?

• This week’s sound was the clacking of MX Cherry Blue switches. Congratulations to [Edgar]!

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• No Privacy: Cloning The AirTag
  • Get Apple To Track Your Bluetooth Devices For You
  • GitHub – seemoo-lab/AirGuard: Protect yourself from being tracked by AirTags
  • OzymanDNS 0.1
• DIY Hydrophone Listens In On The Deep For Cheap
• Bend Your Vase Mode Prints By Hacking The GCode
  • 3D Printering: Non-Planar Layer FDM
  • FullControl GCODE Designer – Unconstrained design
  • Skeinforge – DEMOZENDIUM
• I2C Breathes New Life Into Casio Pocket Calculator
• Dummy The Robot Arm Is Not So Dumb
  • A Self-Driving Bicycle Is Something To Marvel At
• Make Your Own Tabletop Game Organizers With Online Tool

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks:
  • Classic Multimeter Tells You If Your WiFi’s Working
  • Minimalistic Doorbell Doesn’t Need An Internet Connection – Or Even A Power Supply
  • Super Simple Camera Slider With A Neat Twist
  • FPGA Starter Videos To Help Soften That Learning Curve
  • Unique Clock Is All Hands, No Dial, And Does The Worm
• Tom’s Picks:
  • Winamp Reborn With The Adafruit PyPortal
  • High-Power Laser Salvaged From Headlights
  • Winding Your Own Small Coils

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• Big Chemistry: From Gasoline To Wintergreen
• Inputs Of Interest: Canadian MCM/70 Was Kinda Like The First Cyberdeck