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Mar 19, 2022

Clockwork DevTerm R-01 Takes RISC-V Out For A Spin

Posted by in categories: computing, education

If you’re anything like us you’ve been keeping a close eye on the development of RISC-V: an open standard instruction set architecture (ISA) that’s been threatening to change the computing status quo for what seems like forever. From its humble beginnings as a teaching tool in Berkeley’s Parallel Computing Lab in 2010, it’s popped up in various development boards and gadgets from time to time. It even showed up in the 2019 Hackaday Supercon badge, albeit in FPGA form. But getting your hands on an actual RISC-V computer has been another story entirely. Until now, that is.

Clockwork has recently announced the availability of the DevTerm R-01, a variant of their existing portable computer that’s powered by a RISC-V module rather than the ARM chips featured in the earlier A04 and A06 models. Interestingly the newest member of the family is actually the cheapest at $239 USD, though it’s worth mentioning that not only does this new model only include 1 GB of RAM, but the product page makes it clear that the RISC-V version is intended for experienced penguin wranglers who aren’t afraid of the occasional bug.

Beyond the RISC-V CPU and slimmed down main memory, this is the same DevTerm that our very own [Donald Papp] reviewed earlier this month. Thanks to the modular nature of the portable machine, this sort of component swapping is a breeze, though frankly we’re impressed that the Clockwork team is willing to go out on such a limb this early in the product’s life. In our first look at the device we figured at best they would release an updated CPU board to accommodate the Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module, but supporting a whole new architecture is a considerably bolder move. One wonders that other plans they may have for the retro-futuristic machine. Perhaps a low-power x86 chip isn’t out of the question?

Mar 19, 2022

VT4Browsers++ Any indicator, every detail, anywhere

Posted by in category: futurism

TL;DR: VirusTotal’s browser extension can now automatically identify IoCs in any website and enrich them with superior context from our crowdsourced threat intelligence corpus, in a single pane of glass fashion. Install in Chrome | Install in Firefox | Read the docs. Please provide feedback.

Don’t feel like reading? Check out a demo video showcasing how VirusTotal’s browser extension is now able to contextualize alerts from your SIEM.

Continue reading “VT4Browsers++ Any indicator, every detail, anywhere” »

Mar 19, 2022

NASA Spacecraft Spots China’s Mars Rover and Its Impressive Wheel Tracks From Orbit

Posted by in category: space travel

The charismatic Zhurong rover has left its mark on Mars.

Mar 19, 2022

First photos from James Webb telescope better than expected

Posted by in category: space

Images of a very “boring” star are making waves across the astronomical world today – they are the first sent back from NASA’s James Webb telescope, and they have exceeded all hopes and expectations.

Having completed the self-assembly of its 18-segmented main mirror, the telescope has now taken exceptional images of an unexceptional star as a test of its capabilities. The star, known as HD84406, is 100 times fainter than what can be seen with the human eye. The star itself is of little interest, lovely though its image is – instead, astronomers are captivated by the spray of tiny dots scattered across the background. Each is a distant galaxy, and this is the first time we’ve ever been able to capture them.

Continue reading “First photos from James Webb telescope better than expected” »

Mar 19, 2022

Evolutionary transition from a single RNA replicator to a multiple replicator network

Posted by in category: evolution

Long-term experimental evolution shows that a single polymerase-encoding RNA replicator can evolve into a complex replicator network, shedding light on how a molecular replicator could have developed complexity before the emergence of life.

Mar 19, 2022

Two new species of see-through frog named in Ecuador

Posted by in category: genetics

The amphibians, which live only 13 miles apart, look completely alike but are genetically diverse—a surprise to scientists.

Mar 19, 2022

Elon Musk’s Starlink is keeping Ukrainians online when traditional Internet fails

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, internet

Elon Musk sent Starlink satellite Internet service to Ukraine. It seems to be helping.

Mar 19, 2022

Tesla Clears a Big Obstacle for the Model 3 and Model Y

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Tesla had a rough start to the week, but the company is finally getting some good news to end it.

Mar 19, 2022

Elon Musk Has New Estimate for When Humans Might First Step on Mars

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space

Red Planet real estate is looking very unlikely to hit the market any time soon.

Mar 19, 2022

Why the $4.1 billion launch cost of NASA’s Moon rocket could destroy it

Posted by in category: space travel

That’s over double the original expected launch cost.


NASA’s Space Launch System is supposed to ferry astronauts to the Moon, but at an estimated $4.1 billion per launch, it may be doomed before it ever gets off the ground.