September 17, 2023

MakeUseOf: 10 Lightweight Linux Distributions to Give Your Old PC New Life

MakeUseOf: 10 Lightweight Linux Distributions to Give Your Old PC New Life. “Old PCs can’t cope with the demands of modern operating systems and software. While upgrading hardware such as memory can help, the better solution is a lightweight operating system. Many Linux distros are designed to be lightweight, with versions of Linux under 500MB and even under 100MB available. If you’re looking for a resource-light operating system for your PC, try these compact, lightweight Linux distros.”

Useful Stuff 0
September 17, 2023

How-To Geek: Some Chromebooks Will Now Get 10 Years of Updates

How-To Geek: Some Chromebooks Will Now Get 10 Years of Updates. “Sustainability starts with tech that actually lasts a long time. After all, the best way to produce less e-waste is to avoid replacing technology that still works. While a smartphone can last 2-4 years, PCs can last much longer, and this also extends to laptops as long as you take good care of them. If you have a Chromebook, however, you’re in luck, as Google has just announced a notable extension to the lifespan of Chromebooks.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
September 15, 2023

Geeks are Sexy: A Century-Old Music Machine That Simultaneously Plays a Piano and Three Violins

Geeks are Sexy: A Century-Old Music Machine That Simultaneously Plays a Piano and Three Violins. “At first glance, it may appear to be just a player piano, but this creation from the early 20th century hails from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and offers a unique musical experience. What sets it apart is its ability to simultaneously play not only a piano but also three violins. In its time, this innovation was nothing short of revolutionary.”

Other Things I Think Are Cool 0
July 4, 2023

Motherboard: 2,200 Forgotten Vintage Computers Are Being Liberated From a Barn in Massachusetts

Motherboard: 2,200 Forgotten Vintage Computers Are Being Liberated From a Barn in Massachusetts. ” These computers, with a weight equivalent to roughly 11 full-size vehicles, were basically new, other than the fact that they had sat unopened and unused for nearly four decades, roughly half that time inside this barn. Every box was ‘new old stock,’ essentially a manufactured time capsule, waiting to be found by somebody. These machines, featuring the label of a forgotten brand built around an idea that was tragically too early to succeed, could have disappeared, anonymously, into the junkyard of history, as so many others like them have.”

Other Things I Think Are Cool 0
April 23, 2023

WIRED: How to Responsibly Dispose of Your Electronics

WIRED: How to Responsibly Dispose of Your Electronics. “WHETHER YOU HAVE an old phone languishing in a desk drawer or a broken laptop gathering dust in the back of a closet, there will never be a better time to dispose of it. There’s a good chance your unwanted gadget can return to useful service, and it may even make you a little cash or help someone else. Recycling should be the last resort, but if there’s nothing else for your gadget, there are ways to recycle electronics responsibly.”

Useful Stuff 0
April 7, 2023

Android Police: How to install Google ChromeOS Flex on any computer

Android Police: How to install Google ChromeOS Flex on any computer. “Chromebooks are a great alternative to traditional laptops and PCs. Running ChromeOS, they are cheap, powerful devices that provide all the functionality you could ask for. Even better, the best Chromebooks on the market are relatively inexpensive. But you don’t need to buy a Chromebook to try out ChromeOS. Google lets you experience the OS on your old laptop or PC through ChromeOS Flex.”

Useful Stuff 0
February 27, 2023

Hackaday: Emulating All The TRS-80 Software

New-to-me, from Hackaday: Emulating All The TRS-80 Software. “There are 15,873 pieces of software on the site, although some of them are duplicates or multiple versions of a single program. You can download them in a format that is useful for some emulators or, in some cases, the original files. But here’s the kicker. You can also click to launch a virtual TRS-80 in your browser and start the program.”

New Resources 0
February 18, 2023

PC World: 10 cheap or free ways to make your old PC run faster

PC World: 10 cheap or free ways to make your old PC run faster. “…there are a slew of ways to breathe new life into an older PC that’s starting to feel a little pokey. Even better: Most are outright free, a couple of (still relatively low-cost) hardware upgrades aside. Sure, these tweaks and tips aren’t as thrilling as booting up a brand new PC for the first time—but they’ll let you continue to get the job done with the gear you already have.”

Useful Stuff 0
January 13, 2023

New York Times: The Hottest Gen Z Gadget Is a 20-Year-Old Digital Camera

New York Times: The Hottest Gen Z Gadget Is a 20-Year-Old Digital Camera. “Last spring, Anthony Tabarez celebrated prom like many of today’s high schoolers: dancing the night away and capturing it through photos and videos. The snapshots show Mr. Tabarez, 18, and his friends grinning, jumping around and waving their arms from a crowded dance floor. But instead of using his smartphone, Mr. Tabarez documented prom night with an Olympus FE-230, a 7.1-megapixel, silver digital camera made in 2007 and previously owned by his mother.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
December 25, 2022

Faxes and floppy disks: Japan’s bureaucracy needs an upgrade (Washington Post)

Washington Post: Faxes and floppy disks: Japan’s bureaucracy needs an upgrade. “For a country where emoji were invented, Japan’s bureaucracy remains steadfastly analog. Official documents are often submitted via fax (a machine that sends messages over the phone line) or floppy disk (a precursor to the USB drive). In fact, thousands of government regulations insist on the use of such 20th-century stalwarts.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
November 27, 2022

The Verge: The Internet Archive just put 565 Palm Pilot apps in your web browser

The Verge: The Internet Archive just put 565 Palm Pilot apps in your web browser. “Yes, I am playing Dope Wars on a Palm Pilot inside my iPhone. It’s thanks to The Internet Archive, which is once again launching a giant collection of software you can instantly play on any web browser, up to and including your touchscreen-equipped phone. There are currently 565 classic Palm apps in all, including games, widgets, and even free trials from both the greyscale and color eras.”

New Resources 0
October 24, 2022

Ars Technica: Build a shelf-size vintage computer museum made of paper

Ars Technica: Build a shelf-size vintage computer museum made of paper. “Yesterday, a Winnipeg, Canada-based artist named Rocky Bergen released a free collection of miniature papercraft vintage computer models that hobbyists can assemble for fun. They are available on The Internet Archive in a pack of 24 PDF files that you can print out on letter-size paper and fold into three dimensions.”

Other Things I Think Are Cool 0
October 11, 2022

SlashGear: 8 Best Uses For Old Webcams

SlashGear: 8 Best Uses For Old Webcams. “These newer cameras offer more than just photo and video capability, as they are also packed with AI technology, automatic setting adjustment, and better and wider fields of view. There is no denying that modern webcams have made great strides since their introduction a couple of decades ago. If that’s the case, you’re probably thinking that there’s no need to keep an old webcam around. After all, what could you use it for? Well, it actually has a wide range of creative and practical applications, from keeping your home safe to making awesome art videos.”

Useful Stuff 0

The ResearchBuzz Firehose is regular RB content presented as individual posts.
For digest-type posts a couple of times a day, please visit ResearchBuzz.

Want to know how to best use the Firehose for content discovery?
Check out this handy article.

Get RB Firehose Via EMail

Enter your email address to subscribe to ResearchBuzz Firehose and get a firehose of new posts straight to your email.

Join 2,020 other subscribers

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Latest ResearchBuzz Gizmos

Stephen’s Cloud Seeder
Search Mastodon Instances for Two Hashtags at a Time
Search Wikipedia for Mastodon Accounts with WMT
RSStodon v2
Mastodon Username Helper

Brought to you by Calishat.