FLOSS Weekly Episode 801: JBang — Not Your Parents Java Anymore

This week Jonathan Bennett and Jeff Massie chat with Max Rydahl Andersen about JBang, the cross-platform tool to run Java as a system scripting language. That’s a bit harder than it sounds, particularly to take advantage of Java’s rich debugging capabilities and the ecosystem of libraries that are available. Tune in to get the details, as well as how polyglot files are instrumental to making JBang work!

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 288: Cyanotypes, Antique 21-Segment Displays, And The Voynich Manuscript In A New Light

It’s Friday the 13th, and despite having to dodge black cats and poorly located ladders, Elliot and Dan were able to get together and run down the best hacks of the first week of September. Our luck was pretty good, too, seeing how we stumbled upon a coffee table that walks your drink over to you on Strandbeest legs, a potato that takes passable photographs, and a cool LED display three times better than a boring old seven-segment.

If you’ve never heard of the Voynich manuscript, you’re in luck too, because we got a chance to look inside this medieval comic book literally, with multispectral analysis. Is your cruise ship too short? No worries, just lop it in two and add a section. Speaking of cutting things up, that’s what you need to do to see how your plus-size DIY rocket engine performed after test firing.

And finally, it was a sweep for Jenny this week with our “Can’t Miss” articles, where she both pines for a simpler, smaller web experience and wonders what the future holds for biomass fuels.

 

Download the zero-calorie MP3.

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FLOSS Weekly Episode 800: Champagning The Ladybird Browser

This week Jonathan Bennett and Aaron Newcomb chat with Andreas Kling about Ladybird, the new browser in development from the ground up. It was started as part of SerenityOS, and has since taken on a life of its own. How much of the web works on it? How many people are working on the project? And where’s the download button? Listen to find out!

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 287: Raspberry Pi Woes, Blacker Than Black, And Printing With Klipper

Elliot Williams is back from vacation, and he and Al Williams got together to talk about the best Hackaday posts from the last week. Of course, the Raspberry Pi RP2350 problem generated a bit of discussion.

On a lighter note, they saw laser lawn care, rooting WiFi devices, and some very black material made from wood. Need more current-sinking capability from a 555? They talked about that, too, along with a keyboard you use with your feet.

The guys had a lot to say about Klipper, why you might want to move your 3D printer to it, and the FCC’s stance on ham radio antennas in restricted neighborhoods. Oh, and don’t forget to play “What’s that Sound?”

DRM? Who’s got time for that? Download our legally unencumbered MP3.

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 286: Showing Off SAOs, Hiding From HOAs, And Beautiful Byproducts

Even when the boss is away, the show must go on, so Dan slid back behind the guest mic and teamed up with Tom to hunt down the freshest of this week’s hacks. It was a bit of a chore, with a couple of computer crashes and some side-quests down a few weird rabbit holes, but we managed to get things together in the end.

Tune in and you’ll hear us bemoan HOAs and celebrate one ham’s endless battle to outwit them, no matter what the golf cart people say about his antennas. Are you ready to say goodbye to the magnetic stripe on your credit card? We sure are, but we’re not holding our breath yet. Would you 3D print a 55-gallon drum? Probably not, but you almost can with a unique Cartesian-polar hybrid printer. And, if you think running MS-DOS on a modern laptop is hard, guess again — or, maybe you just have to get really lucky.

We also took a look at a digital watch with a beautiful display, a hacked multimeter, modern wardriving tools, switchable magnets, and debate the eternal question of v-slot wheels versus linear bearings. And finally, you won’t want to miss our look at what’s new with 3D scanning, and the first installment of Kristina’s new “Boss Byproducts” series, which delves into the beauty of Fordite.

Download the DRM-free MP3.

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FLOSS Weekly Episode 798: Building The Rust Desktop With COSMIC

This week Jonathan Bennett and Rob Campbell chat with Carl Richell about System 76, COSMIC, Wayland, Rust and more! What was the “last straw” that convinced System 76 to write their own desktop environment (DE)? What’s the story with smithay, and why did that jump start the whole process? Listen to find out!
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