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Submission + - High tariffs become 'real' with our first $36K bill (adafruit.com)

Submitted by ptorrone
ptorrone writes: We're no stranger to tariff bills, although they have definitely ramped up over the last two months. However, this is our first 'big bill', where a large portion was subjected to a 125%+20%+25% import markup. Unlike other taxes like sales tax where we collect on behalf of the state and then submit it back at the end of the month, or income taxes, where we only pay if we are profitable, tariff taxes are paid before we sell any of the products and are due within a week of receipt which has a big impact on cash flow.

In this particular case, we're buying from a vendor, not a factory, so we can't second-source the items (and these particular products we couldn't manufacture ourselves even if we wanted to, since the vendor has well-deserved IP protections). And the products were booked & manufactured many months ago, before the tariffs were in place. Since they are electronics products/components, there's a chance we may be able to request reclassification on some items to avoid the 125% 'reciprocal' tariff, but there's no assurance that it will succeed, and even if it does, it is many, many months until we could see a refund.

We'll have to increase the prices on some of these products, but we're not sure if people will be willing to pay the higher cost, so we may well be 'stuck' with unsellable inventory that we have already paid a large fee on.

Submission + - Fully automating Arduino development - Giving Claude Code access to hardware (youtube.com)

Submitted by ptorrone
ptorrone writes: On the most recent Desk of Ladyada, we shared our experiments with Claude Code, a new large language model (LLM) tool, to streamline hardware development — WAIT WHAT? That's right!. streamline hardware development! We are using it to automate parts of the coding and debugging process for an Arduino-compatible Metro Mini board with an OPT 4048 color sensor. Using Claude Code’s shell access, we can compile, upload, and test code in a semi-automated workflow, allowing the LLM to suggest fixes for errors along the way. The process involves using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to bridge hardware interaction gaps, as Claude Code doesn't run natively on Windows yet. While the AI isn’t perfect for high-level driver development, it's proving VERY useful for tedious debugging and super-fast iterative improvements, bringing hardware automation closer to ...reality.

Submission + - 27-Year-Old EXE becomes Python in minutes AI-Assisted reverse engineering (adafruit.com)

Submitted by ptorrone
ptorrone writes: Reddit post detailing how someone took a 27-year-old visual basic EXE file, fed it to Claude 3.7, and watched as it reverse-engineered the program and rewrote it in Python. It was an old Visual Basic 4 program they had written in 1997. Running a VB4 exe in 2024 can be a real yak-shaving compatibility nightmare, chasing down outdated DLLs and messy workarounds. So! OP decided to upload the exe to Claude 3.7.

Submission + - The "Nubbin bug" lives – A Star Trek prop resurrection with 3D Printing (adafruit.com) 1

Submitted by ptorrone
ptorrone writes: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 1, Episode 25 (May 1988), “Conspiracy”, was one of my favorites. It featured a mind-controlling alien parasite referred to as the “Nubbin bug”, or at least by The Greatest Generation Star Trek podcast. Back in 1998, there was not a lot of computer CGI, so it was a stop-motion prop. Years later, the co-hosts of The Greatest Generation, a fun Star Trek podcast, stumbled upon the original silicone molds used to create the Nubbin bug while a listener found in a warehouse clearance sale in Van Nuys, California. The podcasters acquired the mold. Shortly after, a listener from Atlanta who works at a prop studio offered to help preserve the prop since the original rubber material would decay over time. This led to the creation of archival-quality plaster casts to preserve the iconic alien for generations to come. And they did some more, using 3D scanners – the Nubbin bug was recreated as a 3D model, allowing for exact replicas to be printed. Over 100 of these replicas were made, each one hand-painted and assembled to match the original as closely as possible. Their handmade / 3D-printed versions look almost identical to the bugs that appeared in the episode. They also designed a Playschool-style retail packaging box to package the bugs. Fans of the podcast can purchase the limited-edition replicas. I don’t know if they will post the 3D files, but I’ll email and ask. This is a really cool project from one of the weirdest/best episodes, and I am thrilled that someone was able to preserve this piece of Sci-Fi history in such a cool way.

Submission + - Is it time to update the Open Hardware Definition for AI or make a parallel one?

Submitted by ptorrone
ptorrone writes: In a recent blog post, Adafruit explores whether it's time to update the Open Hardware Definition (OHD) to include considerations for AI, or if a parallel definition should be created specifically for AI hardware. The current OHD was established to promote open, accessible hardware designs and ensure that hardware creators can share their work freely. However, as AI becomes increasingly embedded in hardware projects, the definition may need to evolve to address the complexities AI introduces, such as data ethics, software dependencies, and hardware performance transparency.

The article raises key questions about how AI-integrated hardware could impact the open hardware community. Should the OHD be expanded to cover AI-specific concerns, or would a separate definition be more appropriate to address the nuances of AI hardware? The discussion invites input from the community on how best to maintain the spirit of open hardware while accommodating the rapidly advancing field of AI.

Read the full post on Adafruit’s blog: Is it time to update the Open Hardware Definition for AI, or make a parallel one for AI?

Submission + - SPAM: Is Stratasys a 3D printing patent troll? Stratasys v. Bambu Lab

Submitted by ptorrone
ptorrone writes: What’s a solution? And not just for this, but really any 3D patent trolling a structured prior art database is probably the easier first step, because then anyone who is targeted by one of these could use it to go after the patent. There have been other efforts to do similar things, and the relatively focused scope of 3D printers could make it effective. An organization like the Open Source Hardware association could help lead this effort, coordinating the community for a fund that could be used to preemptively invalidate 3D printing patents and build a giant structured corpus of prior art to use in shared defenses.

Could also be a “donate” button on a Prusa order on check out “donate to the invalidate 3D printing patents fund” which would be the prior art database.
Link to Original Source

Comment Re:CO reduction - 10 million pounds annually (Score 2) 257

by Goonie (#63351853) Attached to: Georgia Nuclear Plant Begins Splitting Atoms For First Time

a) the probability energy prices will go up in the next decades is pretty high

Even taking into account the need for additional transmission and storage, the numbers I've seen suggest that electricity prices in mostly-renewable grids will likely be similar to current levels, or come down from Russian-induced peaks in places dependent on imported natural gas. Energy costs will come down because expensive oil will be replaced by cheaper electricity, used more efficiently.

those plants will likely last more than the originally planned 60 years (based on what we expect from existing reactors in operation in the world)

The present value of power generated 60 years or more from now is close to zero applying any sensible discount rate.

Comment "ChatGPT answers" business model is unclear (Score 1) 89

by Goonie (#63151418) Attached to: ChatGPT Is a 'Code Red' for Google's Search Business
Let's assume for a minute that ChatGPT's known inability to stop itself BSing when it doesn't know the answer is effectively addressed and it becomes a truly useful answer tool. Now, how are you going to fund it?

My understanding is that each chatGPT answer requires a few cents worth of computation to produce. For somebody who needs multiple answers per day that's going to quickly add up. If there's one thing we've learned from the history of internet businesses, it's that barely usable and cheap almost always wins out over better and expensive.

Maybe there will be a subset of people who will be happy to pay (stock traders who want digestable answers RIGHT NOW come to mind), but it's not at all clear that the mass market would.

Comment Re: The Revenge of Google Labs! (Score 1) 89

by Goonie (#63151366) Attached to: ChatGPT Is a 'Code Red' for Google's Search Business
Except that ChatGPT will all too often coherently and convincingly provide a wrong answer, and there's no way to tell because it doesn't cite its sources.

Yes, there will be plenty of wrong answers in Google's search results too, but at least you have a chance of judging the credibility of the answer before you use "rm -rf /" to free up disk space.

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