TIL about Xbee WiFi

Xbee, one of the popular wireless modules for Arduino and the like, now comes in a WiFi version (802.11b/g/n) allowing us to connect more directly to the Internet/network without having a intermediate host to relay the data. Should be interesting to play with.


... the XBee Wi-Fi offers 802.11 b/g/n networking and flexible SPI and UART serial interfaces. Because the module includes the 802.11 b/g/n physical layer, baseband MAC and TCP/IP stack, developers can add Wi-Fi to their products simply by connecting to the XBee Wi-Fi's serial port. The XBee Wi-Fi is fully tested at manufacture and comes with modular certification for the U.S., E.U., Canada and a number of other countries, further reducing the time to market, development expense and design complexity.

XBee Wi-Fi development kits are available now for $149. For more information about the XBee Wi-Fi, visit http://www.digi.com/xbeewifi.

TIL about Netduino/Plus

TIL about Netduino and Netduino Plus, an alternative/improved version of the Arduino...

Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework (not Microsoft .NET). Featuring a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment.

Interface with switches, sensors, LEDs, serial devices, and more.

Offers 20 GPIOs combined with SPI, I2C, 2 UARTs (1 RTS/CTS), 4 PWM channels and 6 ADC channels.

.NET Micro Framework combines the ease of high-level coding and the raw features of microcontrollers. Enjoy event-based programming, multi-threading, line-by-line debugging, breakpoints and more.

3rd-party accessories offer pre-built functionality like GPS location, servo control and battery power. Netduino is also pin-compatible with Arduino shields.

Netduino is an open source electronics platform. All design files and source code are included.


Netduino Plus

Netduino Plus includes all hardware features of the Netduino, plus MicroSD storage capabilities and an Ethernet jack for fast integrated IP networking.


Sounds pretty good. I'd like to get the Plus version to try it out.

DSO Quad Clone

Here's another interesting one from the DealExtreme shop in HK:


DS-203 3.0" LCD Pocket Mini Oscilloscope

They're selling it for $174 shipped, or about $25 cheaper the the original. I don't see any reviews yet, but it should be interesting to see how this one works out as well.

Creepy bento?

Eat me!

Pretty creative... I can't decide if it's cute or creepy.

Western Digital Passport Essential 1TB Review

The WD Passport Essential SE 1TB looks smaller, more square compared to my Passport Essential 500GB drive as you can see in this picture:



It's USB 3.0 and comes with a 1-ft cable, but it's still backwards compatible and will plug into a standard USB 2.0 socket on the computer, or alternatively, the drive can take a standard USB 2.0 micro USB cable. The cable is pretty short for my desktop use (should be ok for laptop where the drive will be beside it), but I do have a USB 2.0 extension cable on my computer that I always use for USB drives and that works just fine even with the stock cable.

Speed is around 30MB/s on my USB 2.0 system copying to the drive on average, and I believe around 50MB/s on USB 3.0.

It comes with its own backup software called SmartWare for Mac & Windows. I didn't try this myself as I'm going to use this to store videos. But I also just prefer TrueImage and robocopy to create a mirror image or copy of my hard drive for backups.

DSO Quad

I want one! Need to save up for it... [@seeedstudio.com]

Feature: 

• Pocket size and light weight
• Two 72MS/s analog channels, plus two digital channels
• Signal Generator 
• Auto Measurement
• Various Triggering Option
• Easy waveform storage
• Firmware upgrade
• User applications
• Open source 

Specifications

• Analog channel * 2 : [CH_A]  [CH_B];
• Digital channel * 2 :   [CH_C]  [CH_D];
• Vertical Scale: 20mV-10V/div (x1 probe);
• Vertical solution: 8 bit ;
• Input coupling: AC/DC ; 
• Max input voltage: 80Vpp (x1 probe);
• Storage: 4K per channel
• Software trigger type: edge, pulse, level (to be added)
• Hardware trigger type: edge
• Trigger source: CH1/CH2/EXT
• Test Signal generater: 10Hz to 1Mhz 
• Storage: internal 2MB USB disk
• Auto measure: Vmax, Vmin, Vpp, Vavr, Vrms, Freq, Period, Pulse, Duty
• Cursor measurement: Level, Voltage
• Display mode: CH1, CH2, EXT, CH1+CH2, CH1-CH2, CH1*CH2
• Sampling mode: real time
• Sampling rate: 1kSa/s - 72MSa/S
• Power: Lipo battery
• Dimension: 98 * 60 * 14.5
• Weight: 80g (without battery)
• Accesories within Pack: 2 mueller mcx osilloscope probe, 2 digital probe, 

GIF

GIF animation.

Samsung Captivate Download Mode

Bricked your Samsung Captivate or Galaxy S phone? I did... Good thing someone discovered that you can apparently force these into download mode with a little poking in the USB port even when the usual keys don't work.



The magic number appears to be 300K or 301K connected to pins 4 & 5. I used 3x100K resistors salvaged from an old PCI card.




With the phone off, just insert the USB contraption and it automagically goes into download mode. Now, just reflash the right firmware... Phone saved!