Short Takes – 5-5-23

Your guide to using amazon’s sidewalk network for the internet of things. HackADay.com article. Pull quote: “The general idea of Sidewalk is to use customer internet connections to create a broadly accessible mesh network in a way that’s seamless, invisible, and doesn’t bother anyone. Over 90% of the population of the United States is reportedly within the coverage area of Sidewalk. If your area isn’t, all you need to do is hook up an Amazon Echo to your home internet connection, and you’re all set.” Good thing that there is no way to use this for network hacking (SIGH).

E-Bike battery tapped for off-grid laptop power. HackADay.com article. A bit geeky, but neat application. Pull quote: “Luckily, [transistor-man] came up with a solution to this particular problem by reusing his e-bike’s battery pack as a mobile power source for his Lenovo laptop. The energy demands of this particular computer are too high for USB-C Power Delivery, and as such, he had to hack up a way to feed it 20 volts DC via its proprietary square power connector. His bike’s battery puts out between 30 and 42 VDC depending on charge, so at least on paper, it should work out fine.”

Fewer hurricanes and a snow-free Christmas: what El Niño could mean for the East Coast. TheHill.com article. Nuanced discussion of the impact of El Nino. Pull quote: “While the odds are that global average temperatures will increase under El Niño conditions, “we don’t live in global mean temperatures,” said Michelle L’Heureux, a meteorologist with the Climate Prediction Center at the National Weather Service (NWS).”