Chips Playing Pretend, Putting the Matrix in Your PC, and the Rise of the 555

Plus open source lamps, a cyberdeck double-feature, and Elite on the Arduino (sort of). [Embedded ML For All Developers]( [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, December 22, 2021 [All Hail Your New Giant 555 Timer Overlord »]( The Return of the King [The 555 Timer Contest is now in full swing]( and even though it's been a decade since we last challenged hackers and makers to put the iconic integrated circuit to work, we're already seeing some incredible entries. [555 Timer Contest] Perhaps the Hackaday community has been banking their 555 ideas all this time, and only needed the siren's call of a $150 shopping spree in the Digi-Key Electronics warehouse for the top three winners to bring them to fruition. Or maybe with the chip shortage making it harder to get microcontrollers, a whole new generation is learning the merits of this 8-pin wonder. Whatever the reason is, we're glad to see that interest in the 50-year-old chip seems as strong as ever. If you're looking to join the fray, don't wait too much longer. Entries will be accepted until January 10th, but with the holidays fast approaching, there's going to be far too much eating, drinking, and general merriment going on to spend much time sitting at the workbench sucking down solder fumes. Unless that actually was how you planned on celebrating the holidays, in which case, hack on. Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [ATtiny85 Does Its Best 555 Impression]( They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which must make this project which aims to emulate the 555 timer with an ATtiny85 a silicon love letter. Making the diminutive MCU pin-compatible with the 555 requires bending all its pins around to the other side, but it's a small price to pay for such a clever hack. [project thumbnail]( [Completing the Raspberry Pi 400 Experience]( The Pi 400 is a lot closer to the all-in-one educational powerhouse that many people expected the cheap Linux board would eventually evolve into, but it still needs to be plugged into a display of some type to be functional. Of course, nobody said the display couldn't be two inches across and mounted to a PCB that slots into the system's rear expansion port. [project thumbnail]( [Add a Little Elite To Your Life]( Don't get too excited, this project doesn't let you play the classic Elite on your Arduino. But it does bring some of the game's well-known imagery to a small touch screen LCD by way of the 8-bit microcontroller, complete with tumbling wireframe spacecraft. Thanks to the special clock mode, this little gadget even has a valid reason for sitting on your desk. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY The weekly Hack Chat is on pause during the holidays, but we'll be back with more fascinating hackers in 2022. In fact, one of them could even be you! Do you work in an interesting field that people would love to hear about? Do you have a cool project you're working on? Or maybe there's just something you'd like to discuss? Then host a Hack Chat! Check out [our FAQ]( for all the details. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [The Matrix is Back, and Here's the PC Side Panel to Prove It]( [A Vintage Texas Instruments Terminal Gets the Cyberdeck Treatment]( [Reach Out and Touch Something with this Haptic Feedback Glove]( [Open Source 3D Printed Lamps Really Tie the Room Together]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [Trenton Computer Festival - Mar. 19, 2022]( At this point, it's still too early to tell if the [world's oldest computer festival]( will be in-person or not for their 46th annual show. But even if they have to go virtual for another year, the always impressive slate of talks and presentations will be well worth tuning in for. [VCF East Swap Meet - Feb. 26, 2022]( Back by popular demand, the Vintage Computer Federation will once again be holding a swap meet at the InfoAge Science and History Museum in Wall, New Jersey. We were impressed with both the turnout and the wide array of hardware (vintage or otherwise) available [when we last made the trek]( so we've got high hopes for this one. [Open Hardware Summit - Apr. 22, 2022]( Virtual? In-Person? | Venue decisions for next year's Open Hardware Summit are still a bit up in the air, but planning moves forward and [the Call for Proposals is now open]( through December 17th. The conference focuses on all issues surrounding open hardware, from building the hardware itself, through to understanding intellectual property intricacies, running a business while embracing open hardware, and topics like the right to repair. [twitter]( [facebook]( [instagram]( [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Hackaday.io]( [Hackaday.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hackaday · 61 South Fair Oaks Avenue · Suite 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105 · USA