Hackaday Newsletter 0x71

In praise of easy hacks [HACKADAY]( AirTags, Tiles, SmartTags and the Dilemmas of Personal Tracking Devices [Read Article Now»]( Hack Simple By [Elliot Williams]( Here at Hackaday, we definitely love to celebrate the hard hacks: the insane feats of reverse engineering, the physics-defying flights of fancy, or the abuse of cutting edge technology. But today I’d like to raise a rhetorical glass in tribute of the simple hacks. Because, to be perfectly honest, the vast majority of my hacks are simple hacks, and it’s probably the same for you too. And these often go unsung because, well, they’re simple. But that doesn’t mean that something simple can’t be helpful. Case in point: [an ESP8266 press-buttons device]( that we featured this week. It doesn’t do much. It’s main feature is that it connects to a home automation network over WiFi and enables you to flip three relays. Wires coming off the board are to be soldered to the not-yet-smart device in question, simply connected to each side of the button you’d like to press. In the example, a coffee machine was turned on and the “go” button pressed, automating one of the most essential kitchen rituals. While recording the podcast, I realized that I’ve built essentially this device and have it controlling our house’s heating furnace. For the experienced hacker, there’s not much here. It’s a simple board design, the software heavily leverages [ESPHome]( so there’s not much work on that front either. But imagine that you lacked any of the wide-ranging skills that it takes to make such a device: PCB layout, ESP8266 software wrangling, or the nuances of designing with relays. You could just as easily build this device wrong as right. The startup costs are non-trivial. Making a simple design like this available to the public isn’t a technical flex, and it’s not contributing to the cutting edge. But it just might be giving someone their first taste of DIY home automation, and a sweet taste of success. There’s not much easier than finding a switch and soldering on two wires, but if that’s the spark that pushes them on their path to greater hacks, that’s awesome. And even if it doesn’t, at least it’s another appliance under user control, connected to a private WiFi network rather than spying you out and phoning home to Big Toaster. So here’s to the simple hacks! From the Blog --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Art And Science of Making Beautiful Transparent Ice]( By [Lewin Day]( Making crystal-clear ice is half science, half art. And now you want to. [Read more »]( [Dear Ubuntu…]( By [Jenny List]( Jenny's breakup letter with Ubuntu strikes a chord with our Linux-using readers. [Read more »]( [3D Model Subscriptions are Coming, But Who’s Buying?]( By [Tom Nardi]( Do you have a favorite 3D model designer? Would you be their patron? [Read more »]( [Hackaday Podcast]( [Hackaday Podcast 220: Transparent Ice, Fake Aliens, and Bendy Breadboards]( By [Hackaday Editors]( What happened last week on Hackaday? The Podcast will get you up to speed. [Read more »]( If You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [When The Professionals Trash Your Data Tape, Can It Still Be Recovered?]( [Glass Robot From a Solarpunk Future]( [Watch a Web Page Fetch Itself Over TLS, Complete With Commentary]( [Handheld PC Looks Great]( [Automatic Coin Sorter Brings Order to Your Coin Jar]( [Hackaday]( NEVER MISS A HACK [Share]( [Share]( [Share]( [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 preferences]( Hackaday.com · 61 S Fair Oaks Ave Ste 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105-2270 · USA