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AddOhms #15: Pull-Up Resistors (and buttons)

The latest AddOhms looks at why you need a pull-up resistor when using push-buttons. This video goes into what happens when you leave a pin floating, what a floating pin means, and how the pull-up works. You can get more information about the video on the AddOhms Episode page.

[shareable]Pull-Up Resistors can be a difficult topic to understand. That’s why I made this video.[/shareable]

This tutorial is the 2nd time I’ve made a video on pull-ups. Despite being a single resistor, it can be a difficult topic for new hardware designers to understand. The pull-up video was the first video tutorial I ever made. In fact, the YouTube version uses YouTube’s “stabilization” algorithm, which gives the video a very warped feel.

AddOhms #15 shows improvements in skill over the past couple of years!

What’s another topic that I need to cover in an AddOhms Tutorial?
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Around The Web

The Bernoulli Box – Where Physics Met Storage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpqiahBKX7w

Back in the 1990s, a 1.44mb floppy disk was a reasonable storage size for most documents.  For bigger documents or backing up an internal hard drive, other options were necessary. You might remember the Zip Drive, but that wasn’t the first large portable media.

The Bernoulli Box was the precursor to the Zip Drive. It used custom media that could store 10s to 100mbs on portable disks. Well, portable compared to carrying around an entire hard drive. Operating using the Bernoulli principal, the drive’s head never comes in contact with the “floppy” material inside the protective case.

Clint of Lazy Game Reviews takes a look at this cool forgotten drive technology in this video.

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Around The Web

Machine Learning with Super Mario Brothers

Using a learning algorithm known as NEAT, this Super Mario World play through is an example of a machine learning how to beat the level on its own. Using an evolutionary process, a neural network was built–or learned–to complete the level. The name of the program used to control Mario is called… Mar-I/O.

  • N: Neuro
  • E: Evolution of
  • A: Augmenting
  • T: Topologies

The initial play through is fascinating as well as the breakdown of what is going on. Well worth the 5 minutes.

[Update… Ryan in the comments provided this MarI/O version modified to factor in score.]

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Around The Web

Apple ][ Watch and It is Real

Today “regular” people will start receiving their pre-ordered Apple Watch. Whether they spent $350 or over $10,000 dollars, they’ll now have a device that connects to their iPhone and tells time. Like their iPhone does. But with Bluetooth!

What if you don’t want an Apple watch, but want to celebrate a real computing achievement? Check out this video on an Apple ][ watch. Oh and it is real.

That’s right, this isn’t just some clever movie-magic hoax. Following this Instructable, you can build your own Apple ][ Watch.

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AddOhms

An Open Letter to Arduino LLC and Arduino SRL #OneArduino

Most of the major electronic blogs have covered the controversy between Arduino LLC and Arduino SRL. My first deep look into it was from Hackaday’s Arduino v. Arduino. Since it has been covered so well by others, I won’t re-hash the already known facts.

If you want to join in giving feedback to these companies, please tag your posts, tweets, and content with “#OneArduino“.

Click to keep reading and see the letter.

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