While it has become a word, laser used to be an acronym: “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. But there is an even older technology called a maser, which …read more (https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/the-amazing-maser/)

Wikipedia as a Storage Medium
https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/wikipedia-as-a-storage-medium/

We know that while the cost per byte of persistent storage has dropped hugely over the years, it’s still a pain to fork out for a new disk drive. This …read more (https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/wikipedia-as-a-storage-medium/)

The Fancy Payment Cards of Taiwan
https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/the-fancy-payment-cards-of-taiwan/

If you’re an old-schooler, you might still go to the local bar and pay for a beer with cash. You could even try and pay with a cheque, though the …read more (https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/the-fancy-payment-cards-of-taiwan/)

FLOSS Weekly Episode 862: Have Your CAKE and Eat It Too
https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/floss-weekly-episode-862-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too/

This week Jonathan chats with Toke Hoiland-Jorgensen about CAKE_MQ, the newest Kernel innovation to combat Bufferbloat! What was the realization that made CAKE parallelization? When can we expect it in …read more (https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/floss-weekly-episode-862-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too/)

Using 3D Printing and Copper Tape to Make PCBs
https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/using-3d-printing-and-copper-tape-to-make-pcbs/

In a recent video [QWZ Labs] demonstrates an interesting technique to use 3D printing to make creating custom PCBs rather straightforward even if all you have is a 3D printer …read more (https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/using-3d-printing-and-copper-tape-to-make-pcbs/)

Light Following Robot Does It The Analog Way
https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/light-following-robot-does-it-the-analog-way/

If you wanted to build a robot that chased light, you might start thinking about Raspberry Pis, cameras, and off-the-shelf computer vision systems. However, it needn’t be so complex. [Ed] …read more (https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/light-following-robot-does-it-the-analog-way/)

X-Cube Prism Becomes Dichoric Disco Ball
https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/x-cube-prism-becomes-dichoric-disco-ball/

You’ve likely seen an X-cube, a dichoric prism used to split light into its constituent colours–you know, those fun little cubes you get when tearing apart a broken projector. Have …read more (https://hackaday.com/2026/01/28/x-cube-prism-becomes-dichoric-disco-ball/)