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Smartphones can substitute for dedicated bike computers, with caveats

Cyclists can use smartphones with mounts and apps like Google Maps, Komoot, or Ride with GPS for navigation and GPS ride tracking instead of buying a dedicated bike computer. An older phone can be repurposed as a bike computer by loading routes over Wi-Fi, since offline navigation and GPS recording don't require a SIM card, while a smartwatch can supplement the setup by tracking heart rate and fitness data.

Guide details methods for converting an old MacBook into a NAS server

A tutorial outlines how to repurpose an old MacBook as a home Network Attached Storage device, ranging from simple macOS sharing features to more advanced Linux-based setups. It recommends resetting the Mac to factory settings, updating to the most stable macOS version, using external drives for storage, and connecting via Ethernet for reliability. For Intel Macs with HDMI output, a headless display plug and the free Amphetamine app are suggested to keep the GPU active and prevent sleep.

Goodwill runs its own e-waste recycling pipeline for donated electronics

Goodwill accepts a wide range of used electronics at its donation centers and routes them through internal programs designed to keep them out of landfills rather than being sold or scrapped haphazardly. The nonprofit's process reflects the absence of any federal e-waste recycling framework in the United States, filling a gap left by national policy. The UN reports global e-waste generation reached 32 billion kilograms in 2022, an 82 percent rise since 2010.

Developer builds simulator explaining the 'lunar terminator paradox'

A programmer created a visualization tool to explain why the moon's illuminated side can appear to point upward after sunset, contrary to the naive expectation that it should point down toward the sun. Using the program, they found that when the moon is high in the sky rather than at the horizon, an observer looks at it from below, causing the dark portion to appear as a slice missing from the bottom rather than the whole underside. The effect is most visible with a nearly full moon and produces no visible paradox with a half-moon.

Engineer uses Google's OR-Tools CP-SAT solver to crack 3D-printed corn puzzle

An engineer at Recurse Center tried to solve a 3D-printed physical puzzle where corn-kernel-shaped pieces must slide into a grooved cob without gaps or overlaps. After manually attempting it, they asked Claude to write a solving script, which required some back-and-forth to correct piece shapes via computer vision. Rather than implementing recursive backtracking as expected, Claude's script imported Google's OR-Tools CP-SAT constraint solver library to find a solution.

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