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Caveats apply, but when it works, it works really well. On a good day, iOS apps can be debugged on an ARM Mac painlessly. The secret sauce is PlayCover , which is a free, open-source tool that convinces ARM Macs to run iOS apps. PlayCover takes in decrypted iOS applications, sets up an iPad-like environment for them, and then gets MacOS to run them. AppleSilicon Macs can actually run some iOS…
I still find it unreal that 10Gbps internet access at a reasonable rate is a thing, but here we are! It’s been a year since I switched up to a 10Gbps broadband line from ViewQwest (“VQ”). They’re not bad, but have some unironed wrinkles. Here’s my experience with them. In brief For most folks: VQ prices are reasonable, but intentionally misleading For day to day use,…
I recently bought this “Yinren R108” keyboard off Taobao and there’s a lot to like about it. It’s a simple 108-key keyboard with preinstalled hot-swappable Peach V3 switches, and is well priced at about S$88 (~US$70). It doesn’t come with any vendor branding, has legends on the side of its PBT keycaps, and uses USB-C. The switches sit on a steel plate so the keyboard has some heft and is sturdy.…
Aruba 3810M, connected with two direct-attach cables. Both port status LEDs are green. SFP+ transceivers that claimed to be HPE Aruba compatible were getting rejected by my 3810M switch because of their proprietary authentication system, even when it is supposed to be disabled. I found a hack that made them work again by patching a byte in the transceiver EEPROM. Straight to the point: Configure…
Ever had the problem where you are watching a series, and had to skip past the intro of episode way too many times? Usually I would drag the video scrubber forwards, wiggle it a bit until it settles at the perfect spot. Surely there has to be a better way to do this!
Due to the current pandemic, passport renewal arrangements are trickier; The Malaysian High Commission here no longer accepts walk-in passport renewals, and requires applicants to use the web system. Here are some workarounds for some technical hurdles that I encountered while helping a Malaysian (working in Singapore) to complete her passport renewal. When asking for advice, some MY folks here…
Please note: some GIF images will flash briefly . I programmed this Gameboy (cartridge) to control my air-conditioner! Last year, I was lucky enough to be gifted a Gameboy Color in great shape. Apart from its intended gameplay features, I also wanted to try and build something meaningful with it, so I made this application to control my air-conditioner over its existing, reverse-engineered…
Proxmark3 is an open-source RFID swiss-knife which can be used to sniff, duplicate and emulate different cards on both high frequency (13.56MHz) and low frequency (~125KHz). The project consists of three significant parts: Client software running on a computer to handle heavier calculations, storage, and communicate with the device firmware Device firmware that runs on the AT91SAM7. Also includes…
Previously, I could not use ofo’s app due to their rather aggressive jailbreak detection. While in Shenzhen, I could not use ofo’s bike-sharing app as they presumed my iPhone to be jailbroken. The app was not strictly wrong - my iPhone once used a non-persistent tethered jailbreak . However, the iPhone’s bootchain integrity was restored after rebooting, and only Apple-approved…
Circles.Life launched a head-turning “Flexi $0 plan” that claims that there’s no catch. However, my initial experience with them did bring up some peculiarities: There’s a hidden S$6 registration fee “Flexi” $0 plan is hidden during registration Contradicting information about their iOS/Android CirclesCare app
Accessing a PE’s function via Python! There may be occasions where a PE binary contains helpful functions that could be reused elsewhere. If the function’s implementation is not critical, it may be possible to rip the code out as-is. The function will then be used as a black box where input data is processed and returned as an output without knowledge of its internal workings. There…
Meet the Instax-Paxina, with a 75mm, f/3.5 lens! The idea of an “instant film back” for large format cameras has been explored before , but I thought it would be exciting to try the opposite - to mount a medium format lens and shutter onto an Instax instead. The process would (ideally) involve removing only the optical elements and the shutter from the Instax, while preserving the rest…
Finding the UART on a Broadcom device usually enables access to its CFE, and consequently access to the device’s flash memory In the past, device firmware files were typically made available to users by their respective manufacturers. A recent trend has emerged where ISPs are completely managing their consumer premise equipments, including provisioning and firmware updates. As such, publicly…
There are only two hard parts about IC decapsulation: obtaining a usable acid and doing it safely. Recently, I ordered some exotic integrated circuits which were only available in China via Taobao . Obtaining ICs from China is a hit-or-miss process, as the products may be new (ideal), used (still okay), “compatible” (barely usable), or fake (unusable). Chip packaging and die markings…
This was designed and processed in the comfort of home! Hopefully this technique may enable more people to improve accessibility for the visually impaired. A while ago, I passed some damaged Braille signs and felt that repairing them may be difficult or infeasible. It led me to wonder about how one could go about building a Braille signage. Typical commercial approaches involve: Accurately…
TL;DR: Attach the US$26 Fujian CCTV lens on the Yi Camera to achieve a lovely depth effect. More photos below The depth effects on modern phone cameras are attractive especially in portraiture, but are only available on select high-end models which usually costs a pretty penny. Furthermore, this effect is generated by interpolating the image data of two cameras with different focal lengths, and…
Shiny.. A while ago, I chanced upon a satirical “boy scout badge” featuring the text “Centered vertically in CSS” by @mrgan . I had little experience with fabric, but building a lapel out of PCB seemed like something that might just work. PCBs are typically built with extremely high tolerances for its copper and mask layers and still acceptably accurate for the silkscreen.…
MacsFanControl is this utility that enables manual controls for my Macbook’s fans on Windows. Recently, I had the unpleasant chance to interact with their update mechanism. The update prompt must be acknowledged, and there is user-configurable option to disable or ignore the updates. Considering the app works just fine as it is, along with the fact that future updates will still have this…
Note: this is a recollection of my memory (and source files) from about 2 years ago How would I go about changing the MAC address (permanently) on this AX88179 USB 3.0 device without breaking it open? I found myself with an unusual challenge - the MAC address of many networking devices, if not already burnt into One-Time Programmable memory, could possibly be stored in an external (rewritable)…
Wireless doorbell being triggered. No, it’s not someone else’s :^) Fixed-code wireless systems are not unlike having someone shout a specific password to open a door (or anything else) with a certain pitch and speed, except that this occurs in the electromagnetic domain instead of moving air. This can be best described as “security-by-obscurity”, or, hoping that others are…
NDP 2019: My friend Kheng Meng has already documented about the 2019 edition, even before the official event. Check it out ! The NDP 2016 Pixmob band - thousands mesmerized, documented by many , but still not hacked to run custom code. This (fairly lengthy) post documents how I learnt about the ISP protocol, built a board to implement it and integrated it with the Arduino IDE. The Pixmob band…
Purchasing a replacement battery for an iPhone (5S) from typical Chinese sources yield fantastic prices, but they rarely match up with their advertised capacity. What’s in an iPhone battery? Above: What sellers describe as an “OEM” battery. I’ve removed the tape off the battery controller. It is difficult to discern between this and the “Apple Original” battery.…