Author: Geek Planet

Engineers need to know physics in order to build things. The history of time keeping is called horology. Time keeping became more accurate over the years. A big breakthrough was pendulum clocks invented in the mid seventeenth century by Christiaan Huygens. His invention dramatically improved accuracy, reducing daily errors to under a minute.  Early longcase clocks are known today as grandfather clocks. The popular term “grandfather clock” comes from the 1876 song My Grandfather’s Clock by Henry Clay Work. The song, about a clock that “stopped, short, never to go again when the old man died,” was a big hit.      The grandfather clock uses a pendulum to keep time.  With this background, here’s this week’s Micro Softy.   Burt’s grandfather’s clock was running too…

Most Mac users see Apple Preview as only an app to view images, PDFs, and other documents. That’s it. If that sounds like you, you are leaving a lot on the table, because Preview has quietly grown into one of the most capable apps on macOS, and it’s available for free. I use the app daily to edit images, markup and sign PDFs, redact information, and so much more. So let me walk you through seven things you probably didn’t know Apple Preview could handle. You can rearrange, combine, and pull out PDF pages If you regularly work with PDFs,…

Amazon just rolled out its most significant visual search update with a bunch of new features across its shopping app, covering everything from how you search to how you browse results. Every new visual search feature Amazon just added to its shopping app The search bar on Amazon app now generates AI product images in real time as you type, giving you a visual shorthand for products you cannot quite describe in words. Amazon Lens has also arrived on the iPhone lock screen with a dedicated widget, letting you search for anything you spot in the real world without opening…

At first glance, it looks like a regular USB cable. But a new Kickstarter project called Hacknect is trying to turn something as ordinary as a charging cable into a surprisingly powerful hacking and automation device. The product is being pitched toward ethical hackers, cybersecurity researchers, developers, and automation enthusiasts. Hidden inside the cable is a tiny Wi-Fi-enabled computer powered by an ESP32-S3 chip, allowing it to do far more than simply charge a phone or transfer files. According to the Kickstarter campaign, Hacknect can remotely execute scripts, automate tasks, emulate keyboard inputs, and even store hidden files through a…

Missed calls from unknown numbers used to be easy to ignore, but now they’re harder, especially since scammers spoof real local numbers and clone familiar voices with AI. Malwarebytes has launched a direct answer to that problem. A free, standalone reverse phone lookup tool that tells you whether a number is safe, suspicious, or a known scam, so that you don’t call it back unnecessarily. It’s called Scam Number Check and it is available now at malwarebytes.com/scam-check/phone. The best part is that you don’t need an account or subscription to access it.  How does Scam Number Check actually work? Simply…

Helios is a new four-armed robot from Zurich-based Orbit Robotics, and at first glance, it reminded me of Goro from Mortal Kombat. But unlike the prince from Outworld, Helios is not built for combat. It is designed to help astronauts on space stations with the repetitive, time-consuming work that keeps life in space running. Orbit Robotics says that in microgravity, legs are not much help. Instead of walking or standing, Helios needs to move through tight station interiors, hold itself steady, and handle cargo, tools, or equipment. Its four-arm design turns extra limbs into both mobility aids and working hands.…

The Pixel 11 series isn’t due until August, but a steady stream of leaks has already revealed details ranging from design to specs across all four upcoming devices. The latest addition gives us a look at the wallpapers Google may ship with the lineup, and they offer a strong hint at the color options likely at launch. A toned-down palette across the board Mystic Leaks on Telegram (via 9to5Google) has shared the full wallpaper library for every model in the Pixel 11 lineup ahead of the phones’ expected August launch. According to the leak, the base Pixel 11 will get…

After months of painfully expensive RAM and SSD prices, the memory market may finally be showing signs of pressure from an unexpected direction: China. New reports suggest that Chinese memory manufacturers are rapidly expanding production of DRAM and NAND chips, and that major hardware brands are starting to take notice. The most notable example so far is Corsair, which has reportedly tested DDR5 memory modules using chips from Chinese DRAM giant ChangXin Memory Technologies, better known as CXMT. This feels inevitable. Memory prices have remained frustratingly high across PCs, laptops, and storage devices for months. So when Chinese suppliers began…

Modern gaming laptops have largely drifted toward two extremes lately: massive 16-inch and 18-inch desktop replacements, or ultra-compact 14-inch machines that still feel slightly cramped for serious gaming sessions. That’s exactly why HP’s new HyperX Omen 15 feels refreshing, because it brings back the familiar 15-inch gaming laptop formula with a chassis that still feels portable without sacrificing proper gaming hardware underneath. HP’s compact HyperX Omen 15 packs RTX 5070 graphics with AMD and Intel options The new HyperX Omen 15 comes with either Intel Core Ultra 7 356H and Core Ultra 9 386H processors or AMD Ryzen 7 8745HX…

Apple Music has spent years proudly standing apart from Spotify and other streaming rivals by refusing to offer a free listening tier. That stance may not change just yet, but a newly discovered clue suggests Apple could be experimenting with different subscription tiers for its music service. The discovery comes from developer Aaron Perris, who spotted new strings inside the beta version of Apple Music for Android. Among them are references to “premium access” and an error message that appears after a user reaches a track-skipping limit. On their own, the strings don’t tell us much. However, they paint an…