In-depth dive into the security features of the Intel/Windows platform secure boot process
https://igor-blue.github.io/2021/02/04/secure-boot.html [igor-blue.github.io]
2021-02-15 18:19
tags:
bios
cpu
hardware
security
systems
windows
This blog post is an in-depth dive into the security features of the Intel/Windows platform boot process. In this post I’ll explain the startup process through security focused lenses, next post we’ll dive into several known attacks and how there were handled by Intel and Microsoft. My wish is to explain to technology professionals not deep into platform security why Microsoft’s SecureCore is so important and necessary.
Not exclusive to Windows systems, lots of PC platform details.
source: grugq
Dr. Steve Gass, inventor of SawStop
https://www.machinepix.com/p/machinepix-weekly-30-dr-steve-gass [www.machinepix.com]
2021-02-10 22:59
tags:
hardware
interview
tech
This week’s interview features Dr. Steven Gass, the inventor of the SawStop—considered one of the best table saws (we love the one in our office!). SawStop has a unique safety feature that automatically brakes the blade if a finger touches it.
source: K
Achieving 11M IOPS & 66 GB/s IO on a Single ThreadRipper Workstation
https://tanelpoder.com/posts/11m-iops-with-10-ssds-on-amd-threadripper-pro-workstation/ [tanelpoder.com]
2021-01-30 09:08
tags:
hardware
investigation
linux
perf
storage
In this post I’ll explain how I configured my AMD ThreadRipper Pro workstation with 10 PCIe 4.0 SSDs to achieve 11M IOPS with 4kB random reads and 66 GiB/s throughput with larger IOs - and what bottlenecks & issues I fixed to get there. We’ll look into Linux block I/O internals and their interaction with modern hardware. We’ll use tools & techniques, old and new, for measuring bottlenecks - and other adventures in the kernel I/O stack.
source: HN
Dissecting the Apple M1 GPU
https://rosenzweig.io/blog/asahi-gpu-part-1.html [rosenzweig.io]
2021-01-22 18:59
tags:
graphics
hardware
investigation
mac
programming
series
systems
Apple’s latest line of Macs includes their in-house “M1” system-on-chip, featuring a custom GPU. This poses a problem for those of us in the Asahi Linux project who wish to run Linux on our devices, as this custom Apple GPU has neither public documentation nor open source drivers. Some speculate it might descend from PowerVR GPUs, as used in older iPhones, while others believe the GPU to be completely custom. But rumours and speculations are no fun when we can peek under the hood ourselves!
And part II where it really takes off: https://rosenzweig.io/blog/asahi-gpu-part-2.html
source: HN
Modern Retro Computer Terminals
https://uri.cat/projects/modern-retro-terminal/ [uri.cat]
2021-01-13 07:53
tags:
design
future
hardware
photos
retro
solder
The goal for this project is to design, 3D-print and assemble the enclosures for several small desktop computers.
source: jwz
This Tiny WiFi Camera Owns Kwikset SmartKey (LockTech LTKSD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGdsIrAjp3k [www.youtube.com]
2020-12-08 21:47
tags:
hardware
opsec
security
tech
video
Open a padlock (or probably any keyed lock) by taking a picture of the sliders inside, then cutting a key.
The video shows this in real time and is five minutes long. Open sesame!
Booting from a vinyl record
http://boginjr.com/it/sw/dev/vinyl-boot/ [boginjr.com]
2020-11-25 01:58
tags:
bios
hardware
retro
solder
So this nutty little experiment connects a PC, or an IBM PC to be exact, directly onto a record player through an amplifier. There is a small ROM boot loader that operates the built-in “cassette interface” of the PC (that was hardly ever used), invoked by the BIOS if all the other boot options fail, i.e. floppy disk and the hard drive. The turntable spins an analog recording of a small bootable read-only RAM drive, which is 64K in size. This contains a FreeDOS kernel, modified by me to cram it into the memory constraint, a micro variant of COMMAND.COM and a patched version of INTERLNK, that allows file transfer through a printer cable, modified to be runnable on FreeDOS. The bootloader reads the disk image from the audio recording through the cassette modem, loads it to memory and boots the system on it. Simple huh?
source: L
Inside the 8086 processor, tiny charge pumps create a negative voltage
http://www.righto.com/2020/07/inside-8086-processor-tiny-charge-pumps.html [www.righto.com]
2020-07-26 21:25
tags:
cpu
hardware
photos
retro
You might wonder how a charge pump can turn a positive voltage into a negative voltage. The trick is a “flying” capacitor, as shown below. On the left, the capacitor is charged to 5 volts. Now, disconnect the capacitor and connect the positive side to ground. The capacitor still has its 5-volt charge, so now the low side must be at -5 volts. By rapidly switching the capacitor between the two states, the charge pump produces a negative voltage.
Rainbow – an attempt to display colour on a B&W monitor
https://www.anfractuosity.com/projects/rainbow/ [www.anfractuosity.com]
2020-07-08 00:07
tags:
graphics
hardware
solder
The aim of this project was to display a colour image on a black and white monitor, by overlaying an acetate bayer filter over the monitor and mosaicing a colour image.
source: trivium
Die shrink: How Intel scaled down the 8086 processor
http://www.righto.com/2020/06/die-shrink-how-intel-scaled-down-8086.html [www.righto.com]
2020-07-01 02:23
tags:
cpu
hardware
photos
retro
The revolutionary Intel 8086 microprocessor was introduced 42 years ago this month so I’ve been studying its die. I came across two 8086 dies with different sizes, which reveal details of how a die shrink works. The concept of a die shrink is that as technology improved, a manufacturer could shrink the silicon die, reducing costs and improving performance. But there’s more to it than simply scaling down the whole die. Although the internal circuitry can be directly scaled down, external-facing features can’t shrink as easily. For instance, the bonding pads need a minimum size so wires can be attached, and the power-distribution traces must be large enough for the current. The result is that Intel scaled the interior of the 8086 without change, but the circuitry and pads around the edge of the chip were redesigned.
Classic ThinkPad Thermal Paste Change
https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2020/06/30/classic-thinkpad-thermal-paste-change/ [vermaden.wordpress.com]
2020-07-01 00:50
tags:
admin
hardware
solder
Those who know me know that I am a bit fan of the oldschool Lenovo ThinkPad laptops with real 7-row keyboards. I own several *20 models from 2011 including W520, T420s and X220 ones. They still rock when it comes to ‘laptop computing’ and they are dirt cheap on any auction platform. They only got one flaw … that thermal compound on CPU (and sometimes GPU) gets older a lot faster then these laptops.
source: vermaden
Reverse-engineering and comparing two Game Boy audio amplifier chips
http://www.righto.com/2020/06/reverse-engineering-and-comparing-two.html [www.righto.com]
2020-06-22 02:05
tags:
audio
gaming
hardware
The Nintendo Game Boy contains an audio amplifier chip for sound through a speaker or headphones. In this post, I reverse-engineer this chip and compare it with the later Game Boy Color chip (reverse-engineered earlier). Unexpectedly the Game Boy Color uses an entirely different amplifier design from the original Game Boy, which may explain why the two systems sound different.
Power Outage
https://tedium.co/2020/06/16/apple-powerpc-intel-transition-history/ [tedium.co]
2020-06-17 21:22
tags:
business
hardware
mac
retro
Perhaps the highly anticipated moment that I’m going to contextualize today is totally inevitable, in a way. For years, there’s been a rumbling that Apple would take its knowledge of the ARM processor architecture and bring it to its desktop and laptop computers. Next week, at a virtual Worldwide Developers Conference, the iPhone giant is expected to do just that. Of course, many will focus on the failed partner, the jilted lover of the business relationship that led to Apple’s move to vertically integrate: Intel. But I’m interested in the demise of the platform Intel vanquished on its way to taking over Apple—and the parallels that have emerged between PowerPC and Intel over time. Today’s Tedium dives into Apple’s long list of jilted processor partners, leaning closely on the shift from PowerPC to Intel. Keep Apple happy, or else.
GE Filtergate
https://gefiltergate.com/ [gefiltergate.com]
2020-06-11 17:35
tags:
business
food
hardware
ioshit
ux
Greetings and salutations internet person! Have you ever pissed off a customer so much they bought a domain and stood up a website to shit on your asinine and boneheaded business practices? GE just did.
I just wanted a tall, cold, refreshing glass of water at 3am only to be greeted by a fucking atomic countdown on my trusty cold water and ice dispensing pal.
source: L
Pictures from inside the German intelligence agency BND
https://www.electrospaces.net/2014/05/pictures-from-inside-german.html [www.electrospaces.net]
2020-05-24 18:25
tags:
hardware
history
opsec
photos
The German foreign intelligence service Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) is moving to a brand new headquarters in Berlin. Here we show some unique pictures from inside the former headquarters in the village of Pullach and also give an impression of what the new building looks like.
source: grugq
Wheelhouse
https://wheelhouse.substack.com/ [wheelhouse.substack.com]
2020-05-20 21:58
tags:
hardware
links
solder
Wheelhouse is a newsletter for makers that covers new materials, techniques, and tools.
(You can read on the web without subscribing.)
ZFS versus RAID: Eight Ironwolf disks, two filesystems, one winner
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/05/zfs-versus-raid-eight-ironwolf-disks-two-filesystems-one-winner/ [arstechnica.com]
2020-05-18 19:32
tags:
admin
benchmark
filesystem
hardware
storage
We exhaustively tested ZFS and RAID performance on our Storage Hot Rod server.
source: ars
Extracting ROM constants from the 8087 math coprocessor's die
http://www.righto.com/2020/05/extracting-rom-constants-from-8087-math.html [www.righto.com]
2020-05-17 23:20
tags:
hardware
math
photos
retro
I opened up an 8087 chip and took photos with a microscope. The photo below shows the chip’s tiny silicon die. Around the edges of the chip, tiny bond wires connect the chip to the 40 external pins. The labels show the main functional blocks, based on my reverse engineering. By examining the chip closely, various constants can be read out of the chip’s ROM, numbers such as pi that the chip uses in its calculations.
A Codebreaker's Dream: The Bombe!
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2013/11/a-codebreakers-dream-bombe.html [www.darkroastedblend.com]
2020-05-17 03:28
tags:
crypto
hardware
history
photos
retro
What is this, sporting dozens of colorful knobs, almost like a “turn-the-knob” toddler’s game at a playground in a nearest mall? This the awesome British Bombe electro-mechanical codebreaking machine which only had one purpose: to determine the rotor settings on the German cipher machine “ENIGMA” during WW2.
Great collection.
source: grugq
OpenBSD on the Microsoft Surface Go 2
https://jcs.org/2020/05/15/surface_go2 [jcs.org]
2020-05-15 14:51
tags:
hardware
openbsd
I used OpenBSD on the original Surface Go back in 2018 and many things worked with the big exception of the internal Atheros WiFi. This meant I had to keep it tethered to a USB-C dock for Ethernet or use a small USB-A WiFi dongle plugged into a less-than-small USB-A-to-USB-C adapter. Microsoft has switched to Intel WiFi chips on their recent Surface devices, making the Surface Go 2 slightly more compatible with OpenBSD.
source: L