#Equipment Controller/GUI software

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Brother makes a demon-haunted printer

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in RICHMOND TOMORROW (Mar 5) and in AUSTIN> on Mar 10. More tour dates here. Mail-order signed copies from LA's Diesel Books.

You guys, I don't want to bum you out or anything, but I think there's a good chance than some self-described capitalists aren't really into capitalism.

Sorry.

Take incentives: Charlie Munger, capitalism's quippiest pitchman, famously said, "Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome." And here's some mindblowing horseshoe theory for ya: Munger agrees with the noted Communist agitator Adam Smith, whose anti-rentier, pro-government-regulation jeremiad "The Wealth of Nations" contains this notorious passage:

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantages.

Incentives matter – if you design a system that permits abuse, you should expect abuse. Now, I'm not 100% on board with this: every one of us has ways to undetectably cheat the system and enrich ourselves, but most of the time, most of us play by the rules.

But it's different for corporations: the myth of "shareholder supremacy" has reached pandemic levels among the artificial lifeforms we call corporate persons, and it's impossible to rise through the corporate ranks without repeating and believing the catechism that there is a law that requires executives to lie, cheat and steal if it results in an extra dollar for the investors, in the name of "fiduciary duty":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/18/falsifiability/#figleaves-not-rubrics

And this attitude has leaked out into politics and everyday life, so that many of our neighbors have been brainwashed into thinking that a successful cheat is a success in life, that pulling a fast one "makes you smart":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/04/its-not-a-lie/#its-a-premature-truth

In a world dominated by a belief in the moral virtue and legal necessity of ripping off anyone you can get away with cheating, then, sure, any system that permits cheating is a system in which cheating will occur.

This shouldn't be controversial, but if so, how are we to explain the whole concept of the Internet of Things? Installing networked computers into our appliances, office equipment, vehicles and homes is an invitation of mischief: the software in those computers can be remotely altered after you purchase them, taking away the features you paid for and then selling them back to you.

Now, an advocate for market-based solutions has a ready-made response to this: if a company downgrades a device you own, this merely invites another company to step in with a disenshittifying plug-in that makes things better. If the company that made your garage-door opener pushes an over-the-air update that blocks you from using an ad-free, well-designed app and forces you to use an enshittified app that forces you to look at ads before you can open the garage, well, that's an opportunity for a rival company to sell you a better software update for your garage-door opener, one that restores the lost functionality:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

I'm no hayekpilled market truefan, but I'm pretty sure that would work.

However.

The problem is that since 1998, that kind of reverse-engineering has been a felony under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which bans bypassing "an effective access control"

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

There's a pretty obvious incentive at play when companies have the ability to unilaterally alter how their products work after you buy them and you are legally prohibited to change how the product works after you buy them. This is the first lesson of the Darth Vader MBA: "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/26/hit-with-a-brick/#graceful-failure

I've been banging this drum for decades now – like when I got into a public (friendly) spat with the editor of Wired magazine over their reviews of DRM-based media devices. I argued that it was irresponsible to review a device that could be unilaterally downgraded by the manufacturer at any time, without – at a minimum – noting that the feature you're buying the gadget for might disappear without warning after you've shelled out your hard-earned money:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/03/painful-burning-dribble/#law-of-intended-consequences

Of course, companies that get a reputation for these kinds of shenanigans might lose market share to better competitors. Sure, if the company that made your phone or your thermostat or your insulin pump reached into it across the internet and made it worse, you're shit out of luck when it comes to that device. But you can buy your next device from a better company, right?

Well, sure – in a competitive market, that's a plausible theory of "market discipline." Companies that fear losing business to rivals might behave themselves better.

In theory.

But in practice, the world's "advanced economies" have spent the past 40 years running an uncontrolled experiment in what happens if you don't enforce competition law, and instead allow companies to buy all their competitors. The result is across-the-board industrial oligopolies, cartels, duopolies and monopolies in nearly every category of good and service:

https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/learn/monopoly-by-the-numbers

Now, even a duopoly has some competition. If you don't like Coke, there's always Pepsi. But again, in practice, companies in concentrated industries find it easy to "tacitly collude" to adopt one another's worst habits – the differences between the outrageous payment processing charged by Apple's App Store and the junk fees charged by Google Play are about as meaningful as the differences between Coke and Pepsi.

Which brings me to printers.

I know.

Ugh.

Printers are the worst and HP is the worst of the worst. For years, HP has been abusing its market dominance – and its customers' wallets – by inflating the price of ink and rolling out countermeasures to prevent you from refilling your old cartridges or buying third-party ink. Worse, HP have mastered the Darth Vader MBA, bushing updates to its printers that sneakily downgrade them after you've bought them and taken them home.

Here's a sneaky trick HP came up with: they send a "security update" to your printer. After you click "OK," a little progress bar zips across the screen and the printer reboots itself, and then…nothing. The printer declares itself to be "up to date" and works exactly like it did before you installed the update. But inside the printer, a countdown timer has kicked off, and then, months later, the "security update" activates itself, like a software Manchurian Candidate.

Because that "security update" protects the security of HP, against HP customers. It is designed to detect and reject the very latest third-party ink cartridges, which means that if you've just bought a year's worth of ink at Costco, you might wake up the next day and discover that your printer will no longer accept them – because of an update you ran six months before.

Why does HP put such a long fuse on its logic bomb? For the same reason that viruses like covid evolve to be contagious before you show symptoms. If the update immediately broke compatibility with third party ink, word would spread, and some HP customers would turn off their printers' wifi before the "security update" could be applied to them.

By asymptomatically incubating the infection over a long, patient timescale, HP maximizes the spread of the contagion, guaranteeing a global pandemic of enshittiification:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

HP has done this – and worse – over and over, and every time I write about it, people pop up to recommend their Brother printers as the enshittification-free alternative. I own a Brother, an HL3170-CDW laser printer that's basically indestructible, cheerfully accepts third-party toner, and costs almost nothing to run.

But I still don't connect it to my wifi. The idea that Brother is a better company than HP – that is possesses some intrinsic antienshittificatory virtue – has always struck me as a foolish belief. Brother has means, motive and opportunity to push over-the-air downgrades to block third-party ink as HP.

Which is exactly what they've done.

Yesterday, Louis Rossman, hero of the Right to Repair movement, revealed that Brother had just pushed a mandatory over-the-air update that locks out third-party ink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpHX_9fHNqE

Rossman has a thorough technical breakdown of the heist, but it boils down to this. Brother is just as shit as HP. Look from the men to the pigs and the pigs to the men all you want – you will never spot the difference. Take the Pepsi Challenge – bet you won't be able to guess which is which:

https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Brother_ink_lockout_%26_quality_sabotage

This was the absolutely predictable outcome of the regulatory incentives our corporate overlords created, the enormous, far-reaching power we handed to these corporations. With that great power came no responsibility:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/26/ursula-franklin/#franklinite

Filling our devices with computers that run programs that can be changed in secret, that we're not allowed to inspect or alter? It's a recipe for a demon-haunted world, where the devices we entrust with our livelihood, our privacy and our wellbeing are possessed by hellions who escape from the digital Tartarus and are unleashed upon humanity.

Demons have possessed the Internet of Things. It's in Teslas:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

and in every other car, too:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

Our devices – phones, pacemakers, appliances and home security systems – are designed to prevent us to find out what they're doing. That means that when malicious software infects them, then – by design – these devices prevent us from knowing about it or doing anything about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/18/descartes-delenda-est/#self-destruct-sequence-initiated

This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/05/printers-devil/#show-me-the-incentives-i-will-show-you-the-outcome

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Season 1 Episode 10: Too Much Game

pairing: Ray Manchester/f!reader

summary: A new student, Shawn, takes Henry's spot on the basketball team, but Henry suspects he may be older than he claims; Captain Man needs the help of an old friend.

rating: F - canon divergence, mutual pining, slow burn, friends to lovers, idiots in love, reader insert, very slight adult themes, jealousy

word count: 7k

Thank you for reading! I (respectfully) yearn for likes, comments, and reblogs. Click for vibes

Last Chapter - Next Chapter - Season 1 Masterlist - Masterlist

~The Man Cave~

Down in the Man Cave, Charlotte and (y/n) were struggling with the headquarter's failing equipment. The supercomputer, snack machine, tubes, the sofa: you name it, sure enough, it was on the blink.

Charlotte furiously tapped the buttons on the computer, but it was unresponsive, causing the young woman next to her to hit the control panel in frustration.

"Gooch? Hey! Gooch, are you there?" They were trying to get contact with the store above their heads, but so far they were unsuccessful.

"Stupid thing!" (y/n) kicked it for good measure.

"Mama." A baby doll came on the screen.

"Okay, that's not Gooch. Ugh, what is wrong with this thing?" Charlotte asked her.

"I don't know! I can do some of the repairs, but I can't work out what's wrong because of all the circuit boards and software in this heap of junk." (y/n) pressed the resignal button, hoping it would fix the fuzzy screen

"Gooch!" They finally managed to get some patchy images.

"Go for Gooch!" Charlotte asked him as his voice crackled from the interference.

"Where are Henry and Ray?" (y/n) questioned, wondering what was taking the superheroes so long.

"There was an emergency at the Swellview mall," Gooch told her.

"I know that!" She pinched her eyes in exasperation.

"Oooh, what happened?" Charlotte hadn't been down in the Man Cave for very long and wanted to know what was going down.

"Santa Claus was running around without his red pants," Gooch reported, confusing the girl.

"But it's not even Christmas." She looked at (y/n).

"Weird, right?" She was interrupted by the auto-snacker processing another order that they hadn't asked for.

"Your hot dog is ready." The A.I said.

"We don't want a freakin' hot dog!" (y/n) yelled at the thing, walking over to the thing and pressing a few buttons to cancel the food.

"You ordered a hot dog?" Gooch asked, not hearing some of their words over the bad connection.

"No. The snack machine is still broken and acting all crazy." Charlotte explained to him as (y/n) peered through the food window.

"R--repeat, y--ou'--re b-break--ing up," Gooch said in a distorted voice, the connection then breaking again. 

"Gooch!" Charlotte tried to fix it again, revealing that Ray and Henry were back. Only, one tube came down with Ray, but there was no sign of Henry.

"Hey, guys." He greeted them in a tired voice.

"Hi, those Santa's pants?" (y/n) walked up behind Charlotte.

"Yeah." He replied, his voice telling her that the mission was more trouble than it was worth.

"So, where's Henry?" Charlotte piped up.

"He's right-- huh, that's weird." Ray thought the teen was right behind him, so he looked up the tube to see where he was.

"Henry? Come down." He yelled.

"I can't my tube isn't working." The boy's voice echoed down the shaft.

"Not another malfunction." (y/n) scrubbed her palm against her face. The faulty tube meant there was another problem in the cave that she had no idea how to fix, and she was supposed to keep the place under control and ready for action.

"Okay, hang on." Ray took out his remote laser and tried to manually tried to bring down the tube. It came down halfway before an error noise sounded and the tube retracted. Ray kept pressing it, hoping that it would work eventually.

"Do that and it'll break completely. And then I'll break your face." (y/n) looked at him with her arms folded, but her threat was empty as trying to break the man's face would actually break her fist.

"Ray?" Henry called out, wondering what was going on.

"Yeah?" 

"If you keep doing that, I'm gonna vomit," Henry warned him and the woman smirked at Ray.

"Ha, and you're standing under the tube." And the man quickly stepped out from any falling puke.

"Your hot dog is ready." The snack machine said again, this time revealing a terrified Chihuahua.

"Aw, puppy!" (y/n) couldn't help but say. She didn't even know the machine could do that.

"What the..." Charlotte looked at her boss with a puzzled face.

"(y/n), what have I said? We can't have pets in the Man Cave." Ray assumed that his friend had tried to sneak the dog into their lives.

"He's not mine!" She said in an offended tone. She knew that buying a pet without getting his agreement would be rude and irresponsible, two things that she rarely was.

"That's our lunch that we did not order!" Charlotte stressed, the glitches around the room freaking her out.

"Argh, I thought we fixed that thing. Why does it keep--" Ray tried to use his controller to stop the auto-snacker, but then the couch started to spin around.

"Now, why is that spinning?" Charlotte asked as he and his best friend groaned.

"Because everything in here is a piece of crap!" The stress was getting to (y/n), and she was losing her cool.

"We gotta find a good repairman!" Ray told her, pressing his controller repeatedly, and the sprocket started playing up.

"Not the sprocket, too." He whined, throwing the Santa pants to the couch.

"Gooch!" The screen showed the Indian man with a patchy signal.

"Go for Gooch."

"Just get your toolbox down here and come help (y/n). We got a lot of stuff to fix." Ray tried to tell him, but the woman just growled in annoyance.

"Ray, you know there is only one repairman who can fix things down there," Gooch said, not naming any names.

"I'm not calling him!" Ray muttered back, the memory of the man making him angry.

"We need him, get on the damn phone!" (y/n) shook his shoulders, but he grabbed her wrists and looked into her eyes.

"No, we don't need him, and I will not let him back in our Man Cave!" He said sternly, but she didn't miss the way he said "our Man Cave". That had never been said before.

"I can't fix this stuff!" She tried to reason with him, but he just reached over to turn off the screen.

"Bye!" He said to Gooch.

"Don't you press that but--" Gooch and (y/n) said, not finished with the conversation, but it was too late.

"Who were you talking about?" Charlotte asked as the woman plopped down on Ray's knee in annoyance, his hand resting on her back to steady her.

"Schwoz." Ray spat out the name.

"What's a Schwoz?" Charlotte had never heard of a name like that.

"This guy that used to work with him. He built most of this place, all this cool stuff. He developed the technology we use, built all the weapons and devices. I'm telling you, he's a genius!" (y/n) told her about the man. He had been a good friend to her and was the only one she had properly told about how she felt about Ray. He had been sworn to secrecy and kept silent even when he and Ray fell out.

"Yeah, he's a genius." Ray mocked her, not liking how she was going on about him. He wanted to be the one she spoke of with such adoration. 

"He sounds awesome." Charlotte agreed with the young woman. This Schwoz sounded like just the guy they needed.

"Well, awesome guys don't steal your girlfriend!" Ray shouted at her, and (y/n) rolled her eyes.

"Ooh, wow." The teen looked down at the new information.

"Yeah, that's what I said when I found out that she'd been Schwoz'd!" Ray exclaimed, the memory still irritating him.

"Oh, please. She was just as much to blame!" (y/n) tried to make him see that the girlfriend was no good. Sure, Schwoz had done something wrong, but it took two people to cheat.

"Don't defend him!" Ray pointed a gloved finger at her.

"Don't be a dick then!" She replied, grabbing his finger and bending it back a little, the pressure making the man wince and back down.

The tube beeped, and they all thought Henry was finally coming down. He was, in a way. The boy fell down the shaft, landing on his feet and falling backwards. His knees ached from taking the brunt of the drop.

"Oh, man." 

"Henry!"

"I'll get the first aid kit!" Ray and Charlotte looked at the boy in horror, as (y/n) grabbed her medical supplies and quickly ran to the groaning boy's side. She helped him up, and he looked at her with a dazed expression. 

"That...that really hurt me." He said to her.

"My god, is anything broken?" She looked up and down his body, not seeing any visible injuries.

"I'm fine, it's all good." Henry smiled at her, as a beeping came from Ray's remote.

"Uh-oh. Oh, man." He cried at what it said.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked him, peering up at the screen.

"Santa Claus jumped outta the police car and now he's running down Swellview Boulevard," Ray whined, hating the thought of having to chase the pant-less man.

"But, his pants are right here." (y/n) picked them up from the couch and brought them over to him.

"Exactly, let's go." (y/n) handed them over and he and Henry went back to the tube area. They smacked their belts, but only Henry's tube came down. Ray slapped his navel several more times, however, nothing happened.

"Come on!" He yelled.

"Let's just both take my tube," Henry told him calmly.

"All right." The superhero grumbled, so Henry raised his tube and Ray shuffled over. He put his arms around Henry in a hug.

"Awwww, cute." (y/n) snapped a photo of them together on her phone, and they each gave her a bored face in return. Hitting his belt buckle again, they prepared for the tube, only this time, the opposite one came down.

"Seriously?!"

"Geez!" They both screamed as everything in the Man Cave began to malfunction at once.

"You better call Schwoz." Charlotte insisted.

"Never!" Ray hissed back.

"RAYMOND! CALL HIM!" (y/n) pointed her finger at him, the noise in the hideout was beginning to annoy her.

"Who's Schwoz?" Henry asked, having not heard about the clever man from the tube.

"He's this guy that used to work for me a long--" Ray was cut off when the tube over them came down and hit his head.

"OW!"He exclaimed, putting his hand over where he was hit.

"Just call him, please!" (y/n) didn't want anyone else getting hurt. No one else was indestructible, and that meant that she and the kids were at risk of serious injury.

"I hate him!" Ray seethed at her.

"I don't care!" She told him, as she ran to the computer, hoping she could at least she could get a tube working.

~The next day~

Ray, (y/n) and Charlotte were back down in the Man Cave trying to troubleshoot all of the problems.

"Hey, I really wish you'd get those things working." The tall man said to the two females, who turned around and glared at him.

"When you get off your butt and contribute to our efforts, then I'll take directions from you." (y/n) said to him, and he smiled sheepishly at her, and she turned back around with an amused expression. She couldn't stay mad for long, especially when he was looking so good in his tight, white, long-sleeved t-shirt.

The shouts of Henry falling down in the elevator drew their attention away from the fuzzy screens.

"Hey, something's wrong with the dumb elevator." He complained to the three after he stepped through the doors

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" Ray asked, sensing something was off.

"Because I got kicked off my dumb basketball team." He explained, as (y/n) stood next to Ray.

"Are you good at basketball?" She asked him, having never heard about the boy playing the sport before. 

"No." He replied, just as the couch began to spin, making Ray, who was leaning against it, fall into (y/n). Her arms wrapped around him to stabilise them both.

"Charlotte! You made the couch spin again." Ray shouted at the girl on the computer, as he guided his friend away from the twirling couch.

"Well, why don't you hop on it and take a ride?" The girl snapped back, having had enough of his bossing around.

"Ray, the repairman (y/n) ordered is here. He's on his way down." The man said excitedly, knowing who was on his way down.

"What? You can't just send some stranger down here until we have him checked out." Looking between the woman mentioned and Gooch.

"I got to go." Before he could get into trouble, Gooch killed the link. Ray looked at (y/n) for answers, but then the elevator came down, the mystery man inside. 

The doors opened, a small, strange man with a balding head and overalls on walked out and put down his toolbox.

"Hey." He greeted his old friends in a thick, foreign accent that was difficult to place.

"Schwoz," Ray said through his teeth, looking at the man in anger and then (y/n), who was smiling brightly at Schwoz.

"Get out." The superhero ordered him in a harsh voice, stalking towards the man, making (y/n) step in front of him and put her hands on his chest.

"Come on, Ray, don't be like that." She pleaded with him, but even her best puppy-dog eyes couldn't melt his anger.

"I mean it! I can't believe you brought him here! Out of here." He kept moving forward, forcing the woman backwards until she was stood next to Schwoz.

"That's Schwoz?" Henry asked, entertained by the man's funny appearance.

"You must be new sidekick, Kid Danger." The tech-genius smiled as he shook Henry's hand warmly. All the niceties were getting under Ray's skin.

"Don't you talk to Henry. You keep your Schwoz cooties off of him." Ray slapped the man's hands away from Henry, and (y/n) looked up at him in horror, shocked that her best friend, who was usually so amicable, was being so mean.

"Ray! It's been three years!" She pointed out to him, as Schwoz walked around the group.

"Yeah, three years since he stole my girlfriend." He replied, following the repairman's every move.

"If it makes you feel any better, I dumped her two weeks later," Schwoz told him, leaning the computer controls. His words made (y/n) wince. 'Why tell him that?" She groaned inwardly.

"Why would that make me feel better?" Ray exclaimed.

"Can I get something to eat?" Schwoz moved away from the subject.

"You could if that hunk-a-junk snack machine you built actually worked." Ray insulted him.

"I check it." The small man said, determined to prove that his machines were cutting-edge science, not junk.

"Don't order a hot dog," Charlotte warned him, remembering what happened yesterday.

Schwoz pressed the touch screen on the snack machine, and a probe dropped out. Holding it against the screen, he then clicked a few buttons, so the machine's software system would reset itself. The four people behind him just looked on in confusion.

"Now, would anyone like a nacho tower?" He said to the machine in his funny voice, and the computer responded immediately, creating a hot, steaming pile of tasty-looking nachos.

"Whoa, nacho tower," Henry said it as Schwoz did, and (y/n) took a nacho from the plate.

"He fixed the auto-snacker," Charlotte said, sounding impressed.

"Oh my god, I tried for hours last night to get that thing to work. And he made it looked so easy." She said the last part whilst looking directly at Ray.

"I don't care, you ruined our friendship. Now, I've only got one left." Ray replied, gesturing to the woman, which made Henry and Charlotte look at him with frowning faces.

"You know what I mean. And, you're not gonna fix it with a platter of hot, Mexican treats." Ray tried to say, the smelling enticing him, as Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) filled their faces.

"Well, I forgive you."

"Me too."

"I was never that mad." The superhero folded his arms after they voiced their support.

"Look, if you want me to leave, just tell me 'Leave'." Schwoz looked at the grumpy man.

"Leave, leave, leave, leave, leave," Ray repeated at him in an agitated voice.

"Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay." (y/n) said this time, looking up at Ray with hard eyes.

"I'm the boss here!" He whispered at her.

"I have to run this place! I need the equipment to work!" She snapped back, so Henry interjected.

"Shut up before you fall out again." He deadpanned to the friends, which made them break apart and look at each other apologetically, the tension dissolving immediately. Their hearts were still tender from the last time they argued, and they didn't want to be apart again.

"So you want me to stay?" Schwoz butted in, making Ray form a fist at his face. 

"Because I could fix up all the broken schtuff around this place." He offered.

"Do it." Henry and Charlotte nodded.

"No!" While he didn't want to make (y/n) angry, he stilled hated Schwoz and didn't want him all over the Man Cave.

"Let him fix the broken schtuff," Henry said to him.

"Please, Raymond. Pretty please? I'll love you forever..." (y/n) fluttered her eyes at him and made her voice as sweet as she could, even though she was already sure she would love Ray until the end of time. The large man looked down at her, and couldn't resist how she gazed at him.

"All right, fix the broken schtuff. And give me a nacho." He said to Schwoz, giving in. Henry took the plate of food, as Ray went to sit on the couch, taking (y/n) with him. They giggled together as they sat down, and the three still at the computer looked their way.

"Ah, young girl is still in love, no?" Schwoz whispered to the teens.

"Oh yeah, totally," Henry answered as he put a chip in his mouth.

"And Ray finally asked her out?" He carried on, hoping that their pining was over.

"Ha, no. He'll never admit it to her." Charlotte said in a hushed tone, but the couple were still in their happy, little world and didn't see them talking to each other in a huddle. 

"So he is still nincompoop? Man, it's been years since she told me. I thought she would have done something by now." Schwoz told them, their eyes widening at how long (y/n) had been crushing on Ray.

"She never said it was that long." Henry looked at the girl as she smiled and laughed along at what Ray was telling her.

"I had been here long time when Ray employed her. She was a hard worker and he couldn't help but love her." He sighed dreamily, remembering the good old days.

"But?" Charlotte said, expecting a twist.

"He kept dating the womens and she wanted to stay professional. So, here we are." Schwoz said, frowning at the pair, who were now looking at cat videos on (y/n)'s phone, her head on his chest and his arm around her shoulder.

"He's dumb." Henry said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"And she's too shy." Charlotte analysed.

"They will realise one day, and they will get married and have lots of beebees. Now, children, I must work." Schwoz left them standing together and started working on the computer's video-chat system.

"What's a beebee?" Henry looked at Charlotte, who just shrugged and ate another nacho.

~

Schwoz was tweaking some controls at the back of the Man van, as Ray, Henry and (y/n) finished the nachos on the couch. Grabbing his remote, the repairman walked to the centre of the floor and turned to them.

"Now, who's ready for technological fun?" He asked them.

"Yeah."

"Give us your best shot." Henry and (y/n) answered him, but Ray was still cheesed off.

Running to the tube area, Schwoz went up and came down in the one opposite, proving they were working again.

"All right, he fixed them!" The woman smiled, a hand on Ray's shoulder.

"And I fixed the TVs and the sprocket. And watch this." Schwoz told them excitedly, running down from the tubes.

"Security lasers on." Schwoz pressed his button, and a series of red lasers appeared all over the Man Cave.

"OOh, lasers." Henry geeked out at the new feature, (y/n) grinning too. But Ray was still upset. The teen reached out to touch one and was still impressed when it burned his finger.

"Security off." The lasers disappeared and Schwoz leapt onto the end of the couch, next to where Henry was sat.

"Smoochy music on." A romantic love song began playing over the speakers, and the couch started spinning slowly as Gooch danced. 

"That'll impress your girlfriends." (y/n) patted Ray's leg in an attempt to impress him, despite her words breaking her heart.

"Smoochy music off." Ray wasn't bothered by the new addition, because it was installed by the man who he currently hated.

"Whoaaa, he is impressive." Henry clapped and looked at Ray.

"Yeah, yeah." Captain Man just ate another nacho. Schwoz sat down from where he was stood.

"Too bad you can't use your technical skills to make me a better basketball player." Henry sighed at him, sparking an idea in the small man's mind.

"Hey... who says I can't make you a better basketball player, huh?" He smirked and nudged Henry, who didn't pick up on his hints.

"I did. Was I wrong?" He asked, Schwoz nodding with a devious smile.

~

Schwoz had found the gear he was looking for and started to put the sleeves onto Henry's arms.

"Cool sleeve. Feels good." The boy nodded once it had been programmed.

"I've seen better sleeves," Ray commented, taking a swig from his soda, as (y/n) dozed peacefully on his shoulder.

"What are the goggles for?" Henry asked Schwoz, ignoring his boss's comment.

"They are wirelessly connected to the sleeve using bloop-toop." The foreign man said to him, his ending words not making much sense to the teen.

"Bloop-toop?" Henry sounded confused.

"He means Bluetooth." (y/n) called to him, her voice rough from sleep and how she smushed her face back into Ray's chest.

"I don't understand but--whoa!" A rocket-propelled basketball hoop appeared from the ceiling once Schwoz pressed his controller again. Ray stood up, the woman on him complaining but following too as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes,

"I didn't know we had a hoop." She said through a yawn. Her attempts to repair the tech last night and therefore her lack of sleep was starting to catch up to her.

"Neither did I," Ray said, bringing her to his chest so she could rest on him again, enjoying the way her warmth seeped through his shirt.

"And now..take this and shoot the bashket." The small guy instructed Henry, a basketball dropping from the ceiling.

"Wait!" He suddenly stopped the boy, his loud voice making (y/n) jumped under Ray's arm. He petted her hair and she soon quietened down.

"What?" Henry wanted to know what he had done wrong.

"Close your eyes." Schwoz directed him, to prove how well the device would work.

"But I need to see." The boy insisted, but regardless, he did as he was told. Bouncing the ball once, he closed his eyes and shot the ball right into the hoop.

"What?" He looked extremely surprised.

"Hey, let me try one," Ray said, putting (y/n) down on the sofa and rushing off to get the ball. The young woman followed his movements through tired eyes.

Picking up the ball, Ray threw it as hard as he could at Schwoz, narrowly missing her on the couch. 

"That was uncalled for!" She said, her rapidly beating heart waking her up in seconds.

"That's not what balls are for!" Schwoz looked at Ray with a hurt face.

"Well, you shouldn't have kissed my girlfriend." The superhero refused to let it go, much to the annoyance of his two friends.

"So, if I wear these goggles and this sleeve thing..." Henry took back the inventor's attention.

"You will make bashket every time." He smiled back at him with reassurance.

"Oh, man. This is amazing. Thanks, Schwoz. I'm going to destroy that Shawn Corbit guy." Henry smiled back as Ray stood with his hands on his hips.

"Let us celebrate with smoochy music and whirly lights." Schwoz turned them on and ran to get (y/n) on her feet, so they and Henry could dance to it. Ray watched on, his stubborn streak not letting him join in. (y/n) stepped off the couch and sauntered over to him.

"You know you wanna dance." She smirked at him.

"Maybe." He didn't smile, and couldn't look her in the eye.

"Come on, dance with me." She held out her hand and nodded back to the spinning couch, where Schwoz and Henry were coyly smirking at each other. 

"Fine." The man caved in, after all, how could he refuse an offer like that?

~The next day, Swellview High~

It was the day of Henry's big match against Shawn Corbit, and Ray, Schwoz and (y/n) were walking to the gym where it was taking place. The woman's hand was firmly in Ray's as he dragged her along, harshly ignoring the smaller man.

"You could at least make small talk." She said to the man in front of her as they weaved through the corridors of Henry's school.

"I don't want to talk to him." He replied bitterly, Schwoz trying to keep up on his short legs. (y/n) rolled her eyes at Ray's words and they pushed open the doors to the gym. Walking in with their popcorn and snow cone, they saw how Henry was shouting perfectly thanks to the gadget Schwoz had built him.

Sitting down on a bench, Ray decided to sit way too close to a pretty looking woman at the end. Ignoring (y/n) and Schwoz on his left he turned up the flirting as he noticed her long legs.

"Hey there." His smooth voice greeted her, and (y/n) found herself in the middle of two males who both fancied one woman. 'Why me?' She cried in her head, remembering how this situation ended last time.

"Hello." The woman smiled back with a sweet tone. Schwoz could see how sad his friend looked at Ray's new interest, so he decided he would try to help out.

"So, are you a teacher?" Ray asked the woman, giggling with her.

"Yeah, I teach eighth grade Spanish." She told him.

"Caliente." The large man complimented her.

"Bueno." (y/n) could deal with Ray's flirting from afar, but being sat right next to it with him and a beautiful teacher to her left made her cross her arms.

"Ay, Dios Mio." She muttered under her breath, only Schwoz hearing her, so he made his move.

"I am Schwoz." The man leaned across the woman in the middle of them and grinned at the Spanish teacher. 

"You say nothing!" Ray snapped back to him, not wanting another girl taken by the little man. How did he expect him to move on from (y/n) if he kept stealing the girls?

"Listen up! This is a game of one-on-one. Playing to ten. The winner stays on the basketball team, the loser goes home to his mommy." The coach explained to the two boys, even though (y/n) was fairly certain that 'Shawn Corbit' wasn't a boy and that the coach was a massive douchebag.

"Okay, let's get this over with. Henry, your ball." The manager made to pass the basketball to Henry but dropped it at the last minute. Switching on his sleeve, Henry gave a thumbs up to Schwoz and (y/n) who returned the gesture with encouraging smiles. Ray was preoccupied with making out with the hot teacher.

"Oh my god, do you mind?" She groaned at Ray as he was practically laying on top of her. 'Is he trying to kill me?' She whimpered inwardly but concentrated on the game as Henry started bouncing the ball and moving across the gym. He jumped up to make the hoop, but the vastly taller man used his height to slap the ball out of his hands. Running the ball up the court, Shawn fired and easily scored a goal. 

"Hey, give me your phone!" Piper said to Charlotte as she recorded the match.

"Why?" The dark-haired girl couldn't see why she would need it.

"So I can shoot Henry's disaster from two angles." She exclaimed, not caring if Henry lost and got kicked off the team.

"I'm going to get some lemonade. You want some?" Ray looked at the woman as they broke apart from their kiss.

"Sure." The woman hadn't looked at her student's match once, and Ray turned to his sulking best friend.

"You want some lemonade?" He smiled at her.

"No thanks, I'm feeling a bit sick." She told him in a flat voice, her eyes not leaving Henry's game.

"Okay. Be right back." He patted her knee, not taking her tone as an annoyed one, but rather an interest in what was happening on the court. Realising he'd be a few minutes in the queue, Schwoz looked at (y/n) and whispered in her ear.

"Change places with me." The woman furrowed her eyebrows, taking her focus off the game for a moment.

"Why?" 

"So, I can make move on lady teacher," Schwoz smirked at her, but she wasn't amused.

"Ray will kill you." Did this guy never learn?

"Just move." She slid down the bench with a sigh, as Schwoz took Ray's place and began to flirt in the teacher's ear.

Henry was struggling against the man he was playing with. He just didn't have the height to get around him, so every time he tried to shoot, Corbit took the ball from his hands and scored against him. 

"Henry, try and score this time." Oliver Pook called from the sidelines.

"Thanks, Oliver!" Henry said to the boy sarcastically. As if he was letting Shawn win. Making another run up the court, he aimed and fired, but once again, the ball was smacked out of his hands, ran back down the court and passed through the opposite hoop. It carried on and on until Shawn was way past the set benchmark of ten goals.

"Come on, grandma. Anyone can make instant oatmeal." Shawn even made a phone call during the match, and Henry still wasn't able to score.

Henry was starting to tire and lose faith as the score went past 0-26. Shawn gave him back the ball, appearing to let him score just once, but as soon as he jumped, the ball was slapped out of his hands.

"How is this fair?" (y/n) said to no one in particular since the Spanish teacher was still being 'Schwoz'd' and Ray was still in the line for lemonade.

"I thought we were only playing to ten," Henry questioned the coach, nothing that he was 32 goals down.

"Oh yeah. Game over! Shawn wins! Have a nice life, Henry." The coach blew his whistle, officially ending the game, and he put his arm around the victor. Henry looked depressed as he went to his stuff on the sidelines.

"One lemonade for me and one lemonade for..." Ray came back over to his friends and saw Schwoz making out with the teacher as (y/n) typed away on her phone. 

"Schwoz!" He yelled, making the small man jump up and run away, afraid that the larger man would hurt him.

"Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?!" Ray screeched, his fist closing around one of the lemonades, making it burst all over the floor. The teacher reached for the still intact cup, but Ray looked at her with wide eyes and pulled it out of her reach.

"No, no, no. No lemonade for you." He said to her with a miffed face. (y/n) stood up and put her phone back in her pocket.

"Come on, Casanova. She isn't worth it." She smiled at her friend and led him away from the pouty teacher, who clearly just wanted some free lemonade.

~After the match~

"Hey." Shawn Corbit walked up to Henry and sat down.

"Hi." The teen didn't really feel like talking to the man that beat him for a place on the basketball team.

"I'm sorry, man." The large male looked down in shame.

"Hey, you won fair and square," Henry said dejectedly.

"No, I didn't," Shawn revealed.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not 14," Shawn whispered to him, although it was pretty obvious already.

"I didn't think so. How old are you?" Henry asked him, wanting to know what the coach had pulled.

"I'm 26. I'm a grown man. I work at Master Prize Rent-A-Car." The tall man divulged his real identity.

"Well, how do you know Coach Bix?" The boy looked at him, not believing what he was hearing.

"He came in to rent a car. He pulled me aside and said, 'I want you to come play basketball for me.'" The man told the story."

"And you said okay?" 

"No, I said no."

"Then why are you playing ball for him?" Henry asked, not seeing why Shawn would agree to play against a bunch of kids.

"Because he kidnapped my Lulu." The man said in a teary voice.

~At the Man Cave~

"Who the hell is Lulu?" (y/n) asked Henry as he retold them everything Shawn had said to him.

"Shawn's puppy. She's a cockapoo." Henry explained to her as she stood next to Ray, who was sat down at the computer and trying to process the story.

"Wait a minute. So you're telling us that your coach kidnapped Shawn's puppy..." Ray started, wanting to know if he had all the facts correct.

"The cockapoo." (y/n) nodded at him.

"And now he's forcing Shawn to pretend he's 14-years-old so he can play in your junior high school basketball team?" It sounded really strange when Ray said it all out loud.

"Crazy, right?" Henry looked at them both.

"Uh, yeah. Coach Bix is insane." (y/n) told the boy.

"Coach won't give him the puppy back unless our team wins the state championship," Henry said, making Ray angrily take out his gum tube and pop a gumball.

"Oooh, you're chewing. What are you gonna do?" The teen looked at his boss with an excited expression.

"They are two things I hate in the world, and one of the is guys who kidnap other guys dogs to make them do stuff." Ray declared, moving away from the supercomputer so he could transform into his costume.

"What's the other thing?" Henry looked confused.

"Celery!" (y/n) immediately knew the answer, remembering when she first started working for Ray and he made her pick it out of his food. That was the first time he saw her temper blow up, and it was also one of the first times his heart skipped a beat when she spoke to him. No girl had ever stood up to Captain Man and resisted his charms, making him realise how special she was.

"Yeah." Henry agreed. He also disliked the green stem vegetable.

"It ruins tuna salad," Ray explained and the woman groaned.

"Ruins it," Henry said with him.

"I work with children." (y/n) grumbled, as Ray blew his bubble and became Captain Man.

~Coach Bix's House~

"Yeah, good old Salisbury steak." Coach Bix had only taken one bite of his dinner when his doorbell was pressed. He let out a groan and answered the door.

"Who is it?" He mumbled, still chewing his steak.

"Look through your peephole." Ray squeaked at him in a fake, high-pitched voice. The man looked through the hole, and that's when Ray punched through the door, knocking the guy backwards onto the sofa. He broke down the door and walked into the apartment, revealing himself to be Captain Man.

"Captain Man? Hey, I never said you could come in." The guy said to the superhero.

"Too bad, jerk." Ray snapped at the puppy-stealer. He crouched down by the dog cage next to the couch and freed the cute, little puppy. He could see why (y/n) wanted one so much.

"Hey, I didn't say you could touch that." Bix pointed a finger at the larger man.

"I didn't ask. Aw, you're a good baby. Aw, don't you worry, sweetheart." Ray cooed at the adorable creature, as he brought it into his arms.

"You better not take my puppy." The basketball coach seethed, but Ray wasn't scared of the pathetic man.

"It's not your puppy. Now, get in the cage." He hissed back.

"What? No, that's for a dog." The man protested.

"One..." Ray started to count.

"Maybe I'll get in the cage." The man submitted, not wanting to be on the receiving end of another one of Captain Man's punches. He crawled inside and Ray locked the door after him.

"Shawn, you can come in now." He called to the waiting man.

"Lulu!" He cried in joy at seeing his pet.

"Here you go." Ray passed her over, and Shawn was more than happy to cuddle her to her chest.

"Aw. Thanks, Captain Man." He smiled down at the squirming dog.

"Thank you, for liking puppies." The superhero smiled at the reunion.

"Come on, Lulu. Let's go buy matching sweaters." The man left with the puppy and Ray knew his work was done.

~Back at the Man Cave~

Henry was practising shooting a ball with Schwoz's techno-sleeve, Ray and (y/n) watching him with smiles on their faces.

"Whoa, yeah." He said when he scored the goal and patted the man's tummy in celebration. The elevator dinged and Schwoz stepped out sheepishly.

"Okay, I fixed the elevator."

"Good." Was all Ray said, so (y/n) took it upon herself to give the handyman the fitting recognition for his hard work.

"Thank you, Schwoz. I could never have fixed everything on my own." Her smiles and soft words made the man look at her bashfully.

"Yes, thank you. Now, leave my life." Ray's semi-polite tone turned cold, as he put his hands on his hips.

"Okay, boss," Schwoz said quietly, his distraught face breaking the young woman's heart.

"Ray..." Henry tried to reason with him.

"Stay out of this, Henry," Ray told him sternly, and (y/n) left his side, her face void of emotion.

"No, he can't go." Her face didn't move, but her eyes told them how she was really feeling.

"Goodbye, peoples. Schwoz out." The little man stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to close the door.

"Great. What happens next time something breaks around here?" Henery asked Ray.

"(y/n) can fix it," Ray said, as the woman blinked back tears.

"I don't know how! I can do some wiring and soldering but nothing like this." She sniffed and gesture to all the machinery in the Man Cave.

"No one else can fix this stuff." Henry pleaded, the woman steeling herself.

"Too bad. He's gone." Ray told him, but the elevator doors opened again.

"I still here." Schwoz waved and Henry and (y/n) smiled at Ray in hope.

"All right, Schwoz. You can have your old room back." Ray groaned and gave in. His best friend jumped on him, squealing with happiness that sank into his skin and made him smile with her.

"Yeah, baby!" Schwoz cheered and ran to join their hug. However, Schwoz wasn't (y/n) and his hugs didn't fill the larger man with love and joy in the same way.

"Get off!" He shrugged the foreign man off, but kept his arm around his best friend's waist, not ready to let go yet.

"Never leap on me again!" He pointed a finger at Schwoz, but (y/n) giggling at him, calmed him down quickly and the little guy ran off to reclaim his old bedroom.

Ray looked away in disgust at the thought of living with him again, but his face dropped into shock when (y/n) pressed a kiss to his lower cheek.

"Thank you." She smiled at him sweetly, her small peck making his heart beat faster than the ten-minute make-out session he had with the teacher earlier. Walking off, (y/n) left Ray in a daze with a stupid expression on his face.

"Schwoz! Don't touch anything till I get there!" She ran through the sprocket, intent on stopping the chaotic man in his wake before he could disturb the peace she kept in the headquarters.

Ray looked at Henry, his pupils dilated and his cheeks dusted with a pink blush. His hand still rested where her lips had been, making Henry grin.

"Should I leave the room?" He joked as Ray snapped out of his daydream.

"Shut up!" The superhero scolded him.

"All right, Ray... check this out." Henry moved on, taking off his goggles and the sleeve.

"No sleeve. Just the kid." Ray looked at him with a bored face. He knew that without the technology to help, Henry was terrible at basketball. Henry bounced the ball a few times, aimed and threw the ball at the hovering hoop, missing completely. The ball landed on a piece of equipment, which started sparking and short-circuiting from the blow.

"Schwoz?" They called the genius, as the machine stopped working.

"Don't tell (y/n) it was us," Ray said, holding his hand out for Henry to shake. His best friend would kill him if she found out they were playing basketball with sensitive apparatus around.

"Deal." They shook hands and smiled up at the two adults coming down from the sprocket.

"What have you done now?" (y/n) eyed them suspiciously.

"Nothing." They lied, and she still didn't believe them. There was always mischief going on down in the Man Cave.

[numilani]

Tech Person™️ titles explained for writers

Nobody would write a plumber who fixes people’s washing machine, or an architect who checks for termites. Just because a plumber works on pipes doesn’t mean they know about every machine that uses water, and just because an architect builds buildings doesn’t mean they know the intricacies of maintaining them. That’s not their job.

Yet often times, I see TV shows and books that portray anyone who works on computers as someone who knows everything there is to know about anything that has a circuit board. Sadly, as much as most of us wish that was the case (we tend to be naturally curious), techies are often highly specialized.

To remedy this, I’m going to make a brief, broad, and slightly over-generalized list of common tech positions you might encounter. This is not conclusive, it’s just to help loosely guide you to the type of tech person who can best fit your niche. This also should come in handy if you need tech help in real life too - rather than getting bounced around between “tech people”, you can ask for the specific person/role that handles your problem. To illustrate, I’m going to use the concept of saving a document and how each role would be involved.

IT Technician / Helpdesk

The front lines of tech. Often just starting to learn the ropes, these folks often don’t know much yet beyond a preset list of requests. Even if they’re more experienced and actually DO know the answer, they probably aren’t allowed to fix any unusual problems themselves, either due to regulations or their own access to systems being limited.

If you can’t even get to the save button, because you forgot your login password and need it reset, you should talk to an IT technician.

Network Engineer

These folks handle more than the title suggests. It has less to do with connecting you to the internet (IT technicians can probably help if you can’t get online) and more to do with securing the network you’re on. They regulate access control, making sure you can get to what you need, and others can’t snoop on your private stuff. These are the people TV shows put in rooms full of rack-mounted equipment with a monstrous amount of cables.

If you need to save a file to a folder you don’t have access to(in a business/corporate setting), you should probably submit a ticket to a network engineer.

Front-End Developer

Front-end devs are the ones who write the pretty user interfaces for the programs you use. They’re the ones who put the buttons where they need to go, make them colorful and pretty, and then wire them up to the code bits that do the things you want. They often also work with a graphic designer (possibly called a front-end designer) who does the actual artistic things that then get wired up.

If you can’t click the save button because it disappeared, or because it’s half-way hanging off the screen, or you can’t tell what button is the save button because the buttons lost their icons, that’s a front-end developer thing.

Back-end Developer

These guys write all the weird, esoteric code spells that make stuff Just Work ™️. When you see people in movies with screens full of green text and they’re typing furiously, then they walk out 2 days later with a Monster in one hand and declare that they just created sentient software, that’s a back-end dev.

If you clicked the save button and nothing happened, or the file you saved yesterday opened as garbage today, that’s a back-end dev’s problem.

(Do be aware, you probably won’t interact with developers directly very often - usually the help desk people direct your issue to whomever they think can solve the problem. But, if you wonder why your back-end dev gets annoyed when people call him asking to change the color of a button…this is why)

BONUS 1: Hacker (derogatory)

This is what Hollywood loves to portray all techies as - guys wearing fedoras sitting in dark rooms with 14 monitors being asked to hack the CIA, typing furiously and then ominously declaring “I’m in” after about 5 minutes of screen time.

These people exist, sort of, but the term “hacker” is a stupid name for them. That term within tech circles, is usually reserved for something else. A better term would be “cybersecurity specialist” if they’re a good guy, or “cyber criminal” if they’re a bad guy.

Also, it doesn’t take 5 minutes. It NEVER takes 5 minutes. 5 days, maybe. 5 weeks more likely. The only thing a “hacker” is gonna do in 5 minutes is fetch data from a system they were already sitting in.

These guys, when they occasionally actually exist, are the ones who will steal your data as soon as you click the save button and then sell it online, causing you to get endless spam calls and ruining your credit score.

BONUS 2: Hacker (complimentary)

Real “hackers” are what in a fantasy setting might be known as an tinker, or maybe an artificer - someone who likes to fiddle with things, break them and put them together into something new, someone who loves the craft in all its forms. These folks are often interdisciplinary and defy the specializations I just listed above - they probably know a little bit about everything. Not necessarily enough to fix your problem, but enough to get curious about why the save button gets so many complaints, disappear for a month, and come back with an overblown solution that fixes the problem you listed, the three problems they found other people talking about online, and the dozen or so issues they found on their own as they were working.

Hope this helps!

[nightfal1n]

Just curious, what sort of drawing equipment do you use? (Tablet, drawing laptop etc.) - sorry if this has been asked/mentioned before 😅

I have an HP Spectre myself, but it’s Very Old so I have to get something new soon and there’s too much to choose from 🫠

Also, I love your drawings so much!! I’m amazed at how you’ve been able to release new pieces daily - hope you’re not pushing yourself though 😣

Thanks for an ask! also been enjoying your okohoshi art and hc a lot.... they're soft (,,´ω｀*,,)

For my setup, I have gaming laptop (2021 ryzen 9 zephyrus) + xp-pen 14 (2nd generation) poor bundled remote control is never used for drawing and recently got Ipad pro (12'' 4th generation) as a backup device which I'm still trying to get used to.

Both has their own merit but maybe Ipad will be a better value for newcomers? They has a great screen and optimized application for more compact and cheaper package (compared to high-spec pc+tablet combo. full setup and software will end up cost you more). Though personally I'll still keep using PC as a main because everything on ipad are so heavily rely on internet. As much as I'm thankful to Procreate for one-time purchase it's still no Clip Studio Paint (sadly subscription-only for mobiles) and I'm aware of compatibility and stuff. For laptop at least I have windows 7 and old csp installation files to turn back to (<- will continue to be wary of everything live services until he dies)

Honorable mention: There's Z fold 4 I use when I'm outside and need sketching...it's okay for drawing (and excellent for almost everything else) but I do regret buying ibispaint on it. Didn't plan to have ipad back then orz (Concept free edition and Artflow are more than enough)

It's warm my heart to know there's people enjoying my arts out there. I do those routine to cope so...not a big deal.....um... (look at my own backlog and thinking what's wrong with this guy? is he planning to die sometime soon?....totally in deny that I'm looking at my own works)...I need to get something out to compensate saturday kn8 loss TTwTT AND NOW THAT I REMEMBERING IT THAT MANGA CLIFFHANGER IS KILLING ME AGAIN...yeah, I'm not pushing myself at at all (read: my life is already over since I decided to pick up the manga...but I'm content with that (*'▽'))

Here is a virtual tea&cookies set! Have a nice day (っ・ w ・)っ🍵🍪

[infosanjay]

What are the features of browser security? 

Keeping your stuff safe online is super important. When you're browsing the web, you want to make sure nobody's sneaking in to steal your info. That's where web browsers come in. They're like your online bodyguards, keeping the bad guys out.Think of it like walking through a busy street. There are shady characters trying to pickpocket you, but your browser's security is like having a strong friend who watches your back. So, when your browser has good security, it's like having a tough bodyguard who keeps you safe from viruses, fake websites, and people trying to mess with your accounts.Browser security is all about making sure you can surf the web without worrying about someone stealing your stuff. So next time you're online, thank your browser for keeping you safe!

Here are some important features of browser security that will help you ensure a safe browsing experience —

First, update your browser - It is very important from a security aspect.

Secure and Encrypted Connections –  Modern browsers use secure protocols, such as HTTPS, to establish an encrypted connection between the user's device and the website they are visiting. This encryption ensures that the sensitive information, such as login credentials and payment details, is transmitted securely and cannot be tampered with by hackers.

Anti-Malware and Phishing Protection – Browsers often come equipped with built-in features that can detect and block malicious software and phishing attempts. These features can flag suspicious websites, warn users about potential threats, and even block harmful downloads that could infect their devices.

Pop-up Blockers – Pop-up windows can be not only annoying but also potentially dangerous. They can contain malicious ads, deceptive messages, or attempts to trick users into downloading malware. Most browsers have pop-up blockers that can prevent these windows from appearing, reducing the risk of users by clicking on harmful links.

Cookie and Tracking Controls – Browsers allow users to manage cookies, which are small files that websites save on a user's device.

[akatsuki-shin]

Wuthering Waves: 1st Day Review

Platform: PC/Laptop

Server: Asia

UID: 701132966 (let's be friends!)

Progress: Left Jinzhou City + Reached the Rearguards' Base

It's just going to be a simple review of what I like and what I don't like from my first day playing this game. Obviously, everything's going to be pretty subjective, so no need to be salty if I happen to dislike something you like.

= WHAT I LIKE =

Graphic and animation look pretty neat; I think HSR still looks better but I quite enjoy this one

Love the characters + NPC + enemy designs; I'm not saying it's super grand, but I find them easy on the eyes

As usual, I'm playing with JP dub because I love the voice actors and they don't disappoint so far

Found some mini-games and they're quite fun (e.g. Lion Dance flipping challenge, gliding/grappling challenge, raced against an old man in a dungeon)

Likewise, exploration mechanism feels pretty fun for the time being

Also love the music and sound works

Unexpectedly, I don't feel as dizzy as I thought I would be with the camera works so that's a good point, I guess

I can't yet say whether I like the equipment/upgrade/grinding mechanism because I'm still very early in the game. I'll observe this some more until I progress further.

= WHAT I DON'T LIKE =

Story hasn't shown anything interesting so far, I can't find anything that gets me hooked (this is an important aspect for me because I'm a story-heavy player); actually it's pretty much info dump up until this point

Subjectively-speaking, I prefer games with lots of handsome guys and obviously this game hasn't provided many of them since everyone you've met until this point is 90% female characters (I honestly won't last long if they keep throwing girls my way, so hopefully there will be more guys in the next update lol)

I'm not quite used to this kind of battle system; there are too many mechanisms and I can't read the tutorial/tips while fighting at the same time (I end up just hitting and dodging while spamming attacks and skills)

Exiting means automatically logging out unless you Alt+F4; who the hell think of this dumb idea

You can't use PlayStation Controller on PC unless you install DS4Windows or similar external software/driver, which is pretty dumb in my opinion because it means extra hassle

There's also no built-in Inverted Camera for the camera rotation; people ended up using some self-made codes on reddit or set it up manually using DS4Windows setting (like me), which is a lot of hassles

Voice-over is sometimes delayed, which is kinda annoying

I'm located in Indonesia and play in the Asia server instead of SEA. The ping was changing between yellow and red while I was playing but I didn't experience any lag whatsoever. There was one occasion in the first mini boss battle (under Jue's statue) where I lost connection for a few seconds, but that was all.

Anyway, will continue playing for now. Hopefully I will find stuffs that gets me hooked on this game for the long run.

[roseliejack123]

From Beginner to Expert: Mastering Java Programming

Commencing a Java learning journey involves planning, commitment, and disciplined study. In this guide, we will explore a comprehensive roadmap to effectively learn Java, equipping you with the skills and knowledge needed to become proficient in this versatile programming language.

Navigating the Path to Java Mastery:

Grasping Fundamentals: Before delving into Java, it's essential to grasp the fundamental concepts of programming. Start by familiarizing yourself with variables, data types, control structures, and basic algorithms. These foundational principles lay the groundwork for understanding Java's syntax and language features.

Setting Up Your Environment: To begin coding in Java, you'll need to set up your development environment. Install the Java Development Kit (JDK) and choose an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) such as Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA. These tools provide essential features like syntax highlighting and debugging tools to streamline your coding experience.

Mastering Syntax and Object-Oriented Concepts: Dive into Java syntax and object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts, including classes, objects, methods, inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, and abstraction. Understanding these concepts is crucial for writing efficient and maintainable Java code.

Exploring Core Libraries: Java offers a robust set of core libraries that provide essential functionality for various tasks. Explore libraries such as java.lang, java.util, and java.io, which offer classes and methods for common operations like string manipulation, input/output operations, and collection manipulation.

Hands-On Practice: Practice is key to mastering Java programming. Start by writing simple programs and gradually tackle more complex challenges. Participate in coding competitions, solve coding puzzles, and work on projects to apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Understanding Java APIs and Frameworks: Familiarize yourself with Java APIs and frameworks that simplify development tasks. Explore APIs for GUI development, database connectivity, web development, and more. Additionally, delve into popular Java frameworks like Spring and Hibernate, which offer reusable components and design patterns for building robust applications.

Building Projects: Project-based learning is an effective way to solidify your Java skills. Start with small projects and gradually tackle larger ones as you gain confidence. Building projects allows you to apply your knowledge in practical scenarios and enhance your problem-solving skills.

Continuous Learning and Growth: Java is a constantly evolving language, so commit to continuous learning and growth. Stay updated with the latest Java features, best practices, and industry trends. Join Java communities, attend webinars, and participate in online forums to connect with fellow developers and expand your knowledge.

Conclusion:

Mastering Java is an enriching journey that offers endless opportunities in software development. By following this roadmap, you can build a strong foundation in Java programming and unlock your full potential as a developer. Remember to stay curious, embrace challenges, and enjoy the process of learning and growing as a Java programmer. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve proficiency in Java and embark on a fulfilling career in software development.

[mmx-code-crimpphire]

Headcanon - Delta Nano Development Part 2 - Code Expansion

Okay, so you know about the code expansion explanation in the last headcanon I wrote that was based around how Robot Masters were experiencing things, including Rock, Night Man, and especially Blues?

Well I did also say that Blues' Independence development was a big part in the development for X's free will AI. That is way more advanced than Blues', not for the fact that it can just evolve faster. That wouldn't be possible without the data collected on code expansion on Robot Master's experiences themselves, and studying what the properties of the Roboenza can do on Robotics itself and developing the technology to prevent any viruses from corrupting X's data.

NEW CHAPTER ON AO3!!

Reading @oofitsbethi's "Fallen Savior" fanfic, I thought that was definitely an interesting concept, and it definitely made the most sense. Since, to my knowledge, I do not think X's AI was ever explained in canon, and I hardly ever think of stuff like this on a dime. I usually ask other friends for help on stuff unless I know everything about the lore itself and how it works in canon. What I can do to change it slightly but still make it work.

I had my fair share of doing stuff like that in the Transformers fandom (albeit, I was still a beginner writer back in the day- any of you guys remember what fanfic I wrote, whaddup), so I had plenty to work with, and there was a lot to go off of in terms of terminology and mechanics, technology, hardware and software wise in terms of how machines and the Cybertronians themselves worked.

Here, for the Megaman fandom, from my understanding, we get the basics of how the Robot Masters work and what they do, and that's it. We get a few tidbits here and there for actual mechanics, but that's about it. We barely get an understanding of how X's AI even works. And it's based on variations of how it does, based on what version of the X series you're looking at.

All of those variations make sense if we put them all together and make it a less cohesive and complicated AI on what it can do. Since it's supposed to be forming what leads to X's potential. Same thing for his free will and how fast the code expands internally and doing whatever the fuck he wants.

Of course, some explanations of this coding needs specifics as well, such as the expanding code preventing viral infections as mentioned previously.

This is an explanation of more than just the "magic" element to Delta Nano, now, isn't it? Well, I don't blame you, since it does touch upon the technicalities of technology and the energies behind certain powers.

Now, I'll also go into a brief tangent that Delta Nano isn't equipped with chips officially. Hoooo nononono. They are installed into the Reploid's system once they're tweaked to their liking, and it's been tested multiple times. Axl and Lumine's cases are exceptions to this rule- sort of.

See, they have crystals they still use, the first four being prototypes, so they're unstable, and the other four are perfected, so they're controlled better by their owner aka Lumine. It doesn't have to be strictly connected to crystals, per say, but they do have the option to use crystals, and it's usually used up to four or less. Mostly one or two, since most reploids who want to use it don't know if they'll feel well controlled to use up to four, which is an understandable reason. It’s a breeze for both Axl and Lumine, but that doesn’t mean it’s a breeze for any other Reploid.

Would X want to have Delta Nano, is the next question. And to answer said question, no he wouldn’t necessarily want it. Now, his armors do come with them overtime, though they still aren’t utilized within his regular everyday armor. As he doesn’t use his armors very much to begin with, except with the moment for them to be presented and that's pretty much it. The exception being the Blue Jay Armor, but we'll also have to get into that another time.

He doesn’t feel he needs them. Except, he didn't realize he had it all this time, except it’s not brought out to its full potential. The Blue Jay armor harbored his Blue Jay wings he obtained, and his own code expanded to keep them after realizing he could, especially after Zero had acquired his own wings, them being Phoenix wings.

What about Zero's dark powers, you also may be asking? Well, that just staves off from the evil energy and maverick virus he master carries. Along with the experiences and memories he gained since being found after gaining amnesia. I'll probably make a part two to that as well. Maybe.

But that's all I'll input unless I make more development on Delta Nano again.

[kakkollumination]

i think that now that twitter is blowding itself da fuch up because elon musk can't stop making terrible decisions, now would be a GREAT time to start sharing anecdotes about how working at Tesla just solidified what a stupid asshole he was for me

anyways

at some point during my onboarding at the company, every new employee had a mandatory day of "yay you get to sit in The Car for 30 minutes while it drives itself around" day. so My day came, and the guy showed us to the car and proceeded to sit in the driver's seat and have the car drive us around the parking lot. The rationale was since I was working on the Autopilot team [working as an image analyst to curate data for the engineers to feed into the software] that I should a.) be familiar with how the autopilot works, b.) be aware of what it currently could do, and c.) be familiar with what it /can't/ do, so that I'd have a clear picture in my head of why the work I was doing was necessary yadda yadda etc.

So this guy is doing his spiel as the car is going along - explaining the display, the touch screen, the controls, and all sorts of things about how the development of the Autopilot is going along. At some point, he points out where on the car the brake pedal on the car is. Brimming with the optimism unique to people who think Teslas are gods' gift to humanity, he states, "but the goal for the future is at some point that we'll be able to build these cars without a brake pedal because that will be part of the controls on the panel"

Now, I can only assume that the typical response he was used to upon hearing this news from people was a mixture of, "wow!" or "oohh", or even, "amazing!". However, because I'm /me/, the first thing out of my mouth out of hearing that particular factoid was, "are you guys planning on changing the law?"

Naturally, he was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You can't legally operate cars in the state of California if they do not come equipped with a gas or brake pedal. you cannot BUILD cars in the state of California without a gas or brake pedal. It's a basic manufacturing safety issue, and even if a person has a disability assistance device in their car to brake or hit the gas, it still has to actually operate off of the car's built-in brake and gas pedal. you cannot simply /remove/ them." I knew this, because I myself have a mobility assistance device in my car which I use to help me push the gas pedal, as I legally cannot drive with my right foot. I have a secondary gas pedal installed in my car for my left foot, but it basically just installs a bar that pushes the actual gas pedal from the other side of the driver's seat.

He /really/ didn't know what to say to that. He said something about "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there" or something, clearly still invested in the idea that Tesla cars, for some reason, should be exempt from the Basic Safety Requirement that all other cars on the road need to follow and should be allowed to just not have gas or brake pedals. Needless to say, it just seemed odd to me that someone who clearly was in a position higher than me didn't know something that a person who works on making cars fit for the road should actually know about, and CARE about. And seeing as how the cars are now infamous for blowing up "for reasons unknown", I can only guess that the people in charge were making Titan Submersible -level headass dumbfuck decisions when deciding how the cars should be put together and not connecting the dots when shit blowed up.

[bliiot]

Comparison of Ubuntu, Debian, and Yocto for IIoT and Edge Computing

In industrial IoT (IIoT) and edge computing scenarios, Ubuntu, Debian, and Yocto Project each have unique advantages. Below is a detailed comparison and recommendations for these three systems:

1. Ubuntu (ARM)

Advantages

Ready-to-use: Provides official ARM images (e.g., Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS) supporting hardware like Raspberry Pi and NVIDIA Jetson, requiring no complex configuration.

Cloud-native support: Built-in tools like MicroK8s, Docker, and Kubernetes, ideal for edge-cloud collaboration.

Long-term support (LTS): 5 years of security updates, meeting industrial stability requirements.

Rich software ecosystem: Access to AI/ML tools (e.g., TensorFlow Lite) and databases (e.g., PostgreSQL ARM-optimized) via APT and Snap Store.

Use Cases

Rapid prototyping: Quick deployment of Python/Node.js applications on edge gateways.

AI edge inference: Running computer vision models (e.g., ROS 2 + Ubuntu) on Jetson devices.

Lightweight K8s clusters: Edge nodes managed by MicroK8s.

Limitations

Higher resource usage (minimum ~512MB RAM), unsuitable for ultra-low-power devices.

2. Debian (ARM)

Advantages

Exceptional stability: Packages undergo rigorous testing, ideal for 24/7 industrial operation.

Lightweight: Minimal installation requires only 128MB RAM; GUI-free versions available.

Long-term support: Up to 10+ years of security updates via Debian LTS (with commercial support).

Hardware compatibility: Supports older or niche ARM chips (e.g., TI Sitara series).

Use Cases

Industrial controllers: PLCs, HMIs, and other devices requiring deterministic responses.

Network edge devices: Firewalls, protocol gateways (e.g., Modbus-to-MQTT).

Critical systems (medical/transport): Compliance with IEC 62304/DO-178C certifications.

Limitations

Older software versions (e.g., default GCC version); newer features require backports.

3. Yocto Project

Advantages

Full customization: Tailor everything from kernel to user space, generating minimal images (<50MB possible).

Real-time extensions: Supports Xenomai/Preempt-RT patches for μs-level latency.

Cross-platform portability: Single recipe set adapts to multiple hardware platforms (e.g., NXP i.MX6 → i.MX8).

Security design: Built-in industrial-grade features like SELinux and dm-verity.

Use Cases

Custom industrial devices: Requires specific kernel configurations or proprietary drivers (e.g., CAN-FD bus support).

High real-time systems: Robotic motion control, CNC machines.

Resource-constrained terminals: Sensor nodes running lightweight stacks (e.g., Zephyr+FreeRTOS hybrid deployment).

Limitations

Steep learning curve (BitBake syntax required); longer development cycles.

4. Comparison Summary

5. Selection Recommendations

Choose Ubuntu ARM: For rapid deployment of edge AI applications (e.g., vision detection on Jetson) or deep integration with public clouds (e.g., AWS IoT Greengrass).

Choose Debian ARM: For mission-critical industrial equipment (e.g., substation monitoring) where stability outweighs feature novelty.

Choose Yocto Project: For custom hardware development (e.g., proprietary industrial boards) or strict real-time/safety certification (e.g., ISO 13849) requirements.

6. Hybrid Architecture Example

Smart factory edge node:

Real-time control layer: RTOS built with Yocto (controlling robotic arms)

Data processing layer: Debian running OPC UA servers

Cloud connectivity layer: Ubuntu Server managing K8s edge clusters

Combining these systems based on specific needs can maximize the efficiency of IIoT edge computing.

[educationalblogmit]

What Is PLC and SCADA? 2025 Beginners Guide

In the modern industrial world, automation is key to ensuring efficient, reliable, and safe operations. Two of the most important technologies behind industrial automation are PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). These systems are widely used across various industries, including manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas, water treatment, and transportation. This guide provides a clear understanding of what PLC and SCADA are, how they function, and how they work together to streamline industrial operations.

Understanding PLC: The Core of Industrial Automation

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is a rugged digital computer designed specifically for controlling industrial machines and processes. It replaces traditional relay-based control systems and offers flexibility, reliability, and ease of programming.

PLCs are used to automate repetitive tasks. They receive input signals from sensors, process those signals according to a programmed logic, and then trigger appropriate outputs. These outputs can be used to control motors, solenoids, alarms, or other machinery.

One of the main advantages of PLCs is their ability to withstand harsh industrial environments. They are resistant to vibration, electrical noise, extreme temperatures, and dust, making them ideal for use in factories and processing plants.

Components of a PLC System

A basic PLC system includes the following components:

CPU (Central Processing Unit): The brain of the PLC that executes the control logic.

Power Supply: Provides the necessary voltage to the PLC system.

Input/Output Modules: Interface with field devices like sensors and actuators.

Programming Device: Used to write and transfer the logic to the CPU.

Communication Ports: Allow the PLC to connect with SCADA or other PLCs.

Introduction to SCADA: Centralized Monitoring and Control

While PLCs perform local control, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) provides centralized supervision. SCADA is a software-based system that monitors and controls industrial processes from a central location.

SCADA systems collect data from PLCs and other control devices, display it in a user-friendly graphical format, and store it for future analysis. Operators can monitor equipment status, receive alarms, and send control commands from a SCADA interface.

SCADA is essential in large-scale operations where physical presence at every machine or sensor is not feasible. It allows industries to maintain control over complex systems spread across multiple locations.

Key Features of SCADA Systems

Real-Time Data Acquisition: Gathers data from field devices continuously.

Graphical User Interface (GUI): Displays process visuals for operators.

Alarm Management: Notifies operators of abnormal conditions.

Data Logging and Reporting: Stores historical data for audits and performance evaluation.

Remote Control: Enables operators to control equipment from a distance.

How PLC and SCADA Work Together

In most industrial setups, PLCs are responsible for direct control of machinery. They process sensor data and control outputs based on pre-defined logic. SCADA, on the other hand, acts as a higher-level system that collects data from multiple PLCs, analyzes it, and presents it to operators.

For example, in a water treatment plant, PLCs might control individual pumps and valves, while SCADA provides a dashboard showing water levels, chemical dosages, and system status in real-time. If there is a problem, SCADA alerts the operator, who can then take corrective action remotely.

Applications of PLC and SCADA

The combined use of PLC and SCADA systems is common in many sectors:

Manufacturing: For managing automated assembly lines.

Power Plants: For monitoring turbines, generators, and safety systems.

Water Treatment: For controlling pumps, valves, and chemical dosing.

Oil and Gas: For pipeline monitoring, storage management, and leak detection.

Transportation: For traffic signal control and railway automation.

Benefits of Integrating PLC and SCADA

Improved Efficiency: Automation reduces human error and increases throughput.

Remote Monitoring: Operators can control systems from central control rooms.

Reduced Downtime: Quick response to system failures minimizes interruptions.

Data-Driven Decisions: Real-time and historical data support informed planning.

Cost Savings: Optimized operations lower operational and maintenance costs.

Conclusion

PLC and SCADA systems are foundational technologies in industrial automation. PLCs handle the core control functions at the equipment level, while SCADA provides real-time monitoring and centralized management. Together, they create a powerful system that improves reliability, safety, and efficiency in complex industrial environments.

As industries continue to evolve with Industry 4.0 and smart technologies, the integration of PLC and SCADA will become even more critical. Understanding these systems is essential for engineers, technicians, and anyone aspiring to work in the field of automation.

[jayakody2000lk]

Open source 24-channel USB high-voltage driver

When it comes to automation and control systems, there's often a need for multiple digitally controlled output terminals with high-voltage handling capabilities. Many existing modules are bulky, expensive, or require numerous additional components to function. To address this gap, I've developed a fully open-source, USB-controlled 24-channel high-voltage driver. This device provides precise, flexible control in a compact and user-friendly package. The project is open hardware, released under the CERN-OHL-W license, ensuring transparency from hardware schematics to firmware code. The driver module communicates via USB using a simple virtual COM port, eliminating the need for special drivers and complex setups.

At the core of the system are three TPIC6B595 shift registers, each supplying eight open-drain outputs that can handle up to 50V and sink currents of up to 150mA per channel. These registers are daisy-chained to achieve a total of 24 outputs. The outputs are designed for low-side switching and include integrated clamping diodes, making them suitable for driving inductive loads such as relays and solenoids. Data is clocked into the registers through serial input from a microcontroller, allowing for fast and reliable state updates across all channels with just a few lines of code.

The logic and communication for this module are managed by the STC15W204S microcontroller, a cost-effective yet powerful 8051-based MCU with enhanced UART performance and an integrated oscillator. This chip is paired with a CH340N USB-to-UART bridge, which presents the device as a standard virtual COM port to the host PC. Upon connection, the microcontroller listens for a set of AT-style commands sent over the serial connection. These commands are straightforward and user-friendly, for example, "ON=65280" activates the middle 8 outputs, "CLR" turns off all channels, and "VER" retrieves the firmware version. Additionally, there is a command to save the current output state to the built-in EEPROM, enabling the system to restore its output to a known state after power cycles. This interface design is perfect for scripting, automation, or integration with software tools such as Python, LabVIEW, or custom control GUIs.

The PCB is designed using KiCad and features a 2-layer layout measuring 75.25mm × 33.75mm. It includes 2.54mm pitch headers for output connections and is equipped with a USB Type-C connector. Power can be supplied through either USB or an external regulated 5V source, which can be selected via onboard jumper settings. The layout ensures clean signal routing and minimizes crosstalk or interference, even when switching high-voltage loads. Careful decoupling and protection components provide robustness for real-world applications.

The PCB for this module was fabricated by PCBWay, who generously sponsored this project. PCBWay offers high-quality PCB manufacturing and assembling services. Also, they offer CNC and 3D printing services. The PCB of this module is available to order from PCBWay. Check out the PCBWay website for its manufacturing capabilities and pricing.

The firmware for the STC15W204S is written in C using SDCC. It is easy to expand the command set, introduce new communication modes, or add timed control logic as needed. The current implementation allows full 24-bit output control using a base 10 numerical mask, making it both scriptable and human-readable. Thanks to the preloaded bootloader of the STC15W204S, firmware updates can be performed through the same serial interface. Details about this process are covered in the project documentation. Like the hardware, the firmware is released under the MIT License and is available in the project repository.

The system has been tested with a variety of 12V and 24V inductive and resistive loads, including relay banks, solenoids, and LED arrays. Since the outputs are open-drain, external voltages up to 50V can be safely switched on each channel making it ideal for a range of industrial, laboratory, or artistic applications. Output timing is reliable, with clean edge transitions observed during scope testing, and no signal integrity issues even during full 24-channel toggling. It is recommended to use individual heatsinks for the driver ICs when driving high-current inductive loads with this module. While the printed circuit board has heat transfer traces, the addition of individual heatsinks can increase the durability of the module.

Potential use cases for this module include automated test benches, home automation systems, signal routing for instrumentation, nixie tube multiplexing, and other high-voltage control tasks. The command-based protocol makes it easy to script operations or integrate this module into a larger system.

For those who wish to explore the schematics, command protocol, design rationale, and usage examples in greater depth, I have published comprehensive documentation and resources in the project wiki. This includes detailed assembly instructions, firmware flashing guidance, and tips on customizing the firmware for enhanced functionality.

All source files - including schematics, PCB layout, firmware code, and the bill of materials - are freely available at https://github.com/dilshan/24ch-usb-high-voltage-driver.

[labdeck123]

Virtual Instrumentation: Revolutionizing Measurement and Automation

In today’s digital era, traditional measurement and control systems are being replaced by Virtual Instrumentation (VI), offering greater flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency in data acquisition, analysis, and automation. Virtual Instrumentation integrates hardware and software to create powerful, customizable measurement and testing solutions, making it a game-changer in engineering, research, healthcare, and industrial automation.

What is Virtual Instrumentation?

Virtual Instrumentation is a software-based approach to measurement and automation that replaces physical instruments with PC-based software and modular hardware components. Instead of using fixed-function devices, VI allows users to build customized measurement systems that meet their specific needs.

How Does Virtual Instrumentation Work?

A Virtual Instrumentation system consists of three main components:

Data Acquisition (DAQ) Hardware – Collects real-world signals from sensors and converts them into digital data.

Software (Graphical or Programming-Based Interface) – Processes and analyzes data using platforms like LabVIEW, MatDeck, or Python.

PC or Embedded System – Runs the software and provides visualization through dashboards and graphs.

Key Features of Virtual Instrumentation

✔ Customizable & Scalable – Users can design specific measurement and automation systems tailored to their needs. ✔ Multi-Sensor Integration – Connects multiple devices such as sensors, transducers, and controllers. ✔ Real-Time Data Processing – Provides instant signal analysis and control feedback. ✔ Graphical User Interface (GUI) – Interactive visual elements for monitoring and control. ✔ Cost-Effective – Eliminates the need for multiple physical instruments, reducing expenses.

Applications of Virtual Instrumentation

Virtual Instrumentation is widely used across multiple industries, including:

1. Engineering & Industrial Automation

Real-time monitoring of temperature, pressure, and vibration in manufacturing plants.

Automation of quality control and testing procedures in production lines.

Control of robotic and embedded systems in smart factories.

2. Scientific Research & Laboratories

Physics and chemistry experiments requiring precise measurements.

Environmental monitoring for air and water quality analysis.

Biomedical research involving signal processing for healthcare innovations.

3. Automotive & Aerospace Testing

Performance testing of engines, braking systems, and fuel efficiency.

Aircraft sensor calibration and diagnostics for safety compliance.

Simulation of space missions and satellite telemetry systems.

4. Healthcare & Medical Devices

Patient monitoring systems for tracking heart rate, blood pressure, and ECG.

Medical imaging and diagnostics using signal processing algorithms.

Automated lab equipment for drug testing and bioinformatics research.

Virtual Instrumentation with MatDeck

MatDeck provides an advanced virtual instrumentation environment, offering tools for:

✔ Data Acquisition & Signal Processing – Supports multiple DAQ hardware like Advantech, ICP DAS, and LabJack. ✔ SCADA & Remote Monitoring – Control industrial processes through real-time dashboards. ✔ No-Code Drag & Drop GUI Development – Create custom instrumentation panels with minimal programming. ✔ AI & Machine Learning Integration – Automate data analysis using artificial intelligence models.

Advantages of Virtual Instrumentation Over Traditional Instruments

FeatureVirtual InstrumentationTraditional InstrumentsCustomization✅ Highly flexible❌ Fixed functionalityScalability✅ Expandable & modular❌ Limited to specific tasksReal-Time Analysis✅ Instant data processing❌ Requires external analysisCost-Effectiveness✅ Lower cost, fewer physical devices❌ Expensive standalone instrumentsRemote Access✅ Accessible from any location❌ On-site only

Conclusion

Virtual Instrumentation is transforming the way we measure, analyze, and automate processes across industries. By integrating hardware, software, and real-time data processing, it enhances accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in research, engineering, and automation.

With platforms like MatDeck, LabVIEW, and Python, businesses and researchers can develop customized, scalable, and intelligent instrumentation solutions, paving the way for a smarter and more connected world.

[sonoffindia]

The future of smart home control begins with one sleek, powerful interface — the Nextion NX8048P050-011R 5.0” Intelligent Resistive HMI Touchscreen. Ideal for automation projects, this display offers unmatched user experience, intelligent processing, and seamless integration. If you're planning to level up your smart home or automation setup in 2025, this intelligent touchscreen should be on your radar.

Available now at www.sonoff.in, this module is a must-have for developers, hobbyists, and smart home enthusiasts.

Power-Packed 5.0” Intelligent Display for Smart Control

The Nextion NX8048P050-011R boasts a 5.0-inch resistive touchscreen, offering sharp visuals and precise touch response. Designed without an enclosure, this screen gives flexibility in mounting it into custom panels, enclosures, or control stations.

The resistive touch feature supports usage even when wearing gloves — making it practical for industrial, automation, and DIY applications. It’s a display that adapts to your environment, not the other way around.

Advanced HMI Capabilities Built for Efficiency

This is more than just a screen. It's a powerful HMI (Human Machine Interface) equipped with:

Onboard microcontroller for fast UI rendering

Rich GUI design with Nextion Editor

Easy drag-and-drop interface development

Support for static images, buttons, sliders, and dynamic text

Integrated flash memory for storing UI pages

You can build multi-layered smart interfaces without relying on external MCUs for rendering. Control everything from HVAC to lighting systems — with just a touch.

Streamlined Communication with Embedded Systems

The Nextion NX8048P050-011R communicates using UART serial communication, making it compatible with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32, and more. Developers love how it simplifies hardware-software interaction.

Commands are sent via a simple serial interface, which dramatically reduces processing load on your main MCU. This allows developers to allocate power where it truly matters.

Why It’s Perfect for Home and Industrial Automation

Here’s why the Nextion NX8048P050-011R is a game changer:

Compact but powerful – Fits in tight spaces while delivering advanced UI functionality.

Customizable UI – Create polished, user-friendly interfaces tailored to your smart home design.

Responsive Touch – Reliable performance in both residential and industrial settings.

Highly Compatible – Works seamlessly with Sonoff smart switches and automation modules from www.sonoff.in.

Whether you’re managing lighting, thermostats, or entire smart systems, this touchscreen gives you intuitive and elegant control.

Nextion Editor – No Code? No Problem.

The Nextion Editor software is a dream for non-programmers. You don’t need advanced coding skills to build dynamic user interfaces. Just drag and drop components onto your screen canvas.

From progress bars to image sliders, your interface can be as simple or complex as your imagination allows. With built-in event triggers, automation becomes a breeze.

Technical Specs at a Glance

Let’s dive into the core specs that make this touchscreen a powerhouse:

Display Size: 5.0” resistive touch panel

Resolution: 800x480 pixels

Flash Memory: 16MB

RAM: 3584 bytes

EEPROM: 1024 bytes

MCU: 48MHz

Serial Port: TTL UART

Operating Voltage: 5V

These specifications ensure smooth performance, fast response, and consistent reliability in demanding automation environments.

Installation and Custom Integration

Thanks to its open-frame design, you can install the NX8048P050-011R in custom enclosures or panels. Whether it’s a wall-mounted control panel or embedded into a furniture piece, the flexibility is unbeatable.

Pair it with Sonoff Wi-Fi switches or smart relays to create a smart home interface that looks and feels professional.

Smart Solutions, Smarter Shopping with www.sonoff.in

Looking for a reliable supplier in India? www.sonoff.in is the trusted destination for Nextion displays, Sonoff smart devices, and complete home automation solutions.

They offer fast delivery, excellent customer service, and authentic products backed by warranty. Get access to India’s top smart home gadgets — all in one place.

Conclusion: Smart Control Starts Here

The Nextion NX8048P050-011R 5.0” intelligent touchscreen is the perfect HMI solution for next-gen smart home setups. Its seamless performance, rich feature set, and compatibility with Sonoff devices from www.sonoff.in make it a standout choice.

Don't settle for clunky switches and outdated interfaces. Take control of your environment — the smart way.

Explore the future of home automation at www.sonoff.in and power up your smart living journey today.

[mochis-things]

Chapter 2.6 - The Tokyo Concert & First Performance

Sunwoo woke up before his alarm. It was instinct at this point—his body refusing to rest knowing what today was. The first concert of the tour. Months of planning, rehearsals, and logistics had all led to this moment, and as much as he wanted to stay calm, the weight of responsibility sat heavy on his shoulders. If anything went wrong, it was his job to fix it.

After getting ready, he grabbed his phone and checked the time. 6:15 AM. The concert wasn’t until the evening, but there was an entire day’s worth of work before then. He took a deep breath before heading downstairs to the hotel lobby, where the members were supposed to meet for breakfast before heading to rehearsals.

Karina was already there, scrolling through her phone while sipping on an iced coffee. She glanced up as he approached. “You look stressed.”

“I feel stressed,” he admitted. “You slept okay?”

She shrugged. “A few hours. Not much.”

He nodded in understanding. Nerves would do that.

Soon, the others trickled in. Giselle, looking half-awake and yawning into her hoodie. Ningning, who still had her hair in a mess from sleeping. Winter, the last to arrive, was wrapped in a scarf despite the mild Tokyo weather, clearly fighting off exhaustion.

“You guys ready for day one?” Sunwoo asked, scanning each of them for any signs of discomfort.

Ningning groaned, stretching her arms. “Mentally? Yes. Physically? I need food first.”

“Then let’s grab something quick,” he said, leading them out.

They stopped by a nearby konbini, each of them grabbing their usual staples—onigiri, sandwiches, and bottled teas. It was a small moment of normalcy before the chaos of the day began. As they piled into the van heading for the venue, Sunwoo could feel the quiet energy in the air. The pre-show nerves were real.

The venue was massive. Even though Sunwoo had seen the floor plans and venue photos a hundred times before, stepping inside the empty concert hall made everything feel surreal. By tonight, it would be filled with thousands of screaming fans.

The moment they arrived, the team split up—staff moving quickly, checking equipment, running sound tests, and setting up the final stage details. Sunwoo immediately went into full manager mode, checking in with the crew, making sure the dressing rooms were set, and running through the last-minute adjustments to the setlist.

Meanwhile, the members took to the stage for soundcheck. As they rehearsed their first few songs, Sunwoo stood near the production team, watching every detail unfold.

Then, the first issue arose.

Karina suddenly stopped mid-song, touching her in-ear monitor. She shook her head toward the sound engineer, signaling a problem. Seconds later, Giselle nearly tripped over a misplaced cable. As if that weren’t enough, one of the LED screens behind them flickered before shutting off completely.

Sunwoo didn’t even hesitate—he was already moving before anyone could call for him.

“What’s wrong with the screen?” he asked one of the stagehands, voice calm but firm.

“There’s a software issue,” the technician stammered. “We’re trying to reboot it.”

“Fix it fast. We’re on a countdown.”

While they worked on that, he hurried over to Karina. “Your in-ear?”

“Cut out during the chorus,” she said, pulling it out. “I can manage, but if this happens on stage, it’s going to be a problem.”

“I’ll get it checked.” He turned to the sound engineer. “Recalibrate her frequency and check for interference. Run another test in five minutes.”

Within the next thirty minutes, everything was back under control. The LED screen rebooted, the in-ear monitors were adjusted, and after a final test, the members ran through their setlist again—this time with no issues.

By the time rehearsals wrapped up, exhaustion was creeping in. Sunwoo checked the time. 4:00 PM. The concert was in a few hours, which meant the members had just enough time to eat, rest, and prepare before showtime.

He handed each of them a bottle of water as they stepped off stage. “You did good.”

“Felt better the second time,” Winter admitted, taking a long sip.

“Everything’s stable now,” Sunwoo reassured her. “Get some rest before the show. You’ll need it.”

They nodded, heading toward the dressing rooms while he stayed behind to double-check the final details with the crew.

Backstage, just an hour before the concert, the dressing room was buzzing with movement. Stylists were making last-minute touch-ups, wardrobe staff adjusted their outfits, and assistants hurried around checking mic packs and accessories.

Sunwoo knocked on the door before stepping inside. “Thirty minutes.”

Winter exhaled, shaking out her hands. “It’s happening.”

“It is,” Karina said, voice steady but eyes sharp. “And we’re ready.”

Ningning grinned, despite the nerves in her expression. “First show of the tour. Let’s make it legendary.”

Sunwoo smirked, leaning against the doorframe. “You always do.”

He watched as the members took a deep breath, forming a small huddle. Their voices dropped to a whisper, sharing a final moment of encouragement with each other. He didn’t interfere—it wasn’t his place. This was their moment.

Then, the stage manager called them. It was time.

Sunwoo followed them toward the entrance, heart pounding—not with nerves, but with anticipation. He had seen the exhaustion, the pressure, the long nights of practice—but none of it mattered now.

The arena lights dimmed. The crowd’s cheers grew deafening. The opening VCR played across the giant screens.

Then, as the first beat dropped, the stage exploded into life.

From the first note, the energy was electric. The synchronized movements, the live vocals, the massive LED displays illuminating the stage—it was everything they had worked for. Sunwoo watched from the sidelines, arms crossed as he monitored every second, making sure the performance ran smoothly.

A few moments in, he noticed Karina glance toward the control booth, subtly checking on the LED screens that had malfunctioned earlier. He gave her a small nod���everything was fine.

As the show progressed, the members fed off the energy of the crowd. Giselle and Ningning hyped up the audience, Winter’s voice soared through the stadium, and Karina commanded the stage with effortless charisma. It was a reminder of why they did this—why all the late nights, stress, and exhaustion were worth it.

Sunwoo felt something settle in his chest—a rare sense of pride. They were unstoppable.

By the time the encore came, the members stood at the edge of the stage, waving to the crowd, their expressions a mix of joy and relief.

And as the final confetti rained down, Sunwoo exhaled, knowing that tonight had been a success.

The tour had officially begun.

[tccicomputercoaching]

Practical .NET Projects for Beginners

You want to begin with.NET, as a starter to the world of development, and you have the feeling that hands-on is the best way to learn about programming. One of the most powerful tools to develop robust applications is the.NET framework, and it would be great to learn practically how to apply it and set you up for success.

Why choose.NET for your first projects?

The.NET framework contains a very wide range of tools and libraries that would allow you to create any kind of application, both web and desktop. In addition, due to easy-to-learn syntax, it is easy to implement C# and become a master in the hands of such a powerful system.

As you take small yet impactful projects, you will have a stronger understanding of.NET, enhance your problem-solving skills, and learn how to create software that actually works in real life.

5 Hands-on .NET Projects for Beginners

Basic Calculator Application

Description: Make a simple calculator that calculates basic arithmetic operations.

Skills Acquired: Handling User Input, Control structures (if-else), Event-driven programming, GUI development using Windows Forms or WPF.

Why It's Amazing for Beginners: It takes care of core programming concepts such as variables, functions, and user interaction in an easy way.

To-Do List Application

Description: Design a to-do list application that enables the user to add, edit, delete, and mark tasks complete.

Skills Covered: Manipulation of lists, file I/O, data local storage, basic CRUD operations such as Create, Read, Update, and Delete.

Why It Is Excellent for Novice Programmers: The project enables beginners to comprehend how data will be persisted and basic flow control management of an application.

Student Management System.

Description: Create a student management system that allows the entry and management of student records, grades, and courses.

Skills Gained: Connectivity to databases, CRUD operations with databases, LINQ for querying data.

Why It Is Awesome for Beginners: It will introduce you to database interaction and get you comfortable with SQL Server or SQLite.

Weather Forecast Application

Description: Fetch weather data using an API and display it in a user-friendly interface.

Skills Gained: Integration of an API, parsing JSON, and displaying dynamic data.

Why It's Awesome for Newbies: You will work with external data, which is one of the most important skills to have in modern software development.

Expense Tracker

Description: Make an app where a user can input their daily expenses, categorize them, and see how much they spend in a month.

Skills Acquired: Data manipulation, validation of user input, file I/O or database integration to store data.

Why It's Great for Beginners: The project will help you emphasize logical thinking, user interface design, and handling a small amount of data.

How TCCI Can Assist You to Master.NET Development

At TCCI Computer Coaching Institute, we support you with expert guidance, hands-on training, from budding developers. Our trainees will assist you in making you learn.NET plus practical skills through real world projects.

Expert Trainers: From years of experience in various industries, our trainers teach you best practices and all the potential pitfalls.

Learn at Your Own Pace: We realize that everyone's learning pattern is different. Learning is at your own speed and comfort.

Work On Real-World Projects. You get to work with projects that include those listed on the left side. After all, that is real-world stuff and the actual preparation needed for a Software Development job. Get going with your.NET Course today!

Whether you want to develop desktop applications or you want to build web applications, the skills you create by making practical.NET projects will be very essential. TCCI equips you with the knowledge and provides you with the tools, which are necessary to successfully become a.NET programmer.

TCCI Computer Coaching Institute - Get started today.

Call now on +91 9825618292

Get information from https://tccicomputercoaching.wordpress.com/