#speaker with usb port

[eightglass]

What laptop manufacturers think people want:

What people actually want:

Seriously!

Like, what happened to 4:3? Websites and word processors work with VERTICAL SCROLLING. That means we want more VERTICAL SPACE.

What happened to buttons on the trackpad? The smooth square is bullshit. Bring back buttons. Also there should be a scroll wheel beside the trackpad.

Why are laptops so thin nowadays? Where's the sturdiness? Where's the space to put things?

What happened to the io? I WANT MORE USB. I should not have to buy an adapter to have enough USB ports.

Disc drives! SD card readers! Why did they leave?? Put them back.

And easily removable batteries!! That should be common again!! If the battery stops carrying enough charge, anyone should be able to replace it easily.

Also, like, why are laptop speakers consistently so ass? Make them good!

Keyboards should have more buttons! Un-merge the function keys and the, like, volume and brightness control keys. More buttons more better.

Why is there usually only a power button? Put a sleep button next to it!!

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

When you *do* decide to get a new smartphone, it may be worth considering a Teracube or a Fairphone: Both are designed to be repairable by anyone, and sell all the replacement parts (screen, battery, usb port, speaker, etc.) directly to consumer on their website.

Which y'know, greatly helps with the longevity of the phone.

(note: I am not paid by them, just happen to have a teracube, and feel like more people should use phones that they can easily repair themselves)

This is a worthy goal but the teracube handset costs over nine hundred dollars and the fairphone handset costs over five hundred dollars and I prefer my handsets to cost an absolute maximum of seventy dollars.

Also I'm very wary of buying an expensive piece of electronic equipment from a whole other hemisphere. Repair support gets tricky when it's happening on the other side of a vast ocean.

[badaxefamily]

Pro controller/tabletop. I have the dock connected to my PC monitor, but my eyes are so sensitive these days that I'm better off playing in tabletop mode with the Switch really close to me. It's an OLED so it's a little bigger at least. I wish I could play on the monitor more often but eyeballs say no. :c I'd like to be able to play handheld but the joycons are harder for me to use. Might get one of those controller grip thingies that replaces the joycons with a grip shaped like a pro controller.

im curious because i feel like im the only person i know that plays with a joycon in each hand (i find it easiest to use + very intuitive to use motion with this) DONT REBLOG YET UNTIL THERES A SECOND POLL ADDED IN REBLOG BTW I WANT TO INCLUDE ONE FOR TV MODE/TABLETOP SPLIT

[agnoll]

did you know that if you have a male-male 3.5mm audio cord then you can plug one end into the speaker jack of your computer and the other into the microphone jack and record whatever you play on your computer using audacity? also, if your computer does not have audio ports, then you can get a cheap usb one such as this and then plug the cable into that

[foldingfittedsheets]

Hi Bed Guru! I'm curious about your thoughts and any advice you can give about adjustable beds. Is it basically just the base/frame? Do they need special or specific mattresses? Are they worth it, especially for someone with arthritis (knees, back, shoulders, etc)?

Yeah so instead of having a box spring and a frame, an adjustable base goes right under the mattress and replaces both. You can have a wooden frame around one for aesthetics, but the base holds the bed up and moves it around without the need for anything else.

Adjustable bases. Are. The. Tits. They are so good. There is a million problems they can help with aside from just being comfy as hell. Arthritis and general pressure is one of them.

Ideally if you can convert to back sleeping they can help you the best but you can still get benefits as a side sleeper.

Raising your head even 6” helps with tons of stuff from snoring, sleep apnea, acid reflux, it can help ease sleep apnea but obviously one shouldn’t ditch their machine. It can reduce migraine symptoms in long term studies and is just all around comfy.

Now some folks have tried to use multiple pillows or wedge pillows. The problem with multiple pillows is that every time you need to wake up and adjust them you’re losing sleep, and the wedges are high so they don’t work for most people. The base can sit up in bed to read, watch tv, whatever, then go back down to sleeping height.

Having the legs up makes your lower back way happier, it helps blood to circulate better. There’s a reason people love sleeping in recliners an the base turns your bed into an even better recliner. I can’t say enough good things. Head and feet up create something that got dubbed “zero gravity” which is your body without pressure points. Very useful for achey joints, and the reason adjustable bases got their start in hospitals.

Those features are enough. Head up and down are where all the good stuff is. I personally love my base which has memory settings so I can hit one button to go from sleeping position to recliner position. Mine also has massage which helps me fall asleep way faster. Those features are extra and not strictly necessary but I think they’re great.

There’s even fancier ones with speakers and USB ports and all sorts of stuff so you can go as tricked out as you want but all the basic health benefits are at the bottom end when head and feet elevate. Everything else is just convenience.

As for which beds- almost all modern beds are compatible with adjustable bases. The only kind that’s incompatible are the veryyyy old interconnected coil beds. They’re not very common nowadays because power bases are so ubiquitous that beds need to flex with them.

[adafruit]

Fruit Jam RP2350B credit-card mini computer with all the fixin's 🍓🍇💾

We were catching up on a recent Hackaday hackchat with Eben Upton (https://hackaday.io/event/202122-raspberry-pi-hack-chat-with-eben-upton) and learned some fun facts: such as the DVI hack for the RP2040 was inspired by a device called the IchigoJam (https://www.hackster.io/news/ichigojam-combines-strawberry-and-raspberry-to-deliver-a-raspberry-pi-pico-powered-educational-micro-66aa5d2f6eec). We remember reading about this back when it was an LPC1114, now it uses an RP2040. Well, we're wrapping up the Metro RP2350 (https://www.adafruit.com/product/6003), and lately, we've been joking around that with DVI output and USB Host support via bit-banged PIO, you could sorta build a little stand-alone computer. Well, one pear-green-tea-fueled-afternoon later we tried our hand at designing a 'credit card sized' computer - that's 3.375" x 2.125", about the same size as a business card (https://hackaday.com/2024/05/07/the-2024-business-card-challenge-starts-now/) and turns out there's even a standard named for it: ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 (https://www.iso.org/standard/70483.html).

Anyhow, with the extra pins of the QFN-80 RP2350B, we're able to jam a ridonkulous amount of hardware into this shape: RP2350B dual 150MHz Cortex M33 w/ PicoProbe debug port, 16 MB Flash + 8 MB PSRAM, USB type C for bootloading/USB client, Micro SD card with SPI or SDIO, DVI output on the HSTX port, I2S stereo headphone + mono speaker via the TLV320DAC3100 (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/texas-instruments/tlv320dac3100irhbt/2353656), 2-port USB type A hub for both keyboard and mouse or game controllers, chunky on-off switch, Stemma QT I2C + Stemma classic JST 3-pin, EYESPI for TFT displays, 5x NeoPixels, 3x tactile switches, and a 16-pin socket header with 10 A/D GPIO + 5V/3V/GND power pins. The PSRAM will help when we want to do things like run emulations that we need to store in fast RAM access, and it will also let us use the main SRAM as the DVI video buffer.

When we get the PCBs back and assembled, what should we try running on this hardware? We're pretty sure it can run DOOM. Should that be first? :) We also need a name. Right now, we're just calling it Fruit Jam since it's inspired by the IchigoJam project.

[sorrysomethingwentwrong]

"Walnut" Speaker by Penguin DIY

The speaker itself a miniature little device the size of a… well, walnut. Made from the walnut’s shell, it packs all the necessary components inside, including a mini battery, amp, driver, Bluetooth module, USB-C port, and even buttons and LEDs to control playback or increase/decrease the volume.

[icycoldninja]

Fluffcember #16 (Raiden x reader)

Fluff headcannons

-Raiden is the biggest Tsundere ever to have existed. He denies needing your affection, but he'll take that hug anyway.

-Since he's a cyborg and has various machinery implanted into his body, he has a couple cable ports built into his back for technical/maintenance purposes. However, these ports happen to be compatible with USB cables, meaning you can plug your charger into his back and have him charge your phone in an emergency. It does make him very sleepy though.

-Other perks of being a cyborg include the ability to download media files from the internet and play them through small speakers installed near his ears. Basically, Raiden is your living music player. He'll download a bunch of lullabies and play them for you when you have a hard time sleeping or have a nightmare.

-He couldn't cuddle you because of his cold hard metal body, so he went to Doktor and had him design a very puffy, very plushy, fluffy pillow-like cover for his chest so he could hold you without having the metal poke your head. It's the sweetest thing he's ever done; the fact that he can also heat up his chestpiece adds to the coziness. You've never been comfier.

-If you offer to help service his robotic components, his heart'll just melt. His robotic body is one of his biggest insecurities, seeing as it was forced onto him. You caring and seeing the beauty in his body means the world to him.

-Loves to tinker around with machinery, so if you ever have any broken gadgets, bring them to him and he'll not only repair them, but add entirely new features. You bring him a broken microwave and he'll return it with a laser cannon attached.

-Despite being a cyborg, Raiden can still eat and has a secret sweet tooth. He'll never admit this, nor will he ask for treats, but if you leave some cookies out on the counter, you'll wake up the next morning to find them mysteriously missing. It wasn't Santa.

-Does not know how to cook (was never taught) but would absolutely love to learn. If you could teach him, amazing. If you don't know how to cook either, then learning together could be an...interesting experience.

-Should you decide to try and teach him how to cook, he will intently analyze and mentally record every move you make before proceeding to completely and masterfully mimick you in every way the next time he gets a chance. Show him how to do something once, and he'll do it perfectly next time.

-On the other hand, if you both decide to learn cooking together, he'll try to use his cyborgnetic body to substitute cooking utensils. Before you know it, his right arm will be a frying pan, his leg a salt shaker, and a comically oversized spatula attached to his left arm.

[ramshackle-ramblings]

Happy Birthday, Rook!

Mouse wandered through the second-hand store. It wasn't often they just got time to themselves, and even less often they got time to themselves away from campus, but neither Grim nor Alise had been keen on getting out of bed this morning. So Mouse had left them behind and gone into town.

The stated purpose of the trip was to find a coffee maker, but Mouse hadn't even looked at the appliances yet. They had, however found a couple of shirts, a cozy crocheted blanket, and they were now browsing through the toys and games.

No way …

Two small boxes sat on the shelf, bobble headed figurines from a movie that had come out last month.

No fucking way …

Mouse picked up the first one.

It is!

Vil had filmed the movie over the summer, and Rook had spent weeks scouring stores for exactly this figure. It was Vil's character from the movie. But this one, and the one of Neige's, had been sold out everywhere. Even roping Idia into the search had turned up nothing.

"Price is of no concern, Roi de sa Chambre, if you can find it, I will buy it!"

And here it was, in Mouse's hand, for … two thaumarks.

Oh fuck yes!

Mouse picked up the other box, full of cautious hope …

Two thaumarks for a bobble-headed Neige.

Blanket, shirts, and coffee maker forgotten, Mouse beelined to the checkout.

---

"Do I have to go?" Alise flopped dramatically over the back of the couch.

"Yes," Mouse answered, pulling their boots on. "You can just hang out with Epel. It'll be fine."

Alise considered. "What if I saw him earlier today and already said happy birthday?"

"Did you see him earlier today?"

"No," Alise admitted.

"Then it doesn't matter. Put your boots on."

With a sigh nearly as dramatic as her flop, Alise straightened up. "Gimme a minute." She trudged upstairs, and was back a minute later. Nothing seemed to be different. Mouse didn't ask, but handed the girl her boots.

---

"Happy birthday," Alise said, holding out her hand to Rook. A small, silver USB drive sat in her palm.

Rook took it carefully, looking curiously at her. "What is this?"

"Your birthday present," she told him, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You should open it later, when it's a little quieter."

Rook turned the drive over in his fingers a couple of times. It was perfectly plain, holding no clue to its contents. "Very well," he said, tucking it into his pocket. "Thank you for whatever it is."

She winked at him, then disappeared to greet Epel with a tackle that brought them both to the floor and earned them a look from Vil.

"Happy birthday, Rook," Mouse said, handing him two carefully wrapped boxes.

"Ah, mon Souris, you are present enough," Rook smiled at them. "Merci."

He tucked one box gently under his arm to open the other one. His eyes widened and he looked up from the gift to Mouse. "Souris! How?"

They gave him a little smile and gestured to the second gift.

"Non," he said, looking at them with disbelief. "Surely not." Gently setting the bobble-headed Vil on the table, he opened the other present. "I must know. We looked everywhere!" Rook exclaimed, holding both the figurines up to admire them together.

"You'll never guess," Mouse giggled. "I found them in the thrift store at the port."

Rook stared at Mouse for a minute, and then started to laugh.

---

Rook set the pile of presents on his desk, and took off his jacket, tossing it over the back of his desk chair. Something small fell out of the pocket, glinting in the lamp light. He picked up the little silver USB drive, turning it over in his hand again. In the bustle of the party, it had slipped his mind. Well, it was quieter now.

He flipped open his laptop, and plugged the drive in.

There was a single sound file on it, titled "HappyBirthday".

Head cocked to the side in curiosity, Rook opened the file and pressed play. A clear, sweet voice sang from the speakers, a song he'd never heard before.

Rook stood, enchanted, listening to the rise and fall of the melody. Admiring the way Alise's voice hitched in sorrow and swelled in triumph, the ballad echoing gently around his room.

The song that Alise gifted Rook is Witch of the Westmorland, by Stan Rogers. Kate Rusby's version is beautiful, but Stan's own rendition will always be my favorite.

[skullcandy11111198]

Leveragetober23 Day 5: birthday

It was his birthday. Ugh.

Yet another humdrum day of feigned well wishes from silly little sycophants that just want to be as high up as him, hoping to step on him on their own way up. (He knows he's better than all of them, but do they really need to remind him every time they open their mouths and let drivel pour out? NO. But they do it anyway. *Sigh*) Yet another backpack from the higher ups as a show of "appreciation" for his dedication to the organization all these years. Yet another pointed text from his ex-wife reveling in his advanced age -- congratulations waylaid and thrown over a cliff long before she ever got to the "happy" part of happy birthday.

The only joy this day brings him is the wonderful dinner his daughter treats him to every year. Since she was 7 she decided it was her job to get her dad to show one real smile (not solely aimed at her) at least one day a year, so she always sends him some sort of surprise gift when he leasts expects it. Ironically, he has therefore come to completely expect it, but she still manages to surprises him every year (though it really shouldn't given the type of woman she has become) with caring and thoughtful gifts that mean the world to him. She may never understand how much, but she is the reason for his joy, and if she wants him to be happy, then he will, simply for her.

Therefore, he was excited (deep, deep down in his gut, probably somewhere behind his left kidney), and not all that suspicious, when he came back from yet another meeting on this damnable day to find the CD port of his computer popped open, with a disk lying in the slot, topped with a large pink bow. On the CD, someone had written "SURPRISE!" and beneath it, "Happy Birthday!"

Feeling a small bounce of excitement within him (that he will forever deny on pain of death or sodium pentathol), and wondering what his daughter had gotten him this year, he moved the bow aside and pushed in the disk.

BOOOOOOM

Confetti explodes from tubes hidden throughout his office! His plants somehow start singing happy birthday songs, each in a different language! His blinds act on their own accord, closing to reveal another birthday message across the shutters! A party hat descends from a pulley machine lowering down from the ceiling tiles, to hang jauntily off the side of his head! His drawers pop open to reveal a cake that looks like it was baked, iced, and decorated in his desk! And his computer! Oh his computer…

His screen has been taken over by a repeating video of Eliot Spencer, Alec Hardison, and Parker, all in party hats, blowing kazoos with shrieking noises emanating from his speakers, and hoisting red solo cups and cupcakes at him mockingly from under a banner declaring "Happy Birthday!" in joyful, bright font. At the bottom of the screen, once the video had replayed enough times and he could hear again after the confetti pipe bombs stopped exploding in his face, a small message appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"Check the confetti." He scowled. He checked the confetti.

"Your birthday present is in your couch." He scowled. He checked his couch.

A close examination revealed the cushions were not at the exact angle he always left them in (to allow any interlopers who dared one, enter his office or two, sit on his furniture, to immediately slouch and slide forward in an unbecoming manner). Pulling away the cushions revealed a large streamer acting as a pull tab to open the base of his couch, and when he pulled it (cringing inside at the thought of any more…surprises) it revealed…A man. A man, wrapped in wrapping paper and ribbon (is that duct tape?), in a surprisingly secure manner to keep him from escaping. A man with a bow on his head and a USB taped to his forehead, along with a note. A note that read, "This is Colin Mason (also know to very few people as "Chaos," and to many more as "that asshole"). Please feel free to detain him at your leisure, you will find proof of many of his more embarrassingly simply hacking crimes on the USB (see: forehead)."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a young blonde woman hesitantly stepped inside while the rest of the floor looked in behind her, attempting to see what had transpired in his office in the past two minutes. Looking around curiously, having missed the start of the party, she finished her look-about to give him a small smile and said, "Heyyy, Dad, what's going on in here? And…nice…hat?"

He growled.

It is Jim Sterling's 53rd birthday. Ugh.

[fencehopping]

Finally got all the pieces I need for this gameboy classic > nes emulator conversion.

Raspberry pi processor.

USB battery charging port.

Battery.

LCD.

Joystick pad.

Only thing I still need is a speaker.

Does it look like I know what I’m doing? Because I have no idea what I’m doing.

[govindhtech]

Lenovo Duet Chromebook Powered By MediaTek Kompanio 838

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The thinnest laptop available, the Lenovo Duet Chromebook (11”, 9) weighs less than 1.2 lbs and measures only 0.3 inches. It’s ideal for creative and enjoyment, with a stylish metal chassis, Corning Gorilla Glass, and a soft protective folio. The user experience is improved with twin USB-C ports, 4K display connection, clear music from two speakers with SmartAMP and Wave music, and an 8MP rear camera that takes use of MediaTek’s cutting-edge image processing technology. Note-taking, streaming, and sketching with the Lenovo USI Pen 2 are easy with the MediaTek Kompanio 838 processor’s strong CPU, graphics, and AI-enabled Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

With its durable TPU shell, detachable keyboard, and spill-resistant design, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet EDU G2 is made to handle the rigors of the classroom and is aimed towards educators and students alike. Additionally, it supports Chrome Education Upgrade, which helps IT organizations manage devices more easily.

AI-enhanced cameras, 2K 400-nit displays for outdoor reading, and 12-hour batteries are on both smartphones. The Chromebooks for business, education, and pleasure boost creativity and productivity anywhere.

Lenovo Chromebook Duet

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Read more on govindhtech.com

[aroaceweirdos101]

dream update: that damn room and so much more.

I picked the lock of that machine, and. I know what the room is for. there's no space in there, it's not a compartment to store tools, all that's behind that fucking lock is a USB port and the unmistakable pattern of holes that can only belong to a speaker.

I'm certain that room is an early version of the evil music device. he'd lock the victim in place with the pressure plates and then use the machine covered in buttons and levers and dials to tweak the sound from the other machine until it worked. explains why a room with a supercomputer in it is so low-security too, because it's obsolete.

via the walkie-talkie I told Taco about the malware room and asked if she wanted to poke around in there (perhaps find a weakness in the malware) and she said yes, so I left the building and essentially smuggled her into the room. (don't worry, there's a thick wall of fireglass behind the door so nothing can get in to attack her or anything)

I continued exploring the building while Taco was in the malware room, and oh boy the things I found.

what I'm calling the "ego room". it's just a big room full of posters of song. the fucking restraint it took for me to not just incinerate the entire room right then holy shit.

a room where more of those platforms were being built. I stole all the finished ones.

a room full of machines of unknown purpose. one of them looks like a machine from a series I made, that reads each and every detail of whatever is put into the large compartment with perfect precision and accuracy, revealing everything there is to know about it.

a room FULL of machines that look like they're used for some sort of diagnostics. there's very few buttons in that room and a lot of gauges and screens.

and now for the things I can't put into bullet points

I found a lab-looking room that honestly looks like something failed in there. perhaps more than one thing. there's a large machine attached to the back wall, the door of which is lying several feet away on the floor and there's a rather large area in front of it covered in soot. although that's weird too, because the way the soot stain is shaped it looks, for lack of a better word, glitchy.

there's also a machine with what looks like a screen on it, but the screen, the floor around it and a path to another machine that looks like a recovery center from BFDI, is covered in blood.

and there's a green box in there, just like the other one. which makes me wonder, what kind of machine would need as much power as an entire charging room?

but that's not even the biggest room I found! I think I found an experiment room too!

in the experiment room is a lot of machines of course, but also some computers, one of which was STILL ON. I'll get to that in a moment though.

there looks to be three different stations for a wheelable table to slot into, one with some sort of telescope-looking thing near it, one with various screens and speakers near it and one with a particular machine near it.

I call it a particular machine because of what was connected to it: loose wires. "oversized" loose wires that end in mostly clamp-looking things, but the other ones look like something one might plug into a phone or tablet.

there was also a table with papers on it, full of research I couldn't really understand. I think some of it was advanced calculus or something. there was (I stole it) a large red book with a white number 5 on it but all the text on the pages was too smudged to read. there were no other numbered books so idfk what that's about.

one more thing before I talk about the computer, there was a wheelable table placed haphazardly near one of the doors out into the hallway, an extra section folded out to make it wider. the door as well wasn't fully closed. I find this notable because the table without the extra section folded out is about the average size of a living phone. but WITH the extra section... it's about the size of a living tablet. which also happens to be wider than the door. suspicious.

okay, the computer. the computer was open to the bottom of a "KiwiMedia" page titled Obscure Operating Systems. there were only two other things on the computer: a password-protected picture titled WHERE IS THAT.png and an audio file titled default.mp3

but I also found a search history. and here it is, in chronological order:

unknown connection in meeple device

unknown connection in meeple device "-hack"

unknown connection in meeple device "-hack" "-virus"

list of connections in meeple products

meeple ^j "-meeple.​com"

technomancy

signs of technomancy

hidden OS list kiwimedia

BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN EVERYTHING. there's one more room I found, and I saved this until last because of what happened.

a room absolutely FULL of books on bookshelves. a complete fucking library. and at the end of the room what I saw made me FREEZE for a moment. at the end of that room, sitting on the floor and leaning against a wall, powered off, is a living tablet.

let me tell you the way I (quietly) RAN over there before realizing, oh. it's just one of song's creations. it's..not who I thought it was. sigh.

BUT. while I was exploring that room, I HEARD SONG. HE'S IN THE BUILDING. HE'S ON THIS FLOOR. I HEARD HIM SAY SOMETHING FROM ANOTHER ROOM. and what he said I'm still trying to decipher: "a secret in that thing's eyes, what is your link? "

and as fucking usual, this damn "plotmare" as I call it left me on a cliffhanger and I woke up about two seconds after he said that.

what the hell.

- 💭💥

THE PLOT THICKENS—

Are you planning on ambushing him or are you just gonna secretly follow him in hopes he'll lead you to where MePad is?

[malcolm-reeds-pineapple]

Recently my brother and I drove five hours to go watch the eclipse with our dad. Due to time, we had to go on a day where it was raining and we also had to take my brother’s POS car rather then my less POS car because I took the insurance off mine while I’ve been unemployed. Anyway, a few notes about my brother’s car:

We only have third about 75% of the time

Windows (for the most part) can only be rolled down by the driver because the electrical is kind of fried and the child lock engages and disengages randomly.

His radio worked for about 3 months after he got it and then it randomly shit the bed so he uses USB computer speakers because (amazingly) the USB port still provides enough power to run them (knock on wood)

A squirrel pissed in his air filter a few months ago and due to scummy manufacturing practices, changing the air filter requires taking off the entire dashboard with a proprietary drill head. So, naturally, we have not changed that air filter.

We have a cache of Mary Brown’s honey dill sauce tucked away for occasions in front of the display screen that used to say it was January first, 2012 no matter how you set it, but now due to electrical issues, it now eternally says that the passenger door is open.

So already off to a great start. However, as we closed in on our destination, about four hours in, blasting weird Quebecois folk music on our USB computer speakers, the driver side wiper flew off and into the middle of a four lane highway. At this point, it wasn’t raining too much, and the next spot that could possibly have a wiper was literally our destination, so we had to press on. We figured the rain was dying down, so all would be fine.

All was not fine. Gradually, the rain really started coming down and I began to plan how we would Not Die. I grew up watching a lot of both Top Gear and RedGreen, so I have a very creative approach to car trouble. When we eventually had to pull over to avoid vehicular death, I gave my brother my plan.

The plan was to move the dinky passenger wiper to the driver side and then to avoid the horrible metal on glass noises when we used the wiper, we would tie fabric onto the passenger wiper arm. He agreed to the plan and we got out to execute the plan. Thankfully, I pack for a weekend trip like I’m going to shit myself twice a day, so I pulled out two pairs of underwear that I wouldn’t miss if the plan failed. Then, we used the drawstring from a pair of sweatpants to tie the underwear around the wiper arm. On a side note, the only thing we had to cut the drawstring with was a small chainsaw we were taking to my dad’s to clean up a couple trees.

Anyway, allow me to introduce to you……………… The Panty Swiper

[akapollypocket]

My new portable synth rig! I can shut the lid, zip it up, and carry it wherever

I’m rockin’ a dual-USB power bank under a white “brand-less” Bluetooth speaker (one of those you get at corporate events with some random company’s name) powering the LED lights and the Retrokits RK-005 (now discontinued 🪦).

I’d like to get a similarly sized power bank, ~ 2.5” x 5” with such a slim and light profile, but have 3 USB type A ports instead of 2. I’d like to power my synth, the Roland Boutique JX-08, in case its 4 AA batteries ever die. The JX-08 is USB-C and RK is micro-USB. Hmmm. If not, I can just unplug the lights or use my AA battery-powered LED strip used for bicycles. Lights add a very fun component, especially lights triggered by sound!

If I’d go out in public, I’d swap that speaker with my JBL pill. As you can see, RED is my FAV color. ❤️ I also have a cable with a male aux to female 1/4” so I could plug in a guitar cable to connect to a louder amp.

The RK-005 syncs the master tempo of my Roland JX-08 boutique synth to the P0k3T0 splitter that sends to the Arcade and K.O! Pocket Operators.

More about the PO splitter:

https://p0k3t0.wordpress.com/tindie/sync-splitters-for-pocket-operator/

Peep the LA-based hardware builder! Their projects are incredible. Must have accessories for a Pocket Operator IMHO.

I’m able to mix the audio of all three instruments passively via the Little Bear mixer (find on Amazon). It does just fine being a low-profile passive mixer! The fewer batteries, the better IMHO. Thanks to the P0k3T0, I can independently mix each Pocket Operator too.

Lastly, the cool coiled AUX cables are called Candycords from an amazing (seriously) company called myVolts. Must-see website for power, cables, and so much more. They also keep a great Instagram profile…

More to come! Here’s a jam if you’re wondering how it sounds :)

[umerkhawaja]

Which Are the Best-Selling Nissan Cars in the US?

Nissan is a popular Japanese car brand that has sold millions of vehicles in the US since entering this market in 1958. The company offers a wide range of cars, from fuel-efficient sedans to spacious SUVs, designed to meet the diverse lifestyles and budgets of American drivers. Among these, the Nissan Rogue remains the best-selling Nissan vehicle in the United States.

By October 2024, this midsize crossover SUV had already sold nearly 200,000 units. It sold 271,458 units in 2023 and an impressive 285,602 units in 2021, despite global supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19. Since its debut in 2007, the Rogue has sold over 3 million units in the US, with more than 1 million of these vehicles manufactured at Nissan's largest US assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.

The Rogue is highly regarded for its spacious interior, which offers ample room for passengers and cargo, its bold, sporty design, and its advanced safety technology. Key features include Nissan Safety Shield 360, which provides automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning, and rear cross-traffic alert.

In 2024, Nissan introduced a refreshed Rogue model, boasting a 12.3-inch updated touchscreen infotainment system with Google built-in. This system integrates Google Maps, Google Assistant, and Google Play, along with Amazon Alexa, USB-C ports, Android Auto, and wireless Apple CarPlay. Notably, this model is the first Nissan to feature Google integration and USB Type-C ports.

Powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine delivering 201 horsepower and 225 foot-pounds of torque, the Rogue strikes a balance between performance and fuel efficiency. It competes in a crowded SUV market alongside models like the Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander, Subaru Forester, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, and Toyota RAV4. Rogue's base model starts at $28,850.

Another strong performer in Nissan's lineup is the Altima, a midsize sedan that appeals to buyers with its sleek design, fuel-efficient powertrains, and the availability of all-wheel drive - a rare feature in its class that enhances stability on slippery roads. The Altima sold 128,030 units in 2023 and is expected to exceed 100,000 units in sales by the end of 2024.

Refreshed in 2023, the 2024 Altima features a spacious cabin that comfortably seats five passengers, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system paired with a six-speaker audio setup, ample trunk space, and tech features like push-button ignition, voice recognition, Bluetooth, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. Engine options include a 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The 2024 and 2025 models also come equipped with Nissan's ProPILOT Assist, a hands-on driver-assist system that helps maintain lane centering, adjusts speed to keep a preset distance from the car ahead, and even brings the vehicle to a complete stop before resuming speed when traffic clears. The starting MSRP for the 2024 Altima is $26,370, increasing slightly to $27,000 for the 2025 model.

The Nissan Sentra is also a top-seller in the US, with sales reaching 123,732 units by the end of the third quarter of 2024, up from 89,067 during the same period in 2023. This four-door compact sedan features a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), achieving an impressive 37 miles per gallon on the highway. With safety features such as automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and intelligent forward collision warning, the Sentra appeals to families and budget-conscious buyers. Its starting price is just over $21,000.

While these three models dominate Nissan's US sales, two others also merit attention for their strong performance. The Nissan Kicks, a subcompact crossover SUV known for its sporty design and comfortable ride, has sold over 50,000 units in 2024. Meanwhile, the Pathfinder, redesigned in 2022 and praised for its spacious three-row seating, remains a favorite among buyers, selling 71,710 units in 2023 and 58,896 units by the third quarter of 2024.