Hackaday Links: August 7, 2022

If you've ever needed proof that class action lawsuits are good business only for lawyers, look no further than the news that Tim Hortons will settle a data tracking lawsuit with a donut and a coffee. For those of you who aren't in or near Canada, "Timmy's" is a restaurant chain that's sort of the darling of a McDonald's and a Dunkin Donut store. An investigation of the chain's app a few years ago found that customers' location data was recorded silently, even when they weren't using the app, and even far, far away from the Tim Hortons on closer. The chain offers to pay with the members of the group up to a coupon for a free hot drink and a bakery product, with a total value of $8.68. Lawyers, meanwhile, will receive $1.5 million plus tax. It's unclear if they take this in cash or as 172,811 coffees and donuts, but we think we can guess.

If you've ever wondered what recovering data from damaged SD cards entails, watch this brief but fascinating video of the process. First, the plastic case of the memory card is ablated by a laser engraver, which exposes the traces inside. A series of probes are then lowered onto various pads inside, presumably to bypass a faulty controller and gain direct access to memory. We don't know if this is the standard method used when a whoopsie lands on an SD card, but it's certainly interesting. If anyone knows a full video or has more info on this method please send it over - we'd love to do a more in-depth article.

If your personal edification shortlist includes understanding quantum programming, you could do worse than watch New Mind's latest video on the subject. Where this one stands out for us is in comparing quantum concepts with what most of us already know about how digital computers work – how normal gates compare to quantum gates, for example. We have to admit that the first viewing was not fully integrated; we'll try it again soon, hopefully before the next part comes out.

And finally, who said scientists don't have a sense of humor? At least one French physicist does, and Etienne Klein has proven it by posting a photo he claims is a personal, up-close look at Proxima Centaurus, our nearest extra-solar neighbor, courtesy of New James Webb Space Telescope. It seemed plausible - we've all seen what the $10 billion space observatory can do, and the level of detail in the photo appeared to be an image of the red dwarf star. But alas, a few days later Dr. Klein revealed that the photo was just a slice of chorizo on a black background. We can understand the confusion - watch the video thumbnail below to see how closely the sausage matches a legitimate image of our own sun. But while we appreciate the lulz here, we kind of regret that it inevitably feeds the trolls who insist we never landed on the Moon. After all, if sausage can replace a star, why can't green cheese be used to stage a moon landing?

Technology Aug 8, 2022 0 129 Add to Reading List

If you've ever needed proof that class action lawsuits are good business only for lawyers, look no further than the news that Tim Hortons will settle a data tracking lawsuit with a donut and a coffee. For those of you who aren't in or near Canada, "Timmy's" is a restaurant chain that's sort of the darling of a McDonald's and a Dunkin Donut store. An investigation of the chain's app a few years ago found that customers' location data was recorded silently, even when they weren't using the app, and even far, far away from the Tim Hortons on closer. The chain offers to pay with the members of the group up to a coupon for a free hot drink and a bakery product, with a total value of $8.68. Lawyers, meanwhile, will receive $1.5 million plus tax. It's unclear if they take this in cash or as 172,811 coffees and donuts, but we think we can guess.

If you've ever wondered what recovering data from damaged SD cards entails, watch this brief but fascinating video of the process. First, the plastic case of the memory card is ablated by a laser engraver, which exposes the traces inside. A series of probes are then lowered onto various pads inside, presumably to bypass a faulty controller and gain direct access to memory. We don't know if this is the standard method used when a whoopsie lands on an SD card, but it's certainly interesting. If anyone knows a full video or has more info on this method please send it over - we'd love to do a more in-depth article.

If your personal edification shortlist includes understanding quantum programming, you could do worse than watch New Mind's latest video on the subject. Where this one stands out for us is in comparing quantum concepts with what most of us already know about how digital computers work – how normal gates compare to quantum gates, for example. We have to admit that the first viewing was not fully integrated; we'll try it again soon, hopefully before the next part comes out.

And finally, who said scientists don't have a sense of humor? At least one French physicist does, and Etienne Klein has proven it by posting a photo he claims is a personal, up-close look at Proxima Centaurus, our nearest extra-solar neighbor, courtesy of New James Webb Space Telescope. It seemed plausible - we've all seen what the $10 billion space observatory can do, and the level of detail in the photo appeared to be an image of the red dwarf star. But alas, a few days later Dr. Klein revealed that the photo was just a slice of chorizo on a black background. We can understand the confusion - watch the video thumbnail below to see how closely the sausage matches a legitimate image of our own sun. But while we appreciate the lulz here, we kind of regret that it inevitably feeds the trolls who insist we never landed on the Moon. After all, if sausage can replace a star, why can't green cheese be used to stage a moon landing?