The 12VHPWR connector is a hot topic once again – Nvidia has really let us down on this one. New 5080 and 500 GPUs come with this connector, and they’re once again fire-prone. Well, what if you’re stuck with a newly-built 5080, unwilling to give it up, still hoping to play the newest games or run LLMs locally? [Timo Birnschein] has a simple watchdog solution for you, and it’s super easy to build.

All it takes is an Arduino, three resistors, and three thermistors. Place the thermistors onto the connector’s problematic spots, download the companion software from GitHub, and plug the Arduino into your PC. If a temperature anomaly is detected, like one of the thermistors approaching 100C, the Arduino will simply shut down your PC. The software also includes a tray icon, temperature graphing, and stability features. All is open-source — breadboard it, flash it. You can even add more thermistors to the mix if you’d like!

This hack certainly doesn’t just help protect you from Nvidia’s latest creation – it can help you watch over any sort of potentially hot mod, and it’s very easy to build. Want to watch over connectors on your 3D printer? Build one of these! We’ve seen 12VHPWR have plenty of problems in the past on Nvidia’s cards – it looks like there are quite a few lessons Nvidia is yet to learn.

hackaday.com/2025/03/03/12vhpw…

Have you been to FOSDEM? It’s a yearly two-day megaconference in Brussels, every first weekend of February. Thousands of software and hardware hackers from all across Europe come here each year, make friends, talk software and hardware alike, hold project-specific meetups to drink beer and talk shop, and just have a fun weekend surrounded by like-minded people.

In particular, FOSDEM has free admission – drop by for the weekend, no need to buy entry tickets, just sort out your accomodation, food, travel, and visit for a day or two. I’ve covered FOSDEM quite extensively in 2023, so if you want to know more about how it works, I invite you to check out that article – plenty of stories, cool facts about FOSDEM, showcases, and so on. This year, I’ve also been to FOSDEM, it’s been pretty great, and I’d like to tell you about cool things I’ve seen happen during FOSDEM 2025.

FOSDEM is often described as an open software conference, and you might’ve had been fooled by this if you simply have checked the Wikipedia page. However, let me assure you – there’s always plenty of hardware, large amounts of it! This year, I feel like hardware has taken the spotlight in particular – let me show you at least some of it, so that you know what kinds of cool stuff you can expect and plan for in 2026.

Even Software Was Hardware

Really, the kinds of software FOSDEM hosts, can’t exist without a healthy dose of hardware. Yes, there was no shortage of purely software-specific stands – if you wanted a Debian t-shirt, some Fedora or Jenkins stickers, or a selfie with the Postgresql elephant, they were always at an arm’s reach. Pure software was a surprisingly small part of FOSDEM this year, and I have some theories about it.

This year, it felt like half of all stands were hardware-based, hardware-related, or hardware-dependent in one way or another. First off, of course, hardware is flashy, it makes for effective demos. For instance, if you wanted to drop by, you’d find a Jenkins cluster running on a gaggle of SBCs mounted to a 3D-printed frame – a new and vastly improved build from the version we’ve covered in 2023!

A number of project stands – PostmarketOS, CalyxOS, FuriLabs, – had desks full of smartphones demoing their phone OS offerings. You’d see SteamDecks being used as software demo machines, the FreeCAD table had a laptop running the newest FreeCAD install you could poke and probe (with even a surprise MNT Reform appearance), SBCs common and obscure running demo playback and presentations – making the software world tangible.

Really, if you’re demoing an open-source smart home system, like OpenHAB did, what’s better than bringing a smart-home-in-a-briefcase? And if you’re bringing an open-source game engine, what’s better than demoing it on a SteamDeck? Software has the disadvantage of being quite intangible, and hardware “grounds” it enough that anyone can interact it, conveying code as colours, shapes, and objects in the real world – which is perfect if what you’re starting with is a Git repository, and what you need to create is a conference table people would be interested in.

And Hardware Was Extra Hardware

Of course, we’ve met the usual open-source suspects of the hardware world, too. KiCad and FreeCAD split a table this year. They had logos familiar enough to the crowd that they really didn’t need extra hardware to stand out – instead, they brought merch and stickers. Nevertheless, on the FreeCAD-KiCad split of the table, you’d find a guest exhibit from the Libre Space Foundation, a model of the Picobus V2 satellite launching system, which was incidentally designed with help of both FreeCAD and KiCad.

Next to them, you’d find MicroPython, Espruino, and TinyGo, all promoting high-level languages for microcontrollers, for those of us unemburdened by obligations of memory safety and static typing. In the H building, OpenFlexure had a desk all to themselves, and a Prusa printer was helping them crank out designs to be immediately demoed. Sadly, this year, Pine64 stand was missing – but Pine64 folks could still be found around!

One thing you’d see a ton this year? LoRa, in all forms. Of course, there was the Meshtastic table, with plenty of stickers and demo devices alike, but you’d also regularly find LoRa-equipped devices on tables. This wasn’t the only form of wireless tech, either – the AW building had desks with SDR setups, plenty of HAM tech, and outside on the grass, a group of hackers with radio equipment and a dish antenna setup.

I’ve seen a couple tables being crashed with cool tech, too! For instance, you could meet [arturo182] and his creations (including a hacker-friendly keyboard module series) on Saturday in the AW building, taking up part of the TinyGo table – not scheduled, but definitely most welcome! On one of the desks in the K building, you could find two MNT Reform demo units, one full-sized and one Pocket, on the Genode table – unsurprisingly, there was always a crowd around that table, so if you didn’t notice it, that’s why!

One more recommendation, which doesn’t apply just to FOSDEM – you might want to get a FOSSAsia LED matrix name badge. Nowadays, I tend to go to events in friend groups, and I’ve been surprised how many my friends have gotten themselves the FOSSAsia name badges – the FOSSAsia community is a mainstay at tech events in Europe, so if you’re visiting one and you see these badges around, just look for the FOSSAsia desk to get one. These badges are respectably flashy — you pick the colour! — great for meeting new people in the crowds, and quite cheap! I’ve also learned that FOSSAsia have been improving the badge’s firmware over the years – as far as I can tell, if you’ve ever bought a nametag from FOSSAsia, simply update its firmware with help of your smartphone, and get a number of new features.

Eagerly Awaiting FOSDEM 26

There’s always more to FOSDEM, but this year, I’d like to simply show you all the hardware there was to see. Want to learn more? Check back to the FOSDEM 23 coverage, detailing how FOSDEM operates, talking about their volunteer-rooted structure, the principles and tricks FOSDEM uses to keep the open software world ever so closer together, or perhaps the impressive video recording infrastructure making sure that talks are livestreamed dutifully and published nigh-instantly… Plenty to learn about FOSDEM’s MO! Apart from that, FreeCAD, PostmarketOS, Meshtastic and a good few open-source orgs have made post-FOSDEM blog posts, check them out if you’d like to hear how FOSDEM and your favourite projects meshed together.

FOSDEM is undoubtedly the time and place to celebrate open software in Europe, and at the same time, it’s also a super friendly spot for those of us of Hackaday upbringing. If you’re looking for somewhere to go next February, as a hardware hacker, my understanding is that you won’t be disappointed!

L’orchestra sinfonica di Houston è diventato una vittima del gruppo degli hacker Qilin. Le informazioni sull’attacco informatico sono apparse sul sito web del gruppo. Gli estorsori hanno indicato una scadenza per il riscatto e un contatto TOX per le trattative.

Gli hacker affermano di aver rubato più di 300 GB di dati dell’orchestra e intendono pubblicarli il 5 marzo 2025, lo stesso giorno Scade l’ultimatum per Lee Enterprises. Qilin afferma che i dati rubati includono i resoconti di bilancio dell’orchestra per ottobre 2024, documenti finanziari per maggio 2024 e un piano di sviluppo strategico fino al 2030.

Tra i campioni pubblicati sono inclusi anche elenchi di amministratori fiduciari e membri del consiglio di amministrazione con informazioni personali, tra cui indirizzi, numeri di telefono e indirizzi e-mail. Non è ancora chiaro se i file rubati contengano informazioni finanziarie o personali sui musicisti, sullo staff e sui possessori dei biglietti. L’orchestra non ha ancora commentato la situazione e gli ulteriori sviluppi restano incerti.

Poco dopo la pubblicazione, il post è scomparso dall’elenco sul sito web del gruppo (come riportato da cybernews). Ciò potrebbe indicare che l’organizzazione è entrata in contatto con criminali informatici e potrebbe essere in trattativa per un riscatto in cambio dei dati.

Fondata nel 1913, la Houston Symphony Orchestra è una delle più antiche organizzazioni musicali degli Stati Uniti. L’ensemble è composto da 60 musicisti professionisti che tengono circa 170 concerti all’anno e si esibiscono in oltre 1.000 eventi in scuole, ospedali, chiese e centri comunitari. Il budget annuale dell’orchestra è di circa 28,8 milioni di dollari e la sala concerti può ospitare fino a 2.900 persone, attirando circa 400.000 spettatori ogni anno.

L'articolo Concerto per Ransomware e Orchestra! Qilin Ruba 300 GB di Dati alla Houston Symphony proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.

Oggi sono rientrato da Malaga.

Malaga è Spagna, è Europa, e io amo l'Europa: unita, comune a tutti noi e - mi auguro - da ora in poi più forte.

Anche l'Italia è Europa, ma da qualsiasi Paese io provenga, ogni volta che ci ritorno, che ritorno a casa, ho un'impressione pessima del nostro Paese, che dura qualche ora, a volte un giorno o 2, perché ho ancora gli occhi dell'esploratore. Quelli del cittadino che vive qui ci mettono un po', a tornare.

Con quegli occhi vedo un Paese decadente, triste, che cade letteralmente in pezzi, mentre il resto dell'Europa va avanti.

E' vero, in alcuni Paesi europei sto meglio che in Italia, per i miei problemi di salute, ma non è solo questo. Parlo della qualità delle strade, dei trasporti, di cosa vedi quando ti guardi in giro: piste ciclabili, panorami urbani, lungomare, autostrade, aeroporti, eccetera.

Certo, ci sono anche ell'estero posti come quelli che ho appena descritto, ma ho la netta sensazione che nel nostro Paese tutti questi problemi siano...più densi, più presenti.

Se viaggiate spesso in Europa, vi chiedo: sono pazzo io o anche voi avete questa sensazione?