How Barack Obama’s blackBerry was secured in 2009, how musical DNA connects generations and how Netflix uses Java in 2025?Playing and programming on a printer, simple yet useful AI Assistant based on SQLite & cron jobs …
INFO: Can an old laptop work as a home server? It turns out it can — and surprisingly well. In the video, three old laptops (including two MacBooks and a Dell Latitude) are repurposed to run as servers: one with TrueNAS, one with Proxmox, and one as a Proxmox backup. The author shares details on power consumption and disk setup and shows how to avoid common issues like the laptop falling asleep when the lid is closed. The entire setup runs at under 50W idle while offering full HomeLab functionality.
2. AI Engineer Pack by ElevenLabs – Tools and Services for Developers
INFO: A bundle of discounts, free plans, and credits designed mainly for developers building AI-based tools and applications. It includes access to developer platforms, cloud services, code management tools, content generation, data handling, and automation solutions. This is worth checking out if you want software and service discounts.
3. 90s Cable TV Simulator Powered by Raspberry Pi (video, 18 min)
INFO: The creator set out to build a device that recreates the vibe of 1990s cable TV on a modern screen. The whole project is based on a Raspberry Pi and the FieldStation42 platform. In the video, you’ll learn how to build your cable TV station, prepare content for broadcasting, set up "transmitters," and even make a working mock-up of a decoder with an output for an old analog TV. If you're into retro electronics or enjoy tinkering with a Raspberry Pi, this project is for you.
4. Why Top Performers Make Assertions—Not Just Observations
INFO: Noticing trends and sharing insights isn’t enough to truly influence decision-making in a company. This article explains the difference between an insight, a suggestion, and an assertion, and why making explicit assertions sets top professionals apart. You’ll also learn how to craft assertions, take ownership of them, and confidently propose a direction—even in complex or uncertain situations.
5. Home Server from an Old Laptop? A Cheap and Energy-Efficient Solution (video, 17 min)
INFO: An intriguing compilation showing how certain sounds have evolved and passed from one generation to the next. It’s a “fun fact” content presented creatively and engagingly. Since it’s a music experiment, turn on your sound. Just scroll and listen.
6. How Banknote Readers Work – and Why They're Hard to Fool
INFO: The author takes a deep dive into the technology behind “banknote validators”—the devices used to check the authenticity of cash in ATMs, vending machines, and ticket machines. The video explains how features like photodetectors, UV and IR sensors, magnetic strips, and even tape-head-style readers detect the physical properties of banknotes. While the process might seem simple at first glance, the combination of these methods makes tricking these devices complicated and rarely worth the effort.
7. Why You Should Use Pi-hole in Your Home Network
INFO: The author explains how Pi-hole can effectively block ads, trackers, and unwanted domains at the DNS level across your entire home network. The article also includes a simple guide to installation and setup. It is a quick and easy read for anyone looking to improve their browsing experience and network privacy.
8. Reservoir Sampling – How to Sample When You Don’t Know the Dataset Size
INFO: A clear explanation of how the reservoir sampling algorithm works, allowing fair random selection from a data stream of unknown size, using very little memory. Real-world examples, like drawing cards or handling login service overloads, make the concept easy to grasp and show its practical value. It's a clever solution worth knowing if you haven’t encountered it before.
9. Why height: 50% Doesn’t Work in CSS—and How to Fix It
INFO: This article explains why using height: 50% often has no effect. The issue lies in circular calculation, where a child element tries to base its height on a parent that doesn’t yet have a defined height. The author shows how to ensure the height is known using units like rem or layout tools like Grid and Flexbox, which change how size is calculated. The article also covers common pitfalls with min-height and shows how different layout modes affect element sizing.
INFO: Researchers from the University of Zurich secretly experimented on a popular subreddit, posting AI-generated comments while pretending to be real users. The goal was to test how effectively personalized AI messages can influence human beliefs. They did this without the participants' knowledge or consent and now face consequences from the ethics committee. More details can be found in the article.
INFO: This tool lets you quickly generate critical CSS for any URL. The generated stylesheet includes only the CSS rules needed to display the page's initial view, which can speed up loading times and prevent layout shifts caused by loading external resources. This solution is handy for optimizing Core Web Vitals.
12. Why Publishing Websites via Figma Sites Is Asking for Trouble
INFO: Figma Sites lets you publish designs directly from Figma as websites, but the generated code breaks many WCAG accessibility rules. Sample sites promoted by Figma have serious issues like poor contrast, missing alt texts, incorrect ARIA roles, and interactions relying solely on JavaScript without standard HTML elements. This is a valuable read for anyone interested in web accessibility.
13. How Ambiguous URL Parsing in Google OAuth Can Lead to Account Takeover
INFO: The author describes an account takeover vulnerability in OAuth caused by differences in how Google’s backend and the user’s browser parse URLs. By crafting a specially designed redirect_uri, an attacker can intercept the access token and gain unauthorized access to a victim’s Google Cloud account without their knowledge. This content is aimed at security enthusiasts.
14. OrgSec Guide – A Guide to Building a Security Program in Your Company
INFO: A collection of tips and best practices for creating a security plan within an organization. The project is still under development, but can already serve as a good starting point for defining your company’s security policies. The table of contents is available in the “hamburger” menu.
15. Why Sometimes It’s Worth Writing “Overly Clever” Code
INFO: Most guides advise against writing clever code because it can be hard to maintain. This article shows the other side—when writing such code can help develop your skills. It’s not about using tricky code in production or annoying coworkers, but about learning through playful experimentation.
16. Interactive Cartograms Showing Data on Population, CO2 Emissions, GDP, and More
INFO: A collection of map-charts that resize countries proportionally to a chosen indicator, such as population, CO2 emissions, GDP, etc. This makes it easy to spot global inequalities and surprising relationships between the numbers. Sharing this as a fascinating insight.
17. How to Copy Large SQLite Databases Faster Between Computers
INFO: Inside an SQLite database, there are not only data but also indexes that speed up searches. Sometimes these indexes become very large, making the database file several gigabytes. The author shows a clever method to transfer such large databases between servers quickly. In the example, a 3.4 GB database was successfully sent as a file of only 240 MB.
INFO: This technical talk is about how Netflix employs Java technology today. It covers which JDK version they use, why they stopped using RX Java, why they created their fork of Spring Boot, and how they migrated to it. The video also dives into architectural decisions and specific Java features Netflix leverages in its system.
19. How Barack Obama’s BlackBerry Was Secured in 2009
INFO: After becoming president, Barack Obama wanted to keep using his BlackBerry despite security concerns and legal requirements like archiving communications. The NSA and other agencies developed a special solution: a modified BlackBerry-compatible phone. Communication was only possible with others using the same encryption level, significantly limiting his contact—an interesting story with a unique hardware-software security approach.
20. Home Server Accessible from the Internet – Step by Step
INFO: Not every internet user has a public IP address, making exposing a home server to the outside world challenging. The author explains how they used solutions like Tailscale or Cloudflare to create a setup that, despite being behind NAT, allows secure external access to their private resources.
21. SQL Injection in the Era of ORMs – Is It Still Possible?
INFO: Contrary to popular belief, using ORMs does not fully protect against SQL Injection. It all depends on how correctly they are used. The article explains why ORM mechanisms can sometimes fail, showing real cases of risky implementations in popular frameworks like Hibernate, SQLAlchemy, and Sequelize. For each technology, it provides concrete examples of both vulnerable (flawed) and safe (correct) code snippets—a must-read for both pentesters and developers.
22. DDoS Attacks Increased by 358% Year-on-Year – Cloudflare Q1 2025 Data
INFO: A regular report from Cloudflare on global DDoS attack statistics. Unfortunately, the situation is worsening year after year. Both the number and strength of attacks are growing. More details and data can be found in the full report.
23. Manifest – Micro-backend in a Single YAML File
INFO: Manifest is a lightweight, self-hosted open-source backend configured entirely via one YAML file. It provides an REST API, admin panel, database, and file storage system without writing extra code. It is perfect for prototyping, MVPs, and small production projects.
24. Simulating Error Scenarios in APIs Using Mocks
INFO: API mocks let you simulate various error situations in your application, ranging from common HTTP errors to network issues and service degradation, without risking the production environment. This simulation helps test how the app responds to harsh conditions and improves error handling before users encounter problems. The article also includes a short video demonstrating the implementation of such a mock using OpenAPI.
25. Scraperr – self-hosted web scraper with a web interface
INFO: Scraperr is a tool for scraping content from websites that you can run locally or on your infrastructure, for example, via Docker or Helm. It features a straightforward web interface for managing tasks, supports XPath selectors, data export, multimedia downloading, and a notification system, and doesn’t require advanced technical skills. It is a good solution for users who want an easy way to collect data from other sites without complexity.
26. Different Ways to Convert Values to Strings in JavaScript and Their Pitfalls
INFO: Not all methods of converting values to strings in JavaScript work correctly for every data type. Symbols, null and undefined objects, and objects without a prototype can cause particular problems. The author examines how each method behaves, shows how to fix code errors, and discusses alternative ways to convert values to strings.
27. Smallweb – Minimalistic File Hosting with Application Isolation
INFO: Smallweb is a simple solution for hosting apps or static sites. Each app is just a folder assigned to a subdomain. Adding a new app is as easy as creating a new directory—no building or deploying needed. Files become instantly available online. Security is ensured by isolation through a Deno-based sandbox that limits each app’s access strictly to its folder, minimizing risks of interference between apps.
28. Deepfake and AI-Generated Image Detector by FaceOnLive
INFO: This tool boasts high accuracy in detecting images altered by artificial intelligence. It not only indicates whether an image is fake but also tries to identify which AI engine generated it. The analysis covers the visual layer (e.g., unnatural lighting, compression artifacts, pixel structure) and the image metadata. In my tests, it detected everything correctly, but this does not mean you can fully trust the tool. I’m sharing it more as a curiosity.
29. From Good to Great Animations in User Interfaces
INFO: The tips gathered in this article show how to refine UI animations to make them feel more natural, smooth, and enjoyable. The code examples demonstrate how details, like subtle synchronization of color and movement, which might not be noticeable at first glance, impact the overall perception of the animation.
30. Gmail to SQLite – Exporting Emails to a Database
INFO: This script allows you to download all emails from Gmail and save them into an SQLite database, enabling later analysis using SQL queries. It can be helpful, for example, to count messages from specific senders, identify the largest emails, or detect unread newsletters. The article includes a complete guide to setting up Google API access, an example database structure, and ready-to-use SQL queries for data analysis.
31. Interesting Tricks with Widgets in iOS (Video, 37 min)
INFO: The author analyzes the animation mechanism of iOS widgets, which, in practice, allows bypassing some system limitations. The video shows intriguing examples of unconventional use of graphics frameworks. These features are not necessarily officially supported, but they are interesting from the reverse engineering and the iOS platform perspective.
32. Archivalchemist – Creating Vulnerable Archives for Security Testing
INFO: Are you a pentester (not a hacker, of course!) needing to create a zip or tar bomb? Or an archive that performs path traversal attacks, creates symlinks and hardlinks, and generally causes chaos in the system. This tool does it for you. It’s useful when you develop a solution allowing users to upload compressed files, which you decompress before use. Generate several such “corrupted” archives and test how your application handles them.
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