All posts tagged: Machine

Man builds homemade X-ray machine

Man builds homemade X-ray machine

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. X-ray imaging is best left to the professionals for a good reason. While the tool is not dangerous when utilized properly, it’s whole purpose is to fire radiation at a target. Knowing this, it’s probably better to simply admire DIY YouTuber Mirko Pavleski’s recent quest to build his own at-home X-ray machine from scratch. The secret ingredient to making it all work? A repurposed DY86 vacuum tube taken from a vintage CRT television set. X-ray imaging is not only a vital tool for both medicine and science—it’s one of the oldest methods of its kind. Discovered by German physics professor Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895, the breakthrough earned him the inaugural Nobel Prize in Physics later that year. The machine fires  X-ray beams at …

Steam Machine Updates: Game Verification & UI Changes

Steam Machine Updates: Game Verification & UI Changes

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Valve has introduced significant updates to its Steam ecosystem, focusing on improving functionality across key devices like the Steam Machine, Steam Deck and the upcoming Steam Frame. Deck Ready highlights specific advancements, such as the Steam Machine’s updated game verification system, which ensures smoother performance for demanding titles like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Another notable addition is the frame-limiting feature, designed to reduce screen tearing and provide users with greater control over performance metrics during gameplay. Discover how these updates enhance cross-device compatibility, improve battery efficiency and expand the ecosystem’s capabilities. Gain insight into the Steam Deck’s integration with other hardware, the Steam Frame’s dual support for VR and flat-screen gaming and the practical design choices that reflect Valve’s focus on adaptability and user needs. Steam Machine: Smarter Verification and Enhanced Usability TL;DR Key Takeaways : Valve has introduced significant updates to the Steam Machine, including a revamped game verification system, an improved user interface and hardware adaptability with off-the-shelf components for easier upgrades. The Steam Deck has been optimized for portability and seamless …

Strange e-bike or mobility revolution? Infinite Machine Olto review

Strange e-bike or mobility revolution? Infinite Machine Olto review

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Every now and then, a company launches something that doesn’t fit neatly into any existing category. Not because it’s obscenely powerful or flaunts conventional safety, but just because it doesn’t fit the mold that we’ve grown accustomed to. That’s exactly what the Infinite Machine Olto is. Call it an e-bike, call it an electric moped, call it a scooter with pedals – everyone is going to have a different opinion. But after spending several weeks riding the Olto around town, I can confidently say one thing: it’s unlike anything else currently on the market. I’ve had my eye on this one from the day it debuted, rolling out like a quirky, rideable backslash. The Olto may have a set of functional pedals, but it obviously isn’t trying to compete with budget electric bicycles or even really with typical e-bikes at all, because it just isn’t designed like a conventional bicycle. Instead, Infinite Machine has built what feels more like an automotive-inspired urban mobility platform than a traditional bicycle. It weighs around 175 lb (80 kg), …

Steam Machine Review: Is the ,000 Console Worth Buying

Steam Machine Review: Is the $1,000 Console Worth Buying

Published by Miika Tikkanen

The Steam Machine is a hybrid device designed to combine the customization of PC gaming with the accessibility of a living room console. At a $1,000 price point, it stands out for its ability to handle demanding games like Doom at over 120 frames per second, all while maintaining a sleek, minimalist design. According to PlayFever, this device attempts to carve out a niche between high-end gaming PCs and next-gen consoles, but its role in an already crowded market invites closer examination. Explore how the Steam Machine stacks up against options like the PS5, Steam Deck and traditional gaming PCs. Learn about its integration into home entertainment setups, its performance capabilities and the potential overlap with existing devices. This feature will provide a clear breakdown of its strengths and limitations to help you determine if it aligns with your gaming preferences. A Premium Experience TL;DR Key Takeaways : The Steam Machine, priced at $1,000, aims to combine PC gaming performance with console-like convenience, targeting gamers who prioritize big-screen gaming. Its sleek, eco-friendly design and compact …

I switched an old laptop to a RAM-only OS and it outpaced my newer machine

I switched an old laptop to a RAM-only OS and it outpaced my newer machine

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Not too long ago, I revived an old 2012 HP Pavilion m6 with Puppy Linux, an OS that runs entirely in RAM. It felt fast, but “feels fast” is cheap talk. So this time I grabbed a stopwatch and raced it head-to-head against my modern gaming laptop, an MSI Cyborg 15 running Windows 11, for four everyday tasks. The 14-year-old laptop won two of them. Related I revived a 14-year-old laptop with an OS that runs entirely in memory Skip drive bottlenecks entirely: see how a “Frugal Install” forces a bloated web browser to run directly through pure, volatile memory. The match up and the ground rules Four tasks, three runs each, medians reported The old machine is an HP Pavilion m6 from 2012: a dual-core, four-thread Core i5-3210M, 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB SATA SSD. It runs Debian-based BookwormPup64, a member of the Puppy Linux family, as a frugal install that loads the whole OS into memory at boot. The new machine is my MSI Cyborg 15: a 10-core i7-13620H, an RTX 4050, …

This slushie machine was a lifesaver during NYC’s heat wave

This slushie machine was a lifesaver during NYC’s heat wave

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Last weekend’s brutal NYC heat wave had me craving a frozen drink almost every afternoon. Normally, that would mean sweating through a walk to 7-Eleven for a slurpee. This time, though, I stayed home and put the new Ninja Slushi Twist to the test. Ninja’s latest slushie machine builds on the popularity of the original Slushi, but with a big upgrade. Instead of a single mixing chamber, the Slushi Twist has two 48-ounce vessels that can make two completely different frozen drinks at the same time. Beyond classic slushies, it can also make frappés, milkshakes, frozen coffees, and smoothies — and because the two sides work independently, you can even keep one alcohol-free for mocktails while the other side mixes up cocktails. For entertaining, this machine solves a real problem. Instead of making multiple batches or asking everyone to agree on one flavor, both chambers run simultaneously, making enough frozen drinks for a crowd. Ninja says it can make more than 10 drinks per batch — plenty for summer parties or family gatherings. The standout …

Machine Aesthetics | Joe Bucciero

Machine Aesthetics | Joe Bucciero

Published by Jenni Sidey

The thirteen paintings in Altoon Sultan’s exhibition at Hoffman Donahue take up little of the gallery’s wall space. Hung low, with varying distances between them, the works never exceed fourteen inches on a given side. But what they show is big. Big in a literal sense—Sultan paints cropped fragments of large agricultural machines that she has digitally photographed near her home in Vermont—and in a symbolic one. Craft and mechanization, the collective and the individual, country and city: farm technology exemplifies the far from frictionless process by which each of those terms gives way to the other, by which the old world becomes the new. These transformations have preoccupied painters for well over a century. In a series of essays from the 1920s Fernand Léger wondered if “the mechanical element,” often seen as an existential threat to artists, could in fact offer an opportunity. Machines can be beautiful—Léger muses about farm equipment “decked out like a butterfly or a bird”—but their beauty serves commercial functions. Art, by contrast, Léger argues, is harder to instrumentalize; it …

Steam Machine Review in Progress: So Many Questions for Such a Little Box

Steam Machine Review in Progress: So Many Questions for Such a Little Box

Published by Miika Tikkanen

The first thing that hit me after unboxing Valve’s Steam Machine at home was: wow, this is small. I’d already seen this thing in person last November, but its size still impressed me. Steam Machine is smaller than a PlayStation 5. It’s smaller than an Xbox. It’s a cube you could put next to your TV easily, or carry in a box on a vacation with friends, which is what I did. It’s shockingly portable. But dense. And you do still need a power outlet and TV or monitor to plug into. This isn’t a Steam Deck. Steam Machine is Valve’s return to trying to make a PC game console — and unfortunately, it’s arriving at a terrible time. Electronics prices for computer components such as RAM and SSD storage are going through the roof, and game consoles including the PlayStation and Xbox are seeing price hikes, even on 6-year-old hardware. The Steam Machine’s starting price of $1,049 is already out of reach for many people. Plus, while it’s fun to see Valve making its …

Set Up a DIY Steam Machine Using SteamOS on Your PC

Set Up a DIY Steam Machine Using SteamOS on Your PC

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Repurposing your PC into a Steam Machine is a practical way to enjoy a console-like gaming experience without investing in additional hardware. By installing SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system optimized for gaming, you can create a dedicated gaming hub that mirrors the functionality of the original Steam Machines. As NerdNest explains, the process involves straightforward steps like downloading the SteamOS installation image, creating a bootable USB drive with software such as Rufus or Balena Etcher and configuring your PC’s BIOS to prioritize the USB drive for installation. This approach not only provides access to Steam’s extensive game library but also introduces a streamlined interface designed for gaming enthusiasts. Explore how to enhance your setup with features like the Steam Controller, which offers intuitive navigation and system control, or dive into SteamOS’s customization options to tailor your gaming experience. You’ll also gain insight into important setup considerations, such as backing up your data before installation and optimizing hardware for better performance. Whether you’re looking to repurpose an older PC or build a budget-friendly gaming system, this …