Author: Brad Linder

Librephone project wants to remove proprietary “blobs” from smartphones that otherwise run open source software

There are plenty of smartphone operating systems that are mostly made from free and open source software, including de-Googled versions of Android like LineageOS, GrapheneOS, and e/OS and mobile Linux distributions like postmarketOS and Ubuntu Touch. B…

There are plenty of smartphone operating systems that are mostly made from free and open source software, including de-Googled versions of Android like LineageOS, GrapheneOS, and e/OS and mobile Linux distributions like postmarketOS and Ubuntu Touch. But while the operating systems are open source, they often rely on proprietary, closed-source “blobs” to interact with the phone’s […]

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Amazon Echo hacks: You can unlock the bootloader and install custom ROMS on some older models

Most new Amazon Echo devices are powered by Amazon’s Linux-based Vega operating system. But older models shipped with a custom version of Android that’s been locked down to make them feel more like an Amazon appliance than Android tablets. …

Most new Amazon Echo devices are powered by Amazon’s Linux-based Vega operating system. But older models shipped with a custom version of Android that’s been locked down to make them feel more like an Amazon appliance than Android tablets. But now it’s possible to unlock the bootloader and install custom ROMs on some older models, […]

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Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 now available with MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 for $700 and up

The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (CP514-5HN) is one of the most powerful Chromebooks with an Arm-based processor to date, thanks to its MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 processor. With a 14 inch IPS LCD touchscreen display and a 360-degree hinge, and up to…

The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (CP514-5HN) is one of the most powerful Chromebooks with an Arm-based processor to date, thanks to its MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 processor. With a 14 inch IPS LCD touchscreen display and a 360-degree hinge, and up to 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage, it’s also a pretty versatile ChromeOS […]

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The $30 Kobo Remote is a wireless page turner for Kobo eReaders

Sometimes a remote control makes it easier to interact with your devices. TV remotes saved us from having to get off the couch to change channels. Garage door openers make it easier to pull your car in without getting out of your vehicle first. And whi…

Sometimes a remote control makes it easier to interact with your devices. TV remotes saved us from having to get off the couch to change channels. Garage door openers make it easier to pull your car in without getting out of your vehicle first. And while the original Chromecast used your smartphone instead of a […]

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Lilbits: Phosh 0.50.0, unofficial Windows Subsystem for FreeBSD, and Google Japan’s impractical keyboards

Some folks at Google Japan have a habit of designing impractical keyboards. A few years ago we saw a single-row keyboard with every letter, number and character laid out along a 5.4 foot strip. There are also Teacup, bubble wrap, and spoon bending keyb…

Some folks at Google Japan have a habit of designing impractical keyboards. A few years ago we saw a single-row keyboard with every letter, number and character laid out along a 5.4 foot strip. There are also Teacup, bubble wrap, and spoon bending keyboards, among others. Now the company has introduced its latest horribly inconvenient […]

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Orange Pi 4 Pro is a single-board PC with an Allwinner A733 processor with Arm and RISC-V cores

The Orange Pi 4 Pro is a credit card-sized single-board computer that’s just a hair larger than a Raspberry Pi 5, and it even has a Raspberry Pi-compatible 40-pin GPIO header. But it stands out for a few reasons. For one thing there’s a M.2…

The Orange Pi 4 Pro is a credit card-sized single-board computer that’s just a hair larger than a Raspberry Pi 5, and it even has a Raspberry Pi-compatible 40-pin GPIO header. But it stands out for a few reasons. For one thing there’s a M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 connector and an eMMC socket on the bottom […]

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Windows 11 Media Creation Tool gets a buggy update on the eve of Windows 10’s EOL

Microsoft is ending mainstream support for Windows 10 on October 14th, 2025 and encouraging users to upgrade if they want to keep getting bug fixes and security updates. Folks in some regions with eligible PCs can safely put off migrating to Windows 11…

Microsoft is ending mainstream support for Windows 10 on October 14th, 2025 and encouraging users to upgrade if they want to keep getting bug fixes and security updates. Folks in some regions with eligible PCs can safely put off migrating to Windows 11 for a year by getting a free year of extended security updates. […]

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REDMAGIC 11 Pro could be the first liquid-cooled smartphone you can actually buy

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor is expected to be one of the fastest chips available for smartphones. But as with any processor, you can eke even better sustained performance out of it if you use enhanced cooling to keep the chi…

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor is expected to be one of the fastest chips available for smartphones. But as with any processor, you can eke even better sustained performance out of it if you use enhanced cooling to keep the chip from throttling as it gets warm. And the upcoming REDMAGIC 11 Pro aims […]

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Orange Pi 6 Plus board has a 12-core CPU, 45 TOPS AI performance, dual 5 Gb Ethernet ports, and up to 64GB RAM

The Orange Pi line of single-board computers include a wide range of models featuring Arm-based chips. But while most are designed to compete in the same entry-level space as Raspberry Pi hardware, the new Orange Pi 6 Plus has features that make it see…

The Orange Pi line of single-board computers include a wide range of models featuring Arm-based chips. But while most are designed to compete in the same entry-level space as Raspberry Pi hardware, the new Orange Pi 6 Plus has features that make it seem more like a competitor for the Intel/Asus NUC line of mini PCs. […]

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Charge an iPhone 7 while using wired headphones… with a pricey dock or dongle

Charge an iPhone 7 while using wired headphones… with a pricey dock or dongle

Apple says it took “courage” to launch an iPhone without a headphone jack. The internet seems to disagree. But on a more practical level, how exactly are you supposed to use headphones with an iPhone 7?

Well, you have a few options: use wireless headphones like Apple’s new AirPods. Use special headphones that connect to the phone’s lightning port. Or use the 3.5mm to lightning adapter that comes with the iPhone to connect any standard headphones to the phone.

Continue reading Charge an iPhone 7 while using wired headphones… with a pricey dock or dongle at Liliputing.

Charge an iPhone 7 while using wired headphones… with a pricey dock or dongle

Apple says it took “courage” to launch an iPhone without a headphone jack. The internet seems to disagree. But on a more practical level, how exactly are you supposed to use headphones with an iPhone 7?

Well, you have a few options: use wireless headphones like Apple’s new AirPods. Use special headphones that connect to the phone’s lightning port. Or use the 3.5mm to lightning adapter that comes with the iPhone to connect any standard headphones to the phone.

Continue reading Charge an iPhone 7 while using wired headphones… with a pricey dock or dongle at Liliputing.