[HN Gopher] Type in Morse code by repeatedly slamming your lapto...
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Type in Morse code by repeatedly slamming your laptop shut
Author : OuterVale
Score : 238 points
Date : 2024-07-15 15:47 UTC (3 days ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| nullindividual wrote:
| Thanks for the Monday morning laugh. They should have used this
| method of communication in WWII instead of those signal lights!
| /s
|
| And someone posted the other day that there was no way humans
| would be creating new works anymore because of AI...
| LorenDB wrote:
| RIP that person's laptop hinge. With use, hinges loosen, and I
| can't imagine that sort of stress would slow the process.
| hagbard_c wrote:
| Not to mention the display cable, fortunately you can order new
| hinges and display cables by slamming the thing shut a few
| thousand times in the right cadence. This is not just a
| solution in search of a problem but also a solution to the
| problems it causes.
| jerf wrote:
| I like to imagine that the animated gif featured at the top is
| in fact in real time, not accelerated, and they have long
| passed the point where this is an issue.
|
| Perhaps that was even the inspiration.
| amlib wrote:
| I think this is just to show off how strong a thinkpad x/t
| hinge is :)
| Sharlin wrote:
| This distinctly reminds me of spacebar heating workflow [1].
|
| [1] https://xkcd.com/1172/
| josefritzishere wrote:
| This is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.
| jvanderbot wrote:
| Beautiful wording.
|
| So, I had to see where it was from, if anywhere else
| (Amazon.com): A Heartbreaking Work of
| Staggering Genius is the moving memoir of a college senior who,
| in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer
| and inherits his eight-year-old brother. This exhilarating
| debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly
| inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that
| holds a family together.
| oaktowner wrote:
| A wonderful, wonderful read. An audacious title, but the book
| absolutely makes good on it.
| xg15 wrote:
| well it will break something alright
| satisfice wrote:
| I have no better comment and I must scream.
| dguest wrote:
| How was this posted both 2 hours ago and also on the 15th?
|
| I got really confused when someone said something about "monday
| morning" but all the timestamps read 15th.
| AnimalMuppet wrote:
| I think that happens when it comes in via the second-chance
| pool.
| lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote:
| https://news.ycombinator.com/pool
|
| There's a "second-chance" pool for posts which didn't get a lot
| of discussion but the moderators feel deserve more. When it's
| added to the front page again, the timestamps are updated to
| make it seem like a fresh post, presumably because people will
| be more likely to comment.
| lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote:
| Gotta love the marketing!
|
| > Use a battle-tested encoding trusted by pilots, submariners,
| and amateur radio nerds
|
| Technically accurate, yet entirely missing the point.
| shreddit wrote:
| It even works offline, just slam harder for "over the air"
| transmission. Has a shorter range though...
| Bluestein wrote:
| (Talk about "air gapped", eh?
| aspyct wrote:
| Shorter range and shorter lifespan too :D
| th0ma5 wrote:
| There is a video of a guy shouting into a can which was
| changing the pressure of a piezo ... I think they picked it up
| in the shack but didn't mess with it much more. Completely
| passive I think.
| shagie wrote:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)
| xg15 wrote:
| Recommended by 9 out of 10 independent laptop repair shops!
| Bluestein wrote:
| All we need now is the "slam head on keyboard" version :)
| ToucanLoucan wrote:
| Should be pretty straight forward to modify the code, just look
| for key presses of R, T, Y, U, D, F, G, H, J, V, B, and N.
| madcaptenor wrote:
| You're assuming I have good aim.
| Bluestein wrote:
| And/or an easily targetable forehead :)
| thih9 wrote:
| I think this is doable; and practice makes perfect.
|
| I can enter passcode on my apple watch with my nose. It's
| the smaller apple watch model. Nose is quite big.
| Dwedit wrote:
| This is how you destroy your hinge.
| KWxIUElW8Xt0tD9 wrote:
| does indeed seem rather unhinged
| in-tension wrote:
| Fantastic.
|
| Did anyone else have nostalgia for the Thinkpad track point?
| khedoros1 wrote:
| Better, I have one right in front of me!
| ofalkaed wrote:
| Did you use the trackpoint for navigating an onscreen keyboard
| or something? Trackpoint gestures for the the alphabet?
| floam wrote:
| The clit?
| utensil4778 wrote:
| The Thinkpad TrackPoint mouse has over 20,000 nerve endings
| efitz wrote:
| Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson had a subplot where a main
| character used morse code on his keyboard, or some other layered
| encoding on top of the keyboard, to write software and
| communicate surreptitiously even while his screen was being
| recorded.
| linsomniac wrote:
| Jinx
| linsomniac wrote:
| This reminds me of that section in the book Cryptonomicon, where
| our hero is programming on a laptop that he knows is being spied
| upon using Tempest and probably more, and is using clandestine
| input via morse code on the shift (?) key. I really enjoyed that
| book.
| AcerbicZero wrote:
| Welp, I know what I'm reading on my next flight :)
| anfractuosity wrote:
| I think it was something to do with one of the keyboard keys
| with an LED if I recall correctly, so possibly caps/numlock.
|
| Edit: seems I'm misremembering, just read -
| https://www.reddit.com/r/programmerchat/comments/3aknvw/pris...
| the LED was to output data, but they used another key to tap
| code
| mulmen wrote:
| > on the shift (?) key.
|
| Disabling Windows accessibility features is an indication of
| anti-social behavior.
| xp84 wrote:
| ? even on one's own computer? I don't follow
|
| It would follow from your statement that not disabling the
| screen lock is also anti-social.
| omoikane wrote:
| Windows has a "sticky keys" accessibility feature that is
| enabled by pressing "shift" many times. I believe it's
| intended for people who have a hard time holding multiple
| keys at the same time.
|
| It's something that would be easy to trigger accidentally
| if you are using the shift keys to play pinball or type
| morse code.
| sam_goody wrote:
| I really appreciate an old style HN "Hacker" post!
| fitsumbelay wrote:
| love this and author's previous posts + work
| anfractuosity wrote:
| Haha. Tangentially -
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_Me_to_Heaven -
|
| "developed by Carrot Pop which measures the vertical distance
| that a mobile phone is thrown. Players compete against each other
| by seeking to throw their phones higher than others, often at the
| risk of damaging their phones."
| rg2004 wrote:
| Why would apple ban this? Seems like a great way to increase
| sales!
| karolist wrote:
| applecare abuse
| dheera wrote:
| You could probably get better "framerate" by just hearing the
| slamming sounds from the microphone instead of querying acpid.
|
| Or using the webcam to look for darkness of the shutting.
| stainablesteel wrote:
| absolutely brilliant solution for if your keyboard breaks and you
| REALLY need to send an email
| thih9 wrote:
| Also great discoverability. When you need to send that email so
| badly that you start repeatedly slamming the laptop lid out if
| frustration, you get presented with this extra input method.
| egberts1 wrote:
| How about the #headdesk'ing of Morse code on a touchpad?
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(page generated 2024-07-18 23:00 UTC)