Articles
Website of the month
iFixit.com is a Wikipedia-style website that teaches people how to fix ‘almost anything’. This means anyone can create a repair manual for a device, and also anyone can edit the existing set of manuals to improve the content.
The site offers what seems to be an endless supply of repair guides for all conceivable models of products, from a Samsung washing machine to a Philips LCD TV. Clicking on the ‘answers’ tab will bring up common user questions and answers for that product, such as ‘How do I fix a cracked screen on an iPhone 5?’. It’s a great way for getting specialised advice from the tech community. You can also submit your own questions or answers.
The site has a ‘parts and tools store’ for your specialised fixing task and a tech news section. It also features a ‘teardowns’ page, which gives user-contributed insights into the latest gadgets. This page is based on people literally tearing down the tech to look at the component parts, and comes complete with disassembly photos and hardware analysis.
This is a great resource for sharing and discovering the practical technical knowledge needed in everyday life.
Useful apps
iCircuit is an easy-to-use electronic circuit simulator and designer, which can handle both analogue and digital circuits. It features real-time, ‘always-on’ analysis, so that it is always simulating and working like a real circuit. This means you don’t stop to take a measurement, but simply play as you would with the circuit while the power is on.
With more than 30 elements to use, from resistors and switches to mosfets and logic gates, the app allows you to create as complex a design as you wish. You can even create sub-circuits to introduce new elements. Those who have experience of CAD will find it easy to use. Simply add elements, connect them together and set their properties. The app also features a multimeter so you can instantly read voltages and currents, and a built-in oscilloscope with touch interface that allows you to add in values and track how a value changes over time.
The app is available for various Apple, Windows and Android gadgets, and can be downloaded from App Store, Mac App Store, Windows Store or Google Play – the cost for the Android app is £3.09.
Watch and learn
YouTube channel Motherboard describes itself as an ‘online magazine and video channel’ that explores intriguing topics covering the ‘intersection of technology, science and humans’. Launched by news and culture website Vice in 2009, the high production quality sets it apart from other tech-related YouTube channels. A mix of news, commentary, in-depth reporting, photos and original video documentaries, Motherboard delves into weird and wonderful developments going on around the globe, from a look inside the Japanese hotel staffed by robots to a journey into London's underground mosquito lab. Videos range from short, fast-paced, fact-filled offerings of up to 10 minutes to more in-depth mini-documentaries that last up to 30 minutes. The recent The Dawn of Killer Robots is well worth a watch.