Hacker News: blindseeker

New comment by blindseeker in "German implementation of eIDAS will require an Apple/Google account to function"

blindseeker — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:47:55 +0000

Possibly I‘m not smart enough to understand, but from what I see is that the implementers intend to leverage existing security architecture of Android/Google and iOS/Apple, respectively- arguably to drive adoption. The document doesn’t state anywhere that Apple / Google account is a requirement to use German eIDAS. From what I can tell, one may (continue to) use its government issued ID card with electronic signature for authentication.

Please prove me wrong, I genuinely want to understand the implication of the linked document.

New comment by blindseeker in "From Oscilloscope to Wireshark: A UDP Story (2022)"

blindseeker — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:05:54 +0000

Yes, it’s absolutely useful. You need the logic probe (which I do have, but never use in „standard“ teaching) only if you plan (or need) to monitor more input signals than the analog ones on the scope.

In fact, to demonstrate the very physical foundation of digital computing, it is very useful to use the analog inputs and zoom all the way in to see the slight imperfections in signal transmission.

New comment by blindseeker in "From Oscilloscope to Wireshark: A UDP Story (2022)"

blindseeker — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 08:41:03 +0000

University professor here: showing and decoding wire signals has become a staple in my teaching - very effective, eye-opening even for students that find the OSI layers too abstract to grasp on paper. Btw, I’m using this nice demo board (I’m not affiliated with the brand): https://www.batronix.com/shop/demoboards/Batronix-MSO-Demo-B...

…typically we decode I2C.

Oh, I‘ve equipped the lab with all kinds of oscilloscopes. I find a lower mid-tier product (like Rigol DHO 900/1000 series) most suitable: good enough resolution and nice quality-of-life features (many physical buttons / dials and input channels go a long way!), yet not too feature-packed and physically compact to still be approachable.

New comment by blindseeker in "Can you lose your native tongue? (2024)"

blindseeker — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:45:36 +0000

Same here! Just that my family emigrated when I was 5 years old, plus my Romanian native mother passed when I was 14. this was some 25 years ago. Now, I do understand Romanian media, but can’t speak past a simple „Buna ziua, ce mai faci“.

Interestingly, some 18 years ago I went to intern in Mexico. After 6 months there, I was quite fluent in Spanish. But when I wanted to think of a Romanian word, all that popped up was Spanish. Pretty wild how the brain works.

(Romanian, Spanish, French, Italian, … are all Latin influenced languages, btw.)

New comment by blindseeker in "In pre-WWII Berlin, the shape of your roof was a political decision"

blindseeker — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 18:20:29 +0000

So I live in one of the mentioned flat roofed houses. We restored it to its original appearance, but with very modern internals (proper insulation, heatpump, wall and ceiling heating areas, KNX-based smart home, etc.). It’s a piece of art on 110sqm, with very practical floor plan. To optimize space and material, every single wall has optimized thickness. Really impressive attention to detail some 100 years ago. Oh, and the roof has never leaked… (2.54 degree pitch btw)