Hacker News: stn8188

New comment by stn8188 in "Clearing Out the Unfinished Project Backlog"

stn8188 — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 21:23:47 +0000

Hey everyone, I threw together some thoughts about a personal project that I was able to just finish up recently - it wouldn't have been possible for me to finish it so quickly without the assistance of LLMs. Even though it's a confusing time career-wise, there's no denying the fact that they can help get some things done quickly!

Hope everyone enjoys it - I'd love to hear everyone's feedback. (Oh, by the way, the article is 100% human written; I am not an excellent writer but I hate reading AI-generated stuff online where it feels like it's not worth my time).

Clearing Out the Unfinished Project Backlog

stn8188 — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 21:21:54 +0000

Article URL: https://shielddigitaldesign.com/posts/2026/finish-projects/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50215535

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by stn8188 in "US diesel prices hit a record high of $5.85 on average"

stn8188 — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:33:16 +0000

I just checked prices this morning and realized the huge jump...

New comment by stn8188 in "Extreme 220GHz+Broadband Silicon Capacitor X2SC 0201M 22nF BV11"

stn8188 — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:28:36 +0000

It may seem overly simplistic, but 2-port models for capacitors can be configured in series (as shown here) or in shunt (much more common for power distribution network applications). So, as basic as you might think this diagram is, it is entirely expected to be there so that we instantly know if the S-parameters are in series or shunt configuration - it would be more unusual if it were missing.

Is Astranis Preparing for Acquisition via SPAC?

stn8188 — Sat, 30 May 2026 14:43:49 +0000

Article URL: https://shielddigitaldesign.com/posts/2026/astranis-acquisition/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48336792

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by stn8188 in "Internet traffic in Iran increasing"

stn8188 — Thu, 28 May 2026 00:04:53 +0000

Oh come to think of it, I had some attempted logins to some home-hosted infrastructure from Iran last week...

New comment by stn8188 in "Why is Vivado 2026.1 dropping Linux support for free tier?"

stn8188 — Sun, 24 May 2026 11:52:29 +0000

I came in here to recommend Lattice as well, at least for small glue-logic type applications. I've used their various MaxhXO lines extensively and really enjoy working with them.

New comment by stn8188 in "Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)"

stn8188 — Mon, 18 May 2026 22:56:22 +0000

Like many in this thread, I have a similar setup. I used to use I separate KVM, which did work but had a lot of cabling.

Eventually, I decided on just a simple USB SPDT switch that I designed [0], a USB hub, and manual input switching on the monitor. Even though it takes two actions instead of one, it's a simpler setup and has been quite reliable for years now.

[0] https://shielddigitaldesign.com/posts/2021/susb/

New comment by stn8188 in "Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)"

stn8188 — Fri, 08 May 2026 00:42:14 +0000

Even though I never cheated, I never wanted my programs to get erased... I just created an image of the "memory erased" screen and showed that to the teachers.

New comment by stn8188 in "Can a Computer Science Student Be Taught to Design Hardware?"

stn8188 — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:43:16 +0000

The subheading to this article seems a little extreme: "To fill the talent gap, CS majors could be taught to design hardware, and the EE curriculum could be adapted or even shortened."

The article is more in the area of chip design and verification than PCB hardware, so I kinda understand where it's coming from.

Can a Computer Science Student Be Taught to Design Hardware?

stn8188 — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:29:13 +0000

Article URL: https://semiengineering.com/can-a-computer-science-student-be-taught-to-design-hardware/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47050211

Points: 87

# Comments: 115

New comment by stn8188 in "Suicide Linux (2009)"

stn8188 — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 23:49:43 +0000

`sl` is my favorite first package to install in any distro to get see if the package manager works :)

New comment by stn8188 in "Is ChatGPT Your Friend or Enemy: You Decide"

stn8188 — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 23:27:51 +0000

I put together some of my thoughts on the latest generation of AI tools. Whether you love to use these tools, or actively avoid them, nearly everyone is most certainly intrigued by them. Personally, I'm super conflicted. I've seen some really awesome ways they have been a help, but I'm honestly a bit worried about the society-wide impacts they may have.

Is ChatGPT Your Friend or Enemy: You Decide

stn8188 — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 23:20:23 +0000

Article URL: https://shielddigitaldesign.com/posts/2026/ai/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46759689

Points: 3

# Comments: 1

New comment by stn8188 in "Ask HN: Share your personal website"

stn8188 — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:46:41 +0000

Cool idea! Here's mine

https://shielddigitaldesign.com/

Mostly just stuff I try to share about hardware design.

New comment by stn8188 in "Network of Scottish X accounts go dark amid Iran blackout"

stn8188 — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:06:25 +0000

It does sound a lot like the antagonist organization in The Space Trilogy novels...

New comment by stn8188 in "2026 will be my year of the Linux desktop"

stn8188 — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 02:13:18 +0000

Same here. I spent a good chunk of the evening just today messing around with Steam to see what I could get running on Linux. It's been a while since I tried in earnest, but I got all the games I wanted running (minus VR, but that felt like it was close). Even though I barely play any games anymore, it's the last reason I haven't wiped my Win10 drive.

New comment by stn8188 in "GNU Unifont"

stn8188 — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:51:31 +0000

Wow, the web version is neat in its simplicity! Thank you for the work on Solvespace. It's far and away my favorite MCAD program and always my first go-to when I need to crank out a quick fixture to test PCBs. It's really so pleasant and easy to work with as long as my geometry is relatively basic (which it almost always is given my limited scope of work with mechanical design). I'm sorry I don't have any comments on the relevant topic of the fonts, just was excited to see Solvespace mentioned.

The private space company building satellites–in an old San Francisco shipyard

stn8188 — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:13:28 +0000

Article URL: https://www.fastcompany.com/91456505/astranis-microgeo-satellites-john-gedmark

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46233218

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by stn8188 in "TSA's New $45 Fee at U.S. Airports Unfairly Punishes Families in the Fine Print"

stn8188 — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:47:35 +0000

No, you're not. The fact that people think the TSA is a joke (as noted within the body of the article) is what stuck out to me. The headline is lame.