Swipe to control your laptop’s volume with this tiny USB-C accessory
Czech company Drake Labs has just released a new USB-C accessory called SoundSlide, a touch-sensitive device that can be used to control the volume of your computer by swiping your finger.
SoundSlide plugs into any USB-C port on your PC and doesn’t require any drivers to be installed. It’ll work right out of the box, and you can easily adjust your PC’s volume by tapping or swiping on it.
“Modern laptops are designed for sleekness and portability, but they often come at the cost of easily accessible audio controls. Whether you’re deeply immersed in your favorite movies or music, adjusting your laptop’s volume shouldn’t be a hassle,” writes Drake Labs.
The SoundSlide measures a miniscule 20.9 x 6.9 x 3.5 mm in size and only costs $18 on Amazon. And as an added bonus, all the core elements of SoundSlide are open source, so you can explore and expand the design and code if you’re interested. 
© 2024 PC World 6:15am  
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© 2024 RadioNZ 5:55am The wireless Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W is now available for just $7
Makers and tinkerers, it’s time to warm up those soldering irons. Raspberry Pi has just announced an update to its itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny microcontroller (the Pico 2), now with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Pico 2 W is available at Raspberry Pi resellers starting at just $7, a measly two bucks more than the non-wireless version.
The Pico series are microcontrollers — not standalone computers like the Pi series — but they’re still beloved tools for projects that need a little more functionality than you can get with hand-wiring or standard breakout boards. The Pico 2 was launched earlier this year with an upgraded dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 chip, 520KB of onboard SRAM, and an onboard switch-mode power supply, among other goodies.
The Pico 2 W adds an Infineon CYW43439 wireless modem, which provides 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 capabilities. That opens up a ton of new functionality, especially for gadgets that don’t otherwise have wireless options. According to Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton, they’re looking into more Pico 2 variants and they might even be ready to talk about them early next year.
For the moment, you can buy a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W at PiShop.us, Vilros, and CanaKit. Other shops don’t seem to have it just yet, though Adafruit has a “coming soon” page up.
© 2024 PC World 5:35am 
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