Hackaday Links: March 12, 2023

1) Printers, ink, and the “security” word that makes everyone nervous

Printers occupy a special place in modern life: not quite an appliance, not quite a computer, and somehow always emotionally calibrated to break exactly five minutes before you need to print something for a deadline. The Hackaday Links: March 12, 2023 roundup leaned into this universal pain by highlighting reports that some HP printers were blocking (and in some cases effectively bricking) printing when third-party cartridges were installed.

The move: cartridge authentication that turns into cartridge enforcement

The story arc is pretty consistent: a printer that used to allow off-brand cartridges suddenly throws an error after a firmware update, and the “quality warning” you could previously click through becomes a hard stop. The policy behind this is often discussed as “dynamic security”HP’s approach to cartridge authentication and chip verification.

To be fair, “security” isn’t automatically a scam word. Counterfeit electronics exist. Malicious firmware exists. Supply-chain integrity matters. HP’s own messaging frames its cartridge security as a protection mechanism designed to reduce risks associated with third-party chips and to prevent cartridge chip modification after production.

The problem: when consumer protection feels like consumer captivity

The consumer frustration isn’t hard to understand: printers are marketed like affordable hardware, but the lifetime cost often hides in consumablesink and toner that can cost as much as (or more than) the device. When a company uses firmware to enforce supply lock-in, the product starts to feel less like “a printer you bought” and more like “a service you’re leasing with a plastic shell.”

From an SEO standpoint, this is where the keywords pile up naturally because the search intent is intense: HP dynamic security, third-party ink cartridges, printer firmware update, ink DRM, and (inevitably) right to repair.

Zooming out: right-to-repair isn’t just about screwdrivers anymore

Even if you never plan to open a printer with a Torx bit and a prayer, the right-to-repair conversation matters here because restrictions aren’t only physical. They’re increasingly digital: firmware, chips, authentication, and access to diagnostics. The Federal Trade Commission has explicitly signaled enforcement interest in repair restrictions and practices that make it difficult for consumers and independent shops to fix products or choose alternatives.

Practical takeaway: If you’re buying a printer in 2026 (or any year that ends in a number), treat it like a long-term ecosystem choice. Before you click “Add to cart,” check whether the manufacturer uses chip-based cartridge authentication, whether auto-updates can be controlled, and what the third-party cartridge situation looks like for the specific modelnot the brand in general.

2) Ring’s paywall moment and the subscription-shaped future

The link roundup also flagged something that’s become a recurring theme in consumer tech: features that were free on Tuesday are “part of our premium experience” on Wednesday. In early 2023, Ring announced changes that put certain app featureslike Home and Away Modesbehind a Ring Protect subscription starting March 29 for many users.

What “Modes” really means in real life

Home/Away sounds small until you live with it. It’s the difference between:

• Getting motion alerts every time you walk to the mailbox (home mode), and
• Actually using the camera as a security device when you’re gone (away mode).

When that convenience becomes subscription-gated, it doesn’t feel like you’re paying for “cloud storage” anymore. It feels like you’re paying to use the product you already installed.

The bigger point: subscriptions are becoming a default business model

Companies love recurring revenue for the same reason people love recurring naps: predictable and soothing. But from a user perspective, subscription creep adds up fastespecially when the product already requires your Wi-Fi, your data, and your emotional energy every time the app logs you out for fun.

The most useful way to think about smart home purchases is this: “What happens if the company changes the rules?” If the answer is “my device becomes annoying,” that’s survivable. If the answer is “my device becomes basically pointless,” that’s a red flag.

What to do if you’re shopping (or rethinking) smart security

You don’t need to boycott the entire Internet of Things like it insulted your mother. But you should shop with a checklist:

• Local control: Can core features work without the cloud?
• Transparent pricing: Are subscriptions optionalor required for basic use?
• Feature permanence: Does the company have a history of moving features behind paywalls?
• Alternatives: If you’re locked in, is there a migration plan that doesn’t involve drywall repair?

3) Lasers + aircraft: why “don’t do that” became legislation

“Shining a laser at an aircraft” feels like one of those things that shouldn’t need a warning label. And yet, enough people have done it that it’s not only federally illegalit’s been treated as a serious safety issue with real penalties, real enforcement, and increasingly, state-level statutes.

Federal law already exists

Under U.S. federal law, knowingly aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft (or its flight path) can be punishable by fines and imprisonment. This isn’t a slap-on-the-wrist “don’t do that again” situation.

So why a state felony bill?

The Hackaday roundup highlighted Colorado’s approach: creating a state offense for unlawfully aiming a laser device at an occupied aircraft, classified as a class 6 felony. The practical reason is jurisdiction and enforcement: local and state law enforcement can respond more directly when the statute lives in state code, rather than relying on federal agencies for every case.

It’s not theoreticallaser incidents are tracked and fined

The FAA treats laser strikes as a major safety risk. Public reporting and enforcement are part of the strategy, and the agency has cited significant fines per violation. Translation: that “little green dot” can become a very expensive hobby immediately.

Quick reality check: If you’re using a laser outdoors, think about what’s behind your target. Lasers don’t stop at your good intentions.

4) Asteroid 2023 DW and why early risk scores always look scarier than they are

Nothing brings humanity together like a shared question: “Wait… are we getting hit by a rock from space?” In March 2023, asteroid 2023 DW made the news with early calculations that included a small probability of an Earth impact in 2046. It was reported as roughly 50 meters wide“about the size of an Olympic swimming pool,” which is an oddly poetic unit of measurement for a potential extinction inconvenience.

Here’s the key: early orbital estimates have big uncertainty

When an asteroid is newly discovered, astronomers often have a short observation window. With limited data, the future orbit is fuzzier. That’s why early risk assessments can briefly look spicy, and then calm down as more observations tighten the orbit.

The Torino Scale: a public-communication tool, not a doom meter

NASA’s Torino Impact Hazard Scale is designed to translate complex probability-and-energy math into something the public can understand without needing to major in celestial mechanics. It runs from 0 to 10, with 0 meaning essentially no risk and higher numbers representing increasingly serious scenarios.

A crucial detail from this moment: the Torino Scale definition for Level 1 basically screams “routine discovery, extremely unlikely collision, and it will probably get reassigned to 0 after more data.” That’s not me being reassuring; that’s literally the point of Level 1.

Where monitoring happens

NASA/JPL’s Sentry system continuously scans known near-Earth objects for potential impacts over the next 100 years. Importantly, objects can appear on risk tables and later disappear when new observations rule out impacts. That’s not a conspiracy. That’s the scientific method doing cardio.

Practical takeaway: If you see a headline that reads “New asteroid could hit Earth,” your next step is to check whether the story also explains uncertainty, follow-up observations, and where it sits on a formal risk scale. Panic is optional. Curiosity is recommended.

5) AM radio disappears from dashboards (and why emergency managers care)

The most quietly consequential link in the March 12, 2023 roundup might be the one about AM radio. The Drive reported that the 2024 Ford Mustang would drop AM radio from its infotainment optionspart of a broader trend of automakers removing AM receivers in new vehicles.

“Who even listens to AM?” (More people than you thinkwhen it matters.)

A lot of daily audio has moved to streaming, podcasts, and FM. But AM radio still matters in emergencies, especially when mobile networks are congested, power is out, or the internet is unreliable. The Drive cited concerns that AM radio is a component of the U.S. national alert ecosystem, with a relatively small number of stations reaching the vast majority of the population.

The National Association of Broadcasters has also emphasized that Primary Entry Point (PEP) stationsmany of them AM cover about 90% of the U.S. population and have direct connections to FEMA and the National Weather Service. That’s not nostalgia. That’s infrastructure.

Why are automakers dropping it?

Reasons vary: cost cutting, shifting media habits, and in EVs, electromagnetic interference that can degrade AM reception. Automakers and lawmakers have publicly debated whether AM should remain standard for safety reasons, especially as electric vehicles become more common.

Hackaday’s extra nerdy angle: “Isn’t it basically software-defined anyway?”

Hackaday’s commentary raised a classic hacker question: if modern infotainment is already deeply digital, shouldn’t AM reception be “close to free” in hardware terms? The reality is messierantennas, interference, shielding, and design trade-offs are still realbut the question is a good reminder: when a feature disappears, it’s often not because it’s impossible. It’s because someone decided it’s not worth it.

Practical takeaway: If you care about resilient emergency information, keep at least one independent way to receive alerts: a battery-powered radio, weather radio, or another offline-capable source. Your phone is amazinguntil it isn’t.

The bigger pattern hiding in a link roundup

If you stitched the March 12, 2023 links into a single theme, it would be this: control is moving from hardware into policies, software, and subscriptions.

• A printer isn’t just a printer; it’s a firmware-enforced supply agreement.
• A doorbell camera isn’t just a camera; it’s an app experience that may or may not remain intact without a monthly fee.
• A laser pointer isn’t just a novelty; it’s a safety hazard with criminal consequences.
• An asteroid isn’t just a rock; it’s a probability distribution that evolves with data.
• AM radio isn’t just “old tech”; it’s a redundancy layer in public safety communication.

That’s why these roundups are useful: they’re not random. They’re a snapshot of how tech, law, and everyday life keep collidingsometimes gently, sometimes like an unskippable subscription popup at 2 a.m.

Bottom line: The best way to read Hackaday Links isn’t just as “cool stuff happened.” It’s as “these are the pressure points where the future is getting negotiated.”

of relatable experiences inspired by Hackaday Links: March 12, 2023

If you’ve spent any time around makers, hobbyists, IT folks, or the one cousin who “just built a NAS real quick,” this roundup reads less like news and more like a group chat you forgot to mute.

First, the printer saga. Everyone has lived some version of it: you buy a printer because it’s on sale, you print exactly six things, and then the ink situation turns into a hostage negotiation. The printer starts speaking in riddles: “Cartridge not recognized.” “Cartridge incompatible.” “Cartridge vibes are off.” You check the model number, the chip, the alignment, your life choices. At some point you realize the printer isn’t brokenyour relationship with the printer is broken. And the only thing standing between you and a single sheet of black-and-white paper is a tiny piece of plastic that costs roughly the same as a nice dinner.

Then the subscription paywall moment: you wake up to an email that politely announces your device is “evolving.” Translation: the button you use every day is moving behind a monthly fee. You’re not mad about paying for cloud storage; you’re mad because the feature was part of why you bought the device in the first place. It’s like buying a car and learning the steering wheel will work “locally” unless you subscribe for remote turning.

The laser story feels like the opposite kind of tech experience: the one where you assume nobody is reckless enough to do the thing… and then you remember that people once tried to microwave metal forks. Someone, somewhere, thinks a laser pointer is a toy and a helicopter is a big, slow target. The lesson isn’t just “don’t do that.” It’s “some risks are so predictably human that society eventually writes them into law.”

The asteroid segment is pure doomscrolling whiplash. You see “2046 impact risk” and your brain does that fun thing where it time-travels into panic before you’ve finished reading the second sentence. Then you learn about risk scales, uncertainty, and how new data usually reduces the drama. You exhale. You joke about canned goods anyway, because humor is how humans politely acknowledge existential dread without screaming.

And finally, the AM radio debate is the one that sneaks up on you. You don’t think about AM until the moment you need something that works when the fancy stuff doesn’t. It’s the engineering version of carrying a $10 flashlight: boring until it’s heroic. That’s the maker mindset in a nutshellbuild for the edge cases, because the edge cases eventually show up and ask for directions.