Watchdog timers are an often overlooked feature of microcontrollers. They function as failsafes to reset the device in case of a software failure. If your code somehow ends up in an infinite loop, the watchdog will trigger. This is a necessity for safety critical devices. If the firmware in a pacemaker or a aircraft’s avionics…

A California assemblyman has introduced a law barring retailers from printing paper receipts unless a customer requests one. Otherwise they’d be required to provide proof-or-purchase receipts “only in electronic form.” : An anonymous reader quotes CNBC: Stores that give out printed receipts without first being asked by the customer could be subject to fines [of…

Last Saturday a firm which rents promotional robots claimed that one of their robots broke free from a line of robots, only to be hit by a self-driving Tesla. Though video of the incident has now been viewed over 1.2 million times, Wired followed up on the company’s claim that “Nevada police” were investigating the…