Mine is mapping. I am a big OpenStreetMap contributor and I have mapped many towns near me that were previously completely unmapped.

  • Aksamit@slrpnk.net
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    3 days ago

    Oh wow, CRT screen bulbs is wild. Would it have been possible to use them as mini screens? I’ve been imagining Gibson-esque cyberpunk scenarios with hackers getting into light bulbs and playing video on them, since I saw your comment the other day.

    (Sorry for the very belated reply, I got distracted.)

    • drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 days ago

      Unfortunately these bulbs didn’t have any components that could steer or modulate the electron beam, which is how CRT televisions form an image. Instead it just sprays a cone of electrons at the phosphor face to form a big blob of light, so the most you could do is make it brighter or darker (or make it flash) by turning the power up and down.

      The closest thing to what you’re imaging would be “pixel LED” headlights. That’s a car headlight technology that continually adjusts the shape of the light output to avoid shining onto cars in the opposite lane, allowing you to retain high beam brightness without blinding other drivers. It works by using essentially the same technology as a projector: an LED light shines onto a MEMS mirror array which can dynamically change the direction that each pixel is pointing to shape the light that is reflected off of it. Sensors detect the position of oncoming cars and direct that light shaping process so the light avoids them.

      You absolutely could form an image with one of those (projected onto a surface its shining on), though in the present day they’re only used in car headlights. I could see them eventually being used in room lighting though, if the price of MEMS chips comes down enough. They could be used to improve efficiency using anidolic lighting principles, and marketed as as a way light a room perfectly evenly, or direct pools of light to certain spots as the owner desired (a bit like how color changing smart bulbs are marketed today). Such a light source would have to scan the shape of the room, then decide how to aim its light into that space.

      See also Li-Fi if you’re interested in weird stuff piggy backing off of lighting technology. Hackers have actually used something like that (subtly modulating the brightness of a light source) to exfiltrate data:

      https://www.securityweek.com/ethernet-leds-can-be-used-exfiltrate-data-air-gapped-systems/

      https://thehackernews.com/2020/02/hacking-air-gapped-computers.html?m=1