DuckDuckGo browser now blocks YouTube video ads

The Raspberry Pi price hikes pushed me to ESP32s, and honestly my smart home runs better now

Việc tăng giá Raspberry Pi lên tới 83% so với giá ban đầu khiến tác giả chuyển sang dùng vi điều khiển ESP32 cho hệ thống nhà thông minh. Việc phân tán tác vụ trên nhiều thiết bị chuyên dụng (ESP32, mini PC) thay vì dựa vào một Raspberry Pi duy nhất đã cải thiện độ tin cậy, giảm độ trễ và hạn chế lỗi hệ thống.

Là người phát triển IoT, bạn nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách tối ưu hóa hệ thống nhà thông minh bằng cách phân chia nhiệm vụ giữa các thiết bị chuyên dụng, giảm thiểu điểm yếu và cải thiện độ tin cậy.

Your smart home is bypassing Pi-hole with encrypted DNS, and here's how to stop it

Some smart home and IoT devices bypass Pi-hole by using encrypted DNS (DoH/DoT), sending queries directly to resolvers like Google or Cloudflare over HTTPS instead of through Pi-hole. The author discovered this by capturing traffic with tcpdump and Wireshark, finding TLS connections to 8.8.8.8 that Pi-hole never saw. The fix involves using firewall rules (DNAT) to redirect all DNS traffic back to Pi-hole, and blocking outbound port 853 to shut down DoT. While encrypted DNS is a legitimate privacy feature on untrusted networks, hard-coded firmware settings undermine home network DNS infrastructure.

Maximize Spectral Efficiency with AI-Native RAN and NVIDIA AI Aerial

NVIDIA AI Aerial is an AI-native Radio Access Network (RAN) platform that uses GPU acceleration to close the Massive MIMO performance gap in wireless networks. Traditional RAN systems are compute-constrained, forcing algorithmic compromises that leave spectral efficiency far below theoretical limits. By shifting to a GPU-based, algorithms-first architecture, AI Aerial enables advanced workloads like ML-based beamforming (up to 1.62x throughput gain over classical zero-forcing), deep reinforcement learning link adaptation (1.3x gain at cell edge), and neural receivers. The platform also supports integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), cross-cell coordination, and dynamic allocation of spare GPU compute for edge AI inference during off-peak hours. SoftBank field trials demonstrated roughly 3x spectral efficiency over a conventional 4-layer baseline using this GPU-based AI-RAN platform.

Nintendo confirms Switch 1 consoles will be withdrawn from Europe following EU law change on batteries

Nintendo has confirmed that the original Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED will be discontinued in Europe by mid-February 2027. The decision is driven by a 2023 EU law requiring portable gaming consoles to have user-replaceable batteries by 2027. Nintendo will begin rolling out revised versions of select products with user-replaceable batteries starting summer 2026, though the original Switch family will not receive such revisions and will simply be withdrawn from European markets. Sales of Switch 1 consoles will continue outside of Europe.

6 smart home devices anyone can build with a cheap ESP32 and an even cheaper sensor

A hands-on guide to building six DIY smart home sensors using cheap ESP32 microcontrollers and low-cost sensors (often under $1). Covers vibration, temperature/humidity, sound, motion, water level/leak, and soil moisture sensors. Each project includes example ESPHome YAML configuration code and practical use cases like washing machine notifications, desk occupancy detection, and plant watering alerts. All devices integrate with Home Assistant for automation triggers.

I pulled my smart home off Wi-Fi and moved to local Zigbee relays, and my router stopped dropping connections

Running 40-50 Wi-Fi smart home devices on a single router exhausts its RAM, ARP cache, and CPU cycles, causing buffer bloat and dropped connections for primary devices. The fix is migrating smart home devices from Wi-Fi to a local Zigbee mesh coordinated by a hub like Home Assistant. Zigbee devices form a self-healing mesh that handles all automation traffic offline, passing only aggregated commands to the controller and leaving Wi-Fi spectrum free. The trade-off is replacing existing Wi-Fi-only smart gear with Zigbee 3.0-compatible hardware or ESPHome-based devices.

Watch YouTube Without Ads on the DuckDuckGo Browser

DuckDuckGo's browser now blocks most video ads on YouTube by default for iOS, Windows, and Mac users, with Android support coming soon. The feature uses community-driven filter lists from uBlock Origin and works on the YouTube website (not the native app). It complements the existing Duck Player feature, which offers a distraction-free theater mode with stricter privacy settings. Users can toggle ad blocking on or off from browser settings or directly while watching a video.