Today we’re expanding the list of devices that can run Tailscale, bringing secure remote networking to the Apple TV. The newly released tvOS 17 offers support for VPNs, and we’re proud to say Tailscale is among the first to use this new feature. You can now add your Apple TV directly to your tailnet, unlocking three powerful new use cases that we’re excited to share.

First up, if you already have anything like a “media server” in your life, the benefits of integrating your Apple TV into the same Tailscale network are large. Lots of people already use Tailscale with Plex or Jellyfin servers, homelab set-ups, and NAS devices to securely share their collections and stream from them while on the go. Today’s release makes it that much simpler to do so right on your TV.

With up to three users available on our Free plan, you’ve got tools to make a media drive available to other trusted people in your life. You can share a collection of family photos and home videos into a faraway relative’s tailnet, without worrying about locking down the server for public internet access.

But even if you don’t have a media server to connect to, you can use Tailscale’s Apple TV app to select another device in your tailnet, like a PC, a Raspberry Pi, or even an Android phone, to use as an exit node. This will route all your Apple TV’s traffic through that connection, providing an extra layer of privacy from the local network where you’re using the Apple TV and making your traffic appear to originate from the machine of your choice.

Compare that to a “traditional” VPN option, where your traffic is routed through a commercial data center (which itself may be blocked by sites and services) and where you must trust the VPN provider not to spy on or tamper with your traffic. With a Tailscale exit node, you’re in control and you get the internet connection you’re used to. This new feature could come in handy if you’re traveling with your Apple TV and want to access the same geo-restricted channels you can see from home.

Finally, the new Tailscale client allows an Apple TV to be an exit node itself for other machines in your tailnet. This one might require a little more explaining; after all, not a lot of Apple TV apps advertise features that are most useful when you’re away from your Apple TV.

But look at it this way: your Apple TV device is a capable little computer, and it stays connected to your tailnet even when it’s not in active use. Download and configure Tailscale now and you can securely route any of your other devices’ traffic through your Apple TV  — and by extension, through your home internet connection — even when you’re on the other side of the planet. Whether you want another layer of security and privacy on sketchy Wi-Fi networks or just want to connect back through your personal internet connection when you’re on the road, you’re set with the Apple TV as an exit node.

At Tailscale, we’re the kind of nerds who have home server closets and who will stock up on Raspberry Pis just because they’re available again. Our favorite thing about bringing Tailscale to tvOS is you don’t have to be that kind of nerd to be able to tap into the power of Tailscale in your home.

If you’ve got an Apple TV running the new tvOS 17, download the Tailscale app today!

We suspect that if you want to write a blockbuster movie or novel, the wrong approach is to go to a studio or publisher and say, “I have this totally new idea that is like nothing you’ve ever seen before…” Even Star Trek was pitched to the network as “Wagon Train to the stars.” People with big money tend to want to bet on things that have succeeded before, which is why so many movies are either remakes or Star Trek XXII: The Search for 4 PM Dinner Specials. Maybe that’s what the El Salvador-based Unicomer Group had in mind when they bought one of our favorite brands, RadioShack. They are reportedly planning a major comeback for the beleaguered brand both online and in the physical world.

In all fairness, the Shack may be better in our memories than in our realities. It was handy to stop off and pick up a coax connector, even if it cost three times the going rate for one. There was a time when RadioShack offered reasonable parts for projects, and it seems like near the end, they tried to hit that target again, but for many years, you could not find the typical parts for a modern project there anyway. However, Unicomer isn’t just a random group of investors.

Apparently, Unicomer has been operating in Central America as a RadioShack franchisee since 1998. In 2015, they bought the RadioShack brand for Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. But now, they’ve acquired the rights to the brand in over 70 countries, including the U.S., Canada, China, and Europe. We imagine their El Salvador website might hint at what is coming. We didn’t see anything in the way of components or P-Box kits, though.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the new owners want to focus on cellphone products, headphones, batteries, and adapters. So, it isn’t clear if you’ll be stopping at the local mall to pick up an Arduino and a roll of solder or not. This isn’t the first Radio Shack revival attempt. We didn’t even cover the silly attempt to make it into a cryptocurrency company. But our original advice still stands: Give away content to sell components. People can buy parts anywhere at crazy low prices. What they can’t readily get is the support that helps them use those components effectively. The same holds true for computer and consumer products. It might seem silly to us, but ordinary people are probably perplexed by setting up a VPN for their home network or designing a theater room. Helping them is one avenue to creating sales in today’s price-driven market for electronics. After all, how many parts did the famous [Forrest Mims] books sell?

Photo credit: [Coolcaesar]  CC-BY-SA-3.0

To inject a breakpoint into a failing pytest run, add --pdb to your pytest command:

py.test --pdb

This will drop you into a pdb session at the point of failure. You can then inspect the state of the program just like you would if you injected a breakpoint().

Chinese PC maker MINISFORUM has been cranking out small desktop computers at a blistering pace over the past few years. But the company has also dabbled lightly in tablets. Earlier this year the company introduced a 2-in-1 tablet with an Intel Tiger Lake processor, pen support, and a detachable keyboard. And now MINISFORUM has revealed […]

The post Mini PC maker MINISFORUM plans to launch an AMD-powered tablet in 2024 appeared first on Liliputing.

Enlarge / A Cybertruck prototype, seen in 2022. (credit: Nic Coury/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Elon Musk is not impressed with the build quality of Tesla's new Cybertruck. On Wednesday, the Tesla CEO told followers on social media that he "just drove the production candidate Cybertruck at Tesla Giga Texas," as the angular pickup slowly moves from concept to something real people might be able to drive. But workers at the Tesla factory may be in for sleepless nights in the coming weeks and months, judging by a company-wide email first seen by the Cybertruck Owner's Club.

"Due to the nature of Cybertruck, which is made of bright metal with mostly straight edges, any dimensional variation shows up like a sore thumb," Musk wrote in the email. Indeed, every image we've seen of the Cybertruck thus far—including those posted by Musk to his social media account yesterday—shows shockingly inconsistent build quality, particularly at the front of the vehicle where multiple stainless steel panels meet at angles that remind some of a deli slicer.

(credit: Twitter)

"All parts for this vehicle, whether internal or from suppliers, need to be designed and built to sub 10 micron accuracy. That means all part dimensions need to be to the third decimal place in millimeters and tolerances need to be specified in single digit microns. If Lego and soda cans, which are very low cost, can do this, so can we," Musk wrote, referring to products that are the result of decades of constant manufacturing improvement.

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