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GADGETS AND GEAR FOR MAKERS
TOOLBOX
The year is 1996. You idly tend to your Tamagotchi
while watching the cult movie Hackers on
VHS. What you don’t realize is that your little
Kuchipatchi is watching too, and taking it all in.
And all that time since that it was sitting in your
junk drawer, it was evolving, generation after
generation. 2022 rolls around, and implausibly,
you hear strange electronic dolphin noises
emanating from the drawer; you open it to reveal:
Flipper Zero — the open-source multitool for
hackers!
The Flipper Zero is basically a collection of
radios and other tools for interfacing with our
electromagnetic environment, wrapped up
with hacker-oriented firmware in a delightfully
designed package. It’s a consumer-ready device
rather than a kit to assemble, and accordingly
provides a premium unboxing experience. Once
it’s powered on, you are greeted by your own
personal Cyber Dolphin, which even has a unique
name (mine is “Linpoin”), and cute animations
that really enhance the usage of what might
otherwise be a rather dry technical tool.
Uses for the Flipper Zero range from
innocuous manipulation of televisions via infrared
and cloning of (your own!) RFID and NFC access
and payment cards (or say, Amiibo!) to more
advanced pursuits such as opening (your own!)
Tesla’s charging port or executing arbitrary
commands over USB HID when physical access
to (your own!) target machine is possible.
While the Zero’s firmware is still somewhat
nascent, updates are frequent and easily applied
via desktop or mobile apps. And since the
software is open source, and the device exposes
GPIO pins along its top edge, the possibilities for
expansion and customization are almost endless.
If you’re looking to get into RF hacking, or just
want to annoy your family by turning off TVs
and opening garage doors, the Flipper Zero is a
delightful, approachable device with practically
limitless potential. —David Groom
Flipper Zero $169 shop.flipperzero.one
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