- A Raspberry Pi + Arduino stack was proposed as a “universal API” layer: embedding a full Linux computer in a hardware project would let any networked device control the Arduino over TCP, dramatically expanding integration options.  
- Discussion pushed back on the term “universal API,” noting that GNU/Linux itself was designed for exactly this sort of hardware abstraction and cross-platform control.  
- A live European biohacking meeting was being streamed on Justin.tv (ustre.am/Rlho); kanzure reported being removed from the diybio-eu mailing list, prompting criticism that the list culture is “retarded.”  
- A Girl-Develop-It hackathon project, “traffic-report,” was highlighted: it mines Craigslist and Village Voice classifieds for phone numbers, ages, and locations in an attempt to algorithmically detect human-trafficking ads—participants questioned whether traffickers would ever list minors’ real ages.  
- PhantomCSS, a CSS-regression testing tool built on PhantomJS, was shared as a new open-source resource for web-interface QA in biohacking or lab-automation dashboards.  
- Heston asked what technology or substance is “at the forefront” of biohacking; fenn answered “PostgreSQL” (for data management) and “DNA” (as the core substrate).  
- kanzure linked the ECMAScript Harmony proposals for native JavaScript classes and modules, sparking a side debate on whether CoffeeScript is a viable alternative; concerns were raised about CoffeeScript’s messy compiler and creeping Node.js dependencies.  
- Maven (mvn) was criticized for dependency bloat and flaky behavior under OpenJDK, with suggestions to test against the standard Sun/Oracle JDK and file bugs for any reproducible differences.