- Rigol DS1054Z 4-channel 50 MHz oscilloscope is back-ordered until January 2015; users debate whether to pay €180 for the software-unlockable 20 MHz bandwidth upgrade or wait for stock.  
- nmz787 reports successfully unlocking extra features on the Rigol 1074Z-S via the EEVblog method and notes that running the built-in 25 MHz signal generator plus all four scope channels makes the UI sluggish, arguing for a separate signal generator.  
- Community preference discussion: HackRF vs. BladeRF vs. USRP for SDR projects—trade-offs include half-duplex vs. full-duplex, 20 MSPS vs. 40 MSPS sampling, open-source firmware vs. partially closed schematics, and price per unit.  
- superkuh mentions using a HackRF as a 10–6000 MHz transmitter while receiving with an RTL-SDR, and that Airspy factory test jigs in China use modified HackRF boards for automated QA.  
- archels passes on an older HP bench signal generator and instead anticipates a forthcoming HackRF-derived, lower-cost, more versatile RF signal generator from the HackRF team.  
- ebowden links a 2007 paper on PubMed (PMID 17437486) about skin barrier function and lipid organization; paperbot mirrors it via LibGen.  
- andytoshi asks whether any archives of sheet music exist, and archels drops a large ebook repository link (avaxhm.com/ebooks).  
- delinquentme shares a remote-jobs board (weworkremotely.com) and an RSC journal image showing microfluidic droplet generation.  
- fenn highlights a NASA deep-space optical communication paper describing cryogenic superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors achieving >1 bit per detected photon.  
- andytoshi questions why the Cryonics Institute’s pricing is dramatically lower than Alcor’s and what that implies for long-term solvency.