THE ROOT FIVE / NOVEMBER 2, 2026
Five stories. One strange world of technology.
A hosting outage changed diagnoses, an SSH server needed a firmer privilege boundary, and a browser learned to inspect floppy disks. Meanwhile, a rotary telephone acquired a web interface and a tiny FPGA made room for a complete computer. The past has called the helpdesk. It would like its dependencies documented.
Root Note
A trusted connection still needs a boundary at the far end.
Root Note
That boundary might be electrical, a Unix permission, a decoder’s supported formats, an offline calling path, or the last available memory block. Each story becomes more useful when its limits are visible.
01 / Systems administration / Resolved incident
The network outage turned out to be a power outage.
What happened: Hostodo reported a connectivity outage at its Las Vegas LV01 facility on November 1. Its 15:33 UTC update initially attributed the problem to an upstream network provider. At 16:44 UTC, the company corrected that diagnosis: a data-center power outage was responsible. Most instances were reachable again at that point, and the incident was marked resolved at 17:50 UTC, ending a reported two-hour, 48-minute disruption.
Why it matters: For customers, both failures initially look like an unreachable virtual machine. For recovery planning, they are different problems. Switching routes cannot restore an unpowered host, and a second virtual machine in the same facility may share the same failure. The notice establishes the provider’s corrected explanation; it does not supply a detailed electrical root-cause report.
Root Access Take: Keep symptoms, working hypotheses, and confirmed causes separate in incident notes. A diagnosis should be allowed to change without quietly rewriting the timeline. Redundancy needs a failure-domain map, not merely another instance name.
Takeaway: Check which dependencies your secondary service actually shares: facility, power, network, storage, and control plane. Then test the recovery path from outside that shared boundary.
Sources: Hostodo incident timeline
02 / Cybersecurity / Older discovery
Tailscale’s SSH fixes are a reminder that authorization is only the first boundary.
What happened: Tailscale’s October 28 explanation says version 1.104.4 fixes confirmed issues in its built-in SSH server and related functionality. The SSH problems concerned privilege enforcement after a connection was authorized: under particular conditions, forwarding and other operations could exceed the configured local user’s permissions. Tailscale says exploitation requires an existing foothold on an authorized tailnet device, policy-permitted SSH access, and the relevant vulnerable conditions.
Why it matters: The researcher’s “Tailworm” report and the vendor describe the implications differently. The researcher demonstrated automated lateral movement in a lab; Tailscale stresses that access remains bounded by tailnet policy and that this is not evidence of self-replicating malware. The vendor also says the reported Conn25 connector issue affected an unreleased feature, while stable app connectors are unaffected. This older item earns a place today because installed agents and broad SSH grants can outlast the news cycle.
Root Access Take: A correctly authorized connection can still cross an incorrectly enforced local privilege boundary. Identity, network policy, and process privileges each need their own checks.
Takeaway: For Tailscale SSH deployments, verify client versions against the vendor bulletins, install 1.104.4 or later, review permitted paths, and consider check mode for sensitive systems.
Sources: Tailscale findings and fixes · Researcher’s report and vendor-response links
03 / Storage / Preservation tools
FloppoScope puts the floppy under a browser-sized microscope.
What happened: FloppoScope is a single-file browser tool for inspecting floppy disk images without mounting them. Its repository documents sector maps, filesystem browsing, hex inspection, file previews, reports, conversions, and support for raw images and several flux containers. The project says processing happens locally and source images are never modified. Hackaday featured it on November 1; that is the coverage date, not proof the software first appeared that day.
Why it matters: An image file is only the beginning of preservation. You still need to know what filesystem it contains, whether directories make sense, and which bytes are outside live files. FloppoScope explicitly lists partial-decoding limits; its unmapped-data scan applies to FAT sector images only. A colorful map is useful evidence, but it cannot guarantee every damaged format has been interpreted correctly.
Root Access Take: The floppy is a compact version of every legacy migration problem: capture first, preserve the original, inspect a copy, and record what the tool could not decode. Nostalgia is optional; provenance is useful.
Takeaway: Start with a non-sensitive sample image, retain a checksum of the original, and compare exported files with a second tool before treating the recovery as complete.
Sources: FloppoScope repository and documented limits · November 1 feature
04 / Networking / Clever builds
Your rotary telephone can now have a web interface.
What happened: Scott Dylewski’s Analog Redial connects old rotary or touch-tone phones to a small hobby telephone system. The documented ESP32-C6 design can support offline phone-to-phone calling, network calls between boards, and SIP integration with systems such as Asterisk. A browser interface handles settings and recordings. Optional Bluetooth needs an additional board, while Home Assistant integration through MQTT or webhooks is labeled experimental. Hackaday featured the project on November 2.
Why it matters: This is more interesting than a novelty handset. It turns a familiar physical interface into an accessible control surface: lift, dial, listen, and hang up. Local calling can work without Wi-Fi, while networked features add their own dependencies. The project’s history also distinguishes working board revisions from a future design, so builders should follow the recommended revision rather than assume every listed feature works simultaneously.
Root Access Take: A durable interface can outlive its original transport. The useful design question is which functions should survive when the network or server disappears.
Takeaway: Treat it as a contained lab project. The documentation warns that ringing generates substantial voltage and says never to connect the board to house or telephone-company wiring.
Sources: Analog Redial documentation and hardware limits · November 2 feature
05 / Retrocomputing / Hardware engineering
A tiny FPGA computer makes the game fit by making every resource count.
What happened: The Parts Bin’s m9b project builds a general-purpose computer around the Tang Nano 9K FPGA board: a 36 MHz RISC-V processor, 8 MB of PSRAM, HDMI video and stereo audio, two USB ports, and SD storage. The maker documents ports of games including Doom, Descent, Tyrian, System Shock, and Ultima VII. These are software ports to the custom RISC-V machine, not a claim that the board reproduces an entire x86 PC. Hackaday featured the design on November 1.
Why it matters: The constraint is visible in the implementation. The design uses 7,560 of 8,640 logic cells and 25 of 26 block RAMs; the author says packed logic slices are even tighter. Caches, video buffers, memory timing, and clock-domain crossings all compete for a small budget. A headline clock speed tells little about the work the complete system can sustain.
Root Access Take: This is a systems-design lesson wearing a retro-game costume. Balance the processor, memory path, and I/O before buying a bigger number on the spec sheet.
Takeaway: Read the memory and clocking sections alongside the game demonstrations. The project’s documented compromises are more transferable than its frame rate.
Sources: Maker’s system overview · November 1 feature
Browse The Root Five · Follow Security Watch for focused remediation coverage · Explore Emerging Technologies for deeper explainers.