Windows 11 on a phone. Dudes using cars to mine bitcoin! What the__?

Phone running Windows 11

There is a lot of cool stuff happening around the world and here I talk about some of that. There is no particular theme, just random stuff you might also find cool.

Ya man, Jamaica pon di e-currency

Whilst we drag our feet here in Zimbabwe, Jamaica will be rolling out its digital currency this first quarter of 2022. They completed a pilot project in December 2021 and its success led to the decision to make a full rollout this year.

The ‘RBZ’ of Jamaica says the digital currency will help lower transaction costs. Beautiful isn’t it. I only wish the powers that be in Zimbabwe were similarly repulsed by high transaction costs. You know, instead of actually increasing transaction costs through the 2% IMTT and ignoring banks’ predatory fee structures.

The Jamaicans also believe the digital currency will help bring financial inclusion to the majority of Jamaicans who are not part of the banking system. Man, these Jamaicans are facing the same challenges we face in Zimbabwe. 

The Jamaicans won’t be rushing the rollout. They say they hope to replace 5% of Jamaican dollars with the new digital currency each year. Slow and steady just might win this race.

Other Caribbean countries beat them to the digital currency game and the Jamaicans are playing catch up. 

When it comes to digital currencies, Zimbabwe is still in the research phase. Find out what digital currencies are and what the Zimbabwean regulators have said about them here

Dudes using cars to mine bitcoin

Some fellas had Tesla electric cars and realised that these cars, with their huge batteries, CPUs and GPUs and 12 inch screens were basically mobile, driveable computers. So, naturally, they decided to see if they could use these cars to make them a little money on the side. 

The geek’s version of mshiskashika involves mining for bitcoin and ethereum using a $40,000 car.

One guy connected a computer, the Apple M1 Mac mini (you know, the tiny portable computer that can turn any screen into a Mac computer) to the car through its 12V socket. He did this so he could use powerful external graphic cards connected to the Mac mini.

Says with this setup, he was able to net $800 per month mining Ethereum. He is quoted saying, “a mix of hacking into Tesla’s internal computer, plus plugging GPUs directly into the car’s electric motor” is the best way to maximise Teslas’ crypto mining capabilities. 

Another guy just straight up connected a Bitmain Antminer S9, one of the best dedicated bitcoin mining hardware out there, directly into his Tesla. Essentially just using the Tesla as a battery pack. For him this made some sense because he has lifetime access to superfast charging which can fully charge the car in less than 30 minutes. Cause if you didn’t know, electricity costs will become significant as your mining operations ramp up. 

Our guy also hacked the Tesla’s firmware (software) so he could mine via the car’s screen and browser. Now, this method relies on the car’s own GPUs which are not that powerful. 60hours of mining yielded only $10 worth of bitcoin this way.

With all these methods, these miners say this is all just a proof of concept. They just want to show that it can be done. While you may have thought you could drive the car whilst it pays for itself in the background, it makes no sense to depreciate a $40,000 car this way. 

Guy runs Windows 11 on a phone

I know you’re thinking, ‘why?’ Well, why not? My man managed to run Windows 11 on an Android phone natively. He is not emulating Windows like how Bluestack emulates Android, and neither is he running a virtual machine. His OnePlus phone natively runs Windows 11!

How? You might know that Microsoft releases two versions of Windows, based on 2 different processor architectures. One is based on x86 and the other on Arm. The x86 is what we have found in desktops and laptops traditionally and is still used for all powerful Windows computers. 

Now, Arm is the same architecture used for Android and iOS chips and you may have seen the always on PCs which have Snapdragon chips. That’s Windows on Arm. So, this Arm link is the one he exploited, especially helped by the fact that Qualcomm develops Arm chips for Windows and Arm chips for Android phones. 

Turns outs that some PC drivers are compatible with the phones and that was the starting point. He says the challenge is booting into Windows and goes through how he did it using Project Renegade. This quote on the Renegade Project site tells you what they are all about:

….is a project aimed at providing a custom UEFI environment for Snapdragon 845 in order to boot any fuOS at EL1….we’re only using it as a bootloader. And it’s doing well in booting Windows

From Project Renegade website

So, our guy tinkered with the software until he got everything ready to work with his specific Snapdragon 845 powered phone. Then boom, his phone booted into Windows 11, natively. 

He shows off the phone and indeed it is running Windows 11 and our guy even tries to game on it. Spoiler – the phone is too weak for heavy games but I think you would have guessed that. 

This guy’s exploits are not going to change your life because it’s all rather pointless for the most part but what can I say, it’s still fun to see.

You can watch the full thing below:

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22 comments

  1. D1vant

    Who’s this your guy.? (^_-)

    1. Leonard Sengere

      Hahahaha, I got lot’s of guys. They only ask I maintain their anonymity. (^_-)

  2. Isaac Machakata

    Wow! I’ve reached the bottom. Interesting article.

    1. Leonard Sengere

      Some of the stuff people do, interesting right. Minds like these are why we have tech advancements, I think.

  3. Imwe Mbeu

    😂😂😂 the one in the video – Project Renegade 🤭

    1. Leonard Sengere

      I see you hang out in geeky circles. Project Renegade is not for the faint of heart. Cool stuff tho.

  4. Rowl17

    Are there people mining bitcoins in Zim. I would love to connect with them.

    1. Leonard Sengere

      There are people mining in Zim. Many dropped out when it became harder to make it work with a simple gaming pc tho. Will share links to groups for crypto enthusiasts.

  5. Ephraim

    How easy or tough is it to mine bitcoins? I specialized much with computer hardware and I would love to learn the trick than just building gaming rigs.

    1. Leonard Sengere

      That’s an article in itself. Let’s do it, let me engage the pros. You’re not the first to ask for this info so it’s about time we did it.

  6. Witt

    Can someone tel me how this digital money works?

    1. like ecocash

      The Jamaican digital currency is exactly the same as ecocash, very simple …

      1. Leonard Sengere

        Yep, for those of us with mobile money. Digital currencies are easier to understand.

    2. Leonard Sengere

      Hi, we went through exactly what digital currencies are here https://www.techzim.co.zw/2021/11/zim-mulling-central-bank-digital-currency-they-wont-fix-our-problems/

      You don’t need data to read this if you’re on Econet.

  7. ಥ_ಥ

    hey everyone. Can someone tell me that code that you can use to transfer airtime from another line to another line. E.g from Netone to Econet vice-versa.

    Thank you in advance。^‿^。

    1. Leonard Sengere

      If you’re talking about airtime, you can only transfer airtime to a user on the same network. However, if you want to use EcoCash to purchase NetOne airtime, or OneMoney to purchase Econet airtime then you can do that right on this site.

      Where it says “Quick NetOne, Econet, And Telecel Airtime Recharge” right below each article.

      Alternatively you can use *405# and you’ll be able to do whatever you want.

      1. ಥ_ಥ

        thank you Leonard-o.

  8. KillerB

    this entire article looks like a transcript of a conversation that happened between homies drinking in a shebeen, after many many drinks. kind of shows how Techzim has no writing standards whatsoever

    1. muchatibhowa

      ukuona chii? kana zvakurwadza don’t just come to this website ka. It’s a free website. You don’t even pay these people to write these articles. Saka bamnini. Imimi kana muchigona kunyora sterek mune chipo, apply kuTechzim or nyorai maArticle enyu moma Poster muma Comments munomu, hanti? Dzikamai. Imwai Mvura. Chimbonopfekai bachi.

      1. KillerB

        you need to learn the economics around successfully running a website as a business, then come back once you are smarter

        1. muchatibhowa

          so you seem to know the economics. Run your own website then. Why come to an “uneconomic” website, and just barrage us with your rash thinking?

  9. GuruDrew

    I’d love to run Windows on my smartphone again. Where can I read more about this please? I’m most interested to hear how he solved the telephony part of the smartphone… sim cards, messaging, network signal etc…I feel simply achieving that would allow me to die a very happy man!!! 🤩

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