Most recent posts: page 1 of 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 >>
Browse the complete archive by category or month.
November 29, 2007
Call for papers -- The Hacking Tradition: Lead Users in Pervasive Computing
Thomas Zimmerman, a researcher at IBM Almaden Research Center and frequent MAKE contributor, has issued a call for papers for an upcoming issue of IEEE Pervasive Computing that makers should be interested in.The traditional sense of the word "hacking" implies modifying existing systems and devices (including hardware and software) to improve performance, enable new functions, or even create radically new applications. Hackers see commercial products and hardware/software modules as inspiration and raw material to be repurposed and reassembled, leveraging the development and cost efficiencies of mass production. Because the technical barriers can be low (although the ingenuity bar remains high), hacking is a widespread phenomenon, occurring in garages as well as university and corporate laboratories. Case studies indicate that hackers (formally called "lead users") generally operate outside of the companies that produce the original devices, yet make massive contributions to new product innovation.
In this issue, we wish to highlight the role of lead users in pervasive computing, and illuminate how the art and practice of such system "mash-ups" impact our field. We seek to explore what motivates hackers in the pervasive computing arena, to identify the tools and techniques that allow one to reverse engineer, modify, and to interface existing hardware and/or software, as well as showcasing examples of the new systems that are created. As the technical span of pervasive computing can be broad (including wireless systems, sensor nodes, handhelds, wearables, HCI, displays and actuators, installation, and game environments), many different genres under which sophisticated hackers operate can be relevant.
(David Pescovitz profiled Tom in MAKE Vol 4.)
Posted by Mark Frauenfelder |
Nov 29, 2007 02:35 PM
|
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Site maintenance
We're performing some site maintenance today and possibly some on and off this week, so please pardon the saw dust as we move servers and add some new features! For today there might not be new posts or comments for awhile, once we're back we'll post a new message.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 10:00 AM
Announcements |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Film can cannon, binge-drinking snacks on bbtv
Today on bbtv, Mark shows you how to make a film can cannon. He builds one from a kit, but you can easily make your own from household items. Followed by a claymation video of snacks at a kegger?
Film Can Cannon / Snack Mansion - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 29, 2007 09:40 AM
Science, Toys and Games |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Give the gift of tools - Make:tools!
As we head in to the holidays we'll have our gift guides (like this one) and we'll have some surprises, but we're also going to feature some of the new things in the Maker store we're really excited about this year. Let's start off with TOOLS! Tools are the the types of gifts that give all year long!
The MAKE:it - Electronic Makers Toolkit ($99). Hand picked by our Makers this kit features everything you need to get started with electronic construction. When people ask me how to get started and what tools to get when learning electronics this is the way to go.
Features:
- Soldering Iron
- PCB Vise Panavise "Jr"
- Small (7.8") DeSoldering Pump
- Soldering Stand with sponge
- 0.5lb 60/40 Solder
- Desoldering Braid
- Wire Cutters/Stripper
- Shear Cutters
- 7-Function 2000-Count Multimeter
MAKE: Warranty Voider ($39.95) Small enough to fit on your key chain, the MAKE Warranty Voider is the perfect companion for mobile fixing, hacking and MacGyvering. This is a limited offering with custom "MAKE: Warranty Voider" laser lovingly etched with care using a 35w laser. Squirt P4 (plier version) also available AND a new "MAKE bomb defuser" version too!
Features:
- Electrical Wire Cutters (spring loaded)
- 20, 18, 16, 14, and 12 gauge wire strippers
- Straight Knife
- Tweezers
- Extra-Small Screwdriver
- Small Screwdriver
- Phillips Screwdriver
- Wood/Metal File
- Bottle Opener
- Lanyard Attachment
- Length: 2.25 in. / 5.5 cm closed
- Weight: 1.8 ounces / 52 grams
X-Band Saw ($199) - STOUT Tool Corp brings you the most revolutionary tool to hit the industry since the cordless drill, the world's only one-hand cordless band saw! Ease of use plus the ability to cut virtually anything makes this saw a Maker's Choice.
Features:
- World's only one-hand cordless band saw
- Compact, lightweight design reduces muscle strain (CTS)
- Complete projects faster, safer, and easier
- Powerful, versatile -- cuts virtually anything
- Portability means taking the saw to the materials, not the other way around
- Quiet, comfortable to use
- No vise required
Make:tools - Link & more @ the Maker store.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 09:00 AM
Announcements |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
NES stuck inside its controller
This very cool hack puts an entire old school NES system inside one of it's controllers with two RCA outputs for video and sound into a TV. Included games are Tetris, Contra, and about 70 more titles. The Nintentdo logo on the front of the controller is backlit with a red glow. Finally, the whole thing was made as a birthday present for the maker's girlfriend. How cool is that?
NES mini (entire NES system in controller) - Link, [via]
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Nov 29, 2007 08:30 AM
DIY Projects |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Make:NYC Meeting 2! at Make:NYC (tonight)
Matt and Ryan have a MAKE meet up tonight, MAKE will also be at the BLIP festival, busy night!!
Because of some venue issues, this meeting announcement is on short notice, so we apologize. The third Make:NYC Meeting includes:Announcing Make:NYC Meeting 2! at Make:NYC - Link.Brainstorming Session
We’d like to get input from everyone involved and put some plans together for future meetings and projects. We have some interesting ideas, but what do YOU want? Stop by and voice your opinions. Pizza and soda for all who attend.Show and Tell
Meet your fellow NYC Makers and show off your creations! Bring your gadgets, gizmos, sketches, ideas… anything you’d like to put in the spotlight. We encourage NYC Makers to collaborate on and discuss DIY projects. If you’re planning to bring a project, drop us a note at meetings@makenyc.org.If you’d like to attend we have plenty of space for everyone, but please RSVP!
You can RSVP here.
Location:
ETSY Labs, 6th Floor (Google Map)
325 Gold St. at Flatbush Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11201Bikes can be parked in the building.
A/C/F to Jay St-Borough Hall
B/Q to Dekalb Avenue
M/R to Lawrence Street
2/3 to Hoyt StreetMeeting time is 6:30PM.
See you Thursday!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 08:00 AM
Announcements |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Arduino Sketchup model!
Wow, Jon-Paul made these amazing Arduino Sketchup models! He writes -
3D/2D models (.3ds, .dwg, .dxf and .skp) of the Arduino Diecimila Board created in sketchup and exported to other 3D formats. This is my site. I am a subscriber to both Make and Craft and hope that I can begin to give back to a community that has renewed my interest in electronics and fab.Arduino Sketchup model- Link.
But wait, there's more! Here's a Sketchup Altoids tin model! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 07:00 AM
Arduino |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Suggest a Site
Octopart's new PartList
Octopart updated their PartList feature (Thanks Jim!) Harish writes -
Sometimes a small window to the right of your screen just doesn't cut it for keeping track of your electronic parts. To solve that problem, today we are releasing a more fully-featured PartList. By popular demand, you can use this application to cut and copy your parts, partlists and folders. To help you remember why you needed that particular semiconductor chip with the really long part number, you can add part titles, part comments, and descriptions to your partlists. Together with publishing and the cross-distributor shopping cart, we're hoping that this feature makes your life easier as you build electronics projects.Octopart's new PartList - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 06:00 AM
|
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Japanese competition robot father/son team
Geegdad segment of Wired Science on a father and son who build competition humanoid robots.
Wired Science Geek Dad: Nao Maru & King Kizer - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 29, 2007 06:00 AM
Robotics |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Dollar store parabolic microphone
Liane sent in this handy little tutorial for how to make a homemade parabolic mic - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 05:00 AM
DIY Projects |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Battery-learnin'
Everything you ever wanted to know about batteries, but were afraid to ask.
Battery University - [via] Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 29, 2007 05:00 AM
Electronics |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
Timing diagram font
PC Services writes -
When dealing with documentation of electronic circuits, it has always been difficult to put down basic timing diagrams into documents. Obviously with newer oscilloscopes and the like, it is often possible to capture events to insert into documents, but many aspects of documentation involve specifications, technical manuals and other documents to show parts of what is happening or is intended to happen, even some reports require diagrams which are not always easy to extract from imported data.Timing diagram font - Link.To this end I started off using Xwave a Truetype® font created several years ago by Joseph Palmer and is still available. I found this lacking in some aspects for my purposes, so created a new font. You may find that Xwave is more suitable for you, but I needed to be able to label parts of the signals like data values, have better transitions to and from Tri-state levels, as well as add breaks in the middle of the diagram (like ellipses '...' in quoted text). The final thing breaks means when doing a diagram of events like video processing it becomes possible to create a diagram which can skip sections of a video frame or line easily.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 04:00 AM
Electronics |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Suggest a Site
Arduino NES to MIDI Project 1.0
This project converted a Nintendo Powerpad into a MIDI controller! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 03:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Gaming |
Permalink
| Suggest a Site
The Wooden menace - Robotic arm
Chris writes -
This project is a robotic arm made mostly from Wood. It cost less than $50 to make and has alot of the functionality that any normal robotic arm would have. It is controlled by a PIC MicroController and cloned PS1 controller.The Wooden menace - Robotic arm - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 01:00 AM
DIY Projects, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Suggest a Site
Bike stripping
Josh writes in -
I've been building bikes for a bit now and doing what I can to document the process in between the sheer joy of building and learning stuff. I thought I'd share with the Make crowd what I'm learning and how. I'm starting from only the most basic bike fixing knowledge and building from bits and bobs, learning about different standards, (did you know there are four kinds of bottom bracket thread? I did not!), different geometries, how to build wheels, and so on.Bike stripping - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 29, 2007 12:00 AM
Bicycles |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Suggest a Site
Most recent posts: page 1 of 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 >>
Browse the complete archive by category or month.
New @ MAKE
Making Things Talk
Programming microcontrollers used to require an expensive development environment costing thousands of dollars and requiring professional electrical engineering expertise. Open-source physical computing platforms with simple i/o boards and development environments have led to new options for hobbyists, hackers, and makers. This book contains a series of projects that teach you what you need to know to get your creations talking to each other, connecting to the web, and forming networks of smart devices. Review and buy it now! - Link.
Eccentric Cubicle
Who says office cubicles need to be dreary? In this book, author Kaden Harris of Eccentric Genius introduces aspiring and die-hard Makers to a highly entertaining parallel universe of surreal office-based projects that are sure to pique the curiosity of even the most jaded office mates. From desktop guillotines and crossbows to mood-enhancing effects and music makers, each project presents a different set of challenges and opens new avenues of Maker lore - Link.
Best of MAKE
After two years, MAKE has become one of most celebrated new magazines to hit the newsstands, and certainly one of the hottest reads. If you're just catching on to the MAKE phenomenon and wonder what you've missed, this book contains the best DIY projects from the magazine's first ten volumes -- a surefire collection of fun and challenging activities going back to MAKE's launch in early 2005 - Link.
Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders
Amateur astronomy is now within the reach of anyone, and this is the ideal book to get you started. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders offers you a guide to the equipment you need, and shows you how and where to find hundreds of spectacular objects in the deep sky -- double and multiple stars as well as spectacular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies - Link.
Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
Gareth Branwyn
Robot Maker
Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Researcher
Natalie Zee Drieu
Bre Pettis
Current Podcast
Make a Reprap Robot Part 1: The Electronics - Weekend Project Podcast
MP4 | Hi-Def | Blip | Youtube | PDF | Subscribe This week, take the first step towards making your own self-replicating rapid-prototyping robot! You can order up your boards, from the Reprap foundation or make your own since...
More...
