Year: 2011

Best of Maker Business 2011

Best of Maker Business 2011

The year 2011 was abuzz with news of makers and making. From The Economist to Forbes, to Dale Dougherty (MAKE founder) being recognized by the White House, political and business leaders recognized that small companies and startups drive the economy, and that increasingly, innovation for these new ventures is coming from a rapidly growing maker business community.

Ice Candles for the Darkest Season

Ice Candles for the Darkest Season

Electric light feels very different from candle light. Even the best electric lights seem frozen in place, or blink and move awkwardly.

I decided this year that I wanted to do something with candles again – something safely outdoors, far from the children and the house, but something beautiful. That brought me back to ice lanterns, something I’d talked about doing years ago.

The First Citizen of My Personal Robot Nation Has Arrived

The First Citizen of My Personal Robot Nation Has Arrived

Back in November at AnDevCon II, I met Jonathan Hirshon of Horizon Communications, who hooked me up with a complimentary robot from My Robot Nation. This had nothing to do with Android; it probably came up because we had a MakerBot running in O’Reilly’s booth printing out little Androids (using casainho’s Android magnet design from Thingiverse). Enough about androids and robots. As ST:TNG’s Lt. Commander Data is so fond of reminding us, there is a difference between the two!