Joe from Grand Idea Studio’s got busy over the holiday break… Here are a couple new projects to check out…
The Atari K-9 is a case modification and art installation created to pay homage to Joe Grand’s first personal computer, the Atari 400 8-bit home computer, and one of his earliest pieces of software programming. It is a simple, non-intrusive reminder of home computing’s early days and was designed to stay consistent with Atari products of the era.
The program, entitled “K-9” (also referred to as “Electric Dog”), was written in BASIC circa 1983 and recently discovered on 5.25″ floppy disk. The program was first archived onto a modern PC platform using an SIO2PC Universal Interface and then, with a series of original Atari applications running on a PC-based emulator, was compiled into a standalone binary executable. Next, the executable was converted to run on an Atarimax Flash Cartridge, thus removing the need for a floppy disk drive.
Atari K-9 – Link.
In the spirit of recycling old and/or obsolete electronics to make something new and unique, the Circuit Board Night Light was created from six non-functioning DEFCON 14 Badge circuit boards. Five boards are fastened together with L-shaped corner braces and round-head slotted machine screws to create a base for the modified head-mounted, white LED-based flashlight mechanism. The top circuit board attaches to the base via a narrow butt hinge to allow access to the inner components. Dura-Lar 0.005″-thick matte drafting paper is affixed to the inner side of each circuit board to help diffuse the light. The Circuit Board Night Light measures 4″ in each dimension.
Circuit Board Night Light – Link.
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