Scott writes “Alexander Van de Rostyne has been designing and fabricating ever-smaller micro-helicopters out of advanced materials, batteries and remote control systems for the last six years or so. The latest has 4 channel control and weighs in at 6.9 grams ( 1/4 ounce ) with battery.” Link. The site has tons of photos, details on the miniaturization efforts and hamster comparisons.
Scott writes “Vonage just released a VoIP WiFi phone… you can use your Vonage VoIP account on any public WiFi access point (but not at places that charge, such as the airport, Starbucks, etc). I’d love to see this phone modded/hacked to be used with other providers (I use Voicepulse).” Link. If you use EVDO, you could at least make a mobile hotspot (see how to) but I’m not sure what settings you can change in the phone for providers (if any).
The new ASIMO is closer to the robots that eventually revolt in all the science fiction movies “Honda Motor debuted a new ASIMO humanoid robot which features the ability to pursue key tasks in a real-life environment such as an office and an advanced level of physical capabilities. Compared to the previous model, the new ASIMO achieves the enhanced ability to act in sync with people – for example, walking with a person while holding hands. A new function to carry objects using a cart was also added.” Pictures and videos on the site. Thanks Justin! Link.
Steve writes “Here’s how to make a soda-can Van de Graaf generator. This site contains detailed directions for making a simple Van de Graaf generator with a soda can, some PVC pipe and a few simple everyday components. The site even features a picture of the finished product in action.” Link.
Russellh writes “This post shows you how to make a crankie, a story-telling device, from a shoebox, fax paper, and coat-hanger parts. Neat doings for this obscure art form. (History) – The SF Weekly describes a cranky as a primitive, miniature theater in a box: a roll of paper painted with pictures that tell a story, cranked by hand past an open frame. (The person doing the cranking often narrates and provides sound effects too). Though the parts can change, canvas instead of paper for example, this is an apt description.” Link.
Chris writes in with a great site from Yamaha that has all sorts of fun papercrafts to download, print and make “This has a range of papercraft projects including Yamaha motorcycles, rare animals and some very cool seasonal themed projects like a jack-o-lantern… and for Japanese festivals.” Link.
Wow, this is awful, the Samsung phone from T-mobile only plays DRM’d ringtones, you can’t make your own – “The new slim Samsung RAZR-like slider phone just released today won’t let you play our own mp3s as ringtones, they have to be the DRM’d version to work. which means, you have to pay for ringtones, even if you already have your own mp3s to load on there. There seems to be a solution in the discussion, but seriously, it feels like T-mobile is trying to suck every bit of money out of their customers after they already shelled out 300 bucks for this phone and also make you pay twice for a song you already bought.” Thanks Phil! Link.
