Blog

DVD ripping and transcoding with Linux. This is a very specific tutorial about the DVD rippping and transcoding, using Mplayer and Transcode. It is well organized and it contains specific information about the codecs, the aspect ratio, the audio and other specifics. Recommended. Mplayer HOWTO. The original Mplayer HOWTO. They are a huge and precious source of information of any kind about the video playing/encoding. Plus, the supported OS are Linux, Windows, MacOSX, FreeBDS… you got it. A must for any serious user, everybody should take a careful look at it. Link.

Dale Dougherty and Phillip Torrone from MAKE Magazine will be on the airwaves 8am PST 90.9 WBUR Boston, MA- NPR. The Makers of MAKE: A new quarterly magazine wants America to go back to the garage and get in touch with its inner geek. It’s a throwback to the how-to journals of the ’50s like Popular Mechanics…but using 21st century technology. Call in, ask questions and say hi! Link. Update: Show is here, thanks to everyone who called in!

SmartAz writes- This no-frames, no frills website is dedicated to those brave experimenters spending time in building their own backpacking stoves or modifying commercial made ones. New designs are added from time to time. Currently the site has 28 designs with costs ranging from zero to ten bucks, depending on whether you buy materials or find them. Link.

Astrolabes are probably the the sini qua non of ancient instruments. They have been collected for centuries, and forgeries have been made for centuries, though genuine, working, astrolabes were made in Islamic countries up through the nineteenth century. For background information on astrolabes a number of books are available…The Astrolabe site on the Internet provides a brief essay on the astrolabe, museums having astrolabe collections, a history of the astrolabe, and finally, astrolabe links, references, and reproductions, including a “personal astrolabe” available for a fee made by that site’s creator. Thanks Chris! Link.

Some really interesting projects for UAVs you can build yourself! Robotics and autonomous agents are way more interesting to me than writing the same organization process-oriented software every day. I’ve been doing a lot of research on autonomous micro-air vehicles (MAV) and Unmaned aerial vehicles (UAV) lately and I’ve come across a few Open Source projects… Link.

This is the best case mod ever. I built the HAL9000 based on the computer in the movies 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. I had seen many computers on the web that were no more than black (or painted black) computer cases with the name HAL9000 on them. A friend of mine told me to quit my complaining and build one, so I did. Link. Bonus link, here’s a webcam version!

Justin writes “I was searching around for a way to melt some aluminum to try and cast it into molds. This is what my search turned up. Don’t get me wrong, the microwave option was cool but I doubt my parents would think the same. Keep up the great work.. And here it is, the Tin-Can foundry with charcoal briquettes. Link.