The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.
Remember our review of Mologogo? A DIY cheap GPS tracking service, you can get a cheap $60 pre-paid boost mobile phone, register on the site, download a Java app and you’re pretty much done. Well, more fun – you can now take your tracking and add them to Google Earth to fly around in 3D to see where you were with your phone. [via] Link.
Second Life hacks is moving along, but here’s a nice hack that just popped up to check out – “If you want to grab textures out of Second Life to see how people have made those neat trees, the stunning clothes, or maybe an old texture you lost, GLIntercept is the tool for the job. GLIntercept is a program that grabs OpenGL information directly from memory. It does a lot more than just capturing textures; with it you can extract prim information, avatars, and textures. This information can be exported into other 3D programs, such as Maya. This hack, however, is just about the images.” Thanks Brian! Link.
It looks like lending out video games at libraries works, this is very encouraging I think…John Scalzo writes – “It has been one year since the “Great Video Game Experiment” was started at the public library where I work. And in those twelve months I’d have to say it has gone as good as anyone could have hoped. In the end, the numbers don’t lie, and a success is all this experiment can be called.” [via] Link.
Nextbrick has a great LEGO project from Tom Johnson – “This is an orrery I made to help explain to my children why we have so much light in the summer and not nearly enough in the winter (we live in Alaska). No attempt was made to get relative sizes, distances, or the orbit periods correct. Rather, this model shows the inclination of the earth’s axis and why it causes the seasons.” Link.
Using some plastic and a toaster you can make your own PSP stand, JavaMoose writes “I decided to make a simple little stand for the PSP. Handy when watching videos, and it lets me have it connected to external speakers and the charger – while on the stand. It is very simple to make, and only cost me about 20 minutes and 25 cents worth of plastic.” [via] Link.
I’m using lots of macros with my DIY VR set up, I’m going to try this tool out “MacroMaker allows you to create macros or recordings to automate most anything that you already do by hand. MacroMaker was written more for the use of people who regularly use computers and programmers rather than the casual PC user. Most anything you know how to do by hand can be translated into a macro or recording in MacroMaker. If you are having to perform repetitive tasks, this program will help you out tremendiously.” [via] Link.
Peter writes – “The free homebrew software PSP Rhythm continues to advance. With the 3.0 upgrade, announced today, it’ll even output WAV files — meaning you can output high-quality drum loops you built on the road, and add them to your home computer’s song project in Ableton Live, Sony’s own ACID, whatever. There’s also a cool-sounding reverse drum feature.” Link.
