From advancements in technology and materials, to the development of innovative techniques and ideas, there’s always something new on the horizon. As a maker, your success depends on your ability to keep up with all these changes. Let’s take a look at some of the most noteworthy developments that are taking place in making right now!
Perhaps you’ve noticed recently when you make a pit stop at your local RadioShack that some of the displays have moved around, and there is cool new DIY merchandise for sale. Among that merch you’ll now find MAKE kits and books. Above is some of what’s for sale at the Novato, Calif., RadioShack. In fact, […]
I got back from Cairo last Friday. I’m still somewhat exhausted, but definitely glowing from the experience. The main purpose for this trip was to set up a three-day hackerspace at Maker Faire Africa, which was held in Cairo this year. As you can imagine, it was an exciting time to be in Egypt! Lots of high hopes in the wake of the “Freedom Revolution.” Plus, lots of attempts by a still-ruling-military to divide-and-rule.
A homemade alarm system made from two “normally closed” audio jacks is the focus of our most recent Weekend Project, the Alarm Bag. The alarm system, built into an enclosure (above), can be installed into any bag (in our project, a messenger bag is used) or even modified to act as a door or window alarm. The 2-jack design means the alarm will activate whenever the second audio jack (the trigger) is removed.
For this weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to remind you all that we’re still running a special build challenge for our Weekend Project series. Build a franken-mod of any of our current projects and you could win.
As part of our Weekend Projects series of beginner-friendly electronics projects, the 555 Timer Ball Whacker proves that you don’t always need a microprocessor to perform complex actions. This project uses similar components to some of our other Weekend Projects, and will also introduce you to the field of cybernetics, or “self-governing” principles.
I can’t believe it was just a week ago today that makers were finishing preparations for the 2nd annual World Maker Faire in NYC. We did our best to cover the event in real-time, using services such as our Posterous-powered Maker Faire Daily (a good read a week later, I might add), but lots of content is still trickling in.
This Lego zoetrope from Chad Mealey is big fun and super inspiring. It has me eyeing our Lego collection in a whole new way. The possibilities for making great animations seem endless! [via Ohdeedoh] Related: Sewn Zoetrope Knit Zoetrope Hat How-To: Coffee Can Zoetrope
