Computers & Mobile

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for digital gadgetry, open code, smart hacks, and more. Processing power to the people!

Alt.CES: MAKE Team at MakerBot

Alt.CES: MAKE Team at MakerBot

Maker Shed Product Development Mucky-Muck, Marc de Vinck, sent us these phone snaps today of the MAKE team at the MakerBot Industries booth at CES. Tonight, our team found itself at the MakerBot Industries party, too. It was all pizza, PBR, cups o’ quarters, and vintage pinball. Let’s just hope that Bre didn’t get them all drunk and had them make 3D prints they’re going to regret in the morning (the 21st century version of the Xerox machine at the Christmas party).

Continue Reading Gareth Branwyn
How-To: Fold-Up Fresnel Reflector

How-To: Fold-Up Fresnel Reflector

Uwe Oehler has written a simple program that prints out fold-up paper templates for the conic sections that make up the reflective surface of a Fresnel mirror. Cut the templates out of cardboard, cover the cardboard with aluminum tape, fold up the sections, and apply them to a flat backing. Even the relatively simple, five ring, 59% coverage reflector shown in the video will burn holes in construction paper under modest sunlight.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan4
How-To: Keyboard Breakout Board

How-To: Keyboard Breakout Board

If you’re building a standalone project with an embedded PC (say, a CNC rig or a MAME cabinet) one of the easiest ways to get instructions to the software is using the PC’s baked-in keyboard interface. But if you don’t want to actually use a keyboard to control the thing, you need some way to convert button presses and/or joystick movements from your custom control panel into signals that look like keyboard input.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan6
Quick and Dirty Lav Mic from iPhone Headset

Quick and Dirty Lav Mic from iPhone Headset

In a pinch, you can clip the earbuds off an iPhone headset to get a quick and dirty lav mic. Add a safety pin with a little hot glue and camouflage it with a smattering of sharpie and you’re good to go. If you’re curious about the quality of the audio produced with such a setup, check out the above video from maker Levi Allen, where he runs through a build while capturing the audio with his iPhone. It won’t win any awards, however it’ll get the job done.

Continue Reading Adam Flaherty10