The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for digital gadgetry, open code, smart hacks, and more. Processing power to the people!
Mark Wilson of New Zealand created an Arduino-based emulation of the KENBAK-1, one of the first, if not THE first personal computer, released 40 years ago. Fully assembled and powered on. The LED indicates that the INPUT register is being displayed, pressing the 8 buttons on the left will toggle the corresponding bits and LEDs. […]
Check out this capacitive touch brush stylus from Instructables user Margarita Benites. Using an old paint brush and some conductive thread, Benites recreates a traditional paint brush stylus that works with modern capacitive touch screen devices such as tablets and handsets for a fraction of the cost of a commercial version.
Bruce Parker, former Chief Scientist and eleven-year veteran of NOAA’s National Ocean Service, wrote this fascinating article in the September issue of Physics Today. It covers the technical history
of the science of tide prediction leading up to the beautiful mechanical computers developed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to quickly extrapolate recorded tide patterns into useful predictions, and goes on to explain how those computers were critical in planning the Normandy landings.
Rounding-up the best and most beautiful shots in the MAKE Flickr pool this week was a real challenge. The popularity of the pool has been taking off over the past few weeks; that plus the “high tide” in the aftermath of World Maker Faire NY means tons of great images I wasn’t able to include here!
Matt Richardson and I had a great time visiting the Engadget Show this week. After they rolled a killer sizzle reel from last weekend’s World Maker Faire New York, Matt and I showed off our– my TV-B-Gone Jacket and Matt’s Enough Already. We enjoyed meeting Tim and Brian and hanging backstage with MAKE author Marek Michalowski, who was there to demonstrate the new Keepon toy.
For some reason we seem to be stuck on the latest handset or tablet and can’t quite seem to break free of the allure of the $500 gewgaw. What happens when you want to read the morning news and aren’t quite satisfied with the handheld screen size? Well, if you’re like Martin Drashkov, you’ll grab some off-the-shelf components and cobble together a proof-of-concept and call it the Android MegaPad.
A group from the Technical University of Denmark cobbled together a portable EEG using an Emotiv EPOC neuroheadset, a wireless dongle, and a Nokia N900 smartphone. Using custom software, the unit will render a real-time OpenGL representation of live data from the headset.
