DIY over the web camera control…
Lavere writes “Logitech is selling a great webcam with pan and tilt functions (called “Orbit”, about $120). However, they really dropped the ball with the software: you can’t pan and tilt the cam via the Internet. Enter LogiSphere. Third party developer Stefan Seiz out of Switzerland has written a great program that is a full-blown web server that will pan and tilt the Orbit through a web interface, deliver web-configurable video streams, write full log files, password-protect access and more. It’s a really slick, sweet app. Great for DIY security or your web-accessible robot (screenshots). I used this to keep an eye on my cats while I was on vacation. I could make sure their feeders were working and pan over to seem them sleeping. The cats would perk up when they heard the motors moving the camera and I could see them looking at the camera.” Link.
Bruce on the Etel blog interviews the good doctor about her “
Raphael writes “In order to practise at the arcade version of Super Mario Bros, I modified a NES to be able to run arcade ROMs. The result: A dedicated Super Mario Bros VS. console with switches on the front panel to tweak some aspects of the game (A user friendly version of dip switches found on the arcade motherboard).” 
Dave on Engadget has a good how to on making an iTunes remote, he writes – “QM is a supercharged, yet lightweight automation environment which supports multiple input devices. It provides the ability to create custom toolbars, automate repetitive or complex tasks, and cheat at online poker. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but numerous canned functions and the ability to record actions help ease you in. QM goes beyond that, though, by offering a COM interface and common scripting support. With that in mind, I created an iTunes remote control using an extra wireless mouse and just a few snippets of code from Apple’s SDK.” 
Benjamin writes “The Anycom BTM 100 Bluetooth Mouse I bought a couple of month ago was fulfilling my wireless-mouse-needs perfectly except that I wanted a mouse with more personality. Unless many wireless mouse, you can still use the mouse while it’s charging, thanks to a clever charging dock system. A few years ago I found an old mouse made in 1982 (only recently a friend was able to tell me it was a Sun Type 4 mouse).” Here’s how to turn a very cool Sun mouse into an even cooler Bluetooth mouse. [
Simple and fun, make a cheap toy into a LCD picture frame, Joe writes – “So after a hectic day of soldering, desoldering, scratching out ideas and making new ones, I finally finished the digital picture frame I made out of a Juicebox. Just in time for my mother’s birthday. I had originally planned to integrate a USB SD reader/writer into the design, but scratched it out after I bridged two pins and could not find my desoldering bulb. Also, I was forced to make the matte inside the frame myself when I found out framing stores did not sell them at the sizes I needed. In the end I think it turned out fine though.” 
Ken writes “I work for a group at the University of Wisconsin that designs experiments in nanotechnology. While created with high school and/or college students in mind, the experiments may be interesting to your readers. Nanotechnology is a bit of a buzzword right now, and many people are surprised to learn that they can easily make things like nickel nanowires and organic light emitting diodes. The site includes materials lists and safety precautions. Full use of the site does require Quicktime.” 
