Technology
Here’s a free 411 service (800-free-411) instead of paying your cell carrier (92 percent of the $8 billion the carriers earn annually on directory assistance calls is profit) you get the same 411 information plus a location based audio ad. I’m going to try it and see how it goes. [
Procuring lowtech sensors and actuators
Patrick writes “Low tech sensors and actuators -A cool project with details on canibalising cheap toys for sensors to use in interactive electronic projects”. MAKE’s David Pescovitz has a great article in thefeature archives with more about Usman Haque’s projects. Link.
Gameboy Micro Faceplate hacking…
Josh writes “There is a jack accessible to the faceplate (under the faceplate, above the b button) that says V-5(5 volts, I assume) on the circuit board. Nintendo is also patenting ‘smart’ faceplates. Are any Make readers up to the task of building a Gameboy Micro faceplate with LEDs embedded in it? (Hopefully with a subtle effect – nothing distracting)” Link.
Rita and Google Earth overlays
DIY Weather channel – Ivo Janssen writes “I was browsing the Hurricane Rita path on the NOAA website, and then realized that Google Earth does image overlays. So I turned NOAA’s boring picture into fascinating 3D views of the hurricane path. Currently, it’s slated to miss Austin, make landfall at Matagorda Bay, take US-77 to Temple and Waco and then go on over Forth Worth”. Link.
Hacking Coffee Machines
Some coffee maker hacking…At work we got new coffee machines. The supplier is the Dutch company Douwe Etters. It immediately became apparent that the coffee was not up to spec compared with our former supplier. Complaints did not result in better coffee, so I decided to try to do something about the weak coffee with froth (foam) on top of it. After all, everybody knows that foam should be on top of beer, not on coffee! On the plus side, the coffee is free… Link.
Google to offer secure WiFi VPN
I could access the page, then it went away…Google Secure Access is a downloadable client application that allows users to establish a more secure WiFi connection. By using Google Secure Access, your internet traffic will be encrypted, preventing others from viewing the information you transmit. Link.
Control Stuff With Your Mac
Andy writes “I picked up a Velleman K8055 USB I/O card the other day and was a bit disappointed that the only software that came with it was a closed source Win32 DLL and a simple control panel for the board. So I don’t have to boot into Windows to play with it I’ve produced a Mac OS X application that talks to the board. It’s open source too so you can write your own control applications”. Link.
