This site turns any RSS or OPML feed into a PDF file. I have a few ideas on what I can do with this. Once I get the OPML app going I could do an OPML version of MAKE and then convert it to PDF as I add and remove articles (RSS feeds)….could be neat. Link.
When I started thinking about CNC machines, I just wanted a computer-controlled machine that would be able to automatically drill all of the holes in the printed circuit boards that I made, for my Curve Tracer kits (see the link, above). But, the “good” commercially-available machines were priced higher than the amount that I could justify spending. So, I started thinking about what it would take to build one, myself. And, I didn’t want to build one that would cost almost as much as a commercial machine: Otherwise it might have been smarter to just BUY one, to begin with! So, I decided to add “low cost” as one of the design goals. I also expected to end up with one or more additional products to sell, as a result of this project, to (help) justify the time that I spent on it. Link.
Here’s an overview of a clever email-to-RSS hack I was forwarded. If you subscribe to an email mailing list, you can set blogger.com posting to the email address you signed up with. So, each time you get an email, it’ll post that to a blog you have set up. Then blogger.com automatically has a feed you can subscribe to. (Make sure it’s not a private mailing list of course.)
A simple project to add a platform to Ikea speaker stands, so they can actually be used with decent speakers. I’m starting to see a trend with Ikea mods, folks are buying them as cheap parts for other projects. Thanks fluffy! Link.
I really like Firefox, mostly because you can make your own browser with all the GreaseMonkey stuff…and now check this- The Mozilla Foundation, developer of the Firefox Web browser, plans to announce Wednesday that it has created a for-profit subsidiary to pursue wider potential for the software. NYTimes story but, read Joi Ito’s post about this, it clears some things up. Link. I’m off to OSCON, I’ll find out more about this soon…
Home made, open source mp3 Player. The main goal of this project is to create an open design for a portable MP3 player, in both hardware and software. The secondary goal of this project is to make it as simple to construct, and as cheap, as possible. The design is based around the AVR Butterfly from Atmel. Photo and Link.
With the application of a knife along the seam on the side and top of the device, the use of tweezers to hold the newly-formed gap open, the use of another pair of tweezers to reach in and grab the antenna, and the replacing of the rubber insulating plug on the side of the iTrip to seal the casing back up, I was able to fully extend the antenna out the side of the iTrip at a healthy 90º angle with almost no scarring of the case. Link.
