Computers & Mobile

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

Teardown of the TI SensorTag

Last time I was up in Rhode Island my good friend Brian Jepson pushed a small red box into my hands with the words, “…try this, you’ll love it.” I immediately started looking for the blue pill. However I needn’t have worried, because it turned out to be a SensorTag from Texas Instruments. It’s an interesting bit of hardware aimed squarely at simplifying smart phone developers lives when prototyping Bluetooth accessories. It can add a lot of data collection capability to your maker project quickly and cheaply.

Continue Reading April 18th, 2013 Alasdair Allan14

New Early Release Ebook from O’Reilly: Building iPhone and iPad Electronics Projects

Want to build iPhone and iPad electronics apps without paying the Apple developer tax? Check out this new book from Mike Westerfield.

Continue Reading April 18th, 2013 Brian Jepson6

Catching Up With Sketchfab Co-founder Alban Denoyel

Sketchfab, a website for uploading and sharing 3D models for free, is a great way to easily add an interactive element to your web content. Their model viewer can be embedded in almost any webpage, and they’re adding new features on a fairly regular basis. I caught up with co-founder Alban Denoyel to check in on their progress.

Continue Reading April 11th, 2013 Eric Weinhoffer12

How Good is the Security of the Industrial Internet?

We’re starting to hear a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Industrial Internet these days. But what a lot of people aren’t aware of is that SCADA systems have been around for a long time, and more and more of these are being connected directly to the Internet. If you didn’t already know, […]

Continue Reading April 11th, 2013 Alasdair Allan2

Gestural Interaction in the Operating Room with a Wii Remote and Kinect

Student Tamara Worst used two 3D sensors, a Wii remote and Microsoft Kinect, to detect the orientation and position of a surgeon’s right foot in the OR. She wrote software in Processing to allow them to view and manipulate images and 3D models without the use of their hands.

Continue Reading April 4th, 2013 Eric Weinhoffer14

Babystepping Towards the Holodeck

Sci-fi fans have grown up dreaming of stepping into a virtual world that’s indistinguishable (in sensual terms) from this one. Just load up a program and you’re in different a time, or another world. As technology has advanced, we’ve seen virtual worlds and characters become increasingly realistic, but we’ve only had a chance to view […]

Continue Reading March 29th, 2013 Blake Maloof

How to Improve Your Wi-Fi Signal Using a Soda Can in 6 Steps

When your life is nothing but trolling and viral videos, having a bad wi-fi connection can be incredibly irritating. Poor loading times, lost connections, and more can put a strain on your time browsing the internet. However, there are some ways to improve your Wi-Fi connection.

Continue Reading March 26th, 2013May 22nd, 2015 Drew Hendricks44