Announcements

Zach’s Cool Stuff

Zach’s Cool Stuff

Smallhandwhite Make pal Zach has a great resource for building things “We are a non-profit school dedicated to teaching kids and adults about electronics, robotics, and general building of cool stuff. In just a few weeks we are holding a four week class entitled “Making Stuff with Stuff”. It’s a mixture of materials science and practical techniques for designing and prototyping. We also have classes in electronics prototyping and programming microcontrollers. All the info is on our website” Link.

Box-top licenses…

Box-top licenses…

Cart-2
“You buy it, you own it” – but not if you buy Lexmark laser cartridges – Pay attention next time you rip open a cardboard box – you may be entering into a contract without realizing it. A recent decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinforced the right of companies, in this case Lexmark International, the printer maker, to legally limit what customers can do with a patented product, given that the company spells out conditions and restrictions on a package label known as a box-top license. Link.

Duct tape band-aids

Duct tape band-aids

Ducttapebandages Story about the 3M duct tape band-aids as well as a larger trend, duct tape becoming an acceptable wearable accessory – Many plasters [Band-Aids] are either covered in cartoon characters to appeal to children, or are pink in color – hardly a traditionally ‘masculine’ shade, Datamonitor says. However, Nexcare 3M Duct Tape Bandages, launched in the US, are gray in colour and feature a man’s hand on the packaging, holding a DIY tool. [via] Link.

HOW TO save as PDF with Microsoft Office now…

HOW TO save as PDF with Microsoft Office now…

Office
The big announcement over the weekend was that Office 12 will support PDF export from all the Office applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc..). Mac users have had this system wide for the most part for awhile, but if you’re on a PC you can also do this now, for free (as opposed to the pay versions of PDF exporting). CutePDF is a great, PDF online does it online…and Adobe can convert text or HTML too. Link.