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.
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.
We’re starting to build our little MAKE:land area in Second Life, stop on by secondlife://Crescent/13/99, see a virtual edition of MAKE, ride a dune buggy, see some MAKE movies and a few other surprises. Mac or PC, get the free client here – I’m Torrone Trumbo. IM me, and we’ll add you to the Maker group too.
Nicholas Negroponte, the co-founder of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, detailed specifications for a $100 windup-powered laptop targeted at children in developing nations. Negroponte, who laid out his original proposal at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, said MIT and his nonprofit group, called One Laptop Per Child, is in discussions with five countries–Brazil, China, Thailand, Egypt and South Africa–to distribute up to 15 million test systems to children. Link.
Sean writes “The three finalists from our DIY Eco-Tech Contest were nothing short of impressive. Now, we want to know which entry you thought was the creme de la creme. Before you decide, make sure to visit (or revisit) each of the finalist’s entries. The finalists: A solar-powered hydrofoil, a solar-powered bubble machine and a solar-powered FM transmitter/headphone combo. Go vote for your favorite DIY eco-tech!”… Link.
Todd Oldham has a new show on HGTV called “Hand Made Modern” my pal Eric told me about – looks very MAKE friendly, so I’m going to MythTV it and check it out. Runs every night, all next week. Link.
If Peter Wallace’s recent experience with hotel access cards is an indicator, leaving your electronic hotel room key behind when you check out could leave you open to identity theft... [via] Link. In MAKE volume 01 we showed how you can build your own card reader.
