I’m hoping more and more micropayment systems take off…PayPal announced new micropayments processing fees for digital goods. The new pricing will provide merchants with a more affordable way to process payments for low-cost digital content such as video games, online greeting cards, news articles, mobile phone content and digital music. Link.
Here’s why…On top of that, consumers should expect punishment for tinkering with their Blu-ray players, as many have done with current DVD players, for instance to remove regional coding. The new, Internet-connected and secure players will report any “hack” and the device can be disabled remotely. “A hacked player is any player that is doing something it’s not supposed to do,” Setos said, adding the jury was still out if regional coding would be maintained or scrapped. [via] Link.
Looks like VCR is dead, time to build an automatic cat feeder of it (MAKE 03) – Blockbuster has virtually banished videocassettes from all its outlets, with the exception of some children’s and Spanish titles. [via] Link.
The Jack Kirby Museum opened yesterday on what would have been Kirby’s 88th birthday. While just an online museum at this point, it promises to be a great resource for learning about the life and contributions Jack “The King” Kirby made to comic book culture. Largely under-credited for his role in co-creating many of Marvel’s characters during the Silver Age of comics, his career spanned over 50 years. [via] Link.
This might be an easy and fun way for a MAKER out there to pick up $5,000 – Wirelessly network-enable your machine or device with a Lantronix WiPort … and you could win $5,000. What could you engineer or enhance with one of our WiPort 802.11 wireless device servers? Show us! Link.
From DIY Solar Scooters to Solar Powered WiFi Hotspots to Hand-Powered iPods, Treehugger has always been fond of DIY eco-tech. Now we are looking for your eco-tech inventions. If you have hacked, modified, or created something that helps current technology conserve energy, we want to know. Send a picture of your creation and a quick description of what it is to: contest [at] treehugger [dot] com. We will pick the best submissions and let the readers vote for the most deserving one. The winning submission will receive a new $230 Voltaic Systems backpack!!! In addition, our friends at Make Magazine will throw in a 2 year subscription and a limited edition MAKE T-shirt! You have until September 15th, 2005 to submit your entry. Link.
The MAKE blog was nominated for a “Best of the Web Survey” over on BusinessWeek’s site. Click the “blogs” link in the @ Home section. We’re up against BoingBoing, Gawker and PostSecret. You can also write your own in if you don’t want to vote for any of those choices. Link and direct link to voting page.
