The Hardware Innovation Workshop, presented by MAKE magazine, is an interactive event featuring entrepreneurs and the devices they create. The maker economy is unlike any other and has unique opportunities, as well as unique challenges. The Hardware Innovation Workshop will introduce you to talented innovators and new devices poised to permanently alter the world of […]
Disposable medical device’s “Do Not Reuse” warning hides excessive cost and wastefulness.
Whether you have a full-time craft business or some part-time projects you run alongside your day job, you might want to check out Weave, Intuit’s new app for iPhone and iPod. It’s designed to track your projects, tasks, income, and expenses. The app centers around the Projects you set up. These might be individual […]
Big news in DIY publishing today: Our old pals at Instructables have been acquired by Autodesk, Inc., makers of leading 3D design software packages AutoCAD, Maya, and 3ds Max, as well as the new SketchUp-killer 123D CAD.
Lifesize Mousetrap provides a great opportunity to see real world applications of physics, spectacle and problem solving. Perhaps you remember endless hours of fussing with cardboard and plastic parts trying to get the mousetrap together to catch the mouse. Mostly, I recall that the build was way more interesting than the actual game. Over the years, Mark Perez has built the life size version of Moustrap along with his band of merry Rubes. They’ve taken the show on the road to Maker Faires in Austin, Detroit and San Mateo. People keep asking for more, and so they’ve set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund a traveling version of Lifesize Mousetrap to bring to schools and demonstrate their festive take on the game.
Fast Company magazine, which has a pretty good track record of trying to give women a fair shake in the often-testosterone-heavy world of the technology business, is seeking nominations for “the most influential women in tech” to put on the cover in 2011. Past “cover girls” have included Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook), Rashmi Sinha, (Slideshare), Morgan Romine (Frag Dolls), Jill Tarter (SETI), and Clara Shih (Hearsay Labs).
I hereby nominate Limor Fried.
MIT Media Lab alum, Eyebeam fellow, recipient of the EFF Pioneer award, entrepreneur, open source advocate, bad-ass engineer, founder of adafruit industries–Ladyada belongs on that cover if anyone does. To chime in with your support, go leave a comment over at Fast Company, or on their Facebook page, or tweet #wit11. Better yet, do all three!
That said, there’s almost nothing we like to see better than a maker hanging out a shingle and selling their own handiwork. Finding these people and helping to promote their work was the single biggest reason we launched Makers Market. If you’re on the fence about hanging out your own shingle, give it a look and/or drop me an e-mail, and let’s talk. Likewise, if you’re ready to take the plunge but could use a bit of start-up cash, consider entering our Gadget Freak Design Contest. It’s been running for a couple of weeks, now, but the pool of entrants is still small, and the pool of truly impressive entries is smaller still, so there’s a very real opportunity there for the right clever person with the right clever idea. First prize is $1,000 in cash and guaranteed admission to Makers Market.
