Gadgets

IC squisher from skate bearings, acrylic scraps

IC squisher from skate bearings, acrylic scraps

Spotted in the MAKE Flickr pool, this handy homebrew jig from the UK’s oomlaut:

We’ve recently grown annoyed with the slightly bow legged stance DIP ICs ship with (it makes inserting them into sockets ever so frustrating). Rather than continue to spend longer than we liked on less than perfect results we decided to make ourselves a little jig to help out.

Details and laser-cutter files are available at the link above. This post from EMSL is cited by way of inspiration.

2nd-generation Raytheon exoskeleton prototype vid

I remember awhile back when video of the original XOS prototype made the rounds. Well, now, defense behemoth Raytheon is back with another somewhat cheesy testosterone-fueled video showing the new lighter, stronger XOS 2 prototype performing various feats of strength in preparation for the upcoming holiday season. There’s heavy metal music and one of the actors from Iron Man who is not, ah, actually Iron Man.