I got back from Cairo last Friday. I’m still somewhat exhausted, but definitely glowing from the experience. The main purpose for this trip was to set up a three-day hackerspace at Maker Faire Africa, which was held in Cairo this year. As you can imagine, it was an exciting time to be in Egypt! Lots of high hopes in the wake of the “Freedom Revolution.” Plus, lots of attempts by a still-ruling-military to divide-and-rule.
Imagine waking up and seeing your design for a circuit being used in a product by someone who never contacted you to ask if it was okay. You will not get any payment for their usage of your design, they’ve raised over $31,000 dollars, and they’re selling something you worked really hard on. You have no control over what someone does with something you made. Is this a nightmare? Perhaps for some, but this is actually a dream come true for others. And it’s what this week’s Soapbox is about: Open-source hardware kick-starting Kickstarters!
Here’s an elegant idea: A treaded “tank” type platform for your smartphone, controlled via the headphone jack. All the software lives in the phone, and can be downloaded, installed, modified, and shared as apps. It’s the work of Peter Seid and Phu Nguyen at Seattle’s Romotive, Inc. Their already-funded Kickstarter is still ongoing.
The editors of Makeshift noticed that production, more than at any point in the last century, is occurring at the grassroots. In different cultures it goes by different names: DIY in the US, jugaad in India, jua kali in East Africa, and gambiarra in Brazil. Makeshift seeks to unify these cultures into a global identity.
A couple of weeks ago, we told you about Mitch Altman and Bilal Ghalib’s desire to raise money to host a three-day maker/hackerspace at Maker Faire Africa (coming up in Cairo on Oct 6-8). They still need support…
Schuyler Towne, the locksport aficionado who rode the Kickstarter wave to the tune of $87K, has uploaded a 24-part lockpicking course to YouTube. I can’t wait to dive in!
When was the last time you thought about pipe organs? Maker of all trades Matthew Borgatti has turned his childhood fascination with the massive instrument into a mobile, open source, MIDI-controlled version, further proof that if you can dream it, you can make it. Matthew will be bringing his aptly named Anywhere Organ to our […]
