FreeTrack, an open source head-tracking program
FreeTrack is an open-source head tracking program for Windows.
Computers & Mobile
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for digital gadgetry, open code, smart hacks, and more. Processing power to the people!
How-To: Restore the color of old Lego bricks
Turns out the yellowing of old ABS plastic is due to degradation of bromine-containing fire retardants which are added to the plastic during manufacture, which release elemental bromine, causing the yellow color. Shining UV light on the gel accelerates the decomposition of the fragile oxygen-oxygen bond in the peroxides it contains, generating reactive hydroxyl radicals which scavenge the free or loosely-bound bromine in the plastic that causes discoloration.
8-bit city maps
The 8-Bit Cities project, which started with 8-Bit NYC, is an attempt to make the city feel foreign yet familiar, smashing together two culturally common models of space: the lo-fi overhead world maps of 1980s role-playing and adventure games, and the geographically accurate data that drives today’s web maps and GPS navigation. I hope to […]
iPhone 4 steadicam
We’ve seen our fair share of steadicams over the years. Not content with waiting around for a commercial solution, maker Spencer Watson decided to whip together this gimbaled steadicam for his new iPhone 4.
Rogue engineer steals departmental copier, tears it apart for fun
Bill Hammack is one part Mr. Wizard and one part James Burke. He’s a professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his alter ego Engineer Guy has made over 300 public radio spots emphasizing the creative aspects of science and engineering. In this three minute video, Bill tears apart a photocopier and explains, with great wit and wisdom, how it works. Ten more videos are available at his site. I especially like the one about tantalum. [via Boing Boing]
Your Comments
And we’re back with our seventh installment of Your Comments. Here are our favorites from the past week, from Make: Online, our Facebook page, and Twitter. There was a lively debate about whether kids have a place in hackerspaces. The consensus seemed to be that kids would certainly benefit from the experience, if the group […]
Crystals and 1-cm cube of pure chromium
More beautiful CC-licensed element photography from Wikipedia user alchemist-hp. Since I last wrote about his work, alchemist-hp has updated his (German) Wikipedia page with a clickable periodic table chronicling his ongoing quest to photograph each of the 94 naturally-occurring chemical elements. Right now he’s at 36.
