The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for digital gadgetry, open code, smart hacks, and more. Processing power to the people!
Sunlight Labs, known for opening America’s government, had a problem when they recently moved facilities. Creating new keys for team members was becoming costly, so they figured out an alternative method of providing secure access using a WRT54GL, easily sourced components, and a trusty copy of Make: Electronics.
Really amazing. What’s going on in this cool time-lapse video from Italian YouTuber wwwperiodictableru isn’t a chemical reaction per se–it’s not oxidation or some other type of traditional corrosion. Turns out metallic or “white” tin spontaneously changes its so-called alpha crystal structure at temperatures below XX to the crumbly beta structure of “gray” tin. It’s the same stuff before and after–just different allotropes of the same element. The transformation, known as “tin pest” (Wikipedia), catalyzes itself–once it starts it just gets faster and faster.
Google has finally released Google Earth for Android 2.1 devices. This includes the Nexus One out of the box and the Motorola Droid with an upcoming update. In what seems to be a faithful mobile rendition of their popular desktop app, Google has once again brought the world into the palm of your hand.
As a man with a degree in philosophy, another degree in chemistry, and three engineers in my immediate family, I have to admit this strip from Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal pretty much hit me right between the eyes. [Thanks, Matt Mets!]
If you’re curious about the latest ROM floating around for the Nexus One, it’s from Modaco and it features Flash 10.1 and the HTC Sense UI. If you’re still reading this and haven’t started downloading the ROM, here’s a preview video to pass the time while you wait for an official release.
I’ve come across numerous Android controlled vehicles in the past, but never a LEGO Mindstorms robot, let alone two. The folks at ENEA in Linköping, Sweden, built a pair as a trade show demo. One of the main challenges was getting Bluetooth support to work. They ended up using an Ubuntu laptop to tunnel between devices. I’ve come across numerous Android controlled vehicles in the past, but never a LEGO Mindstorms robot, let alone two. The folks at ENEA in Linköping, Sweden, built a pair as a trade show demo. One of the main challenges was getting Bluetooth support to work. They ended up using an Ubuntu laptop to tunnel between devices.
We just received a fresh supply of MintyBoost USB Charger kits v2.0 that are all ready to be soldered up taken on a road trip. What’s a MintyBoost? It’s a small and simple USB charger for your iPod or other MP3 player, camera, cellphone, or almost any other gadget you can plug into a USB port to charge.
