Functional prototypes in 30 minutes or less…
I asked Scott and Bjoern to write up what they’re up to when I saw the challenge of making a functional music player in 30 minutes, they write “d.tools is a hardware and software system that enables designers to rapidly prototype the bits (the form) and the atoms (the interaction model) of physical user interfaces in concert. d.tools was built to support design thinking rather than implementation tinkering. With d.tools, designers place physical controllers (e.g., buttons, sliders), sensors (e.g., accelerometers), and output devices (e.g., LEDs, LCD screens) directly onto form prototypes, and author their behavior visually in our software workbench.” More info and downloads here.
A Make reader is wondering about using “Plastex” – “Have you heard of ‘Plastex’? I’m interested in the home casting materials of plastex and friendly plastic – the former, in particular, anecdotally seems like it make have enough structural integrity to actually make useful items from and not just use it for gap-filling repair work as it is sold, yet seems much easier to work with than the entry-bar for other types of molding. I have not experimented with these items on my ‘to do’ list. (actually I did use friendly plastic as a kid – it melts however at high temperatures which could be a liability).” Have any Makers out there used this stuff? I’ve only see it 
Arno writes “Just like the 
Paolo writes “Here’s a project developed by the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne to build insect robots that are able interact with cockroachs communities.” On the site there are photos, videos, PDF schematics and software to download. 
Chris has a great arcade building how to, he writes – “…the cabinet construction was completed in 24 hours, but it took about three months to get around to the last few bits (like decorating the unit), so don’t complain if after one day you don’t get something that looks like the unit on the left! Please browse through the links at the top and bottom of each page. They will cover the construction diary (in blow-by-blow detail), the finishing of the unit together with a shopping list, prices and then information on the PC inside the unit. Finally you will be able to download some plans we created after building the device, together with some of the graphics that are on the unit.” Thanks Rick! 
Rob writes “One of my co-workers and his brother are somewhat serious about their Christmas lights. They welcomed the introduction of LED lights, because it meant that they could stop adding new electrical panels to their house. Of particular interest to MAKE readers are the technical notes on the sidebar of their site.” 
Great step-by-step guide on hacking the Atari Flashback 2 Console, adding a cartridge port to play old 2600 games – “So, you’ve decided to take your Atari Flashback 2 console to the next level? Well then, here are the basic details to help assist you in hacking/modding your console into a full fledged Atari 2600 system that can use your original cartridges.” 
