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May 8, 2008
OS X overlapping gif screensaver hack
Bennett Williamson at FATLAB writes:
The default Mac OS X (I'm on version 10.4.11) screensaver picture slideshow function can read an alpha channel in a .gif file. That is to say, as the slideshow plays your images, a .gif with an alpha channel will appear to be "on top" of the previous image, and as the slideshow goes on, the .gifs will continue to "layer" on until an image of a different format is displayed, which has a default white or black background.
Take advantage of the randomizing function to create some home-made screensaver machinima art! The animation above is a sample implementation: The NEW Office Party Screensaver from FATLAB.
In the spirit of Men of the Internet, this screensaver is a series of carefully-sliced 800×600 .gifs, sourced from the faces of the hardest working local board members, regional vice presidents, administrative assistants, and other fruitful regular-dude-generating search terms on the internet. The .gifs layer over one another to hybridize these generic gentlemen into a randomly-generated ultimate budget-balancing force of suits.
Folder of gifs and screen saver configurations settings included.
Posted by Becky Stern |
May 8, 2008 09:00 PM
Computers, Imaging |
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USB Boarduino
Love your Boarduino but hate that FTDI cable? Ladyada to the rescue again, with a new kit: a USB Boarduino kit, with the FTDI chip (surface mount) and USB port pre-soldered and tested for kit-assembling ease!
Related:
Boarduino - Breadboard-compatible Arduino clone
Posted by Becky Stern |
May 8, 2008 07:00 PM
Arduino, Electronics, Kits |
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Slime-o-tron maker interview
Eric of LEMUR talks trons, slime, and sound -
Eric Singer has more than just a penchant for making his musical bots. In fact, he has a separate category altogether for very innovative musical controllers he creates and calls "Trons." Here, we take our first look at the Slime-o-Tron - a controller that works by moving conductive slime around copper nails.Any guesses as to the conductive additive?
Hmm, ferrofluid could be a fun option - LEMUR Slime-o-Tron: A Slimey Controller [via matrixsynth]
Related:
Slime-o-tron
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
May 8, 2008 04:00 PM
Music |
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Thomas Doyle's miniature art
Artist Thomas Doyle makes fascinating art, tells compelling stories, with model train miniatures and scenery. I've always been strangely attracted to these miniature components and wondered why more people don't make art, jewelry, dioramas, etc. with them.
Art by Thomas Doyle [Thanks, Patti!]
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
May 8, 2008 03:00 PM
Arts, Crafts |
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Brainwaves in a browser
The Gnaural Java applet allows you to playback binaural beat sequences in a web browser - arrange your own programs using the Gnaural software or simply download example programs and load them via the java interface.
If you're looking for something a little 'flashier' - check out this visual HTML Dreammachine. Far simpler than Gnaural, it allows you to control the rate and color of basic full-window flashes.
You can get acquainted with the mental medium via this handy frequency chart listing each range's associated states of consciousness.
(Theta [4-7hz] FTW!)
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
May 8, 2008 02:00 PM
Online, Science |
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Chief Cook Robot learns by doing
It's always nice to see 'darn cute' & 'genuinely interesting' join forces - especially when it demonstrates autonomous extraction of task constraints (to the Benny Hill theme) -
The Chief Cook Robot learning to cook an omelet by whipping eggs, cutting ham and grating cheese.This method makes AI development look uncommonly simple and familiar, endearing even.Through the use of a probabilistic model using Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and Gaussian Mixture Regression (GMR), the robot progressively learns to generalize the skill to various situations. It is then possible to reproduce the skill by being robust to dynamic perturbations (e.g. by moving the bowl while the robot whip the eggs). This video is part of the Cogniron project.
Exercise your learning algorithm by ingesting more relevant data here - Research on robot learning by imitation
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
May 8, 2008 01:00 PM
Robotics |
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Microfiche musical interface
Andrew Turley turned a microfiche viewer into a musical/MIDI interface simply by pointing a photodiode at the screen and feeding the light values into an MCU and out to a Casio keyboard. As you scroll through the microfiche content, the changing light values of the data make music.
Maker Faire Highlights: Making Music the Hard Way
Related:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
May 8, 2008 12:10 PM
Arts, Maker Faire, Music |
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SWARM @ Maker Faire
Hack-a-day posted up one of my favorite projects @ Maker Faire, SWARM!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 8, 2008 12:00 PM
Arts, DIY Projects, Maker Faire |
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The science and poetry of clouds
There's a Cloud Appreciation Society. Who knew? Lots of pictures, art, poetry, science, folk lure, discussion, etc. Cloud books, too (The Cloudspotter's Guide).
The Cloud Appreciation Society [Thanks, Patti!]
Related:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
May 8, 2008 11:00 AM
Science |
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Maker Faire wrap up @ SparkFun Electronics and new stuff...
Our friends at SparkFun Electronics have a fun Maker Faire wrap up and have some new things in stock... At Maker Faire I joked with Nathan the CEO, that SparkFun should do a credit card with a loyalty program, I'd totally trade miles for transistors.
Here are some of their latest products that looked interesting to me...
The AVR-GSM.
Series 2.5 XBee module with Wire antenna.
The GPS stick.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 8, 2008 10:00 AM
Electronics, GPS, Maker Faire |
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Craftsman 1470 piece tool set - only $8,600
Craftsman 1470 pc. Professional Tool Set - Model H0259 @ Sears looks more like modern art than a tool collection - via DVICE.
A great collection of mechanics tools. Includes 300 pc. Base Essentials Set (33300), 198 pc. Professional Essentials Set (33198), 189 pc. Specialized Essentials Set (35189), 204 pc. Advanced Access Pro's Set (33204), 106 pc. Advanced Professional Tool Set (35106), 89 pc. Specialized Access Professional Tool Set (35086), 83 pc. Ultimate Fully-Polished Ratcheting Set (35183), 77 pc. Heavy-Duty Mechanic's Set (35079), 94pc. Auto Specialty Professional Tool Set (35098) and 130 pc. Professional Impact Set (34130). Catalog# 34131
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 8, 2008 09:00 AM
Toolbox |
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The Cans Festival, stencil art fest
Great article and gallery @ NOTCOT from the Cans Festival featuring BANKSY and 600 other artists...
The space itself opened with powder blue billboard with “GENTRIFY THIS” painted aggressively in black, which a mother explained to her young daughter behind me in line was “delightfully ironic”, a phrase that applied just as well to the work within and its interaction with the crowd. The audience was incredibly diverse and indeed, I think it was the crowd that I found the most interesting. We had the entire age range, there more than a few grandmothers admiring the walls and strollers and children marveling. And of course there were more than our fair share of hipster types. The range of cameras was equally impressive. I lost count of the number of cellphone cameras (and yes, iphones were disproportionately represented), but there were lots of semi and professional photographers on the scene, and even a good number of videocams and tripods. And an equally diverse range of camera styles, flybys, the sit and wait type, etc. The need to document and capture the art seemed as pressing as the need to get in to see it! And of course, there were stencils of photographers that needed photographing…
More:
- Stencil art fest, The Cans Festival.
- Scanned program.
- Additional gallery @ NOTCOT.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 8, 2008 08:00 AM
Arts, Culture jamming, Events |
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Fuzzy logic, McGyver, Fab Labs, and trippy glasses @ Maker Faire
Here's a video I did with boingboing.tv @ Maker Faire, we chatted with some of my favorite people and their projects from the Faire! Star Simpson's fuzzy logic, McGyver's creator, Fab Labs, and trippy glasses!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 8, 2008 07:11 AM
Maker Faire |
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Maker Faire photos
Another set of Maker Faire photos - these are from Doug!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 8, 2008 07:00 AM
Maker Faire |
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Weird sound generator will make you ask for more
The wood version of the "Weird Sound Generator" (pictured above), is one of a series of home built synths by Sascha Neudek. Really nice construction on all of the synths and he even sells them from his site which is pretty cool since they have a one-of-a-kind type look and feel.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
May 8, 2008 06:00 AM
Arts, Music |
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PIC based countdown timer makes you early
This PIC based countdown timer was used to control lighting for the Ultra-Violet exposure of photosensitive PCB material, although it would come in handy for many other applications, such as cooking, or even exercising. It also includes an audible alarm when the counter finishes and relays control to turn on or off the lights.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
May 8, 2008 05:00 AM
Electronics, Open source hardware |
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Turn your old CDs and DVDs into LPs
This project by Aleks Kolkowski creates records by using a vintage record cutter to carve grooves into old CDs and DVDs. In his recent showing of the project at the Futuresonic Festival in the UK, visitors came by with sound files which he would carve into the discs and then give copies back as a playable record. Really nice remake of two technologies that are slowly dying out to MP3s.
[via], Aleks Kolkowski
CD-Recycled 45rpm
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
May 8, 2008 04:00 AM
Arts, Music |
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Arduino and a tri-axis accelerometer
If there was only a write-up or source code available for this really interesting Arduino project. The only details are that it uses OpenGL and a KXPS5 Accelerometer. This looks like it could be adapted into a really fun game with just a little more code.
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
May 8, 2008 03:00 AM
Arduino, Electronics |
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The iDeal: Robotic poker dealer
This robotic card dealer was made for a school project. Although it is a bit slow, it has a really nice natural "flick" to the cards. I am sure it could deal the cards faster with some tweaks.
Introducing the "iDeal". It's the worlds best automatic poker dealer! Perfect for your home poker games and fits on the edge of a table. Features include:
- PIC microprocessor coded in C
- Preprogrammable games such as texas holdem (shown in video), bridge, gin, omaha, etc
- IR player position sensing using bicycle reflectors as indicators
- Ultrasonic player distance sensing which determines how far to shoot the cards
Related:
Make your own poker table
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
May 8, 2008 02:00 AM
Robotics |
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Walk - Don't Walk chair
I really like this chair because it reminds me of living in NYC. This certainly qualifies for a remake with a $3700 price tag and a 16-week wait. I would want the "scuffed" version.
The chair can come complete with all the genuine scuffs and stains of its New York City roots or can come "squeaky clean" with a fresh coat of paint. The seating surfaces have been reglazed with one inch-thick polished resin, cushioned with felt suspension.
via TrendHunter - Walk - Don't Walk chair
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
May 8, 2008 01:00 AM
Furniture, Green, Remake |
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Phillip Torrone
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Becky Stern
Culture jammer
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Sound Maker
Marc de Vinck
CNC Maker
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Weekend Project: Build an Ornithopter
An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings! Here is a simple monoplane design powered by a rubber band. It's motion is similar to a bird in flight. To download Build an Ornithopter MP4 click here...
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