Make: Online: Announcements Archives

Archive: Announcements

February 6, 2010

Extech giveaway winners

Thanks to Extech for giving away all this swag! And it keeps getting better. Not only was the RC100 upgraded to a RC200, but there are TEN of them now, and TEN pen-style multimeters! Hot dog! Still only one EX540, however.

(winners after the jump)

February 4, 2010

New Make: Online commenting policy and community guidelines

Over the years, here on Make: Online, we've had a rather open, anybody can play commenting policy. As long as you didn't use profanity, post patently offensive remarks, or spam, your comments were likely to stand. We also allowed for anonymous commenting.

While this approach allows for the greatest number of voices, we've come to feel that it doesn't necessarily foster the best sense of community. People, especially those new to DIY, to electronics, to the maker's movement in general; people who are exploring a project idea but unsure of the design or its mechanics, frequently don't feel "safe" in speaking up here. We've heard this from makers personally and in surveys we've done. We want to try fostering an online environment where our readers feel that they can more freely share their ideas, ask questions, and basically, think and learn out loud.

We also believe that allowing anonymous commenting, while providing a convenience, and the ability to post without one's name being associated, can also encourage rude behavior and personal attacks. And while we don't think the atmosphere on MAKE is at all caustic (compared to other popular tech sites), we've decided to change our policy a bit in an effort to hopefully create a greater sense of community among makers, a place where people of varying ages, interests, and skill levels, feel comfortable and free to ask questions, seek advice, socialize, and learn.

So, for starters, we're turning off anonymous commenting and implementing a "be nice" commenting policy. Before you post, right above the Submit button, it will now read:

Make: Online has a "be nice" commenting policy. Don't say anything here you wouldn't say to a person's face. We will use our discretion in removing comments we find offensive, spammy, self-promotional, or mean-spirited. See more on our Maker Community Guidelines page.

The Maker Community Guidelines spell out in more detail what we're hoping our readers will take to heart in helping us build a more amiable environment here.

This is not the only thing we're going to be doing to expand our community-building efforts. We're also going to be "datamining" comment threads more, to find new ideas for topic-areas to explore, to elevate comments into stand-alone posts for deeper exploration, and we're even going to be deputizing commenters and turning them into guest authors from time to time. Encouraging more maker participation is also a big priority in our upcoming site redesign, so this is only the first step in that direction. There are also plans in the works for the site that we're super excited about and think will inspire you to become even more involved in what we're doing here. If you've been to a Maker Faire, or felt the energy of a Faire through our site and video coverage -- that's what we'd like to instill here -- a similar feeling of excitement, engagement, skills-sharing, and friendliness. We'd love to hear your ideas of how you think we can best accomplish this.

February 2, 2010

Obscura Day, March 20, 2010

In the early 90s, I ran an art/science/tech "salon" here in DC, called Cafe Gaga. One of the more fun things we did was dérive, or the act of purposeful drifting through a city to discover forgotten, interesting, strange places. There as so many weird, wonderful, unique locales in every city that we overlook in our day-to-day.

Obscura Atlas is organizing a global day to celebrate "wondrous, curious, and esoteric places" in cities around the world. See if your city is included, and if not, how you can set up your own Obscura Day event.

Obscura Day, March 20, 2010

More:
O'Reilly donates £1000 to Bletchley Park
Coding your own urban renewal

Dallas makers organizing a hackerspace

Members of the Dallas Personal Robotics Group are looking to organize a communal workshop.

The DPRG had access to a warehouse in Garland for seven years, from 2002 through 2009 thanks to Mike Dodson, who allowed us to use one of his warehouse buildings and patiently put up with all our geeky shenanigans for almost a decade. In 2009, Mike retired and the building we were in changed hands, so we lost our long time home. After looking at several options for finding a new and permanent space for robot building, we settled on the idea of creating a hackerspace (aka a shared, community workshop). This idea has been used by groups in the US and other parts of the world with great success so it seemed likely we should be able to do it to.

They've set up a Google group -- if you're in the neighborhood and interested in helping out, that's your destination.

February 1, 2010

February Make: Newsletter ships tomorrow!

A snip from the January newsletter

We're about to send out the February Make: Newsletter (tomorrow morning). This monthly email letter has all new material you won't find on the site or in the magazine. We try to give you the inside scoop on some of what's going on behind the scenes at Maker Media, original columns, tool reviews, even quick n' dirty projects! We also have sweet subscription and Shed offers, often exclusive to the newsletter.

If you want to sign up, here's the form. You can also peruse previous issues here.

Dorkbot DC meeting, this Thursday, Feb 4 at HacDC

If you're in DC this Thursday, Feb 4th, please stop by HacDC and catch this month's Dorkbot DC gathering. We have two amazing presenters this month, Andy Holtin and Atau Tanka. Those involved with Maker Faire Austin may remember Andy's involvement there (and my recent piece about his work here on the site). Atau is a well-known, pioneering artist in the fields of high-tech interactive art and music. Hope to see you there!

About this month's presenters:

Glance from Andy Holtin on Vimeo.

ANDY HOLTIN : "How to Fit as Many Steps as Possible Into Ideas that Started Out Really Simple"

Working on his new project "Glance" allowed Andy to explore and employ a surprisingly wide variety of processes, both artistical and technical. He'll be sharing his obstacles and the solutions they generated.

Andy Holtin is a master builder, professor of art, and a sculptor working with computer and microcontroller-based sculpture. His work was recently featured on Make: Online. He received his MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University's Sculpture and Extended Media program. His work uses technology to create perfomative objects and interactive installations, incorporating a range of materials and processes. Holtin currently works as half of the collaborative duo CausalityLabs.

ATAU TANAKA: "Current research"

Atau will talk about his current research in Mobile and Locative Media Art, Interactive Performance, and Creative practice on Public Displays.

Atau Tanaka bridges the fields of media art, experimental music, and research. He worked at IRCAM, was Artistic Ambassador for Apple France, and was researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratory Paris, and was an Artistic Co-Director of STEIM in Amsterdam. Atau creates sensor-based musical instruments for performance, and is known for his work with biosignal interfaces. He seeks to harness collective musical creativity in mobile environments, seeking out the continued place of the artist in democratized digital forms. His work has been presented at Ars Electronica, SFMOMA, Eyebeam, V2, ICC, and ZKM and has been mentor at NESTA.

Note: Atau's colleague from Sensorband, Zbigniew Karkovski, will be performing on February 27th for DC's premier new music presenter, Sonic Circuits.

As usual, we'll also have Interdork, an opportunity for announcements and ad hoc show and tell, and Afterdork, where the coversation continues over food and drink at a nearby eatery.

February 2010 Dorkbot DC meeting
Thursday, February 4th, 7:00PM (ET)
HacDC (St. Stephen's Church, in the church's sanctuary)
1525 Newton St NW
Washington DC 20010
Google map
ALWAYS FREE!
A co-presentation with HacDC

MAKE, Volume 21: Desktop Manufacturing - plus a visit to MakerBot HQ!

MAKE, Volume 21 digs into desktop factories, covering a variety of ways you can get started with personal manufacturing - including:

CNC kits
DIY CNC milling machines
Steps for building your own 3D scanner
An in-depth look at the MakerBot Cupcake CNC & it's development

We also paid a visit to MakerBot HQ in Brooklyn, NY and sat down with company co-founder Bre Pettis. Be sure to check out the interview + tour of the Botcave in the above vid!

Oh and of course, MAKE 21 is chock-full of step-by-step instructions for building a variety of sweet projects including -

Reaction Timer
Padded Swords
Magic Photo Cube
ESP Tester
Gourd Lanterns
Geared Candleholder
Snow Gun
+ a whole bunch more!

The above video is a bit of a change of pace from the usual previews we post for new volumes - let us know what you think of the new format in the comments below!

Don't forget - subscribers can always read the digital edition here.

Subscribe to the MAKE podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

January 30, 2010

Call for applications: A2 MechShop Artist-In-Residence program

Got a great idea for an awesome project, and just need access to the tools to make it happen? Do you live in or near southeast Michigan? Then this might be just the opportunity you were waiting for. A2 MechShop is opening up their doors to one lucky artist for an artist in residency program. This could be the perfect opportunity to create some awesome to bring to Maker Faire Detroit!

A2 MechShop, a coworking facility for electrical and mechanical engineering in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is offering a three-week Artist in Residence this spring. The selected artist will have the opportunity to consult with the engineers and use machinery at the A2 MechShop to create artwork that is inspired by, incorporates, or is produced by technology. The residency does not include a stipend, and the artist should expect to supply their own materials.
Applicants can visit the A2 MechShop website for more details. Applications are due February 19th, 2010, and the artist will be notified the week of March 1.

About A2 MechShop:

A2 MechShop is a coworking facility for entrepreneurial engineers located on the west side of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Seven different businesses, mostly one or two person, have private offices surrounding a shared machine shop floor. They share knowledge and tools in a friendly and technically-oriented environment. The A2 MechShop was started in November 2008, and hosts GO-Tech, a monthly geek show-and-tell.

January 27, 2010

O'Reilly donates £1000 to Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park, the historic site of secret British code breaking activities during WWII and the birthplace of the modern computer, is again in the news thanks to John Graham-Cumming's book The Geek Atlas. O'Reilly pledged to give 50p per copy of the book sold in the UK to the Bletchley Park Fund and we are delighted to send our first cheque for £1000.

Unfortunately not everyone has heard of the plight of Bletchley Park. The Bletchley Park Trust is aiming to preserve the core heritage of the site and to build on the work of the wartime pioneers through education and technology innovation. The Trust does not receive on-going operational funding and therefore is dependent on money generated from donations or any additional on-site or off-site activities such as their online shop to enable it to continue its work.

If you're in the UK, and haven't bought a copy of the Geek Atlas, definitely consider it -- not only is it a great read, but John and O'Reilly are sending a little love to this magnificent geek landmark with every sale. Also check out my review of the book on the GeekDad blog.

QuahogCon tickets on sale now!

No, it's not a joke from Family Guy (although it would be very cool if Seth MacFarlane showed up!) Rhode Island's first hacker con is shaping up to be an exciting event.

QuahogCon is a regional conference for the hacker culture in all forms. Hardware, Software, Security, Social, Eco Hacking, Zero Impact Living. Like most hacker cons, it will run Friday to Sunday. We'll have two tracks: one for InfoSec topics and the other track will be a mix of all the other topics with a bit of an emphasis on hardware hacking and DIY electronics. Besides our perennial InfoSec favorites, we want to hear from some new voices on a wider range of topics. If it's a good hack, we want to hear what you're doing.

Along with the two talk tracks, we'll have a hardware hacking lounge where you can work on the hackable badge or anything else you're inspired to do. While we all have the utmost respect for Joe Grand, his badges aren't as hackable as we'd like. We'll be going with an open source, open hardware platform for the QuahogCon badge.

The organizers are limiting registration to 150 attendees, which I expect to fill up quickly. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to a local hacker space, AS220 Labs.

When:
Fri, Apr 23, 2010, 05:00 PM Start
Sun, Apr 25, 2010, 05:00 PM End
Where
Hotel Providence
139 Mathewson Street
Providence, RI, 02903
USA

January 23, 2010

"Low-Impact Vehicles" grant program

This is rather last minute (the deadline is 5pm PST Monday), but it was just sent to us and we thought some of you might find it interesting:

Seattle, WA + aLIVe: a Low-Impact Vehicle exhibition

4Culture is seeking ideas that will inspire and engage the broader community in a conversation about transportation. This opportunity is open to artists and artist teams, architects, landscape architects, designers of all types, engineers, tinkerers and community members residing in Washington, Oregon, California, and British Columbia.

Currently, our transportation system is designed around 40 ton trucks, but what if we were to design around the human body instead? A bicycle is a low-impact vehicle. What else can be imagined? Selected project ideas will be funded and exhibited in a variety of ways, depending upon medium and context. This is a great opportunity for people working across disciplines to explore how the arts can enhance existing systems and stimulate public conversations about energy, livability and design. Citizens from all backgrounds are encouraged to submit ideas for everything from poetry to prototypes. This project is produced in collaboration with artist Cheryl dos Remédios and Great City.

Deadline: January 25, 2010
Budget: varies by selected idea or project

More Info: http://www.greatcity.org/about/alive/

Application Guidelines: http://www.4culture.org/publicart/calls/index.aspx

January 21, 2010

HP to enter the 3D printer market

Hewlett-Packard sets their sites on the budding, low-cost 3D printer market by signing a deal allowing them to brand Stratasys' pre-established technologies (see above demo) -

Stratasys Inc. (Nasdaq: SSYS), the leading manufacturer of 3D printers and 3D production systems, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with HP for Stratasys to manufacture an HP-branded 3D printer. Used by product designers and architects, Stratasys 3D printers create three-dimensional plastic models directly from 3D digital designs.

Under the terms of the agreement, Stratasys wil develop and manufacture for HP an exclusive line of 3D printers based on Stratasys’ patented Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. HP will begin a phased rollout of the 3D printers in the mechanical design (MCAD) market in selected countries later this year, with the right to extend distribution globally.

“We believe the time is right for 3D printing to become mainstream,” said Stratasys Chairman and CEO Scott Crump. […]

“There are millions of 3D designers using 2D printers who are ready to bring their designs to life in 3D,” said Santiago Morera, vice president and general manager of HP’s Large Format Printing Business. “Stratasys FDM technology is the ideal platform for HP to enter the 3D MCAD printing market and begin to capitalize on this untapped opportunity.”

For those interested, a related audio webcast from a recent meeting between the two companies can be found on the Stratasys site. Hmmm … sorry HP, looks like Makerbot beat ya to this one ;) Here's hoping HP's printer's consumables don't end up costing more than the machine itself! [via Shapeways]

From the pages of MAKE:

MAKE Volume 21: Desktop Manufacturing

Maker Faire 2010: Call for Makers!

It's here! We're 17 weeks away from Maker Faire Bay Area 2010! Our Call for Makers is now open; we want to see your projects at the Faire! If you've come to Maker Faire before as an attendee, consider getting more involved this year! Show off your projects to tens of thousands of hungry makers! It's our favorite time of the year, and we're so thrilled to be ramping up for it again. So head on over and submit your entry for participating. The deadline for submissions is March 31st, and space is limited.

Organized by the staff of MAKE magazine, Make: Online and CRAFT, Maker Faire is a newfangled fair that brings together science, art, craft, and engineering plus music in a fun, energized, and exciting public forum. The aim is to inspire people of all ages to roll up their sleeves and become makers. This family-friendly event showcases the amazing work of all kinds of makers - anyone who is embracing DIY and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience.

We encourage you to join the fun and enter a project to exhibit.

Get more info and enter at the Maker Faire site. We've also announced the dates for this summer's Maker Faire Detroit (July 31 and August 1) and this fall's Maker Faire New York (September 25 and 26). So exciting! If you're not convinced, we have plenty to share from past events in our Maker Faire archives on Make: Online and CRAFT, where we share the videos, photos, and more from on-site and around the web.

January 16, 2010

Mitch Altman Special guest on "ASK AN ENGINGEER" tonight! - Inventor of the TV-B-Gone!

Pt 2438
Mitch Altman will be a guest on Adafruit's ASK AN ENGINGEER live video chat tonight at 10pm ET (Saturday 1/16/2010) - He is inventor of the TV-B-Gone, co-founder of the hacker space NOISEBRIDGE and works with Adafruit & MAKE on the TV-B-Gone kit! We're very excited to have Mitch in our NYC shop, he'll be here answering all of your questions with Ladyada! See you tonight at 10pm ET!

January 12, 2010

Alex Rider contest WINNERS!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest! We had a great time checking out all of the entries with lasers, grappling hooks, and other spy-stealth goodies, all designed by Alex Rider fans ages 8-18. It was a hard decision, but the winners are in!

Grand Prize Winner:

The Listening Cup by "nic", who writes:

Many people have used cups to eavesdrop through walls and doors, but I don't think it works very well. This is the eavesdropping cup with a modern improvement: It has a built-in mic and small amplifier circuit built into the fake bottom. A small earbud speaker on the very bottom of the cup lets the user hear everything.

Project Materials:

an opaque plastic cup

a small circle of plastic to form the fake bottom

circular PCB

an amplifier IC (like the LM386)

a small speaker, like an earbud speaker or similar (can be pretty much any size, just so long it fits in the cup!)

a small microphone sensor

a little trimpot to adjust volume

a coin cell or an external (hopefully hidden) power source

Nic will receive the grand prize package which includes:

A signed collection of hardcover Alex Rider novels
iPod nano with a personalized message from author Anthony Horowitz
A backpack full of goodies and gadgets from the Maker Shed
And The Listening Cup will be built by MAKE Labs and featured on Make: Online!

Runners Up:

Copter Cam Aerial Recon/Surveillance unit by "The Bear Builder," who writes:

This looks like a fountain pen. Inside is a disposable flying camera and transmitter based on the design of an ash tree seed pod, and vertically launched with a simple rubber band catapult up to about 200 feet up. As it slowly spirals down, it feeds a 360-degree scan of the area via wi-fi to Alex's PDA or cell phone. Software in the PDA decodes the spiral scan into a scrollable 360-degree still image in 2-D or 3-D.

Project Materials: Advanced lithium watch battery is tiny, holds a charge a long time but has high output for the short run time of the camera and transmitter. The copter part is made of molded plastic, so as not to show up on radar, and the single airfoil blade contains the transmitter wire embedded in its leading edge. The really complicated part is the software in the PDA that senses repeating bright and dark points in the spinning video feed and lines them up to progressively build a scanned image much like an early mechanical TV camera. By layering identical angles from two offset heights, you can create stereoscopic 3-D stills as well.

Inspiration for creating this gadget: We play with rubber-band-launched whirligig toys in the summer time, and it is fun in fall to watch ash and maple seeds fly down. This unit is based mostly on an ash tree seed which fits the secret fountain pen better than the fatter maple leaf pod shape. Right now university researchers are working on radio-controlled versions of this idea, called "monocopters", but my version is non-motorized, slim and small; a light-weight, one-time-use spy tool version that's very stealthy. The rubber band launcher is low-tech, efficient, common and innocuous, a good thing for spy tools.

Scenario in which you would use this gadget: Anywhere you need a quick bird's-eye view, you would shoot this silently up overhead, and grab a 360-degree scrollable aerial view, in 2-D at night, optional 3-D in daylight. Good for getting a current sense of the "Big Picture" where you don't have Google Maps, or seeing the bad guys you are chasing from a safe distance, revealing any ambush they may have planned. What's on the roof of that building? How do I get out of this maze? The copter cam can show you.

Altoids Tin Rangefinder by "electronicsguru," who writes:

This is a fully operational "time-of-flight" style laser rangefinder that fits perfectly inside of an Altoids tin. Enclosed in the tin are 4 things : #1: x7 viewfinder #2: Nd:YAG transmitting laser with appropriate circuitry #3: Receiver with appropriate circuitry and LCD screen #4: 6 VDC Li-PO battery pack To use the rangefinder, the lid is first opened. Since the viewfinder is on the same hinge, when the lid opens, it pops up as well. Then the battery pack is connected to the circuits, powering them up. Then the receiver is pulled up, then the laser it pulled up. The receiver and laser are already perfectly calibrated to align.The laser transmits continually and the receiver picks it up. The range, azimuth, and elevation is then shown on the LCD connected the receiver circuit board in whatever units Alex chooses. To stabilize the rangefinder, three stick pens with holes drilled in then 3/4 of the way up are held together with a steel pin. The writing end sticks into whatever strata Alex happens to be on, while the opposite end has adhesive dots to stick to the bottom of the tin.

Scenario in which you would use this gadget: Alex Rider is behind enemy lines in a foreign country and in a jam. There is an enemy fortification in the distance preventing him from continuing his mission and he needs to hit it with some artillery fire from support behind him. He uses the rangefinder to calculate the azimuth and elevation of the target as well as the distance away from him so the artillery will not hit him. He calls in the information to the support and they hit it dead on. Alex is victorious and can continue with his mission.

The Bear Builder and electronicsguru will each receive:

A signed hardcover copy of Crocodile Tears
An Alex Rider t-shirt

Congrats to the three winners and thanks to everybody who participated!

Make: Money for your club or organization

Calling all leaders of science clubs, robotics teams, and rocket clubs! Make: Money is for all student groups, schools, clubs, and organizations that exemplify the maker culture and need a unique and easy way to fund their work. You sell MAKE subscriptions and earn 50% ($17.50) for every one. We hope to support your organization by offering you this great, relevant fundraising tool that brings the joy of making into the homes of your supporters. It's easy to get started, too!

January 7, 2010

Matthew Borgatti's Anywhere Organ up for Fun Theory award

Maker-about-town Matthew Borgatti, who brought us MST3Shades, printable handcuffs, and Bokode @ Home (among other awesome projects) has been nominated for a $25,000 grant from Volkswagen's The Fun Theory initiative, whom you may remember as the sponsors of the Staircase Piano, the Bottle Recyling Arcade Game, and the World's Deepest Rubbish Bin installations.

If he wins, Matt will use the grant money to build his "Anywhere Organ," a demountable, portable pipe organ which he hopes to take on a tour of public installations across the country. You can read about (and vote for!) Matt's proposal here.

Excelsior, Matt!

January 4, 2010

Reminder: fill out our survey, win goodies

Five lucky survey participants will win $50 Maker Shed gift certificates (don't forget to enter your contact info so we can notify you if you win)! This survey will help shape Make: Online in 2010, so tell us what you think!

January 1, 2010

Happy New Year! Help Make: Online have an awesome 2010

Happy new year, everybody! We sure had a great 2009 and are so happy to keep going strong in 2010. To that end, please help us out by completing our survey and let us know how we're doing. Complete the survey and you'll be eligible to win one of five $50 gift certificates to the Maker Shed.

More:

Help us brainstorm Make: Online, 2010

December 30, 2009

Yours truly guest-blogs Make & Meaning

Make: Online guest contributor and all-around pal Paul Overton, of Dude Craft fame, has kindly solicited an article from me for his new creative-process blog Make & Meaning. My piece is called On The Care and Feeding of Ideas. Thanks, Paul!