Hello there, here are your daily updates from the MAKE blog - 2009/01/30.
Taking Android "cupcake" out for a spinThe upcoming revision of the Android operating system, code named cupcake, has generated a lot of excitement among users of the first Android-based phone, the T-Mobile G1. Because Google's Android operating system is Open Source, it's possible, but a little difficult, to test cupcake out on a real phone. Among the many improvements in cupcake is a much faster web browser, due in no small part to the adoption of the SquirrelFish JavaScript engine. The picture above shows the results of running the V8 JavaScript Benchmark Suite on a G1 running the most recent shipping version of Android (top) and an Android Dev Phone 1 (bottom) running the latest build from the Android source code repository. The top one didn't even complete all the benchmarks, and only scored 1.08 and 1.54 on the ones it did complete (vs. 9.36 and 3.09) for the phone running the latest release. To try this yourself, you'll need an Android Dev Phone 1, a Mac OS X or Linux computer, and a few hours of time. This wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the folks (links below) who documented what you need to do. Here are the steps I took along with some notes you may find helpful:
And that's it. When your phone finishes rebooting, it will be automatically provisioned on the network; you won't need to go through the out-of-box initial setup. You'll find that most of the interesting applications aren't there (no Maps, no Market, no Gmail), but the Browser and many other core apps are working fine. It's a complicated procedure to go through, but if you read everything twice before doing it, you should have no problems. And if something doesn't work as you expected, check out (or jump into) the discussion over at the Android-Platform Google Group. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Cellphones | Digg this!Record video with Nikon D700 and Canon Liveview EOSA russian site recently released a program that allows Canon Liveview owners to record video with their digital camera. Not too long after, Nikon hacker Olivier Giroux posted a few tests of his own that do the same with a Nikon D700. The next day I noticed a wave of news about updated remote-control software by a 3rd party (i.e. not Nikon). That got me thinking... clearly there is an SDK for Nikon cameras. How hard is it to get? I wondered. Olivier hasn't yet released his code, but the Nikon SDK is available for download and you can take a hack at it yourself while you're waiting. It seems like it shouldn't be too long before there's a more official convergence between digital camera and digital video technology. It's all roughly the same optical technology. Why do we need two separate devices, with all their separate lenses and add-on equipment to record both still and moving images? D700 Shoots Video DIY Bokeh lens hood for stylish blurring
I haven't tried this, so I hope I'm not being hoodwinked. This article on DIYPhotography shows how to cut out a sort of lens gobo to shape high contrast parts of an out-of-focus photograph. via Digg 5 cent(ish) tilt sensorNo, it doesn't just cost 5 cents. This tilt sensor earns its name because it's made out of a nickel and still really cheap (in a good way). Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Electronics | Digg this!Robot that reassembles itself after being kickedAmazing shape-shifter robotic system being developed at University of Pennsylvania that can locate its subsystem clusters and reassemble itself after being kicked or otherwise disrupted. Shape-shifting robots take form [via Boing Boing] Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Robotics | Digg this!DIY LED pushbutton switches
Ukulele ressurected. sounds weird
Printable stepper motors?I am absolute mesmo-rized by this video depicting a printable integrated stepper motor and controller to be built with a RepRap machine. Going high risk steampunk [via ladyada] Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in News from the Future | Digg this!Floppy drive bent-strument
Pedaling across the ocean blue The latest New Scientist has a piece on Ted Ciamillo, the machinist who invented the hydrospeeder (think: Bondian underwater motorcycle) and the Lunocet (a tail for divers modeled on dolphins). Ciamillo's latest project is a human-powered mini-sub he plans to use to pedal across the Atlantic: Ciamillo designed his mini-submarine around a larger version of the Lunocet. The body of the vessel is built from lightweight yet tough materials: a stainless steel frame, a polycarbonate shell and a propulsion system made from aluminium and titanium. It will operate as a "wet" sub: instead of having a pressurised shell filled with air, it will be full of water at all times. Buoyancy is provided by PVC foam packed into the shell and from air bladders that can be filled or emptied to keep the vessel at the desired depth. At 1.2 metres at its widest point by 5 metres long it is not exactly roomy, but neither is it claustrophobic. "Being weightless, with all the windows, you feel like you have plenty of room," Ciamillo says. More: Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Makers | Digg this! The LEGO Turing machineAndnissen writes - A TV Shop themed demonstration of a Turing Machine made in LEGO Mindstorms. It was made as part of a project at computer science at Aarhus University. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in LEGO | Digg this! Clickjacking TwitterClickjacking is a technique that's sometimes used by various internet nasties to get users to unwittingly click on something they didn't intend to. Javascript is used to carefully position an invisible frame under the mouse pointer. When the user attempts to click on something visible on the page, the click is transmitted to the contents of the invisible frame instead. This has been used in the past to trick a user into clicking through a Flash security dialog, allowing the site owner to secretly access a user's web cam and microphone. A patch was issued for Flash that doesn't allow the camera to be accessed in certain scenarios, but as James Padolsey illustrates with a Twitter Clickjack attack, there are numerous other ways for this trick to be used to fool a user. Using the basic technique of positioning an iframe over a button coupled with Twitter's 'status' URL parameter I have created a small demo which shows you just how serious (and annoying) this could be! If you're a Firefox user, there's a browser addon called NoScript which can protect you from these sort of attacks. Besides allowing you to control which sites are allowed to execute Javascript, Flash, and Java, it also has a built-in tool called clearClick which compares any page you view in its unaltered form and with all of its iFrame's opacity set to 100%. If there are differences, it gives you a warning that there may be a Clickjack attempt present. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in hacks | Digg this!Growing shiitakesHere's a neat post about growing shiitake mushrooms. Looks like you don't have to do much other than keep the log moist after initial setup: Some of the most expensive and delicious gourmet mushrooms on the market are shiitakes, which also are credited in Asia with healthful properties such as lowering cholesterol and improving immunity to cancer. They are simple to grow in logs and take about 6 to 18 months to emerge. They can fruit in a wide range of temperatures, from just above freezing to nearly 90 degrees F. To grow shiitake mushrooms on logs, the process is as follows.Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Green | Digg this! DIY Couch
Rapid prototyped stingrayI recently met Greg Marra at ROFLthing. He is doing awesome work at Olin College. I found this sweet video of a stingray automaton that he and his team made in a rapid prototyping class. I asked him some questions about how it works, he got back to me and brought me up to date on the project. Check out the post for more videos and details... In the Maker Shed: Mignonette Game Kit Mignonette is a do-it-yourself electronic game console to learn about soldering, microcontrollers, and game programming. Inspired by the Mignon Game Kit that was done in Germany several years ago. Extended upon their wonderfully simple design to include a bicolor display, as well as a completely new software library for making games.
In the Maker Shed: Make: television on G4!
Kevin sits down with John Park, frequent contributor to 'Make' Magazine and the host of the new 'Make' TV Show. John's got some tips on some great homemade gadgets and some answers for Kevin about the makeup of the 'Make' show. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Make: television | Digg this! HOW TO - Raft from plastic bottlesInstructables user Weissensteinburg made this raft by collecting plastic bottles for pontoons, and shows you how to make your own, too. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Instructables | Digg this!Matt Shlian paper sculptureArtist and paper engineer Matt Shlian makes incredible art with paper. The unfolding piece below is one of the most impressive paper sculptures I've ever seen. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Arts | Digg this!Photos & video from Make: NYC 1/28/2009 meeting
Wooden synth just looks more analog
The purple keyboard is made of the woods: purple heart, santos mahogony (for the 'white keys') and an unidentified yellow wood for the black keys. The woods naturally occur as the colors they appeared as... (inother words, no staining or coloring of the woods happened - just an oil finish..) The circuit inside the keyboard is a Yamaha PSS-140 and its been rewired and modified (also called circuit bent)- Ben Simon Wooden Synth Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Mobile | Digg this! Shake and turn to advance the MP3 trackHere's an interesting MP3 player concept. Move the cube in a specific direction to advance the track through a built-in accelerometer detecting force. Similar to Apple's iPod shake function in their new Nano, we like the DIY sensibilities and industrial design of this little guy. Introducing MAKE: Day on March 14th at The Science Museum of Minnesota  Make: television, Geek Squad and Science Museum of Minnesota are extremely excited to announce the first public event based on Make: television called Make: Day! Make: Day celebrates the ingenuity and inventiveness in our community. Building off the success of Maker Faires and the American Maker events, Make: day will give local engineers, artists, tinkerers and inventors the opportunity to showcase their DIY creations to Science Museum visitors. Festivities will take place on Saturday, March 14th, from 10 am to 3 pm throughout the Science Museum's exhibit galleries. The event is included in the regular admission price and free to all members of the museum. Here are some of the things you'll find:
Stay tuned to makezine.tv for more info, but for now, mark your calendars for March 14th! Obama portrait drawn on an Etch-A-SketchThis portrait of President Barack Obama was created by artist George Vlosich using an Etch-A-Sketch toy. The picture took 80 hours to draw using the two dials in one, unbroken line. In addition to this piece, the artist has created several more portraits that are equally impressive, although trying to duplicate them might take some work. Check out the link below for some more examples of his work. Alcohol sensors for soundIn case you tire of photocell for sound (ahh but who could?), here's a demonstration using an entirely different type of sensor - Short demonstration of the device used for my "Nunk on Droise" (Noise Under the Influence) performances. The device is constituted of three alcohol sensors connected through an Arduino board to a computer running a Pure Data patch. The bars on the computer's screen correspond to the content of alcohol detected by each sensor. Sorry for the sound that is really bad.They seem quite sensitive - performing at a club/bar with these may prove a bit unruly, possibly quite fun. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Digg this! Plastic lunch bags made to look like mold will save your lunchThese "Anti-Theft" lunch bags are regular plastic sandwich bags with black splotches on them so they are made to look like your lunch is spoiled. Interesting idea for a built in anti-theft device for your lunch although we're not sure if people actually steal these types of sandwiches anymore. via Design Spotter Ball Pendulum
This video shows a self oscillating ball pendulum, that feeds a ten counter balance. If I've had enough time, Meccano and balls, the idea was to built a complete clock, with a set of sequential balances, that together would display the current time. Also, it would have been nice to fall a sleep at night to the gentle sound of a ticking ballclock.Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Made On Earth | Digg this! Creative misuse of technology event in NYCDorkbot NYC is hosting a special event: You're Doing it Wrong: Creative Misuse of Technology. Douglas Repetto writes:
You're Doing it Wrong: Creative Misuse of Technology When: Wed, Feb 11, 2009, 8:00pm Where: 92YTribeca Screening Room, 200 Hudson Street $$$: $10.00 Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Events | Digg this!More Recent Articles
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Illuminated pushbuttons can be costly, cool-looking, and really quite helpful especially when panel space is in short dupply. Well here's details on making your own with tactile switches, go 'head get blinky/flashy - 
Mika made use of an old ukulele body as electronics enclosure - a Weird Sound Generator enclosure actually. There's some conceptual metaphor @ work here but I can't quite place it - 
LoFi Ninja turned an old floppy drive into a bit-scratching, micro-turntablesque motorized instrument with touch contacts. See it spin and noise about on the 
Ben crafted this fine-looking enclosure/keyboard with a variety of wood types - he then made it functional by adding the guts of a regular old plastic keyboard -
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