We’re dying to hear about some of the cool and interesting makery our readers got for presents this year.
Erik Utter’s lucky 2 1/2 year old son got this awesome Pluginator 5000, a switch, patch, and plug box, built by dad. Erik writes on Google+:
I designed the panel in AutoCAD and had it laser cut and engraved by a fabricator on anodized aluminum. I added the connectors, built a box, and wired up some functions for the buttons and switches. For now, there are blinky lights, vibrating motors, and the robot even speaks messages that I can record. When he gets a little older I might add a micro controller to make it even more interesting!
[via Boing Boing]
So what tools, kits, how-to books, homemade projects, or other MAKE-related gifts did you get (or give)?
By George Hart for the Museum of Mathematics
Two years ago, we looked at some constructions made from playing cards that are slotted and slid together. Here is a new one, by Zach Abel.
Thirty cards are required, and each is slotted as in the template below. To build your own, simply copy this pattern onto thirty cards, cut on the red lines, and assemble as in the image. Note that Zach’s version above has some cards facing in and some facing out, however, the template must always face the same way. So if you want some cards to face differently, turn them over before coping the template on them.
Notice how sets of five cards meet at their short edges form six different prism-like “equators.” The construction approximates the uniform compound of six pentagonal prisms, but with rectangular sides instead of squares.
More:
See all of George Hart’s Math Monday columns
BBC news – Intel and Kraft’s iSample vending kiosks study shoppers.
A “smart” vending machine that analyses users’ age and gender has been launched in the US by Intel and Kraft Foods. The iSample is being used to offer customers trials of a new dessert.
It allows Kraft to tailor the product to the shopper, and exclude children from the adult-focused promotion. Intel says it intends to retrofit the technology to existing vending machines to allow companies to study what type of people are buying their products. The machine uses an optical sensor fitted to the top of the machine to recognise the shape of the human face. A computer processor then carries out a series of calculations based on measurements such as the distance between the eyes, nose and ears. These are used to determine the sex of the shopper and place them in one of four age brackets. This data is then used to determine what, if any, product the shopper should be served. “It’s actually very quick – it’s a fraction of a second,” Michelle Tinsley, Intel’s general manager of personal solutions told the BBC.
It’s been such a treat to look through so many heartfelt (yes, sometimes brash) comments on posts from the past year. Looking to 2012, I’m sure we’ll see more newsworthy items that whet people’s appetite for healthy debate. But first, check out these ten from the past year that cranked up the heat in the comments.
#10
“Why are ‘Arduinos’ so popular? Because people are lazy.”
Why the Arduino Won and Why It's Here to Stay #9
“They’re coming for my guns and my command line interface! Oh, the humanity!!!” Walled Gardens vs. Makers
#8
“Not only should Gearloose be in the list, he should’ve won.” Which Comic Book Character is the Greatest Maker of all Time?
#7
“No matter what happens, I don’t see Instructables becoming the all conquering site for hobbyist makers, or if it’s closed, I don’t see it creating a void that wouldn’t be filled instantly with lot of new sites.” Autodesk Acquires Instructables: What It Means for Makers
#6
“I don’t know if it’s really too little too late but if the Shack is really trying, they need to kill the 15000 cellphones and get back to what I always thought they were about: helping people.” Radio Shack Decides It Loves DIYers After All
#5
“Do you think his teleprompter will get jealous?” Build Your Own Obama Speech
#4
“So yes, turn my library into a makerspace. Please. I’ll go MORE often than I already do. But don’t do it because it is profitable; do it because it serves a need.” Is it Time to Retool Public Libraries and Make “Tech Shops”?
#3
“I would only pull the trigger on a printed AR lower with a long string while the rifle is held in a bench rest. And don’t even think of printing an upper AR receiver, it will fail, and the results will be painful.”
Proscribed Printables #2
“But we’ll have to see how relevant they are after their falsely inflated economy crashes, and makes the great depression look like a tiny recession.” Why Every Maker Should Learn Chinese
#1
“Remember kids, better safe than free.”
TSA Shuts Down Airport Over Science Project in Mint Tin 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.