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I'm holding out for 3d printed records.

The Star Wars theme song, being played from a 3d printed disc on a vintage kids' Fisher-Price record player.
Someone's also printing Beastie Boys for Fisher-Price.

I had my undergraduate students build something similar back in 2009 on top of a Roomba platform, which in turn was based on ideas from Kurt's "Hacking Roomba" book. This solution was featured in Make Magazine volume 27 http://makezine.com/27/ It was the same principle, build a remote surveillance platform that could be driven over the Internet and they did it for under $200. How is this solution (5 years later) any different? I'm not asking to be mean, I would like to know if this solution is somehow technologically superior to something done 5 years ago or were the authors simply unaware of prior development?

Forget E-Ink, you need something like this:
http://blog.makezine.com/2012/07/18/super-fast-electromagnetic-flip-dot-display/

No, they can't. Secondly, if that's an issue, shield the school so they can never be read through a school wall.

Why do I even bother?

http://blog.makezine.com/2008/02/29/defcon-rfid-world-record/

The issue aint in the school its what happens when kids leave.

A cell phone trigger with someone looking in through a window would work better,

Only better at increasing your chances of getting cought. BTW there was enough concern over these scenarios the US government now includes RFID shields with their RFID passports.

Breath over IP was done several years ago.

Keep in mind you're going into this, slouched back in your chair, with full knowledge that this thing is an Android phone.

They're delving into this for the first time expecting maybe a more sophisticated version of the Esquire eInk cover. The last thing they expect is to find a repurposed phone with pretty much all the hardware intact. Plus they're recording it live. They're figuring out things on the spot and thinking out loud so it won't be a boringly quiet video. If you had the magazine ad in front of you and picking it apart, you too would be saying or thinking a series of "what/why the fsck is that piece there?"

I don't follow this scene too closely - I didn't have room at the old house to build a 3-d printer. But it's still on the agenda for the not too distant future. If you actually care about the ideas of Open Source (hardware, firmware or software), then you need to examine this question extremely carefully. There is a lot of sound and fury ; how much that signifies, I'm not sure. I was considering buying one of Caveat emptor, very much indeed.

Links : 1, 2, 3 (with a lot of comments!)

http://hackaday.com/tag/ti-83/
http://www.ticalc.org/basics/calculators/index.html
http://www.ticalc.org/hardware/cables/serial.html
http://education.ti.com/guidebooks/sdk/83p/sdk83pguide.pdf
http://sami.ticalc.org/irlink/e_hard.htm
http://smallrobot.bizland.com/Instructions.pdf
http://www.mathinscience.info/public/mathbots_challenge/mathbot_chall_lesson.htm
http://www.razorrobotics.com/knowledge/?title=TI_Connect
http://www.free-scientific-calculator.com/texas-instruments-graph-link-connectivity-kit/
http://blog.makezine.com/2006/02/19/how-to-connect-a-ti83-to/

Yeah, this other one from today was way awesomer.

http://blog.makezine.com/2012/08/17/arduino-controlled-shark-detection-system/

Shut the hell up. What you describe is at best an imaginary Sony. You are missing EVERYTHING. http://blog.makezine.com/2011/02/24/sonys-war-on-makers-hackers-and-innovators/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lik_Sang

Useful chart.
Created by Bob Thompson, author of Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture from O'Reilly.
If he says it, I believe it, and prices seem to range from $150 to over $600, although Maker Shed does not have some on the list any more.

I would prefer having real people from the companies instead of models.

I'd prefer having booth babes style themselves like this, http://www.geocities.ws/lollophotos/gina74.html though the dress may get kind of hot in the convention center.

Stupid companies. Stop using booth babes. It makes the industry look adolescent in nature, and is disrespectful to all women, and even more disrespectful to women in tech.

Perhaps get someone like this, http://blog.makezine.com/2012/05/19/jeri-ellsworth-rocks-a-commodore-64-keytar/

civilian instruments in space are dwindling

Are you sure about that?

What did smartphones look like before the iPhone?

They looked like the LG Prada, which sold a million phones incidentally, the iPhone, which was announced after the photos of the LG Prada had been circulating, looks like the LG Prada as well.

What did tablets look like before the iPad?

They looked like the Knight-Ridder Tablet, which was developed by one of the largest media companies of the time. Incidentally, the iPad, made 17 years later, looks like the LG Prada as well.

Aren't all of the ultra books attempted copies of the Macbook Air?

No. There were thin ultralight notebooks, long before apple. For example, the Sharp Actius which, as CNET noted, showed that the Macbook's claim of being the thinnest notebook was nonsense
This is nothing new. All my examples (and several more) have featured before in other places including /. comments. The point is, whatever you want to call it, Apple hasn't lead the industry and they probably steal the best ideas of trailblazers to build better targeted, better marketed, products, backed by an awesome supply chain, and a pretty decent industrial design team. But they have always been evolutionary (at least recently) rather than revolutionary.

While fishing around in my pile of change a while back, I came across a quarter that didn't sound quite right. The sound of it clattering on the table seemed a little weird, and my ear picked up on it right away. On closer inspection I saw that it was stamped 1964. Some research revealed that the reason it sounded different was because it was actually 90% silver. 1964 was the last year they did that. The following year they switched to a nickel-copper-nickel sandwich construction still in use today (visible when you look at the edge). By 1964 one quarter used more than $0.25 worth of silver. Today the silver content of that quarter is a bit more than $30 (prices fluctuate, but they are presently very high). I gather that these older silver quarters are a favorite of hobby jewelers, because it is fun to make jewelry from money. And, as Make magazine tells us, sometimes it's cheaper to make something out of real money than it is to buy.

hiya - you can check out the dozens of other articles, talks and overviews for what you're looking for - just google around or you can also email me and i can point you to a few. this article was specifically about the rules we all seem to follow, not "how open source hardware filters down to users". if you're interested in a specific one about that, here's one i wrote about someone who took a design we worked on and funded a kickstarter, by doing open source we enabled people to build better, and innovate quicker:

Open Source Hardware is Kick-Starting Kickstarter!
http://blog.makezine.com/2011/10/20/how-open-source-hardware-is-kick-starting-kickstarter/

And that's why you should just make your own:

http://blog.makezine.com/2012/02/02/easy-vacuum-forming-with-a-guy-fawkes-mask/

http://blog.makezine.com/2012/01/17/transparent-aluminum/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride

They already sent a DMCA takedown request to Thingiverse to remove two models. Pictures here.

That said, there's more to resolution than layer height. That just affects the vertical resolution. For horizontal resolution, you also need a smaller nozzle. And while you could get them in 0.15mm, you also have to consider swelling (ABS swells more than PLA), clogging (smaller nozzles are less tolerant of dust and impurities), print speed (less plastic per second = increased print times & electricity). Then there's things like overhangs and then you soon realize there's significant work between pressing the print button and painting it.

Once you get it all dialed in, though, you have the potential to print an army out pretty efficiently. You can even print multiple copies (or just plain multiple objects) at once if you want: you're only limited by the build area.

I read about this on the Make Magazine blog a few days ago. (Link for anyone who's interested.)

Something that strikes me as weird though. From TFA:

In the open-source spirit of Hackerspace, Mr Bauer and some friends came up with the idea of a distributed network of low-cost ground stations that can be bought or built by individuals. Used together in a global network, these stations would be able to pinpoint satellites at any given time, while also making it easier and more reliable for fast-moving satellites to send data back to earth.

So... these ground stations would I presume be connected together by, uh, the internet? I don't get it.

Not that I'm against this at all, I think it's a fabulous idea. I'd buy one. Or build one. Or whatever.

I hope you can see this, Google, because I'm doing it as hard as I can!

If this passes, I could shut down Makezine. They lifted some of my photos and included them in one of their on-line issues. How many times have you blogged about something and lifted a photo? This is a copyright violation just the same as if you shared a recent film.

No complaints on Makezine though. I would have given permission if they asked. They didn't ask, so they don't have permission. I'm picking on them for example only.

This is how dangerous this law is. I could shut down Makezine for copyright violations if this passes as I am the copyright owner of some images posted there.
http://makezine.com/

If this passes, they need to be very careful about what they post that is submitted by users.

Might want to check this out: https://opendesignengine.net/ http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/10/open-hardware-needs-a-sourceforge-of-its-own-by-mach-30-kickstarter.html

Uhm, it doesn't seem very fair to lump actual fraudsters in the same group as relatively innocent parodists. Once you start making people part with their money, it's a completely different situation.

One guy apparently scammed his former gf for 15k. That's not parody.

On a more remarkable note ...

He even fabricated a malignant brain tumor

Did he submit the plans so other makers can copy it?

A DVR is a device you pay ONE TIME FOR. A Tivo has a monthly charge. If the cable company chooses to jew you, that's between you and them, but a dvr has nothing to do with them, it has to do with intercepting and recording the signal.

Don't want to pay?

DIY

http://makezine.com/extras/4.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=computer+into+dvr

It might be worthwhile to post this over at makezine.com. Nothing those crazy makers love more than a challenge. Good luck! Maybe some enterprising person can get something mass produced via kickstarter.com

I've read the essays by RMS and ESR describing the "hacker ethic", and I've read Steven Levy's "Hackers", and those are literally the only places I've ever seen "hacker" used with the positive meaning of unorthodox, enthusiastic, and highly skilled programmers, aside from the occasional references to RMS, ESR, and Levy, to complain about the prevailing usage of the term

The positive definition of the word "hacker" is in wide use in the new DIY community, and I've seen it in Make and of course BoingBoing. It's still in wide use in the subculture that it applies to. Personally I think the media has been getting (slowly) better as well, with the occasional story about hackers that isn't in the negative sense.

Normally I'm a strong supporter of dynamic language, where words mean what they're accepted to mean; I'm just emotionally attached to this particular word and it's hard to let it go. I'm still hoping we don't have to.

Sad to say, I can't really imagine them selling more than a few kits to the geezer/nostalgia crowd these days. The younger folks don't want to *understand*. They just want to blindly buy and use.

Hehe, you need to get out more. Here's one example: http://makezine.com/ (warning: some of the things they do may make oldtimers' hair stand on end).

Then there's hackaday: http://hackaday.com/

Myself, I'm waiting for an update to the visual cortex-stimulating Dream Machines of the 1960s."

That's a DIY project that's been around for years now, the open-source Brian Machine by Mitch Altman. There's also lots of iOS and Android apps that simulate the same behavior with flashing colors on the LCDs while you lay your phone over your eyes.

Better than that, use an adaptation of the Minimum Wage Machine to replace welfare programs:

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/11/minimum-wage-machine.html

We have a couple of good tube suppliers, because we’ve been in the business for a while. One of them just said to me, “We’ve got shoe makers calling us up, yesterday they were making shoes, and today they want to start making Geiger counters.”

I know exactly what he was saying. And, really, anybody can make a working Geiger counter. You just put together a high voltage circuit and detect the pulses. But how accurate is it, and what’s its longevity? It took us years to perfect making a Geiger counter—a good Geiger counter. It’s still like a black art. As with a lot of things, you really have to be in it for a while, and see all the crazy things that can happen, and this enables you to can build some resiliency into the circuit so that it will keep functioning properly.

These people who are just looking to make a quick buck are saying, “I can build a Geiger counter.” Yeah, you can build a Geiger counter, and it will probably work on some level, but you won’t know how to calibrate the thing, or even know that it’s in the ballpark of being accurate.

Great! But does it have all the characteristics required to compete with the Arduino?

I've seen only technical bullet points in TFA, and technical bullet points are not the reason why the Arduino matters.

RepRap can produce parts as big as this whole printer is big.

I think the finest detail size to manufactured object size ratio is on RepRap's size, and commercial application of this is primarily limited by absolutely tiny work area. And the resin is expensive. Sure this has its place where one needs tiny precise custom parts. But I believe objects bigger than a cubic inch are in higher demand...

There was a different project, that utilized similar approach but much better work area. http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/04/homebrew-liquid-resin-3d-printer-gets-resolution-boost.html
This actually has a potential to be cheaper, because it uses pretty normal LCD screen, not LED projector one with microscopic pixels.

Still not a cool as this one which is also made entirely out of legos.

On Makezine yesterday:

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/04/elaborate-and-mesmerizing-lego-great-ball-contraption.html

This is eight minutes of pure awesome.

Actually, we put flash support on the PSP after Sony stated that they would never add it. http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/03/psp-flash-swf-player-sour.html

Shortly after that, Sony added official flash support.

http://www.khanacademy.org/ http://makezine.com/ http://www.instructables.com/ http://www.arduino.cc/ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ And many many more, but those are my favorites.

If you're interested in this, there are companies that will walk you through a two-day course in making your own bamboo bicycle. Make Magazine had an article on it recently. Calfee's bamboo bikes ride wonderfully, even the crazy one using actual steerhorns as handlebars I've also gotten to ride a Boo Bicycles frame, and it was lovely. They're flexier than the bikes I'm used to, and there are sometimes issues with homebuilt ones having the bamboo split lengthwise, but the commercial ones are awesome.

Arduinos can be used so many different ways... here're a few things you can do with them:

http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Projects/ArduinoUsers

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/category/arduino

http://hackaday.com/category/arduino-hacks/

Right, just because there are absolutely no other chipsets that work with Sandy Bridge CPUs doesn't mean you can't go off and build your own at home!

Probably Jeri Ellsworth has made one out of some bits of an old wok and a satellite dish already.

Back when I was a kid, you could legitimately blow some shit up with your Jr. Scientist kit. Enthusiast experimenting books from Dad's era suggest using hydrogen cyanide kill the bugs for your bug collection. Stop pussifying science, and maybe kids will be interested again! I'm seeking funding for the Greyfox Science Kit, which will include a 2 inch "supermagnet", samples of lithium and sodium metal, a burner you can hook up to your gas line, a 1 watt laser and... what's that? I'm being the first lawsuit has already been filed...

You have to look for them but you can still find science kits and books like that. Make zine is one such place to look. Well, the Maker Shed store that is but the zine includes some good projects. One of the books the store has is Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments saying how to set up a lab at home. What I noticed last year was that Barnes and Noble Bookstore has started carrying science labs, though basic they can spark interest. For Christmas I wanted to get one for my niece and great niece, that is a couple of labs or replace one or both with a remote controlled helicopter.

This cries out for prisons setting up open source GSM cells.

Now to find a CDMA solution. That, they may have to rely on the commercial manufacturers, but with a bit of work and some money, prisons could run their own cell networks and if nothing else listen in on the inmates' plans. Could be worse. Actually, it IS worse.

We can't seem to keep them out of the prisons, so just subvert them. I know this continues a war of escalation, but that's inevitable.

Like they didn't seem to want to try an Arduino? Pretty cheap, prety light, lots of I/O options, simple IDE, reasonable power consumption I think... There is some discussion that some Arduinos are comparable to phones in power usage.

Anyways, they are thinking of using phone chipsets, so some of the micro boards could also work. And lets also assume they won't be using phone radios, there's some savings there, but lots of other alternatives seem to be at least as good.

Besides, Arduino in space sounds a lot cooler. And it's already been done, so we can razz the Brits.

overkill, like most situations (torx, hex, that weird triangle nintendo, roberson and philips), an appropriately sized flat head screwdriver and some careful turning opens them just fine. Just get a screwdriver that grabs just enough. Sure, you're not going to get a stuck screw out, but with these fine-threaded screws... I've had no problems with stuck screws.

The one case I've come across where this didn't work was a Security Torx, as it has a post in the center that blocks the slotted.

Further research shows there are more http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/12/screw_heads_demystified.html but many of these I've NEVER seen. Is that a two headed pacman?

Thanks for the link. :)

I haven't subscribed yet but when I can I plan to. Every issue is filled with maker projects, of different types. Although I haven't started any projects yet one I want to do combines different areas of interest I have, Garduino combines Gardening with an Arduino microcontroller board. Using simple sensors, such as nails stuck in dirt, to measure water and lighting and if needed the circuit activates servos to provide water or light. Why this project? Because I love electronics as well as gardening.

That site's more interesting than the last month of Slashdot and Toms Hardware combined.

I don't follow Toms Hardware but Slashdot doesn't have good how-to articles. The closest I've seen are Ask Slashdot questions.

Falcon

It does make me wonder, though, what happened to actual technical computing magazines. Sure, there are a few obscure Linux and similar ones out there, but getting into the nuts and bolts of a computer was(and still is) most of the fun. I suspect that instead of seeing "setting up your own home CNC machine for $500", we'll see yet another review and ad-driven site like all of the rest.

Though it's not focused on computers, Makezine is a good maker zine for the technical crowd. The same company also prints Craftzine for the crafts aficionado.

Falcon

Makezine has a new guide book out, 2011 Ultimate Workshop and Tool Guide, that goes through how to set up and equip a workshop.

Falcon

Makezine has a new guide book out, 2011 Ultimate Workshop and Tool Guide, that goes through how to set up and equip a workshop.

Falcon

You may find Make Magazine's 2011 Ultimate Tool Guide useful for this. Has a lot of information/suggestions, and only costs $10. (Granted, there are a lot of advertisements that masquerade as articles, but still.)

Many amateurs or hobbyists have faced this dilemma in their own personal (and professional) work spaces for centuries nows. Two groups I know a little about are wood workers and machinists, who have written dozens of books and articles about this subject, in both the general and specific case.

0. Safety equipment: dust masks, goggles, safety glasses (with side protection), gloves (nitrile, latax, neoprene), hearing protection (ear muffs, ear plugs), and as needed!
1. Tools
2. Storage / management of those tools
3. Hard copy (dead-tree) documentation, it is being rapidly moved online thanks to cheap and compact computers and laptops, but much older reference material is still in old-school paper form (which can be handy) (example references to collect: ARRL Handbook, Art of Electronics, Machinery's Handbook, Woodworking Basics, Understanding Wood, Wiring Simplified)
4. Commonly used materials (lumber, hoses, holes clamps, fabric, sheet metal, dowels, nuts & bolts, wood and metal screws, etc.)
5. Parts (in anti-static containers for any static sensitive parts like CMOS ICs)
6. Labelling tools
7. Log / Lab notebooks . These should be paper-based, though can be complimented with online documents, a honest to goodness hard copy lab book is essential.
8. Chemicals
9. Large, easy to read clock
10. Test equipment: rulers, tape measures, calipers, digital multi-meter
11. Plenty of AC mains circuits and outlets. Preferably with a separate circuit for lighting versus wall outlets. - Avoid extended use of extension cables, and excessive use of power bars.

And time.