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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/maker_business_venturing_out.html
Kicking off our Maker Business series is this piece by Jeffrey McGrew, who along with his wife Jillian Northrup, and their trusty CNC machine named Frank, are a two-person (and a bot) design and fabrication juggernaut. From their design-build studio in Oakland, CA, they do custom interior design, furniture, and such artist wonders as the "Art Golf" course they've set up at Maker Faire. Here, Jeffrey shares some words of advice to those who may be thinking of going "Maker Pro." -- Gareth
Venturing out...
By Jeffrey McGrew of
Because We Can
We get a lot of friends and folks asking us about how we got started. And we know a lot of folks through the Maker Faire that would love to turn "pro." So, I thought I'd jot down the six big things that I see as being key elements to getting started in such a business. I hope they help, and I'd love to hear more from other folks! [Chime in via comments. -Ed.]
1. Get as debt-free as possible, and try your best to stay that way.
We would have never been able to buy the robot (or CNC machine) and make the jump to working for ourselves had we not had our financial lives in order first. Having six months in savings to fall back on, no debt, other than a half-paid off car loan, and not taking on huge debts to get started, made it possible for us to make a lot of mistakes and learn things instead of going out with a quick bang. I've met a fair number of people who want to start their own business, but simply can't, due to this single issue alone. No amount of great business ideas, hard work, or luck can overcome the burden of an unstable foundation on which to the start. Also, honestly, once you get your business going, you'll find that your priorities, and what you think is important, will change greatly. If you're really happy (which running our own business certainly make us), then you'll need less stuff anyways. So, save your pennies, don't worry about getting the latest and greatest, and pay off all those loans and credit cards before you take that leap.
2. Plans are worthless, planning is essential.
That quote from Winston Churchill sums up nicely a lot of what you'll need to do when you start a business. You don't need a perfect plan, with every step already outlined, in giant Gantt charts. But you do need a plan. And you need to be smart enough to change that plan as circumstances change. Running a business is more like sailing a ship than launching a rocket. What I mean is that you need a plan, and to be prepared, but honestly, at some point you'll just point yourself at the horizon and go. And then everything will change, you'll need to change direction, plans, and ideas. You'll re-aim for that spot you wanted to get to constantly as the world around you changes in response to what you're doing. And heck, sometimes you'll find when you're halfway there, you actually want to go somewhere else. So don't fret too much and over-plan everything (and therefore never get started), or freak out when things don't go according to your plans. But at the same time, don't aim for that horizon without one!
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7 Hours, 50 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/exploring_the_business_of_making.html
For the next few months, in concert with our "Your Desktop Factory" themed issue of MAKE (Volume 21), we're going to be exploring the world of "maker business," turning your passion for making things into a means of making money. We'll look at everything from casual commerce, selling small numbers of goods online, at places like Etsy and the upcoming Makers Market, to the running of a more serious and sustainable small business. We'll be talking to, and have guest articles by, maker businessfolk across this spectrum, from those just starting out, to those who are making a comfortable living as self-employed makers. We'll also be touching on everything from the most philosophical questions of why to the more pragmatic nuts and bolts of how.
Do you run a small "maker business?" If so, we'd love to hear from you. If creating such a business is something you've thought about, what questions/concerns do you have? What would you like to see us cover in this series? Let us know in the comments, or email me (gareth at makezine). We'd love for this series to be a useful service to you, especially if going into such a business is a fantasy, but you have nagging questions or reservations that hold you back, or just need a little encouragement from those who've made this sort of career change work for them.
From MAKE magazine:
MAKE Volume 21 is the Desktop Manufacturing issue, with how-to articles on making three-dimensional parts using inexpensive computer-controlled manufacturing equipment. Both additive (RepRap, CandyFab) and subtractive (Lumenlab Micro CNC) systems are covered. Also in this issue: instructions for making a cigar box guitar, building your own CNC for under $800, running a mini electric bike with a cordless drill, making a magic photo cube, and tons more. If you're a subscriber, you may have your issue in hand already, and can access the Digital Edition. Otherwise, you can pick up MAKE 21 in the Maker Shed or look for it on newsstands near you!
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8 Hours, 50 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/glenn_seaborgs_old_mailing_address.html
The occasion of Dmitri Mendeleev's birthday seemed like a good opportunity to recognize another great hero of the periodic table and to relate one of my favorite anecdotes about him: Glenn T. Seaborg (Wikipedia), who, among his various stellar achievements, won the 1951 Nobel Prize for "discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements." By the time of his death in 1999, Seaborg had participated in the discovery and isolation of ten superheavy elements. Shortly after the official 1997 recognition of the name seaborgium for element 106, Jeffrey Winters, writing in the January 1998 issue of Discover Magazine, made the following observation:
Not only is Seaborg the first living scientist to have an element named after him, he's also the only person who could receive mail addressed only in elements: Seaborgium, Lawrencium (for the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory where he still works), Berkelium, Californium, Americium. But don't forget the zip code.
Naming an element after a living scientist generated significant controversy among the international chemistry community of the time. At a talk in 1995, Seaborg himself famously quipped: "There has been some reluctance on the part of the Commission for Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry to accept the name because I'm still alive and they can prove it, they say."
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Digg this!9 Hours, 50 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/08/modded-c64-eye-candy/
“Everyone needs a hobby,” they tell us. For the blogger mysteriously identified only as “R,” that hobby would be an almost fanatical nostalgia for the Commodore 64 computer.
At first we thought this was a fan community site, but apparently it’s all the work of a single person. [R] has tweaked, extended, repackaged and resurfaced this 1980’s icon in nearly every imaginable way. They tend to gloss over the technical aspects of these mods, but that’s okay – the C64 is such an exhaustively documented system now that the site dwells mainly on the aesthetics and meaning of these reborn devices.
The 64 has made an indelible impression on electronic music, and the machines are still sought after by collectors, composers and circuit-benders. [R] pays homage by housing these vintage systems in styles reminiscent of even vintage-er synthesizers. Any one of these would warrant a post here, yet there’s a whole collection to browse. Check it out!
[via Retro Thing]
9 Hours, 50 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/parabola_a_wooden_ball_launcher.html
I think I could watch this ball-launching sculpture for a long time. Called parabola, it was created by youtube user MechanicalSculptor. I wonder how long it took to design a system that can launch balls with such precision? [via Hacked Gadgets]
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10 Hours, 20 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/08/guruplug-the-next-generation-of-sheevaplug/
11 Hours, 8 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/08/ez430-home-automation/
12 Hours, 43 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/08/built-in-hex-editor-unlocks-plasma-tv-features/
14 Hours, 4 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/08/mod-in-the-usa-n900-push-competition/
Just when you think you’ve heard all you can about the N900 PUSH competition, we have some more news for you.
The original PUSH competition was only for UK members, but now Nokia has introduced the ‘Mod in the USA‘ N900 PUSH competition. Similar to the original, anyone (within region) can submit a cool mod, hack, useful creation that would use the N900. Winners will be selected, and thats when the differences start.
There will be a $10,000 for 1st prize, and smaller prizes for 2nd and 3rd. Plus a trip to Vegas to showcase the 3 winning hacks at CTIA 2010 as well as funding, N900s and support to build the mods.
Don’t have an idea but still want to try? They have a discussion group to get the juices flowing, or you could always discuss in our comments.
17 Hours, 56 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/papercraft_surrogate_ipad.html
Can't wait to cozy up to the new Apple iPad? Why not try your hand at constructing this handsome papercraft surrogate? Here's links to the front and back. It may not have access to your iTunes or eBooks like the real thing, but it does share its good looks and lack of multitasking, GPS, and camera. [via MacRumors]
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Digg this!19 Hours, 50 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/assemble_your_own_solar_panel.html
Since there's almost any size and shape of solar panel available for purchase from a myriad of vendors across the Internet why would anybody want to go through the hassle of tabbing together their own cells to build a solar panel? Because you can, obviously. This DIY video will run through the basics of chaining together polycrystalline cells and leaves the details like enclosure and such to the user.
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20 Hours, 55 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/bowling_lane_coffee_table.html
William Stranger specializes in building furniture out of repurposed wood. I especially liked the massive coffee table whose top is a four-inch-thick slab of bowling lane. It's part of a exhibit(?) called Second Growth:
A second growth forest is one that has re-grown after it has been heavily logged or clear-cut. The installation of reclaimed materials, organic furniture and hand carved objects suggests the life cycle of a tree. It encourages a closer look at the relationship between consumption and conservation and promotes the idea of a culture in balance with the natural world. A tree is borrowed from its cycle without breaking it. The wood is worked with attention, treated with non-toxic finishes, and after its long second life it will return to nourish the earth. Scrap wood is saved and becomes the raw material for innovative design.
[via dornob]
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Digg this!22 Hours, 50 Minutes ago | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/warship_camouflaged_as_tropical_isl.html
A commenter on my recent dazzle camouflage post alerted us to the fascinating story of the HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen which, in 1942, escaped destruction by the Japanese fleet because the crew moored her among other small islands and covered her in a thick layer of tree branches, thereby disguising her as a small island. [Thanks, rekinom!]
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Digg this!February 7 2010, 9:38pm | More »
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I posted to blog.craftzine.com
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/02/amigurumi_ukulele.html
Amigurumi? Check. Uklele? Check. Anthropomorphic-stop-motion- beach-action? Check!
[via boingboing]
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February 7 2010, 8:00pm | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/awesome_workshop_panorama.html
Check out UK maker John Honniball's sweet workshop panorama.
This is an almost-360-degree panorama of my computer and electronics lab and workshop room. The four big CRT monitors that you can see were obtained from FreeCycle, as was the iMac. Far left is a Stag PPZ EPROM programmer. At the right-hand end are the HP stack (1980B, 1630G, 3456A) and a Tek 575 curve tracer. Far right is an HP LaserJet 4+ with duplexer. On the electronics bench, you may be able to see an Arduino and some LEDs.
See the panorama full-sized on John's Flickr page.
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Digg this!February 7 2010, 7:00pm | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/07/fat-support-for-any-microcontroller/
February 7 2010, 6:18pm | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/07/hackaday-links-february-7-2010/
Bot gives head to passersby
This free range robot was spotted at this year’s Kinetica Art Fair. You can place your hand above it and it will stop and pour you a beer. That’s if you consider 7/8 of a glass of head ‘a beer’.
Photo booth adds fun – consumes floor space
Face it, photo booths are fun, and if they’re free a lot of people will use them. This particular booth was built in some guy’s apartment, adding the fun but eating up floor space. But this would be a great build for your next group gathering, just like the Crushtoberfest. [via DVICE]
More human through-hole design
[Fridgehead] stuck and 5mm LED in his earlobe and then used a microcontroller to make it pulse. He’s got quite a mop and that’s where he hides the black controller pack. The next version should be RGB and the smallest surface mount packages he can solder. At least this isn’t disgusting like the LED nipple ring.
Chandelier your wife will never let you install
This 300 LED chandelier uses epoxy coated wires draped around the light ring to resemble a more traditional crystal light fixture. It’ll still be a hard sell if you want to hang this over the dinner table. [via Gizmodo]
A touch of copper
[Zombie84] built a prototype of a robot arm out of copper pipe. There’s not much info here, but you can see some wires in the wrist that appear to function as tendons. This reminds us of the characters from 9.
February 7 2010, 5:05pm | More »
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I posted to blog.craftzine.com
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/02/how-to_stencil_plates.html
February 7 2010, 5:00pm | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/craft_weekly_recap_40.html
February 7 2010, 4:29pm | More »
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I posted to blog.craftzine.com
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/02/craft_flickr_pool_weekly_recap_8.html
This week in the CRAFT Flickr pool we saw:
Invasion Sweater by mandalinarossa,
Partial Ribcage Top by ~aorta~,
Brushed Steel Cowbell by hardwareaesthetic,
and Red Octopus by micanenco.
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Comment on this articleFebruary 7 2010, 4:06pm | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/nycr_48-hour_hackathon.html
Brooklyn-based hacker collective NYC Resistor is holding its first 48-hour hackathon this Friday starting at 6pm and ending Sunday, February 14th at the same time.
You can work by yourself or with a team, and if you don't have a team/project we'll assign you to one.
The format is open, you're welcome to come and go as you please. We'll keep the Club Mate flowing and follow a loose schedule of demos and workshops to help spark your imagination.
Interested in participating? Find out more information or register on Eventbrite.
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Digg this!February 7 2010, 1:00pm | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/07/putting-on-a-show-in-the-rain/
February 7 2010, 1:00pm | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/07/performance-oddities/
[Mario the Magician] wrote in to let us know that he makes Hackaday a priority every morning with his coffee. Well, so do we. He also included a link to his homepage when submitting this revelation. The juicy details that are as much of a fix as the caffeine in the coffee are missing from his posts. But the hacks are solid.
Magicians are hackers. If you could go out and buy the props, the concept are unlikely to impress anyone. [Mario] demonstrates his Nickel Box and a Jedi Mind Trick he built. The Nickel Box is a mechanical contraption that somehow transports a coin from one part of a cigar box to a tiny little enclosure on top of it. The Jedi Mind Trick uses a microcontroller and an old Star Wars soundtrack cassette tape box to put on a light and sound show while it recovers your chosen card from a shuffled deck. Great demonstrations, but no word on what’s going on inside.
[Mario's] also has a collection of… performance oddities. His talking television takes an audio input and displays a 1950’s-esque oscilloscope effect on an old TV. He’s attempting to stop his heart, or burn the house down, or both with a flyback transformer lightning box. And his drawing automaton, well, you’ll just have to see it.
We believe in electrons, not magic (even though some say there are no electrons). So we want to know how those magic props are built. Like any good magician, [Mario] probably won’t reveal his secrets. If you’ve got the goods this your chance. Write a post detailing your magical prop builds and send them our way. If it’s well done we’ll feature it here on Hackaday.
February 7 2010, 11:20am | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/flatpack_cardboard_high_chair.html
I just can't get enough flatpack.
The Belkiz Feedaway is a cardboard portable feeding chair that can be used for temporary situations or where space is at a premium. It is cardboard, easy to assemble for toddlers up to 20 months of age up to 20kg who are away from home. Ideal for temporary and commercial use, the Belkiz Feedaway is safe, strong, folds up easily and quickly and stores away in a tiny space. Ideal for mobile and modern lifestyles.
What do you think, readers? A silly concept that would never work, or is there a cool idea here? [via Inhabitat]
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Digg this!February 7 2010, 10:00am | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/07/exopc-shows-off-some-guts/
February 7 2010, 9:52am | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/computer_chip_earrings.html
February 7 2010, 9:22am | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/07/altoids-upstaged-by-gift-card-tins/
Nothing Earth-shattering here. Just, dare we say it, really cute!
The venerable Altoids mint tin has become an icon of the maker culture. Browsing through past articles on Hack a Day, Adafruit or Instructables, you’ll find project after project for which these pocket-sized enclosures provided just the right fit. Eminently practical, affordable, but the aesthetics have occasionally left something to be desired.
We recently stumbled upon these nifty gift card holders that resemble miniature versions of current-generation game consoles. They might be the perfect housing for your next microcontroller project…
These were acquired from our local GameStop retail store and unfortunately do not appear to be available online. Each will set you back $2.99 — about a buck more than the mints, and without the added benefit of fresh breath. Such is the price of style.
The shapes are varied, but all are a bit larger than the traditional Altoids tin, allowing ample space for a battery pack, breadboard or microcontroller setup. As with the mint tins, of course you’ll want to insulate your project from the interior metal surface. A bit of contact paper or even some index cards are usually sufficient.
In addition to the Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 3 tins depicted here, portable consoles — the PSP and Nintendo DS Lite — are also available in miniature form.
February 7 2010, 7:41am | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/study_structures_with_straws.html
The forces that affect buildings and other structures can be modeled inexpensively and quickly by using the humble drinking straw. Usually, the projects built with drinking straws are rapid build. Storage can be an issue if you plan on having students work the design over multiple classes, or saving the structure for reference. This really becomes a problem if you are doing the same project with a full load of 5 classes. By doing the project in a single class period, you can easily reuse the straws, having students discard any cut ones and replenish them with new for the next group.
For fasteners, there are a few options. Tape can work, but is hard to remove if you are reusing straws. This can be good if you are aiming for a more durable product. Sewing pins can be used over an over again. Having students count out the pins they need and keeping them in plastic cups is works for multiple classes. As a new batch of kids collects their supplies, they just check to see that the last group left the right number of pins in the cup. This can occur at the same time they get the straws they will need. Some towers are built with paper clips as the fastener. If you do this, you may give the option of using wire cutters and pliers to modify the pins.
In introducing the ideas of the project, you will want to discuss the forces of tension, compression, torsion and shear. As students build, they should be able to recognize the forces that affect buildings and other structures and devise ways to compensate for them.
Often in straw towers, you will want to incorporate the differences between live load and dead load. Sometimes called dynamic load and static load, you can model them by having the tower hold a weight, representing the live or dynamic load. You can also have students become more aware of factor of safety and failure analysis of their structure.
The building of these towers can lead to a competitive situation. You can have students all build with the same materials, and set the grades on how high the towers stand while holding the live load. One way of doing the calculation is to set the highest and lowest possible grade, 100 and 75 for example. Then you measure the towers, identifying the tallest structure. If the tallest tower is 50 inches, then each inch is worth 1/2 point. The group with the tallest load bearing tower gets the 100. A tower that holds the live load at 40 inches would get a 95. The group that has the ball on the floor gets the 75. The other groups in between get grades based on the height of the ball, or other load.
You can also use a project like this to examine the forces affecting a building during an earthquake.
Have you built a straw tower as a student, or have you used the project as a teacher? How well does a project like this work in homeschooling? What techniques work well, and what resources are really helpful?
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Digg this!February 7 2010, 6:00am | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/you_launch_some_you_scrub_some.html
Spaceflight is complicated, with many constraints and requirements that must be met before all systems can claim "go" for launch. Unfortunately for STS-130, this evening's "dynamic" weather proved to be too risky for this morning's launch. Endeavour's first launch attempt was scrubbed at 4:30 AM EST. The good news? We get to try it again in just under 24 hours and get to experience all the launch countdown fun twice. Not bad! Check back with my tweets tomorrow for the status of Endeavour's second launch attempt.
Pictured above: Endeavour's crew as they walk out to the famous Astrovan that will deliver them to the launch pad.
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Digg this!February 7 2010, 3:55am | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/beautiful_cube_sculpture_from_coppe.html
This 2007 piece by Vancouver artist Steven Shearer (Wikipedia) is called "Geometric Healing Cell for Youth - Model III." It reminds me of some of my favorite work by Tom Friedman. I love art that challenges our expectations of everyday materials. [via Neatorama]
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Digg this!February 6 2010, 9:12pm | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/safety_beer_glass.html
With 87,000 bar fights a year in the UK, with a combined health care cost of over 2.5 million pounds per year, the British Design Council saw a need for better bar glassware. Design agency DesignBridge stepped up with these concepts. What do you think, readers? How would you redesign the classic pint glass to to make it safer, while keeping it glass? [via Core77]
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Digg this!February 6 2010, 7:00pm | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/06/running-bleeding-edge-on-nexus-one/
February 6 2010, 3:32pm | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/what_to_do_with_lots_of_altoids_tin.html
From the MAKE Forums:
Forum user LeversFulcrumsLoads has amassed a large quantity of leftover Altoids tins, and is trying to think of something to do with them. Now, we've covered many projects that make use of a single tin, but I can't think of any that called for a whole pile of them. Got some ideas? Chime in on the forum discussion!
It was like stumbling onto something out of National Treasure.
Is there an elegant way of punching holes in the sides without having sharp jaggies surrounding a USB socket?
With literally hundreds of tins, I was thinking on the best use of these (pocket survival kits, minty boosts, recycle, really big LED Throwie's, etc...) but have been overwhelmed by the staggering amount of sugars and fillers ingested in order to stack this cache up. Insights are welcomed. Wow, talk about supporting the U.S. market.
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Digg this!February 6 2010, 3:00pm | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/06/interfacing-with-an-analog-joystick/
February 6 2010, 1:10pm | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/rachel_in_space_wake_up_or_stay_up.html
I'm here at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in preparation for the launch of STS-130 and the Space Shuttle Endeavour. After a brief spell of heavy rain last evening, the skies cleared, making a perfect backdrop for this morning's retraction of the Rotating Service Structure to reveal Endeavour in all her glory.
Endeavour is scheduled to launch at 4:39am EST Sunday morning, and it will be worth waking up - or staying up - to see. This is the last scheduled night launch of a shuttle. With only five remaining launches, not only are the opportunities to view one dwindling, but experiencing the impressive views of a night launch will be likely gone forever by this time tomorrow. People who live along the eastern coastline have a good chance of viewing the launch from their backyards. If you're further west in the US, why not just stay up a little later with friends and celebrate this milestone in the space program? You'll still have plenty of time to go back to bed and wake up in time for football (if that suits your fancy).
I'll be tweeting from Kennedy Space Center all night long as the launch approaches, and I've been constantly updating pictures over on Flickr. Stay tuned for continued mission coverage over the next week and a half, including an interview with the STS-130 crew member who is a maker at heart.
Pictured at top: This morning's RSS Retraction, revealing Endeavour. Below: A night launch of the shuttle Discovery. Image courtesy NASA.
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Digg this!February 6 2010, 1:00pm | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/06/update-adafruit-eagle-library-now-with-arduino/
February 6 2010, 12:10pm | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/matt_cottams_talk_on_heirloom_elect.html
Matt Cottam, founder of Tellart, presented Wooden Logic: In Search of Heirloom Electronics at interaction10 yesterday. Here are my running notes on his discussions of sketching with tangible objects, physical interfaces to the iPhone, and heirloom technology.
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Digg this!February 6 2010, 10:30am | More »
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I posted to hackaday.com
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/06/hardware-based-randomness-for-linux/
February 6 2010, 10:27am | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/lego_smartphone_gaming_rigs.html
These are fun enclosures for your iPod or other smartphone. I made a simple one for my G1, and now need to find some driving/biking games to try it out on. It was fun and frustrating to stir the bin in search of just the right part. So often, when kids build with them, they make wildly complex designs that are at times of low structural integrity. Is there any formal LEGO design curriculum out there?
This is a great way to test out your rapid prototyping skills. Once you get a decent iteration, then the hunt is on for a more permanent solution.
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February 6 2010, 9:00am | More »
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I posted to blog.makezine.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/chumbychimp_and_po.html
Back when I got my Chumby Guts kit a few months ago, I imagined that it would be pretty funny to set up it up Teletubby style with the screen in the belly of a plushie. At the time, I didn't have a suitable doll to sacrifice at the alter of maker fun, but like Kent Barnes, I did have the box it came in. I like the alarm clock features, and enjoy being chirped awake. Eventually, though, the box kind of wore out, and my Chumby Guts lay loose on the night table.
Sunsue heard my call for a sacrificial Teletubby and found me a Po doll. When I saw it, I realized that this one would not work, since it is smaller than the ones my daughter used to have. It does have an interesting voice box, so that will come in handy some other day. A bit later, I fell upon a Build A Bear monkey at the Duxbury Mall. In his first invasive surgery, I found the heart, bar code and a monkey voice box with a dead battery. After swapping out the dead battery, I hid the voice box in my daughter's school bag, where it occasionally went off (ooh ooh aaah aah) as she bumped the bag. It now sits atop her social studies teacher's desk as a warning signal for those about to get a detention.
The monkey looked like he was on a starvation diet for a couple of weeks, as his stuffing sat in a bag in the cave as waited for the right moment to do the next operation. Eventually I got tired of loose ChumGutz on the night table and got together with my neighbor, Robin. She's pretty crafty and I figured would have some good techniques for the project. We went over and got to it. A few snips in the belly and monkey boy had gastric bypass of a kind. We hot melt glued the screen in place. Then I removed the speakers from the plastic holder and fit the circuit board inside the body behind the screen. I thought that I would have the switch loose, but left it attached over the power input and usb connectors. We re-stuffed him and he became ChumbyChimp. He is pretty happy to hang out with Po, and even gets to spend a little time with Creepy Baby.
This is the third iteration for my Chumby Guts, and I suppose that it will be a somewhat transitional situation. It would be useful to sew an old PDA stylus into his hand. That way it will always be easy to make accurate selections on the screen. I would like to put in some iMac ball speakers left over from the 50 iMacs project into the body instead of the nice little box speakers it came with. It would also be neat to add a switch to the hand with either a tactile switch or some conductive thread. I would definitely like to explore battery power, if only to add a bit of portability between locations in the house. The kitchen counter is a decent location, and with the right widgets ChumbyChimp really adds to the room.
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