Clever fellow sends text messages to start his car Stop it, Spiegel. You're bringing back repressed memories of earning my 5-year EE degree. Arduino has its place. If you need to rapidly prototype something or fire off a one of a kind item where packaging isn't a concern; it is a decent go-to. If you need ultra low power consumption you can use something like TIs MSP430 line, which are available with built in wireless. If you need power, there is always the ARM M0 line, If you need USB support, atmel makes a few nice critters. The world consists of more than Arduino, but I'll be damned if the Arduino doesn't do a lot of the jobs well enough. If you are developing a commercial product, stay away from the Arduino.
Bananas Flambe Makes 2 servings, it's best to make in small batches as it's way easier to control a smaller pan. (and more spectacular when you light it on fire several times if you have lots of people to serve!) Frankly, the measurements don't really matter, so long as they're roughly right -- I didn't measure anything - and it always turns out! Ingredients: 1 large banana *see notes about a quarter cup of butter (margarine would work) about a quarter-to-half cup of Brown/Golden sugar 1 lemon, a little rind and juice (makes many servings from 1 lemon) Cinnamon to taste Liquor: about 1 oz. Materials: Stove of some sort, gas preferable -- see notes.
Set Up a Fully Automated, Torrent-Seeding Media Center SExpand @macrumpton: Click the image for the full size to see what I'm talking about. Here's a side-by-side shot of Miro and MPC, both playing the same frame of "Pioneer One" S01E01 720p (h264) mkv file. Even if you don't want to go the media center route, and are content with Miro for downloading, I highly suggest you get a good graphics card (if you need one) and a separate program to decode and play back the files. Miro is not comparable to a true Media Center by any stretch of the imagination. Things Miro is lacking: • Good support for remotes and internet/eventserver based control for phones. • Proper databasing (sort by name, aired date, release date, actor, genre, MPAA/TV rating, duration...) • Auto-discovery of missing supplemental media (Fanart, screen caps, cover art, subtitles and lyrics etc.) • Boot as an OS for HTPCs • User login with parental controls • Scripting and skinning extensability • Media flagging
The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D. Matthew Might, a computer science professor at the University of Utah, writes: “Every fall, I explain to a fresh batch of Ph.D. students what a Ph.D. is. It’s hard to describe it in words. So, I use pictures.” Here it goes. Matt’s Illustrated Guide: Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge: By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little: By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more: With a bachelor’s degree, you gain a specialty: A master’s degree deepens that specialty: Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge: Once you’re at the boundary, you focus: You push at the boundary for a few years: Until one day, the boundary gives way: And, that dent you’ve made is called a Ph.D Of course, the world looks different to you now: So, don’t forget the bigger picture: Keep pushing. You can find Matt’s Illustrated Guide hosted on his web site.
MakerBot Industries Steps to Success Every now and then we’re reminded 3D printing is not science fiction, but a real technology used every day to make amazing things in homes, studios, schools, and businesses. At MakerBot we’re proud to be leading this Next Industrial Revolution with the MakerBot 3D Ecosystem, which makes desktop 3D printing and 3D scanning affordable and reliable for everyone, and includes a variety of products and services to help unleash your creativity. One of the newest members of our family is MakerBot Desktop, a complete, free 3D printing solution for discovering, managing, and sharing your 3D prints. As we learned in last week’s post on connectivity, MakerBot Desktop was built to access the powerful software capabilities of the new Fifth Generation line of MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printers. 1. – Did you design your own model? – Want to browse through free designs? – Looking for high-quality, original prints? 2. You may also want to change some settings before printing. 3.
DIY Voice Activated Home Automation Voice recognition is no longer in infancy – You’ve got Siri on the iPhone and Google Now on Android (plus other Android apps too). This project shows you how to use it to automate your home without spending big bucks. The core of this project is a VRBot speech recognition module. Next, the project creator used some low-cost wireless light switches (you could also use relays). The VRBot speech recognition module recognizes 32 custom voice commands. Once a command is recognized, a wireless switch is activated via a radio receiver. Popular Home Automation Projects:
iMac Desk This is a teak desk, with a 1" thick arcyclic top/inlay. The desk is 31" tall, 48" wide, and 24" deep. The dimensions were chosen to maximize leg room and working space.'' If you hate wires, this arrangement is for you... I bought my iMac in early may, and refused to open the box until I had the proper desk to place it on. I didn't really have a specific budget in mind, but i figured a large desk with a veneer and a cool top would cost me around $300-$400. Asides from being ripped off in Chinatown, the costs of this desk were kept pretty low... kind of. **Home depot's 4" blocks are actually 3.5". update: I recently added a remote controlled mount to my desk that allows me to use my iPad as a distant monitor and as a mouspad. This is a motor driven iPad mount created using a Firgelli track actuator. Actuator:
Bluetooth SNES Controller for Android So this is my first instructable... A little over a year ago I was working on my ECE senior design project, which was a bluetooth SNES controller for Android. Shortly after completing the project, I posted a working video on Youtube. Since then I have received quite a few requests for more info or even a tutorial on how to make one. I figured I had put it off long enough, and now I finally got a video together. I apologize in advance for the sub-par production value (I'm no Ben Heck), it was literally my first exposure to iMovie, and I'm sure it shows. Here is the source code for the Arduino, along with my Easymote app from the tutorial (you won't find it on the market) Arduino source: Easymote apk: Here is a video showing my battery operated controller along with playing some Donkey Kong and Zelda on my Touchpad, unfortunately my rechargeable controller was built for a contract and I no longer have it: