Micro Python - Python for microcontrollers. Oh man, so many boards to try out, so little time. Sounds really nice, a Python implementation specifically designed for embedded systems with AOT compilation and such low hardware requirements is quite an exciting thing.
hardware
JetDriveâ„¢ 500/520/720-Welcome to the Transcend Website. Well noted - my Air could probably use some more storage. And replacing the SSD doesn't seem that difficult,
OpenBuilds OX CNC Machine | OpenBuilds. Cool - the next step after 3D printers, now the CNC machine for DIY and sharing.
Hands on Sailfish OS: Intelligent building kit for tinkering and porting - Golem.de. Hmm - not really as open as one might have hoped, but more open than one might have feared. Sounds like a good hacking basis for tinkering projects anyway. Especially the combination of a "real" Linux and an Android environment for apps is pretty cool because it avoids technical isolation.
Getting Started with nRF24L01+ on Arduino | maniacbug. Wireless connections for Arduinos that do not directly involve TCP and the Internet - just simple data transfer via 2.4GHz radio. Bookmarked for later.
pcDuino arduino compatible headers. Hmm, not uninteresting - an ARM-based single-board PC with an Arduino-compatible header for connecting and controlling Arduino shields. And the computing power is already quite decent. Just like the basic equipment with interfaces.
Industruino. Cool project that provides Arduino solutions in a housing for wall and rail mounting. Comes with control buttons and LCD display at a very reasonable price. Currently still in beta and without I2C support, but already interesting if you want to have an Arduino in permanent use somewhere.
Filabot Personal Filament Maker for 3D Printers - Desktop Extruding System – Environmentally Friendly. And with this, you make your own filament from plastic shredder. Also a cool idea.
Pinoccio - A Complete Ecosystem for Building the Internet of Things | Indiegogo. Another exciting Arduino-compatible project. Compact Arduino boards with integrated mesh networking and gateway capability via WiFi to the Internet. All of this as open-source hardware and without a mandatory central server.
i.MX233 Product Summary Page. The CPU used by the Chumby One - pretty cool what's already in the core.
ZDoc - Browse Files at SourceForge.net. And here comes the provisional salvation - a firmware that works offline and loads the widgets and all the stuff from a thumb drive. Not everything will work, but if I can at least get a radio alarm clock working again, it's already quite okay. So, it seems like another DIY project is on the agenda.
End of Chumby as we know it... Page 1 - Chumby.com - chumbysphere forum. The cloud is not always a good idea - I also have one of these Chumby devices at home, but if the rescue plan here doesn't work, it won't even be usable as an alarm clock. It looks like I should hurry up and root the device to get local software running on it myself. Basically, the Chumby is just a small embedded Linux system with a few hardware sensors and an integrated touchscreen (well, more of a squeeze screen - it's as imprecise as the first generations of Palm Pilots were after one year of use).
Permaduino | Indiegogo. Interesting project: an Arduino-compatible board designed for permanent installation but still has a prototyping character (so it comes with a breadboard for wiring additional elements). The idea behind it: prototype with one of the classic systems and then rebuild it with this board to use it permanently - video cassettes with 8mm casing are used as the housing.
SPT100 Pan & Tilt System. Ok, I think I know what I need. With a device like this and, for example, a camera with simple image processing behind it, you can build a follower with which you could, for example, make sky observations. Or automatically created panorama sequences for Google+. Or optical area monitoring with detection and logging of changes. And it's not particularly expensive either.
Reflow Controller Shield Arduino Compatible - Rocket Scream. Oven control with Arduino. In this case for the optimal distribution of solder over circuit boards - but you can certainly modify this for optimal baking results or for curing prototypes or whatever. Pretty cool.
IOIO for Android - SparkFun Electronics. Also an interesting project, a friend pointed me to it today: an IO board for Android smartphones. It simply plugs in via USB and is accessed through a simple Java library. It has various analog and digital inputs and outputs, I2C and other goodies. You can even get a Bluetooth kit for it if you don't want to communicate via radio. Pricier perhaps than what you're used to in the Arduino environment, but still, sounds cool. I'll wait for my Smartduino first, though, which also has Android support.
Arduino Due with 32-bit ARM Microcontroller - Pro-Linux. Wow, 32bit embedded boards. Somehow already cool. Only with the 84 MHz clock frequency almost nostalgic feelings come up.
Android-x86 - Porting Android to x86. Hmm, could this be a fun toy for my old eeeBook? I mean, it would be a pretty fat tablet with an integrated keyboard and an incompatible processor, what could possibly go wrong?
pyMCU - The Python Controlled Microcontroller. Alternative for those who would rather use Python instead of Arduino and its Processing-based development environment. Since I've been playing around with Android, Java has lost much of its terror for me; you get used to everything. Presumably, my COBOL experience from the first 10 years of my career helps here; once you've been through that, almost everything is acceptable.
Arduino - MacOSX. What fascinates me about Arduino: the simple interface of the IDE (which is just an enhanced Processing) and the pile of crazy projects around it, such as Digispark, a mini-board that can do less but is tiny and runs directly from the USB port. You can really think about things like water level sensors for plant irrigation or similar. With the prices for the mini-board, this becomes directly realistic.
Samsung: Compact camera EX2F with extra bright lens - Golem.de. It then came completely unexpectedly out of the blue into play. I don't think anyone had it on their radar - if I were still looking for an interesting compact camera, this would be one of the more interesting devices alongside the Sony RX100. However, for me, the GF3 has now taken the place of compacts, and even the RX100 can't keep up with it.
Blackmagic Design: Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Wow, that thing is really cool. So to speak, the mirror-less video option for Canon, one could say - because it has an EF mount. It looks really sleek, the price of $3000 without SSD though.
Sphero. Oh man, I want that thing. Why is there so much cool stuff now that I'm an adult? (for those who don't want to click: a robot in the form of a ball with precise control and the ability to use it as a controller - and controlled through apps on the smartphone).
Pocket-sized fuel cell charges phones for two weeks - Mobile Phones - CNET - CNET Asia. If this thing becomes a reality, I want one. Finally, mobile power that can be stored and then activated anywhere outdoors when needed. Plus, a battery charger connected via USB for the camera battery (or check if you can charge directly in the camera via USB) and the job is done.
Kenko extensions tube with full electronic control!. Woopdidoo. Ok, extension tubes are not the optimum in terms of performance, but still quite interesting, as they offer a relatively simple and usually cost-effective way to improve macro capabilities.
LensRentals.com - Undressing an NEX. Very interesting, a completely different look at a camera - at the innards. Even if it was somehow more interesting with the mechanical cameras earlier, I also find the "inner values" of the NEX quite impressive. Oh, and as a system, they have Linux (unfortunately still not hacked and opened).
Custom iPhone Backs. Nett - wooden backs. You almost wish the glass back would break so you have a reason to install something like this ...
Using hardware controllers with Lightroom | Valokuvaaja Max Edin. Holy-Moly, that's a great idea. Simply connect a MIDI controller to Lightroom and control all the sliders via rotary knobs. That almost makes you want to get one of these controllers just to try it out.
Nokia N9 first hands-on!. Ok, it's a MeeGo phone and after Nokia's cooperation announcement with Microsoft no one really knows where MeeGo (Nokia's Linux-based phone system) will go, but the N9 is absolutely cool. And MeeGo has underneath the Linux system that was developed with the N770/N800/N810 tablets and the N900/N950 phones (N950 is the developer version).
Get inPulse and Hack Your Watch. Looks pretty cool, just a small computer and a display, programmable, connected via Bluetooth. Could do some nice tricks with it. Maybe even display the time.
'Super-secret' debugger discovered in AMD CPUs • The Register. Wow. Hardware Backdoor.
AR.Drone.com – Parrot Wi-Fi quadricopter. Augmented Reality games on iPhone, iPod touch & iPad - poorly blogged, because somehow this thing could really appeal to me. Ok, it needs a WiFi signal that it can receive, but surely you can still have a lot of fun with it.
Simtec Electronics Entropy Key - if you ever need real randomness.
Time Capsule Memorial Register - hmm, will I have to list my TimeCapsule there someday? I still have one from the first generation ...
Alex Payne — On the iPad - "For now, though, I remain disturbed. The future of personal computing that the iPad shows us is both seductive and dystopian. It’s not a future I want to bring into my home."
Apple buys P.A. Semi chip designer, Intel says wha? - because the other day at the Stammtisch the discussion was whether Apple really designed the A4 in the iPad themselves: in 2008 they bought a chip design foundry whose CEO was one of the StrongArm architects ...
Apple - iPad - Technical specifications and accessories for iPad. - two months in which the tech "experts" can write their fingers off.
EZ430-Chronos - Texas Instruments Embedded Processors Wiki - technical details about the portable embedded system from TI.
TI hits home run with Chronos sportswatch wireless dev kit - that's interesting. A wristwatch to hack - wireless, accelerometer, pressure and altitude sensors, LCD display, temperature sensor, and a developer kit and tools (hardware tools in this case). And also affordable (50 dollars for the watch!). So if you want to tinker with a small embedded system and always have it with you, why not take a wristwatch?
Parrot AR.Drone - Quadrotor helicopter with wifi and 2 cameras - AR.Drone games for iPhone and iPod touch - a quadrotor helicopter controllable via iPhone over WiFi, featuring four propellers and two cameras. Additionally, it includes development kits for augmented reality games. I want one!
Daring Fireball: The Tablet - "I am not predicting that Apple is phasing out the Mac. (On the contrary, I’ve heard that Mac OS X 10.7 is on pace for a developer release at WWDC in June.) Like all Apple products, The Tablet will do less than we expect but the things it does do, it will do insanely well. It will offer a fraction of the functionality of a MacBook — but that fraction will be way more fun. The same Asperger-y critics who dismissed the iPhone will focus on all that The Tablet doesn’t do and declare that this time, Apple really has fucked up but good. The rest of us will get in line to buy one."
Kanex Mini DisplayPort to HDMI 1080p Video with Digital Audio Adapter - also blogged about because the cheapest large monitors are after all HDMI-capable TVs.
Apple brings MacBook Pro 15" with matte display - oh, they must have accidentally found one of their usability experts in the basement again?
Tablet-Netbook from Asus for 450 Euros - doesn't sound so uninteresting. Could you also install OS X on it like the little 901?
Axiotron Modbook - does anyone have 2000 EUR to spare for me? This thing could be pretty awesome with something like Blender for casual sculpting sessions in the comfy chair.
Intuos4 - Wacom drawing tablets with new pen technology - hey, it looks like I want to update my graphics tablet.
long battery life - in my opinion a much more rewarding goal for the next time. Especially for notebooks. And 12 hours - that already doesn't sound bad (even if it is of course only the case without a hard drive).
eee Mac journey: EEE Boot: Installing OSX on an EEE PC 901 or 1000 with an original Apple Install Disk v1.09 - ok, I think I'll buy a USB DVD drive today or tomorrow. OS X on the little fat one? I have to see this!
RunCore 256GB Pro III Hyper Speed 2.5" SATA Solid State Drive - sorry, I'm drooling on my keyboard while reading the specs. Does anyone have a cloth? This could be the dream for my MBP. An entire edge larger than the built-in drive, and definitely faster. And quieter. And with less power consumption.
Ebooks again - on the one hand, after moving and dealing with hundreds of collected books, I have a certain positive feeling about an eBook reader where only memory cards need to be stacked. On the other hand: probably there will be regional restrictions and similar nonsense again, and I have no desire for that. I just want to read the originals when they are available much earlier (or simply because I often want to avoid the often appalling translations). And how does it look with the availability of English-language titles in German stores? Let's see how this develops in reality ...