Repost: Ben Simon’s Guitar2-D2
Apparently Jesus Diaz from gizmodo saw this guy and his amazing-looking part electric guitar, part synthesizer, part rhythm box, part amp, part speakers en route to the subway. An impressive instrument but I must say I'd have expected a hell of a lot more amazing music coming from such a tech-enabled one-man-band. I've ... read more.
TheMason76’s homebrew touchscreen synth video
I just spotted this new video of TheMason76's homebew touchscreen synth on Make. Obviously, this is the first thing we all thought of upon seeing things like the touchscreen shield in the arduino catalog but this project has turned out better than I thought possible. My only cavil with it ... read more.
Homebrewed Multi-Touch Screen Input using Processing.js
Check out this demo of using Processing.js to get multi-touch screen input: “Using Multi-Touch Events in Firefox The usage for multi-touch Javascript events goes a little something like this. document.multitouchData = true;, which I am guessing turns on the touch listeners ;) one that's active, you will need to add event listeners. ... read more.
Nintendo loses DS flash cart case in French court
Here’s a quick news flash from engadget: “According to a post on Maxconsole, a court in Paris has just dismissed a lawsuit filed by Nintendo over the use of flash carts on the DS. Apparently, the gamemaker was attempting to halt the use of ... read more.
“Archos 5 with Android” update #6: “Developer Edition” firmware, plus Android Market, Gmail and Google Maps
It's been a good long while since the owners of the Archos 5 with Android have gotten any good news. Two new posts on engadget hipped me to the fact that they're releasing a "developer's edition" firmware for their Android-powered PMP, and as a separate news item people have managed ... read more.
8-bit touch-sensitive handheld: AVR homebrew device with iPhone aspirations
Make Magazine posted this link to a homebrew attempt to make a touchscreen gadget a la the iPhone from Rossum's Posterous: ”Can you make an iPhone out of an AVR? No. Can you get a surprising amount of functionality out of a humble 8 bit processor and a cheap touch LCD? ... read more.
Hotelsinus Sound Design releases TonesynthDS v0.23
From rekkerd.org comes news of a new freeware app for Nintendo DS musicians from Hotelsinus Sound Design called TonesynthDS: "Hotelsinus Sound Design has released version 0.23 of TonesynthDS, a free software synth for the Nintendo DS. TonesynthDS is an easy to use matrix tone synth with a simple instrument generator. TonesynthDS features 16×16 pattern editor ... read more.
Xerox Develops Ink To Print Circuits On Nearly Anything
Gizmodo posted about this, but I bet it's on Make Magazine, too... "Wearable electronics aren't news, but being able to make them cheaply and easily is. Xerox has developed an ink with which you can print circuits onto plastic, film, fabric, and nearly anything you can think of. From more durable, flexible ... read more.
Augmented Reality Goggles running on Android
Yet another repost from engadget: "It's like a real-life Starcraft perk for mechanics repairing armored vehicles: Marine mechanics assisted by augmented-reality goggles with a heads-up display repaired light armored vehicles up to 46 percent faster. The HUD replaces technical manuals on a bulky laptop with floating instructions, labels and oh yes, 3D ... read more.
Android 2.0 support officially added to SDK
Another repost from engadget, good news for homebrew devs: "Google's gone ahead and uncorked the bubbly to celebrate the launch of Android 2.0 "Eclair" today ahead of Verizon's big reveal tomorrow, bundling its announcements into two very important sections: SDK support, meaning devs can go ahead and start targeting the new ... read more.
Open Source Nintendo DS Bluetooth adapter
From the DIY site Make Magazine comes news about creating a homebrew, Open Source hardware Nintendo DS Bluetooth adapter. Gordan Savicic and Gottfried Haider of DSbrut fame have tipped us off that they've just released their DS Bluetooth adapter for the Nintendo DS. "Almost two years in the making, we're happy to ... read more.
“Archos 5 with Android” update #5 (firmware update)
There's a long post on ArchosFans about the new firmware update released by Archos for the Archos 5 with Android which has had the traditional problems associated with Archos products straight out of the gate. Notably, now that Amazon finally has them available here in the USA, I've not bought one precisely ... read more.
Drummer: open source networked collaborative drum UI for Nintendo DS
I just read about Drummer on rekkerd.org. "Andrea Bianchi, a Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of Culture Technology (GSCT) in the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea, wrote in to report about a homebrew music application named Drummer for the Nintendo DS which was presented at ... read more.
Interactive Urban Screen installation by onedotzero, made interactive via a Nokia n900
Found via the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog, the interactive urban screen installation, also known as the 2009 onedotzero identity, was made interactive by a Nokia n900 mobile phone. Just watch the videos for a convincing demonstration of the power of repurposing relatively inexpensive gadgets with homebrew apps: read more.
Nokia N900 / Maemo 5 preview
The upcoming Nokia N900 has a touchscreen, but it's not multi-touch. Nevertheless, it runs on a Linux-derived OS and I've had a friend successfully demonstrate to me that previous versions didn't have a problem running homebrew applications so I thought I'd pass along this in-depth review of the N900 and Maemo ... read more.
“Archos 5 with Android” update #3
The video making the rounds on blogs today is of the promised Archos Android phone. I've no interest in smartphones per se, only repurposing them. But what caught my eye is that as opposed to the Cortex-A8 in the new Archos 5A, which I believe runs at 600Mhz, this phone is going ... read more.
Creative’s Zii developer kit, Plaszma OS & Zii Egg gadget, Android to come
whyterabbyt, éminence grise of dialectics and perpatrator of the netlabel Viable Hybrid, home of my favorite FSU muppet, vurt, turned me on to what may be the holy grail of my recent personal obsession. How I overlooked this so long I don't know, but here's Creative's Zii: What has this got to ... read more.
$250 Open Source smartphone as wireless touchscreen MIDI controller, Linux or Android
In my Quixotic quest to find something to repurpose as a cheap, wireless, touchscreen MIDI control surface quite a while back I stumbled upon the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner, a special kind of smartphone. On their site's "about" page, they describe themselves thusly: "Openmoko is open. Open to life, desire, function, and simple beauty. ... read more.
“Archos 5 with Android” update #2
Here's a nice review by someone who's already got their hands on a 160 Gb version of the new Archos 5 with Android in a blog called Androidian. It's long and detailed and indispensible to anyone who is thinking of sinking money into becoming an early adopter. "It is also possible ... read more.
“Archos 5 with Android” update #1
Well, it seems that they've already jacked up the prices on the "Archos 5 with android" to $500 for the 500 GB version. Good news, though, is that apparently some companies can do some things right occasionally. That is not always the case. Archoslounge has announced a firmware update for it ... read more.
Can homebrew Bluetooth MIDI/OSC apps by installed in the Zune HD?
I can't say I was particularly paying attention to M$'s release of a the new Zune HD til this caught my eye: Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions wrote: "This add-on for XNA Game Studio 3.1 adds the following functionality to the product: 1. The ability to target and develop for the ... read more.
Archos 5 internet tablet with Android OS
I've been ranting about the need for a wireless touchscreen to use as a MIDI or OSC control surface for many years now. We've seen many a piece of hardware repurposed to accomplish this task: the iPhone, PDAs, etc. Today Archos has finally announced the release of it's Android-based internet tablet. It uses ... read more.