CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-18 22:00:11 (5 comments, 7 reshares, 33 +1s)

You are the world’s greatest video game maker, but suddenly you find yourself stuck with millions of cartridges of a game nobody wants. What do you do?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/us/hunting-for-an-et-castoff-in-a-most-terrestrial-place.html?_r=1&

2013-06-18 19:45:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

If you are on Google+ and want to join, post a message/comment on Adafruit’s post on Google+ and say you want to show off a project and we will add you the “Show and Tell” circle. Then just look for the hangout announcement on the very same page later for your invite. There’s an 8 to 10 (at the same time) people limit per hangout, so if it’s full try later or just pop by next week same time. Some weeks are packed!

At 9:30pm ET you will see a link to the hang out. Just keep your mics muted until we call on you and have your project ready.

For those who just want to watch, you’ll be able to watch it live on Google+ ‘s broadcast feature on Adafruit’s page AND it will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube automatically.

2013-06-18 19:03:50 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Time Travel Tuesday!  A Few Notable Incidents in the Anals of Science and Inventions in Maker History:

http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2013/06/18/time-travel-tuesday-timetravel-a-look-back-at-the-adafruit-maker-science-technology-and-engineering-world-18/

2013-06-18 16:48:01 (9 comments, 25 reshares, 76 +1s)

AT&T to Introduce Solar-Powered Charging Stations @ NYTimes.com:

"Starting Tuesday, 25 solar-powered charging stations will sprout in parks, beaches and other outdoor spaces in the five boroughs, part of a pilot project from the wireless provider in partnership with the city. The stations — 12.5-foot steel poles with three petal-shaped solar panels fanning out on top — can accommodate up to six devices at a time regardless of wireless carrier, with dedicated ports for iPhones, Androids, BlackBerrys and standard USB charging cables."

Read more: http://adafru.it/cgo #summerofsolar

2013-06-18 16:39:36 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Watch out BIGDOG, here comes little cat robot!

"Thanks to the design of its legs, which faithfully mimic feline morphology, EPFL’s four-legged “cheetah-cub robot” shares the advantages of its biological model: it is small, light and runs very fast. In the long term, this type of machine, which is still in an experimental stage, could be used in search and rescue missions or for exploration."

Read more: http://adafru.it/cgn

2013-06-18 16:36:45 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

NASA’s new astronauts: Will these men and women fly to Mars? @ latimes.com:

It’s been two years since NASA’s space shuttle program came to an end, but thousands of Americans still dream of becoming astronauts. Eight of them – four men and four women – were introduced Monday as NASA’s astronaut candidate class for 2013.

More than 6,300 people applied to become astronauts-in-training, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a video announcement. That is the second-most applications the space agency has ever received, according to a NASA statement.

The bios of the eight people selected will probably make you feel like a bit of a slacker. Two of them have PhDs and one is a physician training in sports medicine. Four have experience as test pilots for the Navy or Air Force. One person is working at the Pentagon on ways to defeat the homemade bombs that haveplagued tro... more »

2013-06-18 16:25:03 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

Little Cat Robot!
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/?main_page=blog
Thanks to the design of its legs, which faithfully mimic feline morphology, EPFL’s four-legged “cheetah-cub robot” shares the advantages of its biological model: it is small, light and runs very fast. In the long term, this type of machine, which is still in an experimental stage, could be used in search and rescue missions or for exploration.

2013-06-18 16:24:03 (8 comments, 16 reshares, 58 +1s)

LIttle Cat Robot!: 
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2013/06/18/watch-out-bigdog-here-comes-little-cat-robot/

Thanks to the design of its legs, which faithfully mimic feline morphology, EPFL’s four-legged “cheetah-cub robot” shares the advantages of its biological model: it is small, light and runs very fast. In the long term, this type of machine, which is still in an experimental stage, could be used in search and rescue missions or for exploration.

2013-06-18 16:01:41 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 44 +1s)

Just finished my Mobile MoFiiPi. Hooked up and streaming Pandora wireless with a battery pack to power. LCD displays artist, song title, and buttons allow pause/play/forward/rewind/channel select, and volume. Thanks +Adafruit Industries 

2013-06-18 11:09:48 (4 comments, 14 reshares, 77 +1s)

http://youtu.be/rSpikDs_UHs

2013-06-18 11:01:22 (21 comments, 122 reshares, 190 +1s)

JET BIKE
http://youtu.be/bKHz7wOjb9w

2013-06-17 20:37:50 (13 comments, 84 reshares, 173 +1s)

The Periodic Table of the Muppets
http://baboondesign.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-periodic-table-of-muppets.html

#muppets  

2013-06-17 16:46:20 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 38 +1s)

Super-lucky FPC adapter
Ladyada is working on some LCD interfacing today, and thought maybe some people would find my super-lucky FPC adapter handy so she is going to get some of them manufactured for the shop. When using this adapter board we guarantee you will roll 7's and select the right SPI mode the first time! Coming soon!
 
#manufacturing  +Limor Fried 

2013-06-17 15:32:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Each week, we create a roundup of many of the exciting projects created by the Adafruit Community in all of its many venues and share them in a "Community Corner" post.

Don’t miss the chance to catch up with great pieces from the community from last past week!: http://adafru.it/cgj

We can't wait to see what new projects you will share with the world this week!

2013-06-17 15:24:44 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Join the 54,029 Makers, hackers, artists, & engineers!

2013-06-17 14:42:30 (3 comments, 11 reshares, 56 +1s)

Blinking an LED with BeagleBone Black
http://learn.adafruit.com/blinking-an-led-with-beaglebone-black/

Make an LED Blink using Python on a BeagleBone Black

+BeagleBoard.org  #beagleboneblack   #beaglebone  +Python  #python  

2013-06-17 12:30:53 (14 comments, 26 reshares, 88 +1s)

OnionPi on +Raspberry Pi !
http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/4204

+Raspberry Pi  #raspberrypi   #nsa   #PRISM  +Electronic Frontier Foundation  #tor  

2013-06-17 11:34:23 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

https://vine.co/v/hBhqD1ZQHLm

2013-06-16 18:12:02 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 96 +1s)

hahaha Adafruit Cartoon!

2013-06-16 12:19:43 (8 comments, 14 reshares, 69 +1s)

http://youtu.be/-OtUVDRL_wM

2013-06-16 04:38:30 (11 comments, 20 reshares, 107 +1s)

PSA - It's 12:30am, do you know where your data is at?
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1406/
http://learn.adafruit.com/onion-pi/

+Electronic Frontier Foundation  #TOR  +Raspberry Pi  #onionpi   #raspberrypi  

2013-06-15 20:20:02 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

After we shared our Father's Day Sale post last week (http://adafru.it/b66358) we received several great Maker Parent and Father's Day related messages from our community and staff, so we wanted to share a few back here! 

Here's a piece from Deirdre about working with her father (+Kris Kortright ), and Kris talking about working with her -- both have been on Adafruit's Show-&-Tell, and both are talented makers. It is a treat to share this:

Deirdre wrote, "Working with my father, building a project is much like building a puzzle. There is much trial and error, but working as a father daughter team builds bonding time and knowledge. It is much fun, and is fascinating to see micro technology at its finest. I learned much about electronics and I fully intend to continue using electronics to create amazing, life like, 3D masks. Adafruit always has unique,n... more »

2013-06-15 13:45:09 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

SHOW-AND-TELL Google+ LIVE Hangout! Tonight at 9:30pm ET
ADD ADAFRUIT TO CIRCLES, POST COMMENT!

1) Add +Adafruit Industries to your circles
2) Post a message/comment HERE and say you want to show off a project and we will add you the “Show and Tell” circle.

Then just look for the hangout announcement on the very same page later for your invite. There’s an 8 to 10 (at the same time) people limit per hangout, so if it’s full try later or just pop by next week same time. Some weeks are packed!

At 9:30pm ET you will see a link to the hang out. Just keep your mics muted until we call on you and have your project ready.

For those who just want to watch, you’ll be able to watch it live on Google+ ‘s broadcast feature on Adafruit’s page AND it will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube automatically.

#showandtell   #adafruit  #hangoutsonair ... more »

2013-06-15 13:43:03 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 22 +1s)

ASK AN ENGINEER – 10PM ET! SATURDAY 6/15/2013!@collinMel special guest Collin Cunningham!!!!

http://www.adafruit.com/ask/

+Collin Cunningham +Adafruit Industries  #collincunningham  

2013-06-15 12:59:46 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

Get your solar projects ready to share!

#summerofsolar  

2013-06-15 11:48:36 (3 comments, 6 reshares, 34 +1s)

http://youtu.be/83HJZoeNjyc

2013-06-15 11:09:02 (3 comments, 24 reshares, 55 +1s)

http://youtu.be/mcw6j-QWGMo

2013-06-15 10:50:46 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

After we shared our Father's Day Sale post last week (http://adafru.it/b66358) we received several great Maker Parent and Father's Day related messages from our community and staff, so we wanted to share a few back here! 

Here's a piece from Matt, Director of Community & Support:
---

Though my father -- a psychoanalyst and writer -- now works more with minds than machines, he grew up in a car business family and can recognize (and in many cases repair) just about any American car model up to around 1964. Get him near one of these classic cars and you'll catch him listening to the motor with the same gentle intensity he brings to his patients, listening for the subtle nuance, the scrape, flutter, or grind of the mechanism, that will help him recognize where the wear or obstruction is located.

I was a very curious kid, devouring any book I... more »

2013-06-14 22:42:16 (10 comments, 18 reshares, 70 +1s)

NEW PRODUCTS – USB DIY Connector Shell – Type Mini-B & USB DIY Connector Shell – Type A Socket

Make your own USB connections without slicing apart a USB cable and soldering those thin wires inside. These DIY “USB shells” are available in USB A plug, micro B, mini B and USB A socket.

http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=adasearch&q=USB+DIY+Connector+Shell

2013-06-14 22:26:57 (7 comments, 15 reshares, 70 +1s)

Inductive Charging Set - 5V @ 500mA max
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1407/

Inductive charging is a way of powering a device without a direct wire connection. Most people have seen inductive charging in a rechargable electric toothbrush: you may have noticed that you recharge it by placing it into the holder, but there's no direct plug. These chargers work by taking a power transformer and splitting it in half, an AC waveform is generated into one, and couples into the second coil. 

This is a basic charger set, and it does work, providing 5V DC output from the output half when the input half is powered with 9V to 12VDC. You can draw as much as ~500mA if the coils are 2 or 3 mm apart. If you only need 100 or 200mA you can be up 7mm apart. For 10mA draw, the coils can be up to half an inch (12.5mm) apart. Any non-ferrous/non-conductive material (eg air, wood, leather,... more »

2013-06-14 19:47:33 (1 comments, 6 reshares, 37 +1s)

FLORA Budget Pack
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1405/

Get started with the fabulous Adafruit Flora platform with this lovely budget kit, just enough to get you started with this fun wearable computer. Included are enough parts to make your first wearable electronic project. There's a Flora motherboard, four ultra-bright chainable RGB pixels, a 3xAAA battery holder and batteries, a battery extension cable, our high quality stainless steel thread, alligator clips to help you test out your parts and connections and a USB cable for reprogramming the Flora. Over $55 worth of goodies, for under $45.

FLORA main board
Four Flora RGB NeoPixels V2
3xAAA Battery holder with JST connector and on/off switch
Stainless Medium Conductive Thread - 3 ply - 18 meter/60 ft
Needle set with 20 pieces
Small Alligator Clip Test Lead (set of 12)
USB cable -... more »

2013-06-14 16:13:08 (55 comments, 532 reshares, 687 +1s)

Onion Pi
http://learn.adafruit.com/onion-pi/
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1406/

Feel like someone is snooping on you? Browse anonymously anywhere you go with the Onion Pi Tor proxy. This is fun weekend project that uses a Raspberry Pi, a USB WiFi adapter and Ethernet cable to create a small, low-power and portable privacy Pi. 

Using it is easy-as-pie. First, plug the Ethernet cable into any Internet provider in your home, work, hotel or conference/event. Next, power up the Pi with the micro USB cable to your laptop or to the wall adapter. The Pi will boot up and create a new secure wireless access point called Onion Pi. Connecting to that access point will automatically route any web browsing from your computer through the anonymizing Tor network.

http://learn.adafruit.com/onion-pi

+Raspberry Pi +Electronic Frontier Foundation  #r... more »

2013-06-14 11:48:40 (0 comments, 6 reshares, 32 +1s)

http://youtu.be/8CB0NCRUxrc

2013-06-14 00:22:17 (7 comments, 43 reshares, 158 +1s)

Success! TOR + Raspberry Pi by +Adafruit Industries - tutorial coming soon! Make your own  transparent TOR proxy "anonymizing middlebox"... we call it ONION PI!
+Raspberry Pi  #raspberrypi   #TOR  

2013-06-14 00:06:36 (3 comments, 16 reshares, 49 +1s)

Tutorial: Setting up IO Python Library on BeagleBone Black
http://learn.adafruit.com/setting-up-io-python-library-on-beaglebone-black/overview

The BeagleBone Black is unique in that it has quite a few pins that are available on easy to use pin headers, as well as being a fairly powerful little system. There are 2 x 46 pins available (well, not all of them are, but we’ll get to that later) to use.

Some of the functionality that is available:

7 Analog Pins
65 Digital Pins at 3.3V
2x I2C
2x SPI
2x CAN Bus
4 Timers
4x UART
8x PWM
A/D Converter

Quite the feature list! The Adafruit BeagleBone IO Python library doesn’t support all of them, but we hope to add more as we go.

+BeagleBoard.org  #beaglebone   #beagleboneblack  

2013-06-14 00:05:15 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 24 +1s)

Adafruit BeagleBone IO Python Library Beta
https://github.com/adafruit/adafruit-beaglebone-io-python

We’ve released a new library that anyone owning a BeagleBone may find useful.  It’s a Python library to interface with the pinouts of the BeagleBone.  It’s designed to work very similarly to the RPi.GPIO library (originally forked from it!) for those of you that are familiar with that library on the Raspberry Pi.

The library was built and tested with the BeagleBone Black using the Angstrom Distribution on a Linux 3.8+ kernel.

You can access the library at our GitHub repository, and we’ll be releasing a tutorial soon to illustrate how to easily install, and use the library with your BeagleBone hardware.

+BeagleBoard.org  #beaglebone   #beagleboneblack  

2013-06-13 19:47:47 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 27 +1s)

Adafruit Dataloggers for Arduino coming out of the reflow oven!

2013-06-13 17:50:26 (1 comments, 13 reshares, 27 +1s)

NEW PRODUCT – My Little Geek by Andrew & Sarah Spear
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1403/

Imagine the joy of hearing your young one chatting away about holographic ninja or time-traveling joysticks. From Android to Zombie, this educational book will entertain children and parents alike.  Suitable for children & l33t hackers 0-5+

#youngengineers   #STEM   #STEAM  

2013-06-13 17:10:17 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Do the Mutation Creates Generative 3D Printed Masks. Via Solidsmack:

DO THE MUTATION is a two person generative deisgn lab near Modena, Italy. Founders, Filippo Nassetti and Alessandro Zomparelli worked in collaboration with EDGELAB S space and form strategies to realize the mask concept. The COLLAGENE software application itself is written in Processing, a opensource framework based on Java, and uses the Toxiclibs libraries to generate the isosurface. The topographic and chromatic data of the face is first captured with a Kinect, then paths are drawn across the imported data to simulate the formation of a fiber system growing across the face.

Once the paths are traced and form tweaked, the mask is sent off to be printed. Fabrication of the pieces was completed by CRP GROUP using their Windform LX 2.0 material, a black polymide-based material reinforced with glass fibers that is... more »

2013-06-13 16:56:08 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

Check out this new experimental delta printer breed: RepRap Simpson. Via 3Ders.org:

There is a new radical RepRap 3D printer in town called Simpson. George Gaylord Simpson came up with the idea of Quantum Evolution, the theory that evolution can happen in abrupt burst. The namesake was chosen for the printer to signify its quick divergence from other existing designs. Nicholas Seward started barely a month ago with the goal to build a 3D printer with the following requirement:

• Low center of gravity
• No linear rails
• Fully printable except for bearings, bolts, bed, and electronics

During the month, the design has gone from a idea through at least 7 major revisions and has produced 3 prototypes. The open style of the RepRap Project has allowed for some crucial collaboration. Thousands of people have viewed Simpson’s development forum. Many haveposted ... more »

2013-06-13 16:28:11 (3 comments, 15 reshares, 30 +1s)

Ever wondered what your cat spends its time doing when you’re not around? Where do our purring pets go when they disappear through the cat flap? Armed with GPS tracking devices and micro-cameras, a team from BBC Two’s Horizon programme in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary Collegeset off to a Surrey village to find out.

BBC News – Secret life of the cat: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22567526

2013-06-13 16:25:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Check out this short video from Engadget that features the trio of “laser cowboys” who are performing the 3D scanning in the Smithsonian Digitization office. This video counters some of the wild rumors that were spread in the press last year around this time and gives some great details about their process and aims. Via Cubify.

“We’re not scanning every object in the collection,” Adam Metallo tells me, offering up the information almost as soon as we set foot in the Smithsonian’s Digitization office. It’s an important piece of information he wants to make sure I have, right off the bat. It seems that, when the story of the department’s 3D-scanning plans first hit the wire, a number of organizations blew the scope of the project out of proportion a bit. And while the team’s project is certainly ambitious, it’s not, you know, crazy. It’s the work of a three-person team, stillin its nascent stages... more »

2013-06-13 10:57:20 (12 comments, 2 reshares, 26 +1s)

A few hours of shipping in less than 30 seconds!

2013-06-12 22:03:49 (18 comments, 46 reshares, 103 +1s)

Setting up a Raspberry Pi as a WiFi access point
Make the most adorable little WiFi router

http://learn.adafruit.com/setting-up-a-raspberry-pi-as-a-wifi-access-point

+Raspberry Pi  #raspberrypi  +Limor Fried 

2013-06-12 16:10:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

After we shared our Father's Day Sale post last week (http://adafru.it/b66358) we received several great Maker Parent and Father's Day related messages from our community and staff, so we wanted to share them back here! 

Here's a message from one of Adafruit's very talented technical support engineers from the Adafruit Forums, Bill:
---

To my father, engineering is all about making things.  What he teaches in the university classroom means nothing unless you can apply it.  He is a maker by nature.

In the summer, we built houses together - often from plans drawn up during the school year.  From pouring foundations to capping the roof and everything in between.  We did carpentry, plumbing, wiring and plaster. From his example (and lots of practice) I became intimately familiar with the materials and processes.  But most importantly, hismaker... more »

2013-06-12 14:49:42 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 19 +1s)

Neuroknitting:  

http://www.knitic.com/neuro/

We have plotted brainwave activity into a knitted pattern. Using a wearable, non-invasive EEG headset, we recorded users’ affective states while listening to Bach’s “Goldberg Variations”, concretely the aria and its first seven variations.

2013-06-12 12:51:22 (1 comments, 21 reshares, 64 +1s)

How Open Access Empowered a 16-Year-Old to Make Cancer Breakthrough
http://youtu.be/G55hlnSD1Ys

An interview on Open Access to research journals with Dr. Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, and Jack Andraka, the 16-year-old inventor of a breakthrough cancer diagnostic and winner of the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Presented by the Right to Research Coalition, with support from the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and the Society for Science and the Public.

More information at http://www.righttoresearch.org.

Video Production: Kyle Blair-Henderson and Faction Productions

2013-06-12 01:13:28 (5 comments, 10 reshares, 60 +1s)

http://youtu.be/7NXfyCezUFk

2013-06-12 00:26:29 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

If you are on Google+ and want to join, post a message/comment on Adafruit’s post on Google+ and say you want to show off a project and we will add you the “Show and Tell” circle. Then just look for the hangout announcement on the very same page later for your invite. There’s an 8 to 10 (at the same time) people limit per hangout, so if it’s full try later or just pop by next week same time. Some weeks are packed!

At 9:30pm ET you will see a link to the hang out. Just keep your mics muted until we call on you and have your project ready.

For those who just want to watch, you’ll be able to watch it live on Google+ ‘s broadcast feature on Adafruit’s page AND it will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube automatically.