Frank writes -
It’s a 3 position SPDT switch that closes (on) when tilted. Made with 3 pieces of plastic, a washer, and three machine screws + nuts. I made this switch as a hack for a cheap r/c car controller, inspired by the wiimote controlled car.
I just realized, this can also double as a pedometer or a shake sensor
instructables : Tilt Activated Switch – Link.
Mac site OS X Daily’s got a nice keyboard shortcut for Open/Save dialogs:
Whenever you’re in an open or save dialog box in a Mac OS X app, if the name entry field is empty, typing ~ or / will bring up a box in which you can type a full path name, UNIX style… this feature also supports tab completion, so you can really feel like you’re in bash!
Sweet! Thanks, Bill!
I see a MIDI project on the horizon. Operon from the openprosthetics group writes -
This is a step-by-step guide on how to make your very own prototype acoustic myography sensor. That means a sensor you can use to measure muscle sounds. What is this good for? well… it is a more affordable alternative to the electrodes used in powered prostheses (specially if you make your own). The short paper below describes briefly how this sensor works and the diagram illustrates how it is built.
instructables : Measure Muscle Sounds! Part 1: Electronic Board – Link.
A crafty Lifehacker reader whose small kitchen has pipes running along the walls writes in a with a simple mod:
I didn’t have enough drawer and cupboard space for my kitchen gadgets, so I went to the hardware store and used hose clamps and hooks. Now I can hang stuff on the pipes that run vertically through my kitchen.
I’ve seen more than a few tiny kitchens back in NYC that could’ve put these to good use. Thanks, B!
Wisegeek writes -
We love air hockey, but we wanted to see if the basic idea would work on real ice as opposed to using the air bearing principle.
We were on a visit up north and an approaching cold weather front provided the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, we were away from our workshop, so we had to design and build our prototype without all the tools that we are accustomed to. In the end, however, we achieved a surprisingly great result…
Introducing Table Hockey on Real Ice – Link.
Windell writes -
This morning someone asked me if it was possible to program AVR microcontrollers using their Arduino board as a programmer. I looked, and sure enough, a solution exists! This could be pretty handy, particularly if you have a Mac and/or only USB ports. Someone that is going to make this will probably also want to take a look at Atmel application note 42, which discusses using the ISP (in-system programmable) interface (PDF)…
tinker.it » » Turn Arduino into an AVR-ISP programmer – Link
Windows only: Freeware system tray app WatchMyCell logs into your cell phone account and keeps a watchful eye on how many minutes you’ve used for the month.
Just download and install the program, set it up with your provider (currently supports Cingular, Verizon, T-mobile, Sprint, and Nextel), then define your rules for how soon you’d like to be alerted of your dwindling minutes and what form you’d like that alert to take (email or SMS). This little app should come in handy for anyone who’s stared down the barrel of an unexpectedly large cell phone bill. We’ve seen similar Firefox extensions, but the added alert is what really makes WatchMyCell so useful.
If you are wanting to make circuit boards using the UV exposure method you may want to recycle an old scanner into your UV light source.
“I opted for 3 tubes (around 8 Euro each), with ballasts and starters (6/7 Euro for each set). The switch, fuse holder and mains socket I scavenged from somewhere.
For the [...]
Google Earth users can now search publicly available Keyhole Markup Language (KML) data files, also known as map layers.
To see the search in action, fire up Google Earth, head to a desired location and type in a search term. If there are any KML results, they’ll appear below the local results in the search pane (you may have to scroll down to see them). Click on one of the KML listings to see a pop-up bubble with information about the file. Click the accompanying link to layer the file over Google Earth. Neat!
