O'Reilly News & Commentary

Four short links: 4 November 2009 - Electronics Hacking FAQs, Speech-To-Text Democracy, Open Source Column Database, Massive Online Analysis

By Nat Torkington
November 4, 2009

Democracy Live -- BBC launch searchable coverage of parliamentary discussion, using speech-to-text. One aspect we're particularly proud of is that we've managed to deliver good results for speech-to-text in Welsh, which, we're told, is unique. I think of this as the start of a They Work For You for video coverage. I'd love to be able to scale this to local government coverage, which is disappearing as local newspapers turn into delivery mechanisms for real estate advertisements. This and more in today's Four Short Links.

Four short links: 21 October 2009 - Battlefield Android, DIY Leukemia Hacking, Localisation, Bus Pirates

By Nat Torkington
October 21, 2009

Raytheon Sends Android to Battlefield -- Combining maps and a buddy list, Raytheon is employing Google's Android on the battlefield with the Raytheon Android Tactical System, or RATS. "A soldier could make an unmanned plane a 'buddy,' for instance, and track its progress on a map using his phone. He could then access streaming video from the plane, giving him a bird's eye view of the area. Soldiers could also use the buddy list to trace the locations of other members of their squad." This and more in today's Four Short Links.

Featured Make Weekend Project: Junk Parts Pecan Crusher

By O'Reilly Media
October 9, 2009

Four short links: 8 October 2009 - DIY Baby Rocker, Unix Systems Glory, Encrypting Ephemera, and Explaining Creative Joy

By Nat Torkington
October 8, 2009

Linux Baby Rocker -- Check out this inventive use of a CD drive and the eject command, combined to create an automatic baby rocker. (via Hacker News) This and more in today's Four Short Links.

Featured Make Video: Fascination with Silk - Professor Fiorenzo Omenetto Reinvents Silk for Technology Applications

By O'Reilly Media
October 6, 2009

Make Magazine Weekend Project: Hot to Cold Smoker Conversion - DIY Projects

By O'Reilly Media
October 2, 2009

This is a simple kludge, really, but it's worked out remarkably well, considering I knocked it together in about 40 minutes 5 years ago and it's seen almost monthly use since then. What I started with was a pile of junk grill and smoker components, most of which came from a Brinkmann "Gourmet" smoker that my mother once accidentally set on fire. Lots of electric smokers have this three-part lid/body/base construction, however, and the exact make and model are not important.

Four short links: 22 September 2009 - Cities, How Things Work, Stylish Google, EC2 Numbers

By Nat Torkington
September 22, 2009

The City is a Battlesuit for Surviving the Future (IO9) -- a great essay by Matt Jones, based on his talk at Webstock this year. Urban design is how we created alternate realities before we had iPhones, and the new technology lets us choose which science fiction future we want to inhabit. We are now a predominantly urban species, with over 50% of humanity living in a city. The overwhelming majority of these are not old post-industrial world cities such as London or New York, but large chaotic sprawls of the industrialising world such as the "maximum cities" of Mumbai or Guangzhou. Here the infrastructures are layered, ad-hoc, adaptive and personal - people there really are walking architecture, as Archigram said. Hacking post-industrial cities is becoming a necessity also.

Four short links: 18 September 2009 - More Twitter Clients, GLAM Tech, Retro Homebrew Audio Hardware, Emerging Open Source

By Nat Torkington
September 18, 2009

Echofon -- Keep your unread tweets synced between your iPhone and your desktop. Formerly known as TwitterFon and TwitterFox, echofon is a suite of apps that that allow you to synch unread tweets between your browser and phone, and soon, the desktop. In addition to supporting multiple users and unread synching, the Echofon app offers multiple Twitter and user views, authoring, tracking, publishing and pushing. This and more in today's Four Short Links.

Four short links: 17 September 2009 - Involuntarily Opened Geodata, Sense Organ, Doc Vis, 3D Open Source Bodies

By Nat Torkington
September 17, 2009

Wikileaks Now Holds UK Postcode Database -- the UK does not have open geodata in the way that we know it. A state-owned enterprise, Ordnance Survey, is responsible for maintaining all sorts of baseline data and they charge (through the nose) for that data. This is the release of 1,841,177 post codes, geographic boundaries, and more. Postcodes in the UK are far more useful than US ZIP codes--they identify a handful of houses, rather than a few thousand houses. My New Sense Organ -- a strap with buzzers and a compass, so you always have physical reminder of orientation. For people like me who can get lost putting on pants in the morning, this would be a godsend. (via Slashdot)

Four short links: 11 September 2009 - Healthcare Fellow, Javascript Math, Web PDF Viewer, Tweeting Kegerator

By Nat Torkington
September 11, 2009

Healthspottr Fellow -- Do you know a healthcare innovator? Nominate them for the 2009 healthspottr fellowship program, an effort that awards healthcare entrepreneurs prizes up to $250,000 for both past work and future potential to make outstanding contributions to the "transformation of healthcare in the United States." This and more in today's Four Short Links.

Four short links: 9 September 2009 - SMS Data Collection, Love of Math, Anti-File Sharing Rubbish, Open Manufacturing

By Nat Torkington
September 9, 2009

RapidSMS -- See how RapidSMS, an open-source framework for "data collection, logistics coordination and communication" is being used in UNICEF sponsored projects to facilitate data gathering in Africa via mobile phones. In Nigeria, workers monitored the supply and distribution of 70 million mosquito nets. This and more in today's Four Short Links.

Pattern Recognition: Makers, Marketplaces and the Library of the Commons

By Mark Sigal
June 17, 2009

Finally, having a chance to decompress following his Maker Faire visit, Mark Sigal ruminates on what Maker Faire's 78K attendees means, concluding that it's all about creative destruction, mass customization and the rise of DIY (do it yourself) class.

MakerBot, an inexpensive, easy-to-build 3D printer

By Brian Jepson
June 12, 2009

I just saw this piece in the weekly print edition of the Christian Science Monitor. It's a great overview of a lot of the offerings out there. In Your idea, "printed" in 3-D, Jesse Emspak writes: "'rapid prototyping' relies on a simple concept: building an object one cross section at a time, similar to laying down LEGO bricks to make a larger shape." The products they mention are priced out of reach for most of us, but there is an offering they didn't mention, the MakerBot CupCake CNC, a cheap ($750) rapid prototyper that you can build yourself.

DIY Projects from the Greater Bay Area

By Mary Rotman
May 27, 2009

We've been receiving all sorts of photos of your DIY projects for the past few days in response to the contest to win 2 weekend passes to Maker Faire, May 30 & 31, in San Mateo, CA. We will include all of the entries in this blogpost as they are submitted. We'll be accepting entries through the end of today, May 27th, so keep sending those pictures in for your chance to win!

County of San Mateo Declares May 30th & 31st Maker's Weekend - Send Us a Photo for a Chance to Win 2 Weekend Passes

By Mary Rotman
May 23, 2009

As this year's Maker Faire gets ready to launch, San Mateo County Supervisor Carole Groom has declared May 30th & 31st "Maker's Weekend". Keep reading for more information on this official declaration as well as how to win 2 adult weekend passes to this year's Maker Faire.

Time Lapse of Galactic Center of Milky Way rising over Texas Star Party

By Jesse Robbins
May 22, 2009

According to William Castleman: "The time-lapse sequence was taken with the simplest equipment that I brought to the star party. I put the Canon EOS-5D (AA screen modified to record hydrogen alpha at 656 nm) with an EF 15mm f/2.8 lens on a weighted tripod. Exposures were 20 seconds at f/2.8 ISO 1600 followed by 40 second interval. Exposures were controlled by an interval timer shutter release (Canon TC80N3). Power was provided by a Hutech EOS203 12v power adapter run off a 12v deep cycle battery. Large jpg files shot in custom white balance were batch processed in Photoshop (levels, curves, contrast, Noise Ninja noise reduction, resize) and assembled in Quicktime Pro. Editing/assembly was with Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9."

O'Reilly Week in Review for May 4th, 2009 - A Look at What's New in the O'Reilly Universe

By James Turner
May 6, 2009

This week, we talk to Tim O'Reilly about how Twitter has dealt with the Swine Flu panic, Make publisher Dale Dougherty about the new interest in the Maker culture, and our usual podcast quiz question....

It's a Magazine. It's a Faire. Now It's Make: television

By Sara Peyton
January 13, 2009

If you're wondering what to do tonight, how about checking out the second episode of Make: television. Each week, Make: television will showcase a selection of the best project videos we've gathered from around the country. In this episode, maker Cris Benton takes spectacular aerial photographs by rigging remote-controlled cameras to high flying kites. John Park builds a Burrito Blaster and Mister Jalopy shows off his giant iPod. Watch now.

The Visible Hand

By Dale Dougherty
November 12, 2008

I wrote this piece about a month ago as the Welcome for Make: 16, which will be on the newsstand soon. As I write this, there is panic on Wall Street despite Washington’s $700 billion rescue attempt. The crisis is not contained by U.S. borders, but extends to Europe and Asia. Like many people, I’m incredulous. How could this happen?...

Maker Faire Earns a Coveted American Magazine Vanguard Award

By Sara Peyton
October 7, 2008

The first American Magazine Vanguard Awards recognizes magazines that are innovating, extending their brands, and finding new exciting ways to connect with their customers. And O'Reilly Media's Make snared an AMVA award because of the creation of Maker Faire, which celebrates DIYers and crafters of every persuasion. "Considering that some of the greatest leaps forward in American technological history have been scrappy homebrews (Apple Computer was a literal garage start-up), it's really kind of exciting to think that, given its explosive growth, the Maker Faire might well help along an invention or two that's truly important," writes Simon Dumenco. Read on to find out more about Maker Faire Austin, which opens Oct. 18.

Maker Faire Austin is Coming this Fall

By O'Reilly Media
September 12, 2008

Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It's for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things. Happening October 18th and 19th at the Travis County Event Center and Fairground. Tickets for sale now at: makerfairetickets.com

MAKE: Technology on Your Time--Volume 15

By Sara Peyton
September 8, 2008

DIY music! Explore the euphonic delights of homemade music in MAKE, Volume 15, the Musical Instrument issue. From handheld synthesizers, to laser harps, to autonomous robot composers, MAKE 15 will fill your world with sweet sounds made by you, even if you've never learned to play an instrument. MAKE Magazine unites, inspires and informs a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages. Learn more.

Brian Jepson Answers Five Questions

By Sara Peyton
August 21, 2008

Maker Media editor Brian Jepson sat down with the Providence Business News recently to talk about his work along with his views on education and tech industry trends. "I think that the capacity to learn goes very deep with all people," observes Jepson. "Learning is not just memorization, but an attitude, mindset, set of skills. If people learn how to learn at a young age, they'll have the tools they need to educate themselves, with curiosity as their guide, throughout their entire life."

Forbes Puts the Spotlight on Dale Dougherty and Tim O'Reilly

By Sara Peyton
August 19, 2008

"If the do-it-yourself trend is a revolution, then Dale Dougherty and Tim O'Reilly are its Tom Paines," writes reporter Elizabeth Corcoran in a recent Forbes.com story, Making Future Headlines. Thomas Paine, if you recall, was America's cerebral, revolutionary activist and the author of a mightily influential 1776 pamphlet, "Common Sense," supporting the American colonies independence from Great Britain. Like Paine, Tim, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, and Dale, editor and publisher of Make, are "awfully good at spotting trends," writes Corcoran. So good, in fact, that Forbes also included the pair in their photo feature on techno-wizards--"In Pictures: Eight People Inventing The Future."

Optics

By O'Reilly Media
August 14, 2008

MAKE: Technology on Your Time Volume 14 — You'll learn how to make an inexpensive but powerful digital microscope that will allow you to display bacteria colonies on a video monitor, a vintage-looking opaque projector that can display artwork from books onto a wall, a model of a crazy-angled r

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