Hey guys,
I know I’ve blogged about this before, but I’m pretty stoked about the official website dropping in 9 days. Check out my previous post about this little guy and then pick one up cause these are going to be awesome gifts for people. Especially for me. Yes, one of you must buy me one of these. Linkage
-Steve
Doing some mobile blogging while in Charlotte waiting for the connecting flight to LAX. I saw an article CNN wrote about a company called Nokero, short for No Kerosene, who specialize in solar charged, rugged, lighting fixtures. Their aim for these solar charged lights are for parts of the world that lack electricity as well as locations where kerosene for conventional lanterns is to expensive.
They’re most basic lantern costs about $15, but can be produced for as low as $6 in bulk orders. They achieve this low cost while maintaining a rugged assembly by using high efficiency LEDs, solar panels, 800 mAh ni-mh rechargeable battery, and light weight abs plastic. This combination allows the battery to be fully charged under direct sunlight in about 4 hours. This provides around six and a half hours of light in low power mode and two and a half hours in high power. These lanterns will also turn themselves off when they sense another light source.
All in all I think this is an awesome product that targets a wide range of causes from RV’s and campers all the way to providing light to those in areas without electricity or stricken with natural disasters. Check out their website here.
-Steve, stuck in Charlotte with a three hour layover…
Hey guys,
Just wanted to give you an update on the glasses I said I would be emulating at some point this summer. Well, that time has come and they are finally finished. However, they look a little rough. I am still quite pleased with the overall product and will most likely be making a second pair. Got the idea from this awesome How-to….Link
Starting out with some graph paper to map where the LED’s will go….
Next I drilled the holes. Probably should have used a drill press, but a cordless drill worked just fine….
Then I stuck those bad boys in there and soldered it up using a multiplexing method (uses less pins on the microcontroller so you can control multiple leds with just one pin)…
Then I stuck the lenses back into the glasses and started wiring up the microcontroller, the batteries, and programming port…
There’s the finished product while I’m wearing them…
Here’s a snippet of what one of the sections of code does….
Finally, heres a video complete with my sweet voice explaining what they actually do…
Pretty fun project if you ask me, I’ll definitly be making another pair hopefully they come out a little cleaner. Still I’m very stoked about how they came out…
Edit-Version 2.0 is working in a different set of glasses with code debugs to remedy the scrolling text issue.
-Steve
Check this iPhone 4 case I just found while perusing the Engadget. This definitely fits the “forever alone” lifestyle choice (if that even is a choice). However, at a hefty price of almost $65 I don’t think you’ll see anyone with one of these unless fake plastic hands anytime soon. Had to blog this for the sheer shock I was under when I saw them. They also come in child’s hand and female hand styles.
This just screams creepy, but if you MUST have one of these for yourself here is the link…Click This For Creepy Hand
-Steve
For your viewing pleasure, I figured I’d finally upload the pictures of when I fixed the screen on my iPhone for ya’ll to check out…
Here I start with one dead iPhone 4, as you can see not much of the front glass remains. This left the home button exposed on the bottom as well as the camera, light sensor, and earpiece at the top…unexceptable.
This is the first thing you see when you slip the back cover off, pretty daunting even to a tinkerer such as myself…
After you’re finished starring in awe at how the folks at Apple managed to cram all the stuff into this tiny little area its back to work. Start tearing out the battery and undoing screws to uncover connectors galore.Then the motherboard comes out with everything on it. This welcomes small screws galore leaving you with this right here, which is nothing more than the connector at the bottom and the audio input.
Finally you can pull the crappy broken screen out of the housing(it has like a million screws), and drop the new one in.
From there you do everything you did backwards, making sure to put everything back firmly and carefully. This takes much longer than one might assume, so take care in doing so. Please do not use this post as a guide to tearing your phone apart. If you must please visit this link, it has everything you need to complete your tear-down. However, take a trip to your local Apple Store first before doing anything. They might just replace it for free…
-Steve
So, what is this dolphin like creature, well I’m here to tell you.
This submersible personal watercraft, created by the guys at Innespace, attributes its streamlined body and maneuverability to the dolphin in which it was emulated after. Packed with a 260-horsepower gasoline engine, sound system(with Apple device connection), digital periscope, and gps; the SeaBreacher is quick, clean, and well put together. Topping out at 50 mph above the surface and 25 mph below, the SeaBreacher uses its side and tail fins to maneuver the vehicle in every direction with an added bonus of barrel-rolls and all other acrobatic movements.
With an $81,000 base price tag you have your choice of 4 totally customized models here. In the future, Innespace is planning on creating a fully submersible PWC with a host of other features; hopefully, they can also cost-reduce these down by then to the price of regular PWC’s you see on the market today. Check out the video below…
I’m sure you’ve all seen the kind of weaponry our troops are outfitted with, whether it be in the Army, Navy, or Air-force. Well I’m here to introduce to you the newest build of a joint project involving two defense heavyweights, Boeing and BAE Systems. This integrated weapon system built off the Mk 38 Mod 2 Machine Gun is the deliverable of the $2.8 million contract with the U.S. Navy. This high tech weapon will take the already pre-existing Mk 38 and slap a high power/precision laser on the side. Ideally, these two items can be used separately or in tandem where extra precision or fire-power is in order. However, at this point the joint venture is having difficulty adapting the laser system to military standards. It lacks power, topping out at 10 kilo-Watts, and is less effective in the salt air in which it would be deployed in. Regardless, this is every little mischievous kids dream, or at least mine…Really interested in what other kinds of research and development BAE, Boeing, and other defense companies are doing right now.
-Steve
Hey everyone, sorry about the lack of posts, but everyone here at Well Technically Speaking have been uber busy with finishing up jobs and starting vacations. Have no fear, we will be back on the blog game soon enough. Til then have a look at these two hilarious articles about Apple stores.
How far can one man go…
Edit: Have to give a shout out to my neighbor Ryan for the second video, good looks…
Mark Zuckerberg made quite an announcement today as he introduced the public to an official integration between his lovechild Facebook and the ever popular video chat client Skype. This is soon to tie into Microsoft’s plan to consume Skype, which would then benefit from the Facebook addition. Another key move by the Microsoft corporation to compete with Steve Jobs and his crew over at Apple. All new features coming to facebook include group chat, a new way to chat, and Skype-enabled video chat to improve the overall Facebook messaging feature.
For more info visit Skype’s website….
-Steve, who is outside a Starbucks
Saw this yesterday pop up many places on the world wide web. Portland, Oregon resident Greg Tanous built up this sweet RC super dude complete with full controls with two servo operated pairs of rudders(arms and legs) as well as motor offering 6 pounds of thrust to launch the super hero into the sky with incredible force and grace. Since the entire build weighs around 3 pounds from the liberal use of light materials such as carbon fiber, the RC is an incredible stable platform. Check out the video below for some cool vertical take-offs and some awesome aerial stunts.
For more on Greg’s invention, please visit his site –> CLICK IT
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