Yeah, we're building a race of frog-people. It's a good time
Xander ,'Selfless'
Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."
Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!
Consuela - Jan 09, 2007 5:06:45 pm PST #162 of 25496
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
tommyrot - Jan 09, 2007 5:43:08 pm PST #163 of 25496
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Anybody ever do any microcontroller programming? I just bought one of these: [link]
Arduino is an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple i/o board, and a development environment for writing Arduino software. The Arduino programming language is an implementation of Wiring, itself built on Processing.
Arduino can be used to develop interactive objects, taking inputs from a variety of switches or sensors, and controlling a variety of lights, motors, and other outputs. Arduino projects can be stand-alone, or they can be communicate with software running on your computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP.)
I also bought a sonar thingie and some servos - I'm gonna build a Sonic Death Ray. OK, not really. A sonar camera. It will pan the sonar (an ultrasonic range finder - [link] ) up and down, left and right, and build a 3-D image of whatever's in front of it.
tiggy - Jan 09, 2007 6:26:23 pm PST #164 of 25496
I do believe in killing the messenger, you know why? Because it sends a message. ~ Damon Salvatore
I wish it wasn't tied in to Cingular (which I thought was about to die anyway?)
really? i hadn't heard about this. i'm actually pretty happy with my Cingular service. i've pretty much tried them all at this point.
Sean K - Jan 09, 2007 6:38:25 pm PST #165 of 25496
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
gonna build a Sonic Death Ray. OK, not really. A sonar camera. It will pan the sonar (an ultrasonic range finder - [link] ) up and down, left and right, and build a 3-D image of whatever's in front of it.
Seriously, tommyrot? That's so cool.
tommyrot - Jan 09, 2007 6:48:06 pm PST #166 of 25496
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Seriously, tommyrot? That's so cool.
Yeah, it's pretty much just hooking together off-the-shelf components (even the two servos with tilt and pan mechanism came as a kit from a robotics company). The hardest part will be programming the microcontroller (and also programming my laptop to communicate with the microcontroller via USB) but for me that'll be the fun part.
Jon B. - Jan 10, 2007 2:34:40 am PST #167 of 25496
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
I wish it wasn't tied in to Cingular (which I thought was about to die anyway?)
Cingular is owned by AT&T, right? So I doubt it's going to die. At worst, it would be absorbed by AT&T.
Cashmere - Jan 10, 2007 2:40:58 am PST #168 of 25496
Now tagless for your comfort.
I thought Cingular bought out AT&T.
I'm saving my pennies now. Maybe when my contract is up in a year, they'll be ready to cut deals on upgraded phones.
Jon B. - Jan 10, 2007 2:50:57 am PST #169 of 25496
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
Cingular bought out "AT&T Wireless" (a separate company from AT&T) a couple of years ago. [link]
More recently, AT&T (not AT&T Wireless), merged with the baby bells that owned Cingular, making AT&T the sole owner of Cingular. [link]
I'm dizzy now.
JohnSweden - Jan 10, 2007 6:11:53 am PST #170 of 25496
I can't even.
Gudanov - Jan 10, 2007 6:58:14 am PST #171 of 25496
Coding and Sleeping
I think the phone is cool, but the AppleTV thing is disappointing. If it could take cable cards and be a TIVO type device instead of being a media player, then it would be interesting. At some point my Myth box may lose it's TV recording abilities due to DRM issues and I'd like to see more products that could compete with TIVO, cable company DVRs, and insanely expensive media center computers. I can turn any old computer into a media player.