It's a grim time for fans of homebrew gadget creation. Maker Media, the company responsible for Maker Faires and Make:, has stopped operations and laid off all its staff. CEO Dale Dougherty explained it to TechCrunch as a matter of financial troubl...
A dude showed up at the Maker Faire in his neck of the woods recently and he had a slick device, a wrist-mounted flamethrower. This flamethrower is different from the wrist-mounted design we talked about in the past. The builder of this one is a guy named Stephen Hawes.
Rather than having a tank of fuel mounted on the wrist, Hawes uses a backpack that looks like something out of Ghostbusters to me. The device adjusts the height of the flame depending how far the user bends the wrist.
It doesn’t appear that flames ever shoot too far. This is sort of like a DIY Pyro from X-Men setup. Apparently, Stephen had his own fire marshal assigned during the entire event. Frankly, I’m not even sure it’s legal to build your own flamethrower.
Over the past few years, Maker Faire has transformed into something of a 3D printer fest, and there's no reason to expect that this weekend's event in Flushing, Queens will be any different. Ultimaker, for one, is launching a new printer, the simply named Ultimaker 2 (though the product itself displays the name as Ultimaker squared). The next-gen product doesn't seem to bring a ton of new features to the table, though the company promises that it's faster and more accurate than its predecessor. It also ships with Cura software, which should speed things up even more. Also, the launch coincides with the unveiling of the company's Thingiverse-esque YouMagine online collaboration site, which will help you find objects to, you know, print on the thing. Again, the Ultimaker 2 will be on display this weekend, and has an asking price of 1,895 euros ($2,563).
What's better than getting to attend a hands-on technology event with thousands of like-minded enthusiasts? How about attending two such shows for one low price?!
We've teamed up with our good friends at MAKE Magazine to make that a reality: now for $50 you can pick up a bundle ticket that gets you into both World Maker Faire in New York City on September 21st and 22nd (choose your day pass when purchasing the bundle), plus our own Expand NY on November 9th and 10th. That's two amazing opportunities to see and interact with some of the most interesting projects and people in technology, from the next great inventors to the biggest names in consumer electronics.
When you have the world’s largest headphones, you don’t put them on your head. You sit between the earcups and let the sound assault you. These monstrous headphones were created by Dallyn Rule for the recent Mini Maker Faire in Vancouver, B.C.
They measure almost a full human body length and they are completely functional and made from 100% recycled material. Making this huge pair of headphones has been a dream of Dallyn’s since childhood.
They may be the only headphones designed to never ever touch your ears or head. Yet it still produces music designed for individual listening – like a surround that affects your entire body. And it doesn’t affect those around you very much at all. So it is a very personal way to experience music.
Great work Dallyn, though is it just me, or are you wearing actual headphones in that second image above?
Ian Danforth has created a soon-to-be-cuddly robot called The Fenn. The robot is based on a character from a fictional story of an alien planet that humans make contact with. It is made especially for kids.
When the robot is completed, it will have some soft skin and sensors going down its back, so kids can pet it. When they do, LEDs will go off and if they pet it softly, Fenn will respond. Pet it too hard and Fenn will run away, just like a real animal.
This ‘bot has a front facing camera, gyroscope, touch sensors and other hardware that makes for a very kid-friendly experience. Ian is getting it ready for Maker Faire 2013. I can’t wait to see the finished product.
We come bearing tidings of good savings from our friends at MAKE: get $100 off the regular price of the second annual two-day workshop designed for makers turning their projects into real businesses. The Hardware Innovation Workshop kicks off at the College of San Mateo just before Maker Faire Bay Area on May 18-19, and features big names in the world of making and innovation as well as startups you haven't heard about -- yet. The workshop will focus on innovative tools and technology, platforms and projects and devices and designs based on open hardware.
Some mornings you just don't want to get out of bed. We've all got our own methods for starting the day, but few are quite so...electric...as this this one spotted at Maker Faire over the weekend. No doubt even Tesla himself couldn't have concocted a better way to shake oneself loose from a bad case of the Mondays.
Richard Lai: "Starbucks now brewing Electric Latte. Espresso with steamed milk and a dash of lightning, finished with a sprinkle of copper dust." Darren Murph: "Jump Start kind of undersells things, no?" Jon Fingas: "The best part of waking up is 10,000 volts in your cup." Billy Steele: "The folks at Jolt Cola are not going to be happy about this." Tim Stevens: "No, it's pronounced 'coffeen' not 'caffeine'!" Terrence O'Brien: "Bobby's decision to learn Conjure Refreshment really started to pay dividends when his mage reached level 64" Zach Honig: "Would you mind nuking this for me?" Brian Heater: "Just another McDonald's lawsuit waiting to happen." James Trew: "Electrici-Tea." Dan Cooper: "Van De-Caff Generator."
Did you miss Maker Faire Bay Area 2012? Did you go but want to relive the experience a little? Well look no further: we came, we saw, we conquered. As one of our friends acutely observed, you couldn't throw something this year without hitting a 3D printer. Below you'll find pictures of said 3D printers, but also unicorns, Tesla coils and yes, even zombies (!) -- all lovingly curated from the hundreds of shots we took at the event this past weekend. Craving something with a bit more meat? We've made a convenient list of our Maker Faire posts. Once you're done digesting that, hit the break for our lovely video montage.
Have a BMW 3-Series that requires major engine work? Want to convert it to electric and improve performance, ActiveE style? The folks at Electric Motor Werks have you covered. Instead of making purpose-built electric cars, the company -- which showed a converted 3-Series sedan and coupé at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 -- provides affordable and environmentally responsible electric conversion kits for the BMW E46. These are available directly to consumers but Electric Motor Werks is also building a network of installers (via tuner / speed shops) and setting up its own facilities.
We chatted with founder Val Miftakhov who gave us a tour of the prototype kit in the vehicles on display, so head past the break for more information and for our hands-on video.
It's a grim time for fans of homebrew gadget creation. Maker Media, the company responsible for Maker Faires and Make:, has stopped operations and laid off all its staff. CEO Dale Dougherty explained it to TechCrunch as a matter of financial troubl...
