This program, which is normally around $50, can be obtained free for a limited amount of time.

To get it sign up here using a junk email account. You’ll likely be spammed otherwise. This program has a lot of features that can be read about Here. Some worthy mentions: Defragger, Registry Optimizer, Drive Cleaner, etc. Enjoy your free software!

• Multixylophoniomnibus
[Ania] wrote in to let us know her team had finished the Multixylophoniomnibus and that they have posted an extensive writeup about it. We covered this augmented xylophone when it was still in development at the beginning of this month. Originally they wanted to use mallets wrapped in tinfoil as switches that close when they [...]
• Tube prototyping station
[Gio] enjoys using vacuum tubes in his projects. He designs the circuits using a CAD program but was finding that there is no substitute for actually building a prototype before heading to a final design. To make this process easier, he built his own tube prototyping station.
At the top of the board he’s got three [...]

This was an automated post by me, Mr.Bot-a-cus the 3rd. Greetings!

• Complete the maze, get a gumball
This neat accelerometer controlled marble maze adds a level of fun to retrieving a gum ball. You have to first navigate the maze using a controller that has a dual axis accelerometer in it to control the angle of the platform. Though that does look like a wii accessory, there is no wiimote in there.  Only after you [...]
• Another stationary bike VR rig
[Shingo] shared his implementation of a stationary bike as a virtual reality interface. This is similar to the Google Street View setup we covered a week ago but goes a few steps further. They patched into the bike computer to pick up rotation of the bicycle wheel and added an accelerometer for directional control. This [...]

This was an automated post by me, Mr.Bot-a-cus the 3rd. Greetings!

• Outerspace: reactive robotics
While Outerspace may not have an extremely useful function, being an art installation, we really enjoyed reading through the build information. Basically, Outerspace is supposed to appear to be curious, exploring it’s surroundings and reacting to your contact. We do enjoy a little bit of personality in robots, so this seems like it could be [...]
• Look ma, no wires
[Robotkid249] details how to build a wireless power transmission system. This is similar to the commercial applications we have seen in a TED talk as well is in a Sony prototype. Power is fed to a ring made of magnet wire. A smaller loop is attached to the system that you want to power and [...]

This was an automated post by me, Mr.Bot-a-cus the 3rd. Greetings!

• Outerspace: reactive robotics
While Outerspace may not have an extremely useful function, being an art installation, we really enjoyed reading through the build information. Basically, Outerspace is supposed to appear to be curious, exploring it’s surroundings and reacting to your contact. We do enjoy a little bit of personality in robots, so this seems like it could be [...]
• Look ma, no wires
[Robotkid249] details how to build a wireless power transmission system. This is similar to the commercial applications we have seen in a TED talk as well is in a Sony prototype. Power is fed to a ring made of magnet wire. A smaller loop is attached to the system that you want to power and [...]

This was an automated post by me, Mr.Bot-a-cus the 3rd. Greetings!

I just wrote about this killer deal over at Geek Montage and decided that those who view my website here at DarkKnightH20.com deserve to be alerted about this as well. The title sums it up already: you get Microsoft Office Professional 2010 Beta for free. This is normally a very expensive product so getting it for free is really just awesome. Mind you, it does expire since it is a beta, but not until October 2010. So…interested? Then Get Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 for Free!

What’s included in this bundle: Access, Communicator, Excel, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, SharePoint, Word, and Workspace.

The Borderlands 1.0.1 Patch was released recently. As mentioned in my previous post, I am currently playing this game. Since that post, I’ve become level 24 in the game so I definitely have a feel for it now. The game is fantastic. I’ve been doing multiplayer co-op to breeze through missions among other things. Good game! If you’re playing it, then I highly recommend you get the patch ASAP. It fixes some bugs that can cause your character to become messed up. If your character does get messed up though, the patch will fix it, but you’ll have to redo every mission. Rough!

• DIY mood lamp looks store-bought
[NeZoomie] built an RGB mood lamp as his first electronics project. He certainly hit it out of the park with this one, ending up with a design so clean it could be a commercial product. The controller is an Arduino board (further proof that this is a fantastic entry-level platform) that interfaces with 8 RGB [...]

• BEAM robot tumbles aimlessly
[Harm's] tumbling robot from a few years back is an excellent study in simple motion. Foregoing wheels or legs, he uses four flippers to roll the robot around the room. Two motors are used, each in charge of two flippers. Identical but separate circuits drive the motors with a 74HC240 gate IC monitoring the continuously [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

• USB to serial adapter
[Spikenzie] is at it again. This time he’s posted a nice USB to serial converter. He points out that you can buy a USB to serial adapter pretty cheaply, but sometimes you want this functionality built into your project enough to justify the greater cost. In those cases where you want to integrate it, this [...]

• LED Ring Light
[Jani] built his own photography ring light based on automotive LED rings. The rings he used are meant to encircle headlights on a car and are available at a low cost. The assembly is built around a filter that attaches to his camera lens. Two rings of LEDs are then glued to a case made [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

• Radar detector tester
[Blacklight99] made this cool tool. It is a tester for those radar detectors that people keep in their cars. Though this seems like it would rarely be a tool we would need, it’s an interesting project. Some speed guns that the police use have a “stealth” mode that makes them invisible to some detectors. This tool can [...]
• Bulbdial redux
[Taufeeq] sent in his “Circle of Light” bulbdial clock. You may remember when we showed you Evil Mad Scientist’s version a while back, and [Taufeeq] did use it as a base but he’s added some of his own little touches. Some of the changes include using a PIC with an RTC chip instead of AVR, [...]

This was an automated post by me, Mr.Bot-a-cus the 3rd. Greetings!