Simple and fun way of introducing kids to electronics. Can’t wait to try his with my kids.
AnnMarie Thomas: Hands-on science with squishy circuits | Talk Video | TED.com.
/Olof
Fun way to introduce kids to electronics
Thursday bits and pieces 19 June 2014
This week I have found some interesting articles:
- 10 Project Management Dos – Great list with some of the most important things you should focus on as a Project Manager.
- How Atomic Particles Helped Solve A Wine Fraud Mystery – Radiation is used to test the authenticity of a bottle of wine.
- Is this how IKEA handles its most devoted fans? IKEAhackers.net might close down, seems not like a good move for IKEA.
Enjoy your weekend!
/Olof
Fixing broken plastics
Today I found my computer headset under the wheel of my office chair. It was broken. Since it is plastic it is usually not very easy to fix with glue. Some super glues might be able to bond, if it likes the plastic.
The solution today was to use Polycaprolactone (PCL), a non-toxic polyester thermoplastic. It melts when put in hot (boiling) water and then you are able to shape it with your hands. Be careful not to burn your fingers. When it cools of it is very similar to nylon, strong with a bit of flex. Also, it is reusable, just reheat it, and you are ready to get to work. People also use it for molding plastic parts.
The result was maybe not very beautiful, but at least I do not need to buy a new pair.
The shapable plastic can be bought from Ebay or other stores. It is not very expensive. Search for InstaMorph, Polymorph or Moldable Plastic.
Some more detailed information can be found at http://www.robotroom.com/Prototype-Plastic.html and http://dlnmh9ip6v2uc.cloudfront.net/datasheets/Prototyping/Make_With_Polymorph.pdf
Good luck with your repairs and projects!
/Olof
Norran, Skellefteå » Stora planer för Bryggarbacken
Härligt att de händer lite nya stora saker i vår stad!
Bitcoin: Your Guide To Understanding Digital Currency – YouTube
Brief introduction to Bitcoin. Not many technical details, more about about the history, regulation and politics. It is still a fairly young ‘technology’, will be interesting to see what the future holds.
Bitcoin: Your Guide To Understanding Digital Currency – YouTube.
Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance | Talk Video | TED.com
Interesting TED Talk about robotic prosthetics. Make sure you watch to the end. Also, how come we still get blisters from new shoes? Thought we would have solved that problem a few hundred years ago.
Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance | Talk Video | TED.com.
Getting on top of Gmail
I have been using Google Mail (gmail) for my private mail for a couple of years. At the office we started using it about a year ago. One issue I have with Gmail is that it is hard to manage when you have lots of emails that need your action or the action of someone else. To help me out with this I looked around for possible solutions to this.
For about 6 months I have used ActiveInbox. It is a browser plugin for Chrome and Firefox which will enhance your Gmail experience. The main features I use in ActiveInbox is the ability to set a date when I need to act on an email, or when I need the response to an email I sent earlier. These tagged emails will be hidden until the set date occur, then they will be showed on your main Gmail screen.
When reading or writing an email you can set Action or Waiting on and a date. Then just archive the email and it will be hidden until the date occurs.
When going back to your main view (startup view) you can see all the mails that needs your attention. All incoming mails will be displayed below in your standard inbox. You can of course customize this view.
There are a lot of other features in ActiveInbox but for my main needs I do alright with using the features mentioned above.
So, a brief Pros and Cons of ActiveInbox:
Pros: Makes it easy to stay on top of your emails in Gmail.
Cons: only available in Chrome and Firefox, thus if you do some of your emailing on your phone the extra features of ActiveInbox will not be available.
Get it from ActiveInbox, there is a free trial and when that expires you need to pony up about $40 per year to get all the features.
Good luck with your emailing!
/Olof
Moving to a new iPhone
So now you got a new iPhone and would like all your all apps and photos from your old phone?
It is really simple, just follow these steps:
- Make sure iTunes is installed on your computer
- Connect your old phone. Go to iTunes and make a Backup of the phone. If you select Encrypt backup then WiFi and email passwords will be kept.
- Disconnect old phone
- Remove SIM card from old phone and put it in the new phone.
- Start your new phone. After a few simple choices there will be a screen “Set up iPhone”. Choose Restore from iTunes Backup.
- Connect your new phone to the computer. Itunes will let you choose the backup that you just made. Takes a while to restore.. wait for it. Possibly a restart will happen (of the phone).
- After a while it is done. Then just Sync the phone from iTunes and your phone will be populated with your apps.
- Disconnect phone
- Done
More details at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2109
How to spot a fake iPad charger
Interesting article about the difference of a genuine Apple iPad charger and a counterfeit. Also a lot of technical interesting information about the circuit, parts etc.
Ken Shirriff’s blog: iPad charger teardown: inside Apple’s charger and a risky phony.
Friday bits and pieces 23 May 2014
For this week I have rounded up a few links that I enjoy and hopefully some of you will find these interesting.
- The Wirecutter – as they say: “a list of the best technology to buy as determined by dozens of hours of research and testing.”. Everything from GPS watches to Razors and more. Whenever I am in the process of buying something I will first check here to see what they say.
- Cool Tools – Anyone can review a gadget or tool and publish it here. The recommendations are usually only from one single positive user. I use it mainly to get information about new (and old) tools. The definition they use for a cool tool is kind of broad: “A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true.”
- Lifehacker – news and articles about technology, personal development, science etc. Lots of good stuff, updated daily.
- Uncrate – I will let them do the talking: “Uncrate is the leading buyer’s guide for men. With over 9,000 items covered and more than 1.5 million monthly readers, Uncrate is widely known for digging up the best of the best men’s products.”
Have a good weekend!
/Olof