60 acast.com Gears of Resistance http://gearsofresistance.com en This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. oshw,open,source,hardware,electronics,embedded,arduino,raspberry,pi,electrical,engineering,firmware,software,programming,maker Gears of Resistance Podcast Network Make. Better. Always.

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]]> false Gears of Resistance Podcast Network info+5e471844643b69565ab97514@mg-eu.acast.com 5e471844643b69565ab97514 gears-of-resistance http://feeds.feedburner.com/GearsOfResistance https://assets.pippa.io/shows/5e471844643b69565ab97514/show-cover.png http://gearsofresistance.com Gears of Resistance https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/5e471844643b69565ab97514 Green Shoe Garage @ Consumer Electronics Show 2020 Green Shoe Garage @ Consumer Electronics Show 2020 Wed, 05 Feb 2020 19:41:38 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2565 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7f8 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7f8 5e471844643b69565ab97514 My company, Green Shoe Garage, made it's long-awaited CES debut this year. Along with partners Mouser Electronics, Digi, and Medium One; launched TANKFULL: An IoT Experimentation Platform. An excerpt:

“Tankfull consists of two water tanks equipped with submersible liquid pumps and liquid-level sensors. The demonstration platform enables an operator to control the flow of water between the two tanks. Digi Connect Sensor+ continuously monitors four parameters. The first two parameters are the liquid level of both the two tanks.”

Read more at Mouser’s Bench Talk Blog: https://www.mouser.com/blog/tankfull-iot-experimentation-platform

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]]> My company, Green Shoe Garage, made it's long-awaited CES debut this year. Along with partners Mouser Electronics, Digi, and Medium One; launched TANKFULL: An IoT Experimentation Platform. An excerpt:

“Tankfull consists of two water tanks equipped with submersible liquid pumps and liquid-level sensors. The demonstration platform enables an operator to control the flow of water between the two tanks. Digi Connect Sensor+ continuously monitors four parameters. The first two parameters are the liquid level of both the two tanks.”

Read more at Mouser’s Bench Talk Blog: https://www.mouser.com/blog/tankfull-iot-experimentation-platform

The post Green Shoe Garage @ Consumer Electronics Show 2020 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Lessons Learned from Building a Tradeshow Demonstration Device Lessons Learned from Building a Tradeshow Demonstration Device Fri, 10 Jan 2020 22:33:22 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2561 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7f9 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7f9 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Recently I got to work on a project that was destined to serve as a table display at a major U.S. tradeshow. Complicating matters was that I would not be traveling to the tradeshow myself so the contraption had to be shipped and set up by those who would not see the hardware in person until the day it was delivered. Furthermore, while I was the hardware guy with a limited software background, the smart folks setting it up were software engineers with limited hardware background. One last background fact, the project was built to showcase the services and capabilities of three separate companies who were teaming up for this specific effort. Also, one of the major components was a given so we had to work within the constraints of the hardware and firmware of that device.

I learned quite a few lessons about building a project that was more than a prototype and less than production-ready. It was also a rather physically large contraption (relative to what I typically work on) coming in at 36” (L) x 18” (W) x 12” (H). And as I mentioned before it had to be shipped across the country and set up by others with my support only possible over the phone.

This blog is meant to serve as a quick and dirty debrief of those lessons in case you find yourself in a similar predicament.

First, let’s look over the top-level requirements for the project:

  1. Two tanks that move liquid between them while monitoring the water levels with alerts when either tank becomes full.
  2. Send tank and pump telemetry to the designated IoT cloud service.
  3. Minimize hardware complexity since the demonstration is about the Cloud and software
  4. Quiet
  5. Desktop size  (Estimated Overall Dimension: 30” (L) x 18” (W) x 12” (H)
  6. Lightweight so to be easily transportable
  7. Constraint: x4 4-20mA or 0-10V sensor inputs
  8. Constraint: x5 Open Collector Output, 200mA; selectable 3.3, 5, 15, 24 VDC

In short, it was a rather straightforward demonstration of an industrial process meeting the Internet of Things (IoT) in a small, demo-sized form factor.

Lessons Learned

  1. Do not permanently mount any component that might need to be replaced or is fragile enough that it may need to be shipped separately. Ensure that any mounting is easily swappable.  Consider magnets, velcro, or universal mounting systems such as DIN rail. Screws and adhesives should be used only if absolutely necessary.
  2. Use lever-nuts connectors to connect wires between components. Do not solder or use other permanent connectors between wires.
  3. Use quality 20 or 22 SWG solid core wires for breadboarding. 18 AWG stranded wire for routing wire long distances or with lots of bends. 
  4. Establish q wire color code (e.g black for ground, red for power, yellow for clock signals, white for data signals)
  5. Use colored heat shrink to indicate the purpose of grouped wires in a wiring harness.
  6. Use zip ties or hot glue around cables when they go external from an enclosure to provide strain relief.
  7. Always tin the ends of wires before joining two wires together.
  8. Use  ¾” standoffs to raise up project off the table.  It gives enough clearance to route wires without being too tall.  It also adds some ruggedness during shipping.
  9. When cutting a hole through plastic use a step bit, go slow, and coat with dish soap. Use a piece of tape to indicate which bit step to stop at.
  10. Ensure that you are not using oddball components in your project. Being able to source components quickly and cheaply relies on using common parts. Octoparto’s Common Parts Library is a great source to find which electronic components are easily sourced.  When it comes to screws, #6-32, #4-40, and #2-56 are among the most common with common lengths being 1”, 3/4”, 1/2”, 3/8” and 1/4”.
  11. Don’t invent the wheel if not needed. Breakout boards of components are your friend. Do not create your PCB if not necessary.
  12. When inserting switch in series with external battery pack, cut positive cable and insert a switch/button in series
  13. Measure power consumption on the low side, between load and ground.
  14. Use a “#define DEBUG” macro to easily toggle whether or not the microcontroller is printing debug messages over the serial connection.
  15. Know the difference between const int, static int, and the #define preprocessor directive.
  16. Know the difference uint_16 vs int
  17. Know the difference between delay functions, interrupts, timers, and schedulers.
  18. Follow PEP8 naming conventions for variables:
    1. variable and function names use lower_case_with_underscores
    2. class/struct names use CamelCase,
    3. constants/DEFINE use CAPITALS_WITH_UNDERSCORES
    4. byte RfidReaders[] = {RFID_READER1_CS};
    5. _VarName for private variables
    6. enum PuzzleState {Initialising, Running, Solved};

The post Lessons Learned from Building a Tradeshow Demonstration Device appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Recently I got to work on a project that was destined to serve as a table display at a major U.S. tradeshow. Complicating matters was that I would not be traveling to the tradeshow myself so the contraption had to be shipped and set up by those who would not see the hardware in person until the day it was delivered. Furthermore, while I was the hardware guy with a limited software background, the smart folks setting it up were software engineers with limited hardware background. One last background fact, the project was built to showcase the services and capabilities of three separate companies who were teaming up for this specific effort. Also, one of the major components was a given so we had to work within the constraints of the hardware and firmware of that device.

I learned quite a few lessons about building a project that was more than a prototype and less than production-ready. It was also a rather physically large contraption (relative to what I typically work on) coming in at 36” (L) x 18” (W) x 12” (H). And as I mentioned before it had to be shipped across the country and set up by others with my support only possible over the phone.

This blog is meant to serve as a quick and dirty debrief of those lessons in case you find yourself in a similar predicament.

First, let’s look over the top-level requirements for the project:

  1. Two tanks that move liquid between them while monitoring the water levels with alerts when either tank becomes full.
  2. Send tank and pump telemetry to the designated IoT cloud service.
  3. Minimize hardware complexity since the demonstration is about the Cloud and software
  4. Quiet
  5. Desktop size  (Estimated Overall Dimension: 30” (L) x 18” (W) x 12” (H)
  6. Lightweight so to be easily transportable
  7. Constraint: x4 4-20mA or 0-10V sensor inputs
  8. Constraint: x5 Open Collector Output, 200mA; selectable 3.3, 5, 15, 24 VDC

In short, it was a rather straightforward demonstration of an industrial process meeting the Internet of Things (IoT) in a small, demo-sized form factor.

Lessons Learned

  1. Do not permanently mount any component that might need to be replaced or is fragile enough that it may need to be shipped separately. Ensure that any mounting is easily swappable.  Consider magnets, velcro, or universal mounting systems such as DIN rail. Screws and adhesives should be used only if absolutely necessary.
  2. Use lever-nuts connectors to connect wires between components. Do not solder or use other permanent connectors between wires.
  3. Use quality 20 or 22 SWG solid core wires for breadboarding. 18 AWG stranded wire for routing wire long distances or with lots of bends. 
  4. Establish q wire color code (e.g black for ground, red for power, yellow for clock signals, white for data signals)
  5. Use colored heat shrink to indicate the purpose of grouped wires in a wiring harness.
  6. Use zip ties or hot glue around cables when they go external from an enclosure to provide strain relief.
  7. Always tin the ends of wires before joining two wires together.
  8. Use  ¾” standoffs to raise up project off the table.  It gives enough clearance to route wires without being too tall.  It also adds some ruggedness during shipping.
  9. When cutting a hole through plastic use a step bit, go slow, and coat with dish soap. Use a piece of tape to indicate which bit step to stop at.
  10. Ensure that you are not using oddball components in your project. Being able to source components quickly and cheaply relies on using common parts. Octoparto’s Common Parts Library is a great source to find which electronic components are easily sourced.  When it comes to screws, #6-32, #4-40, and #2-56 are among the most common with common lengths being 1”, 3/4”, 1/2”, 3/8” and 1/4”.
  11. Don’t invent the wheel if not needed. Breakout boards of components are your friend. Do not create your PCB if not necessary.
  12. When inserting switch in series with external battery pack, cut positive cable and insert a switch/button in series
  13. Measure power consumption on the low side, between load and ground.
  14. Use a “#define DEBUG” macro to easily toggle whether or not the microcontroller is printing debug messages over the serial connection.
  15. Know the difference between const int, static int, and the #define preprocessor directive.
  16. Know the difference uint_16 vs int
  17. Know the difference between delay functions, interrupts, timers, and schedulers.
  18. Follow PEP8 naming conventions for variables:
    1. variable and function names use lower_case_with_underscores
    2. class/struct names use CamelCase,
    3. constants/DEFINE use CAPITALS_WITH_UNDERSCORES
    4. byte RfidReaders[] = {RFID_READER1_CS};
    5. _VarName for private variables
    6. enum PuzzleState {Initialising, Running, Solved};

The post Lessons Learned from Building a Tradeshow Demonstration Device appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> The Importance of the Maker The Importance of the Maker Mon, 30 Sep 2019 03:27:09 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2553 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fa 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fa 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Like most of us, I wear many hats. Engineer, ethical hacker, author, and artist. Second only to dad, the hat I value most is that of maker.

For me, the title of maker is a powerful one because it contains in itself so many important concepts.

A maker is someone who thinks, who designs, who engineers, who innovates.

But they also create with their hands. They balance the cerebral and mechanical. They value working hard and working smart.

They like to tinker. Not every project has to have a goal. They make sometimes just for the sake of making. Making is almost a spiritual act.

However, when they do make for a specific reason, they have the endstate always in mind. And still they aren't afraid to change the goal or the path to get there as they learn more and their skills improve.

They value sustainability and elegant, user-centered design. They eschew complexity.

They don't invent everything from scratch because they know they don't have to. They aren't afraid of the good enough. They value speed and iteration in their design process. They know the first attempt is just a first attempt but aren't afraid to share it with the world.

They look at problems in an inherently multi-disciplinarian manner.

Makers value creativity. They are inquisitive. They are passionate. They are explorers of the world and of the mind. They constantly learn new skills, refine existing ones, and apply something new to every project.

Science. Technology. Engineering. Design. Art. Mathematics. All subjects they value. Their passions are diverse. They are humanists. They seek to improve the human condition.

They never quit.

They listen.

And perhaps most importantly they are both students and teachers. They are fervent learners and passionate educators. They willingly and openly share their knowledge. They don't hoard information to make themselves self-important. They recognize that teaching others is the highest aspiration for an individual.

They improve themselves, their fellow makers, and the world.

The post The Importance of the Maker appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Like most of us, I wear many hats. Engineer, ethical hacker, author, and artist. Second only to dad, the hat I value most is that of maker.

For me, the title of maker is a powerful one because it contains in itself so many important concepts.

A maker is someone who thinks, who designs, who engineers, who innovates.

But they also create with their hands. They balance the cerebral and mechanical. They value working hard and working smart.

They like to tinker. Not every project has to have a goal. They make sometimes just for the sake of making. Making is almost a spiritual act.

However, when they do make for a specific reason, they have the endstate always in mind. And still they aren't afraid to change the goal or the path to get there as they learn more and their skills improve.

They value sustainability and elegant, user-centered design. They eschew complexity.

They don't invent everything from scratch because they know they don't have to. They aren't afraid of the good enough. They value speed and iteration in their design process. They know the first attempt is just a first attempt but aren't afraid to share it with the world.

They look at problems in an inherently multi-disciplinarian manner.

Makers value creativity. They are inquisitive. They are passionate. They are explorers of the world and of the mind. They constantly learn new skills, refine existing ones, and apply something new to every project.

Science. Technology. Engineering. Design. Art. Mathematics. All subjects they value. Their passions are diverse. They are humanists. They seek to improve the human condition.

They never quit.

They listen.

And perhaps most importantly they are both students and teachers. They are fervent learners and passionate educators. They willingly and openly share their knowledge. They don't hoard information to make themselves self-important. They recognize that teaching others is the highest aspiration for an individual.

They improve themselves, their fellow makers, and the world.

The post The Importance of the Maker appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 2 Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 2 Sat, 28 Sep 2019 20:27:36 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2548 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fb 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fb 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Like escape rooms? Wanna know how to make an RFID puzzle gadgets for escape rooms? In this video series, we will look at the tools and steps to create the electronic hardware, firmware, and mechanical components for an RFID-powered escape room gadget. For more information check out Green Shoe Garage guides at http://greenshoegarage.com/projects/oser/

Part 2 focuses on the software of the puzzle.

The post Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 2 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Like escape rooms? Wanna know how to make an RFID puzzle gadgets for escape rooms? In this video series, we will look at the tools and steps to create the electronic hardware, firmware, and mechanical components for an RFID-powered escape room gadget. For more information check out Green Shoe Garage guides at http://greenshoegarage.com/projects/oser/

Part 2 focuses on the software of the puzzle.

The post Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 2 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 1 Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 1 Tue, 17 Sep 2019 03:32:45 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2543 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fc 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fc 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Like escape rooms? Wanna know how to make an RFID puzzle gadgets for escape rooms? In this video series, we will look at the tools and steps to create the electronic hardware, firmware, and mechanical components for an RFID-powered escape room gadget. For more information check out Green Shoe Garage guides at http://greenshoegarage.com/projects/oser/

The post Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 1 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Like escape rooms? Wanna know how to make an RFID puzzle gadgets for escape rooms? In this video series, we will look at the tools and steps to create the electronic hardware, firmware, and mechanical components for an RFID-powered escape room gadget. For more information check out Green Shoe Garage guides at http://greenshoegarage.com/projects/oser/

The post Designing an Escape Room Gadget with Arduino, Eagle, Fusion 360: RFID Part 1 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> GoR 89: Chirps, Sims, and Scrambled Routes GoR 89: Chirps, Sims, and Scrambled Routes Tue, 17 Sep 2019 00:50:22 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2536 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fd 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fd 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance #89 for September 16, 2019 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/GOR/2019/GOR_0089_16SEP19.mp3 This week we cover: Open Source Escape Room: RFID Gadget Sticker Sensors Chrip Comes to Arduino; Transmit Data With Sound Circuit Express Simu Gears of Resistance #89 for September 16, 2019

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook , or our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

arduino, iot, adafruit, nano, ble, python, circuitpython, escape room, rfid, nfc, eagle, cad, sparkfun, gui, C, C++, wearables, medical, energy harvesting, chirp, sound

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]]> Gears of Resistance #89 for September 16, 2019

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook , or our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

arduino, iot, adafruit, nano, ble, python, circuitpython, escape room, rfid, nfc, eagle, cad, sparkfun, gui, C, C++, wearables, medical, energy harvesting, chirp, sound

The post GoR 89: Chirps, Sims, and Scrambled Routes appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> GoR 88: Of Clouds and Certifications GoR 88: Of Clouds and Certifications Thu, 25 Jul 2019 03:28:15 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2528 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fe 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7fe 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance #88 for July 24, 2019

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook , or our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

arduino, iot, adafruit, nano, ble, gsm, certification, python, circuitpython, gumroad

The post GoR 88: Of Clouds and Certifications appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance #88 for July 24, 2019

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook , or our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

arduino, iot, adafruit, nano, ble, gsm, certification, python, circuitpython, gumroad

The post GoR 88: Of Clouds and Certifications appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Writing Arduino Code using Visual Studio and Visual Micro Writing Arduino Code using Visual Studio and Visual Micro Wed, 10 Apr 2019 10:16:54 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2278 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7ff 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d7ff 5e471844643b69565ab97514

In this video, we look at jumping up from the standard Arduino IDE and take a stab at programming use Microsoft's Visual Studio Community Edition 2017 and third-party extension Visual Micro. We also look at how to put our code under source code control using GitHub. Some of the tools we use:

For more tech news and how-to’s check out our YouTube Channel.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

Michael Parks, P.E. is an engineer and security researcher at Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio located in Southern Maryland. He also blogs (and occasionally podcasts) at Gears of Resistance, a site dedicated to raising public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Most importantly he gets to be a dad to his daughter Hailey.

The post Writing Arduino Code using Visual Studio and Visual Micro appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

In this video, we look at jumping up from the standard Arduino IDE and take a stab at programming use Microsoft's Visual Studio Community Edition 2017 and third-party extension Visual Micro. We also look at how to put our code under source code control using GitHub. Some of the tools we use:

For more tech news and how-to’s check out our YouTube Channel.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

Michael Parks, P.E. is an engineer and security researcher at Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio located in Southern Maryland. He also blogs (and occasionally podcasts) at Gears of Resistance, a site dedicated to raising public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Most importantly he gets to be a dad to his daughter Hailey.

The post Writing Arduino Code using Visual Studio and Visual Micro appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Bus Pirate and the MCP4725 DAC via I2C Bus Pirate and the MCP4725 DAC via I2C Mon, 18 Feb 2019 19:11:00 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=44 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d800 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d800 5e471844643b69565ab97514

Bus Pirate and the MCP4725 DAC via I2C.  Wow.  What a mouthful.  Following up on one of the most popular posts (SparkFun DAC Breakout Board Tutorial) in this guide we will take a look at controlling the MCP4725 DAC via the I2C protocol using a Bus Pirate from Dangerous Prototype.  Before we get started let's take a look at this video to see where we're going:

In short, we are going to drive an LED with varying voltage to control its brightness.  We are going to drive the LED via the MCP4725 digital-to-analog converter.  In turn, we will use the Bus Pirate to communicate to the MCP4725, and we will talk to the Bus Pirate via a serial connection and using the ZTerm terminal application.  Obviously, this is a lot of work to turn an LED on and off.  That's only partly the point.  When developing prototypes it can be a real pain to work with a lot of different microchips and the various communication protocols.  This is the legwork to prepare to integrate a DAC into another project, where instead of using a Bus Pirate to drive the DAC chip, we will eventually use a Raspberry Pi.  This will help us to make sure we know the I2C address of our MCP4725 chip and that it is working before we integrate into a larger and more complex project.  Without further adieu, let's get started.  First a wiring diagram (color of the wires between the Bus Pirate and DAC are based on the color of the probe cables):

BusPirate_MCP4726

I am using 220-ohm resister and normal LED.  There are many great tutorials on setting up the Bus Pirate for the I2C protocol, be sure to start here.  Some things that can trip you up.  1) Make sure you have the correct probe cables connected to the correct pins on the DAC.  2)  Make sure the VPU probe for the pull up resistors is driven by the same power source driving the Vdd pin on the DAC.  I am also assuming you know how to run a serial communication terminal software (TeraTerm or Putty or ZTerm).  If not, again, there are many great tutorials already out there such as this one for ZTerm.  There are various settings you need toensure in the terminal software such as not setting the baud rate to 115200 or not turning off settings such asXon/Xoff.  Once you get everything connected, you should see the following on the terminal screenHiZ>Meaning we are in high impedance mode which is a fairly safe mode, from a hardware perspective you will have less likelihood of frying a chip.  Next we needto setup the Bus Pirate forI2C mode.  Note that this is a based on a certain hardware revision and firmware version of theBusPirate.  If you are reading this after a few years, the commands may have changed.HiZ>m

1. HiZ
2. 1-WIRE
3. UART
4. I2C
…

(1)> 4
Set Speed:
1. ~5KHz
2. ~50KHz
3. ~100KHz
4. ~400KHz(1)> 3
Ready
I2C>W
Power supplies ON
I2C>P
Pull-up resistors ON
I2C>(1)
Searching I2C address space.  Found devices at:
0x00(0x00 W) 0xC0(0x60 W) 0xC1(0x60 R)

The above does the following:

1)  Puts the Bus Pirate into I2C protocol mode
2)  Sets the communication speed to 100KHz
3) Turns on the power supply to the DAC
4) Turns on the pull-up resistors on the I2C bus
5) Finds the address of theI2C devices connected to the bus pirate. In the case, 0xC0 for writing to the DAC and 0xC1 for reading from the DAC. Now to turn on the LED to full brightness enter the following:

I2C>[0xC0 0x0F 0xFF]

And in turn, the LED should go to full brightness and the serial terminal should display:

I2C START BIT
WRITE: 0xC0 ACK
WRITE: 0x0F ACK
WRITE: 0xFF ACK
I2C STOP BIT

To partially illuminate the LED enter:
I2C>[0xC0 0x08 0xFF]

Your mileage will vary based on the type of LED, resistor value, etc.  You will have to tinker around a bit, but overall, this should get yourMCP4725 talking to the Bus Pirate.  Next up, having the Raspberry doing the talking theMCP4725 DAC.  For reference here is a waveform of I2C courtesy of the fine folks at intrepidcs.comi2c_wave

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]]>

Bus Pirate and the MCP4725 DAC via I2C.  Wow.  What a mouthful.  Following up on one of the most popular posts (SparkFun DAC Breakout Board Tutorial) in this guide we will take a look at controlling the MCP4725 DAC via the I2C protocol using a Bus Pirate from Dangerous Prototype.  Before we get started let's take a look at this video to see where we're going:

In short, we are going to drive an LED with varying voltage to control its brightness.  We are going to drive the LED via the MCP4725 digital-to-analog converter.  In turn, we will use the Bus Pirate to communicate to the MCP4725, and we will talk to the Bus Pirate via a serial connection and using the ZTerm terminal application.  Obviously, this is a lot of work to turn an LED on and off.  That's only partly the point.  When developing prototypes it can be a real pain to work with a lot of different microchips and the various communication protocols.  This is the legwork to prepare to integrate a DAC into another project, where instead of using a Bus Pirate to drive the DAC chip, we will eventually use a Raspberry Pi.  This will help us to make sure we know the I2C address of our MCP4725 chip and that it is working before we integrate into a larger and more complex project.  Without further adieu, let's get started.  First a wiring diagram (color of the wires between the Bus Pirate and DAC are based on the color of the probe cables):

BusPirate_MCP4726

I am using 220-ohm resister and normal LED.  There are many great tutorials on setting up the Bus Pirate for the I2C protocol, be sure to start here.  Some things that can trip you up.  1) Make sure you have the correct probe cables connected to the correct pins on the DAC.  2)  Make sure the VPU probe for the pull up resistors is driven by the same power source driving the Vdd pin on the DAC.  I am also assuming you know how to run a serial communication terminal software (TeraTerm or Putty or ZTerm).  If not, again, there are many great tutorials already out there such as this one for ZTerm.  There are various settings you need toensure in the terminal software such as not setting the baud rate to 115200 or not turning off settings such asXon/Xoff.  Once you get everything connected, you should see the following on the terminal screenHiZ>Meaning we are in high impedance mode which is a fairly safe mode, from a hardware perspective you will have less likelihood of frying a chip.  Next we needto setup the Bus Pirate forI2C mode.  Note that this is a based on a certain hardware revision and firmware version of theBusPirate.  If you are reading this after a few years, the commands may have changed.HiZ>m

1. HiZ
2. 1-WIRE
3. UART
4. I2C
…

(1)> 4
Set Speed:
1. ~5KHz
2. ~50KHz
3. ~100KHz
4. ~400KHz(1)> 3
Ready
I2C>W
Power supplies ON
I2C>P
Pull-up resistors ON
I2C>(1)
Searching I2C address space.  Found devices at:
0x00(0x00 W) 0xC0(0x60 W) 0xC1(0x60 R)

The above does the following:

1)  Puts the Bus Pirate into I2C protocol mode
2)  Sets the communication speed to 100KHz
3) Turns on the power supply to the DAC
4) Turns on the pull-up resistors on the I2C bus
5) Finds the address of theI2C devices connected to the bus pirate. In the case, 0xC0 for writing to the DAC and 0xC1 for reading from the DAC. Now to turn on the LED to full brightness enter the following:

I2C>[0xC0 0x0F 0xFF]

And in turn, the LED should go to full brightness and the serial terminal should display:

I2C START BIT
WRITE: 0xC0 ACK
WRITE: 0x0F ACK
WRITE: 0xFF ACK
I2C STOP BIT

To partially illuminate the LED enter:
I2C>[0xC0 0x08 0xFF]

Your mileage will vary based on the type of LED, resistor value, etc.  You will have to tinker around a bit, but overall, this should get yourMCP4725 talking to the Bus Pirate.  Next up, having the Raspberry doing the talking theMCP4725 DAC.  For reference here is a waveform of I2C courtesy of the fine folks at intrepidcs.comi2c_wave

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]]> Expanding Your Horizons … And Your Ports Expanding Your Horizons … And Your Ports Wed, 23 Jan 2019 08:39:12 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1357 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d801 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d801 5e471844643b69565ab97514 One frustrating aspect of designing a project around a microcontroller is the realization that you don’t have enough GPIO pins to drive all the all components you want to include. If you are lucky there are larger chips with the same architecture you have chosen (think going from and Arduino Uno to an Arduino Mega). But sometimes that is still not enough, projects involving robots and driving lots of LEDs comes to mind. One easy way around this limitation is to utilize specialized external microchips called “port expanders” that you can connect to your microcontroller to give you additional GPIO pins.

In this blog post, I will show you one particular implementation using the MCP23017 I/O expander and a Raspberry Pi (just to prove I am not simply an Arduino fanboy!) to add an additional 16 GPIO pins to my Pi. To communicate between the Pi and the MCP23017 we will be utilizing the I2C serial communication protocol. This is a two-wire protocol and typically the wires are labeled SDA for data and SCL and for clock.

First you will need to hook up the chip to your Pi. After connecting Vcc (for the MCP230117 this can be 1.8V to 5.5V, but remember the Pi can only handle 3.3V) and GND, we also have to establish the address for the MCP23017. The nice thing with I2C is it’s configured as a bus you can control with up to 8 port expanders using the same 2 two pins for SDA and SCL. All we have to do is to change the hardwired address for each MCP23017 by connecting each chip’s address pins to a different arrangement Vcc and GND connections as shown in the chart below:

Screen Shot 2014-12-09 at 8.30.56 PM:

We’re also going to connect a simple pushbutton to one of the expander I/O pins. Don’t forget the pull-down resistor to prevent the input pins from floating. In this example you can follow this layout:

Screen Shot 2014-12-09 at 8.34.03 PM

Next, it is time to write some code. We are going to create a simple application that detects when the pushbutton is pressed and then print a simple message to the screen. For the interest of readability, I only included the code to read one of the MC23017 chips. Just copy and repeat the code for each expander chip you have hooked up in your circuit.

Screen Shot 2014-12-09 at 8.33.04 PM

There you have it, if you use 8 port expander chips you will now have 128 additional GPIO pins at your disposal. What projects could you build with all those additional GPIO pins? Let me know in the comments below.

The post Expanding Your Horizons … And Your Ports appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> One frustrating aspect of designing a project around a microcontroller is the realization that you don’t have enough GPIO pins to drive all the all components you want to include. If you are lucky there are larger chips with the same architecture you have chosen (think going from and Arduino Uno to an Arduino Mega). But sometimes that is still not enough, projects involving robots and driving lots of LEDs comes to mind. One easy way around this limitation is to utilize specialized external microchips called “port expanders” that you can connect to your microcontroller to give you additional GPIO pins.

In this blog post, I will show you one particular implementation using the MCP23017 I/O expander and a Raspberry Pi (just to prove I am not simply an Arduino fanboy!) to add an additional 16 GPIO pins to my Pi. To communicate between the Pi and the MCP23017 we will be utilizing the I2C serial communication protocol. This is a two-wire protocol and typically the wires are labeled SDA for data and SCL and for clock.

First you will need to hook up the chip to your Pi. After connecting Vcc (for the MCP230117 this can be 1.8V to 5.5V, but remember the Pi can only handle 3.3V) and GND, we also have to establish the address for the MCP23017. The nice thing with I2C is it’s configured as a bus you can control with up to 8 port expanders using the same 2 two pins for SDA and SCL. All we have to do is to change the hardwired address for each MCP23017 by connecting each chip’s address pins to a different arrangement Vcc and GND connections as shown in the chart below:

Screen Shot 2014-12-09 at 8.30.56 PM:

We’re also going to connect a simple pushbutton to one of the expander I/O pins. Don’t forget the pull-down resistor to prevent the input pins from floating. In this example you can follow this layout:

Screen Shot 2014-12-09 at 8.34.03 PM

Next, it is time to write some code. We are going to create a simple application that detects when the pushbutton is pressed and then print a simple message to the screen. For the interest of readability, I only included the code to read one of the MC23017 chips. Just copy and repeat the code for each expander chip you have hooked up in your circuit.

Screen Shot 2014-12-09 at 8.33.04 PM

There you have it, if you use 8 port expander chips you will now have 128 additional GPIO pins at your disposal. What projects could you build with all those additional GPIO pins? Let me know in the comments below.

The post Expanding Your Horizons … And Your Ports appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> GoR 87: Internet All The Things! GoR 87: Internet All The Things! Sun, 02 Dec 2018 20:56:09 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2493 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d802 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d802 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance #87 for December 2, 2018 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/GOR/2018/GOR_0087_2DEC18.mp3 This week we cover: California to Regulate IoT Thieves Steal Tesla, Hacked the Keyfob RF Dragos Raises $37M for Industrial Control Cybersecurity Gears of Resistance #87 for December 2, 2018

This week we cover:

 

 

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook , or our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

california, regulation, iot, tesla, rf, hacking, dragos, cybersecurity, library of congressm right to repair, arduino, oshw, raspberry pi, lora, lorawan, farming, cvd, urb, model railroad, usbninja, i2c driver, crowdsupply, tindie, uart

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]]> Gears of Resistance #87 for December 2, 2018

This week we cover:

 

 

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook , or our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

california, regulation, iot, tesla, rf, hacking, dragos, cybersecurity, library of congressm right to repair, arduino, oshw, raspberry pi, lora, lorawan, farming, cvd, urb, model railroad, usbninja, i2c driver, crowdsupply, tindie, uart

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]]> Arduino Inks IoT Deal With Telstra Arduino Inks IoT Deal With Telstra Fri, 30 Nov 2018 22:03:16 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2496 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d803 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d803 5e471844643b69565ab97514 At the end of the November 2018 Australian teleco Telstra announced they were partnering with open source hardware leader Arduino to bring next-generation networks and hardware to Australian developers and engineers. As part of the deal, Telstra will sell local developers the forthcoming MKR NB 1500 development board along with a M2M SIM card. The NB 1500 offers engineers the now-standard MKR form factor and access to the easy-to-use Arduino development environment powered by an ARM-based SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit microcontroller. What separates the NB 1500 from the rest of the MKR family is the onboard Cat M1 and NB-IoT cellular technologies. From the press release announcing the joint venture:

“M1 & NB-IoT [are] designed for IoT sensors operating at very low data rates inside machines, vehicles, and inside buildings and are designed for a battery life of years rather than hours and days. Telstra has over three million square kilometers of Cat M1 coverage across Australia, and earlier this year we rolled out NB-IoT coverage in major Australian cities and many regional towns.”

The NB 1500 is intended for a global audience with support from AT&T, T-Mobile USA, Verizon, and Vodafone in addition to Telstra.

The announcement comes on the heels of the yet another commercially-focused product announcement by Arduino with the reveal of their Arduino Pro Gateway for LoRa. Initially, to be released in Europe, the LoRa Gateway is actually a Raspberry Pi 3B+ powered device. The LoRa gateway is intended to be paired with MKR WAN 1300 which is also a SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ powered development board. However, it swaps out the M1 and NB-IoT cellular hardware with a Murata CMWX1ZZABZ Lo-Ra module. Priced at €350 the product is aimed at product developers for inclusion in a variety of use cases such as automated meter reading, environmental monitoring, smart cities, building automation, industrial and agriculture to name a few. The LoRa gateway hardware is from Embit and based on the Semtech SX1301 baseband chipset. Listen Before Talk technology is enabled allowing the hardware to transmit at higher power and thus longer ranges are achievable. Installation, provisioning and remote management of the gateway will be performed through Arduino native online development environment known as Arduino Create. Lastly, Arduino announced that the network server and the packet forwarder running on Arduino Create will be powered by A2A SmartCity.

Both announcements follow the mass availability of two new industrial-focused shields for the MKR platform. The MKR 485 shield allows Arduino MKR dev boards to communicate to industrial equipment via the RS485 serial communication protocol. The MKR CAN shield allows MKR dev boards to talk to vehicles via the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol. Put all together, these are signs that Arduino continues to set their sights beyond the hobbyist community with more professional grade hardware and services.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Arduino Inks IoT Deal With Telstra appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> At the end of the November 2018 Australian teleco Telstra announced they were partnering with open source hardware leader Arduino to bring next-generation networks and hardware to Australian developers and engineers. As part of the deal, Telstra will sell local developers the forthcoming MKR NB 1500 development board along with a M2M SIM card. The NB 1500 offers engineers the now-standard MKR form factor and access to the easy-to-use Arduino development environment powered by an ARM-based SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit microcontroller. What separates the NB 1500 from the rest of the MKR family is the onboard Cat M1 and NB-IoT cellular technologies. From the press release announcing the joint venture:

“M1 & NB-IoT [are] designed for IoT sensors operating at very low data rates inside machines, vehicles, and inside buildings and are designed for a battery life of years rather than hours and days. Telstra has over three million square kilometers of Cat M1 coverage across Australia, and earlier this year we rolled out NB-IoT coverage in major Australian cities and many regional towns.”

The NB 1500 is intended for a global audience with support from AT&T, T-Mobile USA, Verizon, and Vodafone in addition to Telstra.

The announcement comes on the heels of the yet another commercially-focused product announcement by Arduino with the reveal of their Arduino Pro Gateway for LoRa. Initially, to be released in Europe, the LoRa Gateway is actually a Raspberry Pi 3B+ powered device. The LoRa gateway is intended to be paired with MKR WAN 1300 which is also a SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ powered development board. However, it swaps out the M1 and NB-IoT cellular hardware with a Murata CMWX1ZZABZ Lo-Ra module. Priced at €350 the product is aimed at product developers for inclusion in a variety of use cases such as automated meter reading, environmental monitoring, smart cities, building automation, industrial and agriculture to name a few. The LoRa gateway hardware is from Embit and based on the Semtech SX1301 baseband chipset. Listen Before Talk technology is enabled allowing the hardware to transmit at higher power and thus longer ranges are achievable. Installation, provisioning and remote management of the gateway will be performed through Arduino native online development environment known as Arduino Create. Lastly, Arduino announced that the network server and the packet forwarder running on Arduino Create will be powered by A2A SmartCity.

Both announcements follow the mass availability of two new industrial-focused shields for the MKR platform. The MKR 485 shield allows Arduino MKR dev boards to communicate to industrial equipment via the RS485 serial communication protocol. The MKR CAN shield allows MKR dev boards to talk to vehicles via the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol. Put all together, these are signs that Arduino continues to set their sights beyond the hobbyist community with more professional grade hardware and services.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Arduino Inks IoT Deal With Telstra appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Hardware Tools with IoT Security Applicability Hardware Tools with IoT Security Applicability Fri, 26 Oct 2018 03:46:42 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2489 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d804 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d804 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Over the past few years, cybersecurity has entered the public consciousness thanks to attacks that had direct effects on consumers privacy. Attacking traditional Information Technology (IT) systems such as desktop computers and servers can almost be a trivial matter for attackers with even moderate skills. Thanks to the plethora of software tools available and the standardization of software languages, applications, and networking protocols; attacking IT systems and networks has become more science and less art (albeit there is always room for creativity and innovation for new ideas). In fact, one of the hottest new emerging software categories is attack simulation software that defenders can use to test their defensive countermeasures.

Embedded system security is much more nascent than its traditional IT system counterparts. Embedded systems have long benefitted from a few unique properties as security mechanisms. First, embedded systems often use more obscure communications protocols, relatively speaking, than traditional IT networks. The internet and intranets utilize protocols such as TCP/IP or UDP which have many software and hardware tools to automate their analysis and exploitation. Embedded protocols such as I2C, SPI, JTAG, CAN and others are only now becoming easier to exploit thanks to increasingly available and inexpensive tools. Prior to the mass availability of exploit tools embedded developers could rely on the comfort of a security through obscurity mindset.

Furthermore, the lack of remote access connectivity has meant that attackers would often need physical access to embedded systems to exploit them. The emerging era of the Internet of Things is changing that. More and more embedded devices have the processing horsepower and network connectivity to make them attractive targets even from afar.

So how can we as engineers and security professionals guard our IoT devices against the onslaught of cyber threats? Using the latest embedded hardware that includes security-centric features is a great start. But what if you want to test products that are already fielded? In either case, the best way to safeguard is to think like an adversary and use the tools they would use to see what vulnerabilities are exploitable. Furthermore, during so during the development phase is ideal as security can still be baked into the product vice bolting on a security apparatus afterward. Here is a look at some hardware tools security researchers are using that embedded developers might consider incorporating into test plans:

Image result for hackrf one

HackRF One:

The Internet of Things heavily relies on wireless protocols. An unfortunate reality (from a security perspective) of anything involving radio waves is that all signals broadcast can be heard by not only the intended receiver but also unintended receivers. If an endpoint device relies on wireless signals to receive commands, then adversaries can insert themselves as seemingly legitimate transmitters of those control signals. The HackRF One is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) transceiver meaning that it can both receive and transmit signals.  Furthermore, most of the signal demodulation and processing occurs in the software of a host computer. The HackRF hardware itself is really nothing more than a generic interface between an antenna and the central processing unit (CPU) of a laptop computer. Since the HackRF is a single piece of hardware and dynamically software reprogrammable then it can be used for testing a variety of wireless protocols. Aside from the need for different antennas based on the frequencies of interest, the HackRF one allows one to send and receive any signal between 1MHz and 6GHz. This means many popular bands (433MHz, 900MHz, 2.4GHz, and 5.8GHz) are open to engineers and security professionals to explore with only a few settings changes needed in the SDR software (such as GNU Radio). 

Image result for wifi pineapple

Wi-Fi Pineapple:

IEEE 802.11 (colloquially referred to as Wi-Fi) is the de facto wireless networking protocol for IT. Many embedded devices, especially in the home automation space, still prefer mesh protocols like Zigbee or Z-Wave for device-to-device communication. Still, these products often rely on an Internet-connected hub to allow for remote control of the devices. Ultimately this means the devices are still vulnerable from IP-based attacks, albeit they are one step removed from a direct attack. These hubs often connect over Wi-Fi to make them convenient for the user both from a setup perspective (often via smartphone app) and convenience of placing the hub anywhere in the physical space.

Being able to sniff the traffic coming in and out of the hubs or inserting Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks is possible with devices such as the Wi-Fi Pineapple. From a security perspective, being able to see what is contained in the wireless packet emanating from an IoT device, from an adversary’s perspective, is invaluable to ensure appropriate safeguards (e.g. encryption) are being utilized.

Image result for ubertooth one

Ubertooth One:

As with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is a mainstay communications protocol of many modern consumer devices. Thus, provides a wireless attack vector for an adversary, though it is one that limited by the fact that proximity to the device under attack is required. The Ubertooth One is to Bluetooth communications as the Wi-Fi Pineapple is 802.11 Wi-Fi communications. The Ubertooth can sniff and inject Bluetooth packets to allow researchers to look for and potentially exploit vulnerabilities associated with the technology.

Image result for proxmark3

Proxmark3:

Near Field Communications (NFC) is a popular technology for wireless payments and access control devices. Their increasing ubiquity masks a reality that there are a vast number of different RFID and NFC protocols in use. Being able to quickly and easily move between different standards is crucial for security professionals and product developers who are supporting multiple vendors products. Being able to sniff the wireless communication between RFID reader and RFID tags allows us to reveal the underlying communication protocols and cryptographic algorithms. In turn, they can be studied to determine if there are any exploitable shortcomings in a vendor’s implementation in those protocols and algorithms. This can be very useful when vendors choose to implement custom, proprietary algorithms that are otherwise not well documented.

Image result for black magic probe

Black Magic Probe:

The first three tools were useful in situations where an adversary could get close but not necessarily in physical contact with an embedded device of interest. In general, physical access is game over for a would-be attacker as it opens a whole new set of potential vulnerabilities to exploit. The Black Magic Probe (BMP) lets us peek into the brains of a variety of microcontrollers. The BMP is extremely useful for system development and debugging but also has security implications as well. It’s debugging functionality (the GNU debugger GDB) allows a security researcher to see if a device’s firmware and/or memory contents can be dumped via the GDB dump command. Obviously, if possible then an adversary could use this to examine the firmware and look potential exploitable features such as hardcoded passwords.

Image result for chipwhisperer

Chip Whisperer:

“Side-channel attacks” are class of vulnerabilities that are in reality not so much “attacks” as they are exploits that take advantage of the physics that governs how a device works. As an example, if an adversary can monitor the power consumption of a device while it is performing encryption calculations it is possible to extract the encryption keys being used. This attack, known as Power Analysis Attack, gives an attacker a way to attack a device in a way that is very difficult to engineer away. On the flipside, this attack does require physical or near-physical access to the hardware. These attacks have been known and exploited for many years but until recently required hardware that cost tens of thousands of dollars. The Chip Whisperer Lite brings embedded developers and security researchers this capability for a few hundred dollars.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Hardware Tools with IoT Security Applicability appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Over the past few years, cybersecurity has entered the public consciousness thanks to attacks that had direct effects on consumers privacy. Attacking traditional Information Technology (IT) systems such as desktop computers and servers can almost be a trivial matter for attackers with even moderate skills. Thanks to the plethora of software tools available and the standardization of software languages, applications, and networking protocols; attacking IT systems and networks has become more science and less art (albeit there is always room for creativity and innovation for new ideas). In fact, one of the hottest new emerging software categories is attack simulation software that defenders can use to test their defensive countermeasures.

Embedded system security is much more nascent than its traditional IT system counterparts. Embedded systems have long benefitted from a few unique properties as security mechanisms. First, embedded systems often use more obscure communications protocols, relatively speaking, than traditional IT networks. The internet and intranets utilize protocols such as TCP/IP or UDP which have many software and hardware tools to automate their analysis and exploitation. Embedded protocols such as I2C, SPI, JTAG, CAN and others are only now becoming easier to exploit thanks to increasingly available and inexpensive tools. Prior to the mass availability of exploit tools embedded developers could rely on the comfort of a security through obscurity mindset.

Furthermore, the lack of remote access connectivity has meant that attackers would often need physical access to embedded systems to exploit them. The emerging era of the Internet of Things is changing that. More and more embedded devices have the processing horsepower and network connectivity to make them attractive targets even from afar.

So how can we as engineers and security professionals guard our IoT devices against the onslaught of cyber threats? Using the latest embedded hardware that includes security-centric features is a great start. But what if you want to test products that are already fielded? In either case, the best way to safeguard is to think like an adversary and use the tools they would use to see what vulnerabilities are exploitable. Furthermore, during so during the development phase is ideal as security can still be baked into the product vice bolting on a security apparatus afterward. Here is a look at some hardware tools security researchers are using that embedded developers might consider incorporating into test plans:

Image result for hackrf one

HackRF One:

The Internet of Things heavily relies on wireless protocols. An unfortunate reality (from a security perspective) of anything involving radio waves is that all signals broadcast can be heard by not only the intended receiver but also unintended receivers. If an endpoint device relies on wireless signals to receive commands, then adversaries can insert themselves as seemingly legitimate transmitters of those control signals. The HackRF One is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) transceiver meaning that it can both receive and transmit signals.  Furthermore, most of the signal demodulation and processing occurs in the software of a host computer. The HackRF hardware itself is really nothing more than a generic interface between an antenna and the central processing unit (CPU) of a laptop computer. Since the HackRF is a single piece of hardware and dynamically software reprogrammable then it can be used for testing a variety of wireless protocols. Aside from the need for different antennas based on the frequencies of interest, the HackRF one allows one to send and receive any signal between 1MHz and 6GHz. This means many popular bands (433MHz, 900MHz, 2.4GHz, and 5.8GHz) are open to engineers and security professionals to explore with only a few settings changes needed in the SDR software (such as GNU Radio). 

Image result for wifi pineapple

Wi-Fi Pineapple:

IEEE 802.11 (colloquially referred to as Wi-Fi) is the de facto wireless networking protocol for IT. Many embedded devices, especially in the home automation space, still prefer mesh protocols like Zigbee or Z-Wave for device-to-device communication. Still, these products often rely on an Internet-connected hub to allow for remote control of the devices. Ultimately this means the devices are still vulnerable from IP-based attacks, albeit they are one step removed from a direct attack. These hubs often connect over Wi-Fi to make them convenient for the user both from a setup perspective (often via smartphone app) and convenience of placing the hub anywhere in the physical space.

Being able to sniff the traffic coming in and out of the hubs or inserting Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks is possible with devices such as the Wi-Fi Pineapple. From a security perspective, being able to see what is contained in the wireless packet emanating from an IoT device, from an adversary’s perspective, is invaluable to ensure appropriate safeguards (e.g. encryption) are being utilized.

Image result for ubertooth one

Ubertooth One:

As with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is a mainstay communications protocol of many modern consumer devices. Thus, provides a wireless attack vector for an adversary, though it is one that limited by the fact that proximity to the device under attack is required. The Ubertooth One is to Bluetooth communications as the Wi-Fi Pineapple is 802.11 Wi-Fi communications. The Ubertooth can sniff and inject Bluetooth packets to allow researchers to look for and potentially exploit vulnerabilities associated with the technology.

Image result for proxmark3

Proxmark3:

Near Field Communications (NFC) is a popular technology for wireless payments and access control devices. Their increasing ubiquity masks a reality that there are a vast number of different RFID and NFC protocols in use. Being able to quickly and easily move between different standards is crucial for security professionals and product developers who are supporting multiple vendors products. Being able to sniff the wireless communication between RFID reader and RFID tags allows us to reveal the underlying communication protocols and cryptographic algorithms. In turn, they can be studied to determine if there are any exploitable shortcomings in a vendor’s implementation in those protocols and algorithms. This can be very useful when vendors choose to implement custom, proprietary algorithms that are otherwise not well documented.

Image result for black magic probe

Black Magic Probe:

The first three tools were useful in situations where an adversary could get close but not necessarily in physical contact with an embedded device of interest. In general, physical access is game over for a would-be attacker as it opens a whole new set of potential vulnerabilities to exploit. The Black Magic Probe (BMP) lets us peek into the brains of a variety of microcontrollers. The BMP is extremely useful for system development and debugging but also has security implications as well. It’s debugging functionality (the GNU debugger GDB) allows a security researcher to see if a device’s firmware and/or memory contents can be dumped via the GDB dump command. Obviously, if possible then an adversary could use this to examine the firmware and look potential exploitable features such as hardcoded passwords.

Image result for chipwhisperer

Chip Whisperer:

“Side-channel attacks” are class of vulnerabilities that are in reality not so much “attacks” as they are exploits that take advantage of the physics that governs how a device works. As an example, if an adversary can monitor the power consumption of a device while it is performing encryption calculations it is possible to extract the encryption keys being used. This attack, known as Power Analysis Attack, gives an attacker a way to attack a device in a way that is very difficult to engineer away. On the flipside, this attack does require physical or near-physical access to the hardware. These attacks have been known and exploited for many years but until recently required hardware that cost tens of thousands of dollars. The Chip Whisperer Lite brings embedded developers and security researchers this capability for a few hundred dollars.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Hardware Tools with IoT Security Applicability appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Demystifying Firmware Debugging Demystifying Firmware Debugging Tue, 11 Sep 2018 22:55:57 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2479 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d805 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d805 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Debugging embedded systems and associated firmware can be more art than science. Is the problem in hardware or is it in software? Both? The ability to understand what’s going inside the processor at any given moment is key to troubleshooting. The difficulty in achieving this deep is understanding is compounded for systems integrators that are leveraging pre-built, off-the-shelf components to design and assemble more complex systems. Over the next two articles we will look at various software and hardware tools to make this work much efficient. First, a look at some software tools to understand the firmware that increasingly drives the embedded systems fueling demand for smart devices and Internet of Things devices.

Binwalk

According to Binwalk’s GitHub repository, the software “is a fast, easy to use tool for analyzing, reverse engineering, and extracting firmware images.” Binwalk is a command prompt driven tool that is written in Python.  It can perform a variety of tasks useful to integrators and security researchers alike. Binwalk takes a binary image file, say a firmware update for an embedded device, and looks for various digital fingerprints called signatures for the various objects that make of the binary image. This can include bootloaders, kernels, and even entire filesystems. Furthermore, it can recursively extract files and folders, so you can navigate the contents right from the command prompt. Binwalk also gives the ability to search for strings within the binary image as well perform a diff (check for differences between two files) on multiple binary images. For advanced users Binwalk can also perform entropy analysis and is scriptable through a provided Python API. Binwalk is currently only available for Linux but a Windows version is in development. It’s free and available on GitHub.

Hexinator

Png with grammar applied

Hexeditors are very useful family of tools that allow the manipulation of thefundamental binary data that makes up software files. It allows the user toview and even manipulate the raw bits of a file. The bits are displayed inhexadecimal format (base-16) thus the name “hex”. Hexinator is one such toolthat is available for both Windows and Linux operating systems. Furthermore, itsupports a great number of target architectures, in particular ARM processorswhich are of keen interest to embedded systems developers. Hex editors allow engineersand programmers to edit software without the need for compiling from sourcecode. This can be useful for performing quick debugging of code on the fly.Hexinator provides for a mechanism to automatically parse and decode binaryfiles known as grammars. Hexinator comes with grammars built for many popularfile formats but also allows the user to create their own grammars forproprietary file formats. Advanced features include compare files (diff),computing checksums, Python-based scripting, and the ability to display ahistogram of binary files to help determine if a file is compressed. Hexinatoris available in three options: free, paid for hobbyist, and paid for commercialuse.  Available to downloadhere.

PLASMA Disassembler

plasma

PLASMAis an interactive disassembler that was previously known as Reverse. It takesmachine code and generates assembly code that is human readable with coloredsyntax for easier understanding. As with the other tools covered PLASMA isscriptable using Python. It supports x86/x64, MIPS and ARM architectures andfile formats including ELF, PE, RAW. PLASMA is available for free on GitHub.

Radare2 / Cutter

img

Lastbut certainly not least is Radare2 and an accompanying front-end Graphical UserInterface (GUI) known as Cutter. Radare2 is a so-called “reversing framework”.In short it provides for much of the functionality in the previous three toolsinto one very powerful tool. Radare2 can disassemble and assemble code for manyarchitectures including ARM, ARM64, MIPS, AVR, PowerPC, and x86/x64. It has abuilt-in debugger as well as support for external debuggers such as gdb. It canon a variety of operating systems include Windows, Mac OS, Linux, BSD, Android,iOS, and even Solaris. Additional functionality can be provided using thescripts. Unlike the other tools the scripts can not only be written in Pythonbut also JavaScript and Go. Radare2 can also help engineers to visualize datastructures of several file types including avr, elf, elf64, mach0, pe/pe53, andzip files. Engineers can also patch programs to uncover new features or fixvulnerabilities similar to the hex editors discussed previously. Radare2 andCutter are both free and available to download here.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Demystifying Firmware Debugging appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Debugging embedded systems and associated firmware can be more art than science. Is the problem in hardware or is it in software? Both? The ability to understand what’s going inside the processor at any given moment is key to troubleshooting. The difficulty in achieving this deep is understanding is compounded for systems integrators that are leveraging pre-built, off-the-shelf components to design and assemble more complex systems. Over the next two articles we will look at various software and hardware tools to make this work much efficient. First, a look at some software tools to understand the firmware that increasingly drives the embedded systems fueling demand for smart devices and Internet of Things devices.

Binwalk

According to Binwalk’s GitHub repository, the software “is a fast, easy to use tool for analyzing, reverse engineering, and extracting firmware images.” Binwalk is a command prompt driven tool that is written in Python.  It can perform a variety of tasks useful to integrators and security researchers alike. Binwalk takes a binary image file, say a firmware update for an embedded device, and looks for various digital fingerprints called signatures for the various objects that make of the binary image. This can include bootloaders, kernels, and even entire filesystems. Furthermore, it can recursively extract files and folders, so you can navigate the contents right from the command prompt. Binwalk also gives the ability to search for strings within the binary image as well perform a diff (check for differences between two files) on multiple binary images. For advanced users Binwalk can also perform entropy analysis and is scriptable through a provided Python API. Binwalk is currently only available for Linux but a Windows version is in development. It’s free and available on GitHub.

Hexinator

Png with grammar applied

Hexeditors are very useful family of tools that allow the manipulation of thefundamental binary data that makes up software files. It allows the user toview and even manipulate the raw bits of a file. The bits are displayed inhexadecimal format (base-16) thus the name “hex”. Hexinator is one such toolthat is available for both Windows and Linux operating systems. Furthermore, itsupports a great number of target architectures, in particular ARM processorswhich are of keen interest to embedded systems developers. Hex editors allow engineersand programmers to edit software without the need for compiling from sourcecode. This can be useful for performing quick debugging of code on the fly.Hexinator provides for a mechanism to automatically parse and decode binaryfiles known as grammars. Hexinator comes with grammars built for many popularfile formats but also allows the user to create their own grammars forproprietary file formats. Advanced features include compare files (diff),computing checksums, Python-based scripting, and the ability to display ahistogram of binary files to help determine if a file is compressed. Hexinatoris available in three options: free, paid for hobbyist, and paid for commercialuse.  Available to downloadhere.

PLASMA Disassembler

plasma

PLASMAis an interactive disassembler that was previously known as Reverse. It takesmachine code and generates assembly code that is human readable with coloredsyntax for easier understanding. As with the other tools covered PLASMA isscriptable using Python. It supports x86/x64, MIPS and ARM architectures andfile formats including ELF, PE, RAW. PLASMA is available for free on GitHub.

Radare2 / Cutter

img

Lastbut certainly not least is Radare2 and an accompanying front-end Graphical UserInterface (GUI) known as Cutter. Radare2 is a so-called “reversing framework”.In short it provides for much of the functionality in the previous three toolsinto one very powerful tool. Radare2 can disassemble and assemble code for manyarchitectures including ARM, ARM64, MIPS, AVR, PowerPC, and x86/x64. It has abuilt-in debugger as well as support for external debuggers such as gdb. It canon a variety of operating systems include Windows, Mac OS, Linux, BSD, Android,iOS, and even Solaris. Additional functionality can be provided using thescripts. Unlike the other tools the scripts can not only be written in Pythonbut also JavaScript and Go. Radare2 can also help engineers to visualize datastructures of several file types including avr, elf, elf64, mach0, pe/pe53, andzip files. Engineers can also patch programs to uncover new features or fixvulnerabilities similar to the hex editors discussed previously. Radare2 andCutter are both free and available to download here.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Demystifying Firmware Debugging appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GoR Podcast 86: IoT Hacks, Command Lines, Python GUIs and Parts Inventory GoR Podcast 86: IoT Hacks, Command Lines, Python GUIs and Parts Inventory Mon, 03 Sep 2018 23:26:50 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2474 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d806 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d806 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance #86 for September 3, 2018

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

python, gui, pysimplegui, arduino, cli, command line interface, tensor flow, raspberry pi, machine learning, parts inventory, management, bom, openbom, partsbox, mouser, police cameras, iot, security, pentesting, vulnerabilities, fax machines, network, botnets, energy, grid

The post GoR Podcast 86: IoT Hacks, Command Lines, Python GUIs and Parts Inventory appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance #86 for September 3, 2018

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Interested in advertising with Gears of Resistance?  Let's talk!

python, gui, pysimplegui, arduino, cli, command line interface, tensor flow, raspberry pi, machine learning, parts inventory, management, bom, openbom, partsbox, mouser, police cameras, iot, security, pentesting, vulnerabilities, fax machines, network, botnets, energy, grid

The post GoR Podcast 86: IoT Hacks, Command Lines, Python GUIs and Parts Inventory appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GoR Podcast 85: IoT Securitygasm GoR Podcast 85: IoT Securitygasm Wed, 15 Aug 2018 03:44:35 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2463 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d807 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d807 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance #85 for August 14, 2018

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

iot, cybersecurity, botnet, google, aiy, apple, home automation, wannacry, sensors, pacemaker, tesla, open source, arduino, vidor 4000, rs485, can, TPU, tensor, machine learning, microsoft, azure sphere, eecatalog, cryptography, encryption, hardware, microchip

The post GoR Podcast 85: IoT Securitygasm appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance #85 for August 14, 2018

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Free stock photos from pexels.com

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

iot, cybersecurity, botnet, google, aiy, apple, home automation, wannacry, sensors, pacemaker, tesla, open source, arduino, vidor 4000, rs485, can, TPU, tensor, machine learning, microsoft, azure sphere, eecatalog, cryptography, encryption, hardware, microchip

The post GoR Podcast 85: IoT Securitygasm appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Open Hardware or Secure IoT: Is It a Mutually Exclusive Choice? Open Hardware or Secure IoT: Is It a Mutually Exclusive Choice? Sun, 12 Aug 2018 17:29:06 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2443 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d808 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d808 5e471844643b69565ab97514

Despite the eye rolls sometimes given to the name “Internet of Things” or IoT for short, no one is arguing that the future isn’t connected. Market soothsayers such as Business Insider recently release their revised 2018 IoT market predictions. Some highlights include 1 billion installed IoT devices in just U.S. homes will occur by 2023. 40 billion devices worldwide in the same timeframe. In terms of dollars and cents, in the next two years the Industrial Internet of Things is expected to achieve a market size of $123B with transportation, utilities, and discrete manufacturing leading the way in terms of investment in IoT products and services.

This demand is occurring even as the news is filled with headlines showing the inherent risk of a connected world. Just in the last few weeks these stories have hit the web:

So why the increased demand for IoT products and services if these are the risks that are inherited by adopting such technology? Answer: There are not insignificant gains (both in efficiency and actual costs) from having ready access to real-time data to inform better decision making. Harley Davidson, for example, reduced its custom build cycle by 36% while growing profitability by almost 4% by IoT-enabling their production facility. Stanley Black and Decker ran an IoT pilot at one of their production plants. They claim that by getting products and machines connected that the real-time visibility allowed the reduce one of their key manufacturing metrics (first-time pass defects per million opportunities) by 16%.

At the same time as the demand side is ratcheting up for the benefits (and the undesired but inherent risks) that IoT delivers we are seeing a maturing of development platforms that are inherently open. Platforms such as the Arduino and Raspberry Pi had massive impacts to the hobbyist market. Inexpensive hardware, free tool-chains (albeit relatively simplistic tools compared to professional grade tools), huge support communities and their open licensing gave them significant appeal. Before the emails roll in, yes, technically the Raspberry Pi itself is not open source hardware as it incorporates proprietary components. But it is certainly incorporated into products that are themselves open. Case in point, my commercially purchased remote garage door opener is built atop a version 1.1 Raspberry Pi A+ single board computer (SBC).

On the Arduino front, any doubt of the professional use case aspirations of the Arduino company was put to rest this year. The move from AVR microcontrollers to ARM Cortex-based has been occurring for a few years.  More recently has seen the addition of cryptographic hardware. Boards are now available that incorporate industrial grade communications protocols such as Narrow Band IoT NB classes, LTE CAT M1 networks, LoRaWAN, and Sigfox. This year Arduino branched out from microcontroller technology and into Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware with the MKR Vidor 4000 with shields purpose built for CANbus integrations (useful for automotive and drone projects) and RS485 (useful for working with industrial machinery). Later this year they will release the version 2.0 of their integrated development environment that promises to bring professional grade features such as a built-in debugger.

The intersection of the exploding demand for the IoT products/services and the proliferation of open hardware raises some intriguing questions. Specifically with respect to the benefit versus risk conversation. The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has enumerated a list of IoT Attack Surface Areas. In other words, what are all the ways the IoT can be attacked by ill-intending hackers. Looking at the list you can see many competing requirements between openness and security. Some questions that arise:

  • Can we have both security and open?
  • Will hobbyist and pro-maker products, with arguably less security designed in, become threat platforms exploited by black hat hackers?
  • Will disabling advanced features (SSH, UART, GPIO, JTAG) not used by end users having a chilling on power users or those who like to tinker with their devices?
  • Will locking down firmware so as to be not accessible via serial port or potting (applying an epoxy over a chip to make it difficult to get physical access to IC pins) memory and storage microchips have a similarly chilling effect?
  • Do proprietary or open IoT communications protocols have a better chance of unifying the market? Which are better at providing security to prevent attack such as Man-In-The-Middle (MiTM) attacks?

No doubt we live in interesting times, especially those of us fortunate enough to be working in the embedded hardware space who are building products, solutions, and systems that will have huge impacts on the future. The interplay between openness and security seems to be diametrically opposed from one another. And yet at the same time both are seemingly needed to foster both the trust and the demand to succeed both technologically and economically. It will be fascinating to see that balance play out in the years ahead.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Open Hardware or Secure IoT: Is It a Mutually Exclusive Choice? appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

Despite the eye rolls sometimes given to the name “Internet of Things” or IoT for short, no one is arguing that the future isn’t connected. Market soothsayers such as Business Insider recently release their revised 2018 IoT market predictions. Some highlights include 1 billion installed IoT devices in just U.S. homes will occur by 2023. 40 billion devices worldwide in the same timeframe. In terms of dollars and cents, in the next two years the Industrial Internet of Things is expected to achieve a market size of $123B with transportation, utilities, and discrete manufacturing leading the way in terms of investment in IoT products and services.

This demand is occurring even as the news is filled with headlines showing the inherent risk of a connected world. Just in the last few weeks these stories have hit the web:

So why the increased demand for IoT products and services if these are the risks that are inherited by adopting such technology? Answer: There are not insignificant gains (both in efficiency and actual costs) from having ready access to real-time data to inform better decision making. Harley Davidson, for example, reduced its custom build cycle by 36% while growing profitability by almost 4% by IoT-enabling their production facility. Stanley Black and Decker ran an IoT pilot at one of their production plants. They claim that by getting products and machines connected that the real-time visibility allowed the reduce one of their key manufacturing metrics (first-time pass defects per million opportunities) by 16%.

At the same time as the demand side is ratcheting up for the benefits (and the undesired but inherent risks) that IoT delivers we are seeing a maturing of development platforms that are inherently open. Platforms such as the Arduino and Raspberry Pi had massive impacts to the hobbyist market. Inexpensive hardware, free tool-chains (albeit relatively simplistic tools compared to professional grade tools), huge support communities and their open licensing gave them significant appeal. Before the emails roll in, yes, technically the Raspberry Pi itself is not open source hardware as it incorporates proprietary components. But it is certainly incorporated into products that are themselves open. Case in point, my commercially purchased remote garage door opener is built atop a version 1.1 Raspberry Pi A+ single board computer (SBC).

On the Arduino front, any doubt of the professional use case aspirations of the Arduino company was put to rest this year. The move from AVR microcontrollers to ARM Cortex-based has been occurring for a few years.  More recently has seen the addition of cryptographic hardware. Boards are now available that incorporate industrial grade communications protocols such as Narrow Band IoT NB classes, LTE CAT M1 networks, LoRaWAN, and Sigfox. This year Arduino branched out from microcontroller technology and into Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware with the MKR Vidor 4000 with shields purpose built for CANbus integrations (useful for automotive and drone projects) and RS485 (useful for working with industrial machinery). Later this year they will release the version 2.0 of their integrated development environment that promises to bring professional grade features such as a built-in debugger.

The intersection of the exploding demand for the IoT products/services and the proliferation of open hardware raises some intriguing questions. Specifically with respect to the benefit versus risk conversation. The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has enumerated a list of IoT Attack Surface Areas. In other words, what are all the ways the IoT can be attacked by ill-intending hackers. Looking at the list you can see many competing requirements between openness and security. Some questions that arise:

  • Can we have both security and open?
  • Will hobbyist and pro-maker products, with arguably less security designed in, become threat platforms exploited by black hat hackers?
  • Will disabling advanced features (SSH, UART, GPIO, JTAG) not used by end users having a chilling on power users or those who like to tinker with their devices?
  • Will locking down firmware so as to be not accessible via serial port or potting (applying an epoxy over a chip to make it difficult to get physical access to IC pins) memory and storage microchips have a similarly chilling effect?
  • Do proprietary or open IoT communications protocols have a better chance of unifying the market? Which are better at providing security to prevent attack such as Man-In-The-Middle (MiTM) attacks?

No doubt we live in interesting times, especially those of us fortunate enough to be working in the embedded hardware space who are building products, solutions, and systems that will have huge impacts on the future. The interplay between openness and security seems to be diametrically opposed from one another. And yet at the same time both are seemingly needed to foster both the trust and the demand to succeed both technologically and economically. It will be fascinating to see that balance play out in the years ahead.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Open Hardware or Secure IoT: Is It a Mutually Exclusive Choice? appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Primer on Embedded Side Channel Attacks Primer on Embedded Side Channel Attacks Sun, 08 Jul 2018 03:12:42 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2433 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d809 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d809 5e471844643b69565ab97514 “Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
Sun-Tzu, Art of War

For much of the history of embedded systems, many product designers and engineers have had the luxury of building rather closed loop systems with little to no interaction with other systems. A so-called “security through obscurity” was perhaps not an unreasonable strategy. These days, with the more and more devices communicating and interacting with each other, that strategy is increasingly unsound. Consumer grade products that make up the Internet of Things market have been particularly vulnerable. Those products are highly cost sensitive so minimizing use of higher end components and more robust software development practices is key to competing in the marketplace. In addition, the long-term support of these products, such as continuous firmware updates, can vary greatly amongst OEMs. Even the most reliable tend to not support products more than 2 to 3 years.  For example, Google has promised three years of updates for devices running a “long-term support version” of its newly released Android Things 1.0 platform. In all likelihood devices will continue to be used long after support and firmware updates end. This means the device will be susceptible to any attacks discovered after updates end.

Security in embedded devices is increasingly getting the attention it is due. Best practices are merging that are beginning to be codified by industry standards. Eliminating use of simple default passwords used across devices, disabling interfaces (e.g. JTAG and UART) on production ready products, and ensuring use of encrypted communications between devices are some ways manufacturers are making IoT devices more secure. But as is true with all technology security, it’s a cat and mouse game between creators of products and those looking to abuse hidden vulnerabilities. Attackers have many techniques at their disposal to gain control of a system:

  • Breaking the encryption by exploiting weaknesses of the underlying mathematics or software bugs.
  • Brute force techniques.
  • Using social engineering techniques to get user to unwittingly giving away the encryption keys.

Sophisticated attackers can take advantage of another category of attacks known as side channel attacks. These attacks exploit certain physical realities of the embedded hardware more so than finding flaws in the underlying mathematics of software algorithms. Performing side channel attacks typically requires expensive specialized hardware in addition to software. This has limited the usefulness of such attacks as the hacking hardware to perform side channel attacks historically costs tens of thousands of dollars. But the same technological advantages and economies of scale that gave us inexpensive IoT devices in the first place are also permitting the development of inexpensive hacking tools that cost only a few hundred dollars.

  • Power Analysis Attack: When a device under attack (DUA) is performing calculations, such as AES encryption, transistors are constantly turning on and off. During the switching of states, power is consumed which can be monitored externally from the microprocessor. By monitoring power consumption over many cycles, it is possible to make educated guesses on the encryption key used as part of the AES encryption algorithm.
  • Timing Attack: A set of attacks that measures the amount of time it takes to perform each step of a calculation to gain insight of the original input.
  • Electromagnetic Attack: Similar to power analysis attacks but instead of measure the power being consumed, the DUA is monitored for electromagnetic radiation that emanates from the transistors as they perform calculations. The time-varying intensity of the electromagnetic field can be analyzed to recover encryption keys as well.
  • Differential Fault Analysis: Introducing faults or glitches into the power rail or timing signals to cause the DUA to perform in an erratic, faulty manner. The corrupted outputs can be used to reverse engineer the algorithms and internal device state.

Countermeasures against side channel attacks are possible.  They include randomizing the order of operations that is performed on the inputs, precharging device registers and busses to mask power consumption, use of fixed-time algorithms whose calculation time is not dependent on the inputs, randomly interjecting fake computations, and running computations in parallel.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Primer on Embedded Side Channel Attacks appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> “Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
Sun-Tzu, Art of War

For much of the history of embedded systems, many product designers and engineers have had the luxury of building rather closed loop systems with little to no interaction with other systems. A so-called “security through obscurity” was perhaps not an unreasonable strategy. These days, with the more and more devices communicating and interacting with each other, that strategy is increasingly unsound. Consumer grade products that make up the Internet of Things market have been particularly vulnerable. Those products are highly cost sensitive so minimizing use of higher end components and more robust software development practices is key to competing in the marketplace. In addition, the long-term support of these products, such as continuous firmware updates, can vary greatly amongst OEMs. Even the most reliable tend to not support products more than 2 to 3 years.  For example, Google has promised three years of updates for devices running a “long-term support version” of its newly released Android Things 1.0 platform. In all likelihood devices will continue to be used long after support and firmware updates end. This means the device will be susceptible to any attacks discovered after updates end.

Security in embedded devices is increasingly getting the attention it is due. Best practices are merging that are beginning to be codified by industry standards. Eliminating use of simple default passwords used across devices, disabling interfaces (e.g. JTAG and UART) on production ready products, and ensuring use of encrypted communications between devices are some ways manufacturers are making IoT devices more secure. But as is true with all technology security, it’s a cat and mouse game between creators of products and those looking to abuse hidden vulnerabilities. Attackers have many techniques at their disposal to gain control of a system:

  • Breaking the encryption by exploiting weaknesses of the underlying mathematics or software bugs.
  • Brute force techniques.
  • Using social engineering techniques to get user to unwittingly giving away the encryption keys.

Sophisticated attackers can take advantage of another category of attacks known as side channel attacks. These attacks exploit certain physical realities of the embedded hardware more so than finding flaws in the underlying mathematics of software algorithms. Performing side channel attacks typically requires expensive specialized hardware in addition to software. This has limited the usefulness of such attacks as the hacking hardware to perform side channel attacks historically costs tens of thousands of dollars. But the same technological advantages and economies of scale that gave us inexpensive IoT devices in the first place are also permitting the development of inexpensive hacking tools that cost only a few hundred dollars.

  • Power Analysis Attack: When a device under attack (DUA) is performing calculations, such as AES encryption, transistors are constantly turning on and off. During the switching of states, power is consumed which can be monitored externally from the microprocessor. By monitoring power consumption over many cycles, it is possible to make educated guesses on the encryption key used as part of the AES encryption algorithm.
  • Timing Attack: A set of attacks that measures the amount of time it takes to perform each step of a calculation to gain insight of the original input.
  • Electromagnetic Attack: Similar to power analysis attacks but instead of measure the power being consumed, the DUA is monitored for electromagnetic radiation that emanates from the transistors as they perform calculations. The time-varying intensity of the electromagnetic field can be analyzed to recover encryption keys as well.
  • Differential Fault Analysis: Introducing faults or glitches into the power rail or timing signals to cause the DUA to perform in an erratic, faulty manner. The corrupted outputs can be used to reverse engineer the algorithms and internal device state.

Countermeasures against side channel attacks are possible.  They include randomizing the order of operations that is performed on the inputs, precharging device registers and busses to mask power consumption, use of fixed-time algorithms whose calculation time is not dependent on the inputs, randomly interjecting fake computations, and running computations in parallel.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Primer on Embedded Side Channel Attacks appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Arduino Graduates, Enters the Professional World Arduino Graduates, Enters the Professional World Mon, 21 May 2018 12:26:29 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2425 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80a 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80a 5e471844643b69565ab97514
The original RS232-based Arduino development board circa 2003. Image courtesy of Nicholas Zambetti – http://www.arduino.cc/

The humble Arduino embedded development platform marked it’s 15th year of existence recently. Ever since the original RS-232 serial port-based Arduino became a reality, the companies behind the platform have made steady progress in improving the capabilities with each new generations of boards. The board and the associated C-based programming language (originally called Wiring) were initially created for art and design students to help reduce the complexity in adding interactive features to art installations. However, 2018 may very well be remembered as the year Arduino graduated from college and went to pro.

For a majority of Arduino’s existence, the boards have typically leveraged 8-bit AVR architectures for their simplicity and tolerances that made them very friendly to makers and others with limited technical experience. During that time, the world has increasingly become connected and digital. Smartphones, the Internet of Things (IoT), drones, smart devices, wearables, digital twins, autonomous vehicles are far my prevalent today than they were in 2003. Many of the products require increasingly more computational horsepower to provide capabilities that are increasingly in demand by consumers. Despite a short-lived divide in the Arduino ecosystem, newer generations of Arduino boards began to move beyond the AVR architecture in favor of ARM-based and Atheros/AVR hybrid solutions to meet the needs of more complex applications. Different form factors such as the Arduino Nano emerged to do help bridge the gap between development and production needs. The LilyPad format emerged to help support the burgeoning wearables community by making an embedded board that could be directly applied to clothing and wired together utilizing conductive thread.

The MKR WAN 1300. Image courtesy of arduino.cc

Flash forward to 2018 and any pretense that Arduino intends to remain a maker-only focused platform was swiftly dropped. First was the release of the MKR WAN 1300 which is powered by SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit ARM microcontroller. In addition, into being released in a convenient DIP package format, the MKR WAN 1300 also sports LoRa-based communications hardware. LoRa, short for Long Range, operates in the sub-gigahertz license free spectrum is seen as a potential solution for the low power, long range needs of IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.

Next up in the breadboard-friendly MKR line is the MKR Wi-Fi 1010. The board consists of three major components including a SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit ARM microcontroller, U-BLOX ESP32 NINA-W10 Series low power 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and ECC508 CryptoAuthentication. Arduino quite frankly states that the MKR Wi-Fi 1010 “aims to speed up and simplify the prototyping of WI-FI based IoT applications thanks to the flexibility of the ESP32 module and its low power consumption.” And still it will leverage the rather simple Arduino integrated development environment (IDE). In other words, professional grade hardware with maker friendly firmware development tools.

Continuing with MKR line is the MKR NB 1500. The 1500 leverages two other Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technologies known as Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and LTE Cat M1. Both implementations are designed to work within the LTE cellular network spectrum while promising improved indoor wireless coverage, IoT-friendly data transfer speeds (necessary for frequent firmware updates that ensure capability and security), long battery life, and the ability to support many concurrently connected devices. LTE Cat M1 is also ideal for mobile applications such as autonomous vehicles as it handles tower-to-tower hands offs similarly to how smartphones can jump from tower-to-tower while moving.

The last board in the MKR is perhaps the most revolutionary. The MKR Vidor 4000 is the first

MKR Vidor 4000. The first FPGA-based Arduino. Image courtest of arduino.cc

Arduino board based on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware. The Vidor will contain the same SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit ARM chip and the U-BLOX ESP32 Wi-Fi/BLE chip as other boards in the MKR line. It will also uniquely feature an Intel Cyclone 10 FPGA. Also on board will be a Microchip ATECC508A cryptographic co-processer that will provide hardware-based security which will be invaluable to securing IoT applications. According to the spec sheets the Vidor will also contain “8 Mbyte SDRAM, 2 Mbyte QSPI Flash (1MB for user applications), Micro HDMI connector, and a MIPI camera connector”. Users will be able to program the FPGA directly using Verilog or VHDL and their standard Altera/Intel toolchains. To make things a bit simpler for newcomers to the world of FPGAs, Arduino intends to eventually release a new development environment to allow users to program the Vidor using a visual block language similar to the one used by MIT’s Android App Inventor. In the interim, Arduino libraries will be provided to let user configure the FPGA via code ran from the microcontroller that will be able to connect any of the 25 I/O pins to any hardware device they desire such as digital-to-analog converters (DACs), pulse width modulation hardware, quadrature encoders, and I2C or UART communications hardware to name a few.

The upcoming CAN bus shield for the MKR line will enable professional automative/IoT applications to be developed quickly and inexpensively. Image courtesy of arduino.cc

Arduino is also releasing many MKR-compatible shields as well to given developers and engineers even great capability. The shields include a CAN bus interfacing with automobiles and a shield to interface with the industrial RS485 protocol used in many industrial systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLC). Both shields are intended help turn legacy systems into IoT-connected devices with minimal effort and expense.

For years engineer have debated the effectiveness of utilizing Arduino is production grade devices. In the intervening 15 years many competitors have emerged to address this question. It seems now that Arduino the company is answering that challenge by giving makers and engineers access to highly functional, simple to develop embedded systems at extremely affordable prices. The MKR embedded platform lineup of 2018 may very well prove to be the much needed upgrade to end the debate and usher in a new era for the Arduino platform. One that is no longer confined to just the maker and DIY hobbyist community.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Arduino Graduates, Enters the Professional World appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>
The original RS232-based Arduino development board circa 2003. Image courtesy of Nicholas Zambetti – http://www.arduino.cc/

The humble Arduino embedded development platform marked it’s 15th year of existence recently. Ever since the original RS-232 serial port-based Arduino became a reality, the companies behind the platform have made steady progress in improving the capabilities with each new generations of boards. The board and the associated C-based programming language (originally called Wiring) were initially created for art and design students to help reduce the complexity in adding interactive features to art installations. However, 2018 may very well be remembered as the year Arduino graduated from college and went to pro.

For a majority of Arduino’s existence, the boards have typically leveraged 8-bit AVR architectures for their simplicity and tolerances that made them very friendly to makers and others with limited technical experience. During that time, the world has increasingly become connected and digital. Smartphones, the Internet of Things (IoT), drones, smart devices, wearables, digital twins, autonomous vehicles are far my prevalent today than they were in 2003. Many of the products require increasingly more computational horsepower to provide capabilities that are increasingly in demand by consumers. Despite a short-lived divide in the Arduino ecosystem, newer generations of Arduino boards began to move beyond the AVR architecture in favor of ARM-based and Atheros/AVR hybrid solutions to meet the needs of more complex applications. Different form factors such as the Arduino Nano emerged to do help bridge the gap between development and production needs. The LilyPad format emerged to help support the burgeoning wearables community by making an embedded board that could be directly applied to clothing and wired together utilizing conductive thread.

The MKR WAN 1300. Image courtesy of arduino.cc

Flash forward to 2018 and any pretense that Arduino intends to remain a maker-only focused platform was swiftly dropped. First was the release of the MKR WAN 1300 which is powered by SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit ARM microcontroller. In addition, into being released in a convenient DIP package format, the MKR WAN 1300 also sports LoRa-based communications hardware. LoRa, short for Long Range, operates in the sub-gigahertz license free spectrum is seen as a potential solution for the low power, long range needs of IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.

Next up in the breadboard-friendly MKR line is the MKR Wi-Fi 1010. The board consists of three major components including a SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit ARM microcontroller, U-BLOX ESP32 NINA-W10 Series low power 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and ECC508 CryptoAuthentication. Arduino quite frankly states that the MKR Wi-Fi 1010 “aims to speed up and simplify the prototyping of WI-FI based IoT applications thanks to the flexibility of the ESP32 module and its low power consumption.” And still it will leverage the rather simple Arduino integrated development environment (IDE). In other words, professional grade hardware with maker friendly firmware development tools.

Continuing with MKR line is the MKR NB 1500. The 1500 leverages two other Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technologies known as Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and LTE Cat M1. Both implementations are designed to work within the LTE cellular network spectrum while promising improved indoor wireless coverage, IoT-friendly data transfer speeds (necessary for frequent firmware updates that ensure capability and security), long battery life, and the ability to support many concurrently connected devices. LTE Cat M1 is also ideal for mobile applications such as autonomous vehicles as it handles tower-to-tower hands offs similarly to how smartphones can jump from tower-to-tower while moving.

The last board in the MKR is perhaps the most revolutionary. The MKR Vidor 4000 is the first

MKR Vidor 4000. The first FPGA-based Arduino. Image courtest of arduino.cc

Arduino board based on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware. The Vidor will contain the same SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ 32-bit ARM chip and the U-BLOX ESP32 Wi-Fi/BLE chip as other boards in the MKR line. It will also uniquely feature an Intel Cyclone 10 FPGA. Also on board will be a Microchip ATECC508A cryptographic co-processer that will provide hardware-based security which will be invaluable to securing IoT applications. According to the spec sheets the Vidor will also contain “8 Mbyte SDRAM, 2 Mbyte QSPI Flash (1MB for user applications), Micro HDMI connector, and a MIPI camera connector”. Users will be able to program the FPGA directly using Verilog or VHDL and their standard Altera/Intel toolchains. To make things a bit simpler for newcomers to the world of FPGAs, Arduino intends to eventually release a new development environment to allow users to program the Vidor using a visual block language similar to the one used by MIT’s Android App Inventor. In the interim, Arduino libraries will be provided to let user configure the FPGA via code ran from the microcontroller that will be able to connect any of the 25 I/O pins to any hardware device they desire such as digital-to-analog converters (DACs), pulse width modulation hardware, quadrature encoders, and I2C or UART communications hardware to name a few.

The upcoming CAN bus shield for the MKR line will enable professional automative/IoT applications to be developed quickly and inexpensively. Image courtesy of arduino.cc

Arduino is also releasing many MKR-compatible shields as well to given developers and engineers even great capability. The shields include a CAN bus interfacing with automobiles and a shield to interface with the industrial RS485 protocol used in many industrial systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLC). Both shields are intended help turn legacy systems into IoT-connected devices with minimal effort and expense.

For years engineer have debated the effectiveness of utilizing Arduino is production grade devices. In the intervening 15 years many competitors have emerged to address this question. It seems now that Arduino the company is answering that challenge by giving makers and engineers access to highly functional, simple to develop embedded systems at extremely affordable prices. The MKR embedded platform lineup of 2018 may very well prove to be the much needed upgrade to end the debate and usher in a new era for the Arduino platform. One that is no longer confined to just the maker and DIY hobbyist community.

Looking to reach an an engaged audience of embedded professionals and enthusiasts? Advertise with Gears of Resistance and find your audience.

Michael Parks, P.E. is the owner of Green Shoe Garage, a custom electronics design studio and technology consultancy located in Southern Maryland. He produces the Gears of Resistance podcast to help raise public awareness of technical and scientific matters. Michael is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

The post Arduino Graduates, Enters the Professional World appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GoR 84: Return of the Geek GoR 84: Return of the Geek Sat, 21 Apr 2018 21:49:10 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2413 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80b 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80b 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance #84 for April 21, 2018

This week we cover:

[Download]

Stuff We Didn't Talk About

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/open-sesame-industrial-network-gear-hackable-with-the-right-username/
“Open sesame”: Industrial network gear hackable with the right username
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/04/thin-film-converts-low-grade-waste-heat-to-electricity-at-19-of-carnot-efficiency.html
Thin film converts low grade waste heat to electricity at 19% of carnot efficiency | NextBigFuture.com
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/naran/microbot-sense-smart-sensor-for-smarter-livingSense – Smart Sensor with Push Alerts
https://blog.arduino.cc/2018/04/16/pid-temperature-control-with-arduino/
Arduino Blog » PID temperature control with Arduino
https://makezine.com/2018/04/17/construct-your-own-actuators/
Design and Construct Your Own Tiny Actuators | Make:
https://www.open-electronics.org/arduino-and-adc/Arduino and ADC
https://blog.adafruit.com/2018/04/18/yarn-like-rechargeable-zinc-battery-could-power-smart-clothes-and-wearables/
Yarn-like Rechargeable Zinc Battery Could Power Smart Clothes and Wearables
https://venturebeat.com/2018/04/21/the-web-of-profit-a-look-at-the-cybercrime-economy/
The Web of Profit: A look at the cybercrime economy
https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-thermal-image-cameras/
Heat-Seeking Cameras Could Help Keep Self-Driving Cars Safe

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork:

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

iot, cybersecurity, botnet, google, aiy, nintendo, labo, diy, ftc, warranty, ultrasonic, hacking, intel, ar, wearables, 3d printer, product design, oshw, amazon, alexa, solar, risc-v, cadlab.io, open source, partsbox.io, redt hat, linux, command line heroes, podcast

The post GoR 84: Return of the Geek appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance #84 for April 21, 2018

This week we cover:

[Download]

Stuff We Didn't Talk About

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/open-sesame-industrial-network-gear-hackable-with-the-right-username/
“Open sesame”: Industrial network gear hackable with the right username
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/04/thin-film-converts-low-grade-waste-heat-to-electricity-at-19-of-carnot-efficiency.html
Thin film converts low grade waste heat to electricity at 19% of carnot efficiency | NextBigFuture.com
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/naran/microbot-sense-smart-sensor-for-smarter-livingSense – Smart Sensor with Push Alerts
https://blog.arduino.cc/2018/04/16/pid-temperature-control-with-arduino/
Arduino Blog » PID temperature control with Arduino
https://makezine.com/2018/04/17/construct-your-own-actuators/
Design and Construct Your Own Tiny Actuators | Make:
https://www.open-electronics.org/arduino-and-adc/Arduino and ADC
https://blog.adafruit.com/2018/04/18/yarn-like-rechargeable-zinc-battery-could-power-smart-clothes-and-wearables/
Yarn-like Rechargeable Zinc Battery Could Power Smart Clothes and Wearables
https://venturebeat.com/2018/04/21/the-web-of-profit-a-look-at-the-cybercrime-economy/
The Web of Profit: A look at the cybercrime economy
https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-thermal-image-cameras/
Heat-Seeking Cameras Could Help Keep Self-Driving Cars Safe

For more DIY/Maker, OSHW, FOSS, CyberSec, and STEAM news follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork:

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

iot, cybersecurity, botnet, google, aiy, nintendo, labo, diy, ftc, warranty, ultrasonic, hacking, intel, ar, wearables, 3d printer, product design, oshw, amazon, alexa, solar, risc-v, cadlab.io, open source, partsbox.io, redt hat, linux, command line heroes, podcast

The post GoR 84: Return of the Geek appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> We’re Not Dead Yet! We’re Not Dead Yet! Tue, 03 Apr 2018 23:33:31 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2386 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80c 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80c 5e471844643b69565ab97514 The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated!  But…..

We have sunset STEAM Power Podcast, or rather it will be subsumed into Gears of Resistance as a segment on that show.  In short, life got nuts and I needed to consolidate to stay sane.

Also, I was getting tired of doing things I felt were half-ass.  Podcasts that reports news, even nerdy news on STEAM topics, are a dime a dozen.  I also hate unboxing videos for the sake of a review only. Conversely, I love tutorials and teaching tips and tricks. Not to say I am an expert on any one topic but it's where my heart is happiest.

So we are going light on the news, strictly one-minute per article and only one article for each part of the STEAM abbreviation. Tool and service reviews will be limited to those tools used in the project video. In short, I want to focus GoR as a means to share practical hands-on DIY skills.

I still like the idea of alternating weeks between audio-only (podcast) and prerecorded video (YouTube) and augmented between shows with live video (Twitch). One option is to focus on showing the skills in videos and talking about the news and product reviews in the audio only podcasts. Maybe?  Don't know. Figuring that mix out is what I am working on now. So check back in a few weeks for a brand spankin' new GoR.

[Download]

The post We're Not Dead Yet! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated!  But…..

We have sunset STEAM Power Podcast, or rather it will be subsumed into Gears of Resistance as a segment on that show.  In short, life got nuts and I needed to consolidate to stay sane.

Also, I was getting tired of doing things I felt were half-ass.  Podcasts that reports news, even nerdy news on STEAM topics, are a dime a dozen.  I also hate unboxing videos for the sake of a review only. Conversely, I love tutorials and teaching tips and tricks. Not to say I am an expert on any one topic but it's where my heart is happiest.

So we are going light on the news, strictly one-minute per article and only one article for each part of the STEAM abbreviation. Tool and service reviews will be limited to those tools used in the project video. In short, I want to focus GoR as a means to share practical hands-on DIY skills.

I still like the idea of alternating weeks between audio-only (podcast) and prerecorded video (YouTube) and augmented between shows with live video (Twitch). One option is to focus on showing the skills in videos and talking about the news and product reviews in the audio only podcasts. Maybe?  Don't know. Figuring that mix out is what I am working on now. So check back in a few weeks for a brand spankin' new GoR.

[Download]

The post We're Not Dead Yet! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #6 Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #6 Tue, 03 Oct 2017 01:01:07 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2347 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80d 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80d 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Dubai tests a passenger drone for its flying taxi service
Dubai was serious when it said it wants to be first in the world to offer a flying taxi service . That's why on Monday, it staged a maiden test flight for one… https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/dubai-volocopter-passenger-drone-test/

Microsoft’s new coding language is made for quantum computers
When one of the first personal computers, the Altair 8800 came along in 1976, Microsoft was ready with a programming language, the Altair BASIC. It… https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/microsoft-new-coding-language-is-made-for-quantum-computers/

AMC will install room-scale VR at six of its theaters by 2019
Movie theater chain AMC is committing to virtual reality in a big way. The company has announced a $20 million investment in Dreamscape…
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/amc-theaters-vr-installation-dreamscape-immersive/

EU withheld a study that shows piracy doesn't hurt sales
AOL In 2013, the European Commission ordered a €360,000 ($430,000) study on how piracy affects sales of music, books, movies and games in the EU. However, it…
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/22/eu-suppressed-study-piracy-no-sales-impact/

DHS finally reveals the states Russia hacked during the elections
State officials finally know if they serve one of the 21 states Russia tried to hack during the 2016 Presidential elections. Homeland Security and…
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/23/homeland-security-russia-hacking-elections/

Packet radio lives on through open source software
Linux packet stations can be used for mail, chat, and even sending messages long distances via the International Space Station.
https://opensource.com/article/17/9/packet-radio

Open source licensing: What every technologist should know
https://opensource.com/article/17/9/open-source-licensing

Ford Designers Strap on Augmented Reality Goggles to Design Better Cars
Augmented reality is just starting its long-anticipated march into humanity’s eyeballs, but if you don’t plan on dropping $1,000 for an iPhone X , you can still…
https://www.wired.com/story/ford-design-microsoft-hololens/

Programmable Board for 3D Gesture Control, Motion Capturing, Tracking and Robotics
THE TACTIGON is a portable and wearable device with 3D motion sensors on board. You can use the board for different applications like human machine interaction,… https://www.open-electronics.org/programmable-board-for-3d-gesture-control-motion-capturing-tracking-and-robotics/

The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #6 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Dubai tests a passenger drone for its flying taxi service
Dubai was serious when it said it wants to be first in the world to offer a flying taxi service . That's why on Monday, it staged a maiden test flight for one… https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/dubai-volocopter-passenger-drone-test/

Microsoft’s new coding language is made for quantum computers
When one of the first personal computers, the Altair 8800 came along in 1976, Microsoft was ready with a programming language, the Altair BASIC. It… https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/microsoft-new-coding-language-is-made-for-quantum-computers/

AMC will install room-scale VR at six of its theaters by 2019
Movie theater chain AMC is committing to virtual reality in a big way. The company has announced a $20 million investment in Dreamscape…
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/amc-theaters-vr-installation-dreamscape-immersive/

EU withheld a study that shows piracy doesn't hurt sales
AOL In 2013, the European Commission ordered a €360,000 ($430,000) study on how piracy affects sales of music, books, movies and games in the EU. However, it…
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/22/eu-suppressed-study-piracy-no-sales-impact/

DHS finally reveals the states Russia hacked during the elections
State officials finally know if they serve one of the 21 states Russia tried to hack during the 2016 Presidential elections. Homeland Security and…
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/23/homeland-security-russia-hacking-elections/

Packet radio lives on through open source software
Linux packet stations can be used for mail, chat, and even sending messages long distances via the International Space Station.
https://opensource.com/article/17/9/packet-radio

Open source licensing: What every technologist should know
https://opensource.com/article/17/9/open-source-licensing

Ford Designers Strap on Augmented Reality Goggles to Design Better Cars
Augmented reality is just starting its long-anticipated march into humanity’s eyeballs, but if you don’t plan on dropping $1,000 for an iPhone X , you can still…
https://www.wired.com/story/ford-design-microsoft-hololens/

Programmable Board for 3D Gesture Control, Motion Capturing, Tracking and Robotics
THE TACTIGON is a portable and wearable device with 3D motion sensors on board. You can use the board for different applications like human machine interaction,… https://www.open-electronics.org/programmable-board-for-3d-gesture-control-motion-capturing-tracking-and-robotics/

The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #6 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #5 Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #5 Wed, 16 Aug 2017 15:55:44 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2342 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80e 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80e 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Ready Maker One! MakeVR Pro Adds Precision 3D Modeling Tools
Want to create precision 3D models in virtual reality and print them out? Sure you do. There are a handful of VR modelers out there, but the brand-new MakeVR… http://makezine.com/2017/08/07/ready-maker-one-makevr-pro-adds-precision-3d-modeling-tools/

That Guy Dressed Up as a Car Seat to Solve a Robocar Riddle
Somewhere in northern Virginia, a man dressed as a car seat seeks the answers to vital questions about how autonomous vehicles interact with the public. The… https://www.wired.com/story/virginia-self-driving-car-seat-disguise-van/

Ethereum Is Coding's New Wild West
Pelle Braendgaard has the textbook bio of an old-guard programmer. At 12, he often went to his local computer store in Denmark to write BASIC code on an… https://www.wired.com/story/ethereum-is-codings-new-wild-west/

Photo-Etching and Soldering Your Own Brass Model Parts
If you’re a fan of highly-detailed scale modeling, you may already be aware of the YouTube channel PLASMO (Plastic Models), a consistently mind-blowing video… http://makezine.com/2017/08/08/photo-etching-and-soldering-your-own-brass-model-parts/

World's First Shape-Shifting Skyscraper Allows Residents to Rotate Their Apartments 360 Degrees
Dubai is full of jaw-dropping engineering marvels: the world’s largest man-made island, the world’s largest shopping mall, the world’s tallest building–all are… http://www.industrytap.com/worlds-first-shape-shifting-skyscraper-allows-residents-rotate-apartments-full-360-degrees/43437

Your Wardrobe of the Future Could Be Printed at Home
We are one step closer to a future where you can print your own clothes at home and 3D fashion designer Danit Peleg is at the forefront of this fashion… http://makezine.com/2017/08/10/your-wardrobe-of-the-future-could-be-printed-at-home/

Arduino Cinque – The RISC-V, ESP32, WiFi, Bluetooth Arduino
This weekend at the Bay Area Maker Faire, Arduino in conjunction with SiFive, a fabless provider of the Open Source RISC-V micros, introduced the Arduino Cinque… http://hackaday.com/2017/05/20/arduino-cinque-the-risc-v-esp32-wifi-bluetooth-arduino/

Machine Learning for Developers
INTRODUCING THE Nexosis makes it easy to start building machine learning applications. Forecasting API Take your historical time series data and predict what's… http://content.nexosis.com/api-features-signup

Edible robot surgeons will cure you from the inside out
Back in 1985, the best robotic surgeon we had was the Puma 560 , a manipulator arm just barely more advanced than Rocky Balboa's… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/09/edible-robot-surgeons-cure-from-inside-out/

Fingernail-sized chip can repair damaged tissue in seconds
OSU A new device can begin repairing damaged organs in seconds, heralding a major breakthrough for life-saving medicine. Developed at Ohio State University… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/08/ohio-state-genetic-device-breakthrough-organ-tissue-repair/

How Elon Musk Could Kick the Human Out of Tesla's Self-Driving Truck
Elon Musk's grand plan of moving beyond passenger cars to truly revolutionize transportation just got a bit grander. In addition to developing an electric… https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-self-driving-truck-musk/

CircuitPython Snakes its Way onto Adafruit Hardware
In a recent discussion with Scott Shawcroft, an engineer at Adafruit, I got really excited. He was explaining their transition into using CircuitPython on their… http://makezine.com/2017/08/11/circuitpython-snakes-way-adafruit-hardware/

 

Photo: Paralympian Amy Purdy wearing Danit’s 3D printed design at the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Photo courtesy Danit Peleg

The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #5 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Ready Maker One! MakeVR Pro Adds Precision 3D Modeling Tools
Want to create precision 3D models in virtual reality and print them out? Sure you do. There are a handful of VR modelers out there, but the brand-new MakeVR… http://makezine.com/2017/08/07/ready-maker-one-makevr-pro-adds-precision-3d-modeling-tools/

That Guy Dressed Up as a Car Seat to Solve a Robocar Riddle
Somewhere in northern Virginia, a man dressed as a car seat seeks the answers to vital questions about how autonomous vehicles interact with the public. The… https://www.wired.com/story/virginia-self-driving-car-seat-disguise-van/

Ethereum Is Coding's New Wild West
Pelle Braendgaard has the textbook bio of an old-guard programmer. At 12, he often went to his local computer store in Denmark to write BASIC code on an… https://www.wired.com/story/ethereum-is-codings-new-wild-west/

Photo-Etching and Soldering Your Own Brass Model Parts
If you’re a fan of highly-detailed scale modeling, you may already be aware of the YouTube channel PLASMO (Plastic Models), a consistently mind-blowing video… http://makezine.com/2017/08/08/photo-etching-and-soldering-your-own-brass-model-parts/

World's First Shape-Shifting Skyscraper Allows Residents to Rotate Their Apartments 360 Degrees
Dubai is full of jaw-dropping engineering marvels: the world’s largest man-made island, the world’s largest shopping mall, the world’s tallest building–all are… http://www.industrytap.com/worlds-first-shape-shifting-skyscraper-allows-residents-rotate-apartments-full-360-degrees/43437

Your Wardrobe of the Future Could Be Printed at Home
We are one step closer to a future where you can print your own clothes at home and 3D fashion designer Danit Peleg is at the forefront of this fashion… http://makezine.com/2017/08/10/your-wardrobe-of-the-future-could-be-printed-at-home/

Arduino Cinque – The RISC-V, ESP32, WiFi, Bluetooth Arduino
This weekend at the Bay Area Maker Faire, Arduino in conjunction with SiFive, a fabless provider of the Open Source RISC-V micros, introduced the Arduino Cinque… http://hackaday.com/2017/05/20/arduino-cinque-the-risc-v-esp32-wifi-bluetooth-arduino/

Machine Learning for Developers
INTRODUCING THE Nexosis makes it easy to start building machine learning applications. Forecasting API Take your historical time series data and predict what's… http://content.nexosis.com/api-features-signup

Edible robot surgeons will cure you from the inside out
Back in 1985, the best robotic surgeon we had was the Puma 560 , a manipulator arm just barely more advanced than Rocky Balboa's… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/09/edible-robot-surgeons-cure-from-inside-out/

Fingernail-sized chip can repair damaged tissue in seconds
OSU A new device can begin repairing damaged organs in seconds, heralding a major breakthrough for life-saving medicine. Developed at Ohio State University… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/08/ohio-state-genetic-device-breakthrough-organ-tissue-repair/

How Elon Musk Could Kick the Human Out of Tesla's Self-Driving Truck
Elon Musk's grand plan of moving beyond passenger cars to truly revolutionize transportation just got a bit grander. In addition to developing an electric… https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-self-driving-truck-musk/

CircuitPython Snakes its Way onto Adafruit Hardware
In a recent discussion with Scott Shawcroft, an engineer at Adafruit, I got really excited. He was explaining their transition into using CircuitPython on their… http://makezine.com/2017/08/11/circuitpython-snakes-way-adafruit-hardware/

 

Photo: Paralympian Amy Purdy wearing Danit’s 3D printed design at the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Photo courtesy Danit Peleg

The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #5 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #4 Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #4 Mon, 07 Aug 2017 16:27:14 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2333 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80f 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d80f 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Mouser Now Offers The Powerful Open Source UDOO x86 SBC
We spoke about the UDOO Kickstarter campaign just over a year ago . From this month, the powerful x86 single board computers are available on Mouser.com. https://www.open-electronics.org/mouser-now-offers-the-powerful-open-source-udoo-x86-sbc/

Arduino Create is now available on Chrome OS devices
The new Arduino Create Chrome App enables students and other users to write code, access tutorials, configure boards, and share projects. Designed to provide a… https://www.open-electronics.org/arduino-create-is-now-available-on-chrome-os-devices/

Digilent OpenScope: Open-Source PICMZ All-in-One Instrumentation Device
The OpenScope MZ is a portable multi-function programmable instrumentation module. It is a device that connects to a computer (through Wi-Fi or a USB cable)… https://www.open-electronics.org/digilent-openscope-open-source-picmz-all-in-one-instrumentation-device/

Open Source Parral Dev Board Now on Kickstarter
Anyone searching for a way to get started learning the wonderful world of electronics, may be interested in a new breadboard friendly development board which… https://www.open-electronics.org/open-source-parral-dev-board-now-on-kickstarter/

Will Healthcare Inequality Cause Genetic Diseases to Disproportionately Impact the Poor?
Today in America, if you are poor, you are also more likely to suffer from poor health. Low socioeconomic status—and the…
http://gizmodo.com/will-healthcare-inequality-cause-genetic-diseases-to-di-1796996231

Every Voting Machine at This Hacking Conference Got Totally Pwned
A noisy cheer went up from the crowd of hackers clustered around the voting machine tucked into the back corner of a casino conference…  http://gizmodo.com/every-voting-machine-at-this-hacking-conference-got-tot-1797368945

Alphabet is using salt and antifreeze to store power from wind farms
The latest from Alphabet's experimental X division ? A storage solution for renewable energy. Code named “Malta,” the system uses tanks of salt…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/31/google-alphabet-salt-antifreeze-power-storage/

Watch A Pod Race Through the Hyperloop for the First Time Ever
The future sounds a bit like a witch crying over a dead cat. That spooky wail is the sound hyperloop makes—at least, the version of the high-speed… https://www.wired.com/story/hyperloop-one-test-pod-video/

Bitcoin split in two, here's what that means
All eyes were on bitcoin on Tuesday as the digital currency split in two. After ongoing debates over how to scale the digital currency called bitcoin, some… http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/01/technology/business/bitcoin-cash-new-currency/index.html

First US Crispr-Edited Embryos Suggest Superbabies Won’t Come Easy
Last week, when a British reporter broke the news that American scientists had used Crispr to edit the first human embryos on US soil , he wasted no time in…  https://www.wired.com/story/first-us-crispr-edited-embryos-suggest-superbabies-wont-come-easy/

How time-series databases help make sense of sensors
Infrastructure environments' needs and demands change every year and systems become more complex and involved. But all this growth is meaningless if we don't… https://opensource.com/article/17/8/influxdb-time-series-database-stack

DJI and 3D Robotics team up for business-focused drone tools
For all their hobbyist applications, like photography and videography , drones are still primarily commercial tools . Thus, 3DR's… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/01/3dr-dji-partnership/

These Stylish Tattoos are Actually Super-Thin Wearable Electronic Devices to Monitor Health
With the latest development in wearable electronics, scientists are closer to getting rid of traditional big and bulky medical equipment which involves pasting… http://www.industrytap.com/stylish-tattoos-actually-super-thin-wearable-electronic-devices-monitor-health/43371

The Loyal Engineers Steering NASA’s Voyager Probes Across the Universe
In the early spring of 1977, Larry Zottarelli, a 40-year-old computer engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, set out for Cape Canaveral,… https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/magazine/the-loyal-engineers-steering-nasas-voyager-probes-across-the-universe.html

Chicago police see less violent crime after using predictive code
Law enforcement has been trying predictive policing software for a while now, but how well does it work when it's put to a tough test?…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/06/chicago-police-see-less-crime-after-predictive-code/

You can confuse self-driving cars by altering street signs
While car makers and regulators are mostly worried about the possibility of self-driving car hacks , University of Washington… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/06/altered-street-signs-confuse-self-driving-cars/

Lockheed Martin previews a future of tiny space telescopes
Current space telescopes are… big . You can't really avoid it given the need for giant lenses and bulky sensors. Lockheed Martin wants…https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/06/lockheed-martin-spider-photos/

Here's Every Hyperloop One Route Proposed For The U.S.
Hyperloop is still exactly what it was when Elon Musk revealed the concept several years back: an idea. But one of the main companies… http://jalopnik.com/hyperloop-one-is-ready-to-start-tests-heres-every-propo-1794082345

The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #4 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Mouser Now Offers The Powerful Open Source UDOO x86 SBC
We spoke about the UDOO Kickstarter campaign just over a year ago . From this month, the powerful x86 single board computers are available on Mouser.com. https://www.open-electronics.org/mouser-now-offers-the-powerful-open-source-udoo-x86-sbc/

Arduino Create is now available on Chrome OS devices
The new Arduino Create Chrome App enables students and other users to write code, access tutorials, configure boards, and share projects. Designed to provide a… https://www.open-electronics.org/arduino-create-is-now-available-on-chrome-os-devices/

Digilent OpenScope: Open-Source PICMZ All-in-One Instrumentation Device
The OpenScope MZ is a portable multi-function programmable instrumentation module. It is a device that connects to a computer (through Wi-Fi or a USB cable)… https://www.open-electronics.org/digilent-openscope-open-source-picmz-all-in-one-instrumentation-device/

Open Source Parral Dev Board Now on Kickstarter
Anyone searching for a way to get started learning the wonderful world of electronics, may be interested in a new breadboard friendly development board which… https://www.open-electronics.org/open-source-parral-dev-board-now-on-kickstarter/

Will Healthcare Inequality Cause Genetic Diseases to Disproportionately Impact the Poor?
Today in America, if you are poor, you are also more likely to suffer from poor health. Low socioeconomic status—and the…
http://gizmodo.com/will-healthcare-inequality-cause-genetic-diseases-to-di-1796996231

Every Voting Machine at This Hacking Conference Got Totally Pwned
A noisy cheer went up from the crowd of hackers clustered around the voting machine tucked into the back corner of a casino conference…  http://gizmodo.com/every-voting-machine-at-this-hacking-conference-got-tot-1797368945

Alphabet is using salt and antifreeze to store power from wind farms
The latest from Alphabet's experimental X division ? A storage solution for renewable energy. Code named “Malta,” the system uses tanks of salt…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/31/google-alphabet-salt-antifreeze-power-storage/

Watch A Pod Race Through the Hyperloop for the First Time Ever
The future sounds a bit like a witch crying over a dead cat. That spooky wail is the sound hyperloop makes—at least, the version of the high-speed… https://www.wired.com/story/hyperloop-one-test-pod-video/

Bitcoin split in two, here's what that means
All eyes were on bitcoin on Tuesday as the digital currency split in two. After ongoing debates over how to scale the digital currency called bitcoin, some… http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/01/technology/business/bitcoin-cash-new-currency/index.html

First US Crispr-Edited Embryos Suggest Superbabies Won’t Come Easy
Last week, when a British reporter broke the news that American scientists had used Crispr to edit the first human embryos on US soil , he wasted no time in…  https://www.wired.com/story/first-us-crispr-edited-embryos-suggest-superbabies-wont-come-easy/

How time-series databases help make sense of sensors
Infrastructure environments' needs and demands change every year and systems become more complex and involved. But all this growth is meaningless if we don't… https://opensource.com/article/17/8/influxdb-time-series-database-stack

DJI and 3D Robotics team up for business-focused drone tools
For all their hobbyist applications, like photography and videography , drones are still primarily commercial tools . Thus, 3DR's… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/01/3dr-dji-partnership/

These Stylish Tattoos are Actually Super-Thin Wearable Electronic Devices to Monitor Health
With the latest development in wearable electronics, scientists are closer to getting rid of traditional big and bulky medical equipment which involves pasting… http://www.industrytap.com/stylish-tattoos-actually-super-thin-wearable-electronic-devices-monitor-health/43371

The Loyal Engineers Steering NASA’s Voyager Probes Across the Universe
In the early spring of 1977, Larry Zottarelli, a 40-year-old computer engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, set out for Cape Canaveral,… https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/magazine/the-loyal-engineers-steering-nasas-voyager-probes-across-the-universe.html

Chicago police see less violent crime after using predictive code
Law enforcement has been trying predictive policing software for a while now, but how well does it work when it's put to a tough test?…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/06/chicago-police-see-less-crime-after-predictive-code/

You can confuse self-driving cars by altering street signs
While car makers and regulators are mostly worried about the possibility of self-driving car hacks , University of Washington… https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/06/altered-street-signs-confuse-self-driving-cars/

Lockheed Martin previews a future of tiny space telescopes
Current space telescopes are… big . You can't really avoid it given the need for giant lenses and bulky sensors. Lockheed Martin wants…https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/06/lockheed-martin-spider-photos/

Here's Every Hyperloop One Route Proposed For The U.S.
Hyperloop is still exactly what it was when Elon Musk revealed the concept several years back: an idea. But one of the main companies… http://jalopnik.com/hyperloop-one-is-ready-to-start-tests-heres-every-propo-1794082345

The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #4 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #3 Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #3 Mon, 31 Jul 2017 16:26:35 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2319 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d810 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d810 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Stanford built a ‘4D' camera for cars, robots and VR
 A team of Stanford scientists have created what could be the perfect “eye” for autonomous vehicles and delivery drones thus far. It's a…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/25/stanford-4d-camera-robots/

Citizen scientists find a failed star in the Sun's neighborhood
Citizen scientists may not have the time and equipment of their pro counterparts, but their dedication can sometimes… https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/24/citizen-scientists-find-brown-dwarf-near-sun/

World's First Ropeless Elevator Can Move Up, Down, and Sideways
While elevators have enabled the rise of city skylines, since the day one, these elevators have worked on a roped hydraulic mechanism for lifting and lowering… http://www.industrytap.com/worlds-first-ropeless-elevator-can-move-sideways/43273

From Waste to Innovation: 22-Year-Old Computer Engineer Converts Soda Can Into Mini-Satellite
Back in school, we all created crafts using easily available, cheap, and recyclable materials in our art projects. However, this 22-year-old computer engineer…  http://www.industrytap.com/waste-innovation-22-year-old-computer-engineer-converts-soda-can-mini-satellite/43247

Grasping Robots Compete to Rule Amazon’s Warehouses
Amazon employs 45,000 robots, but they all have something missing: hands. Squat wheeled machines carry boxes around in more than 20 of the company’s cavernous…  https://www.wired.com/story/grasping-robots-compete-to-rule-amazons-warehouses/

Google working with Tri-alpha Energy on nuclear fusion
Google is helping the Tri-alpha energy nuclear fusion project with improved algorithms, sensor data analysis and simulations. Google developed a new computer…https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/07/google-working-with-tri-alpha-energy-on-nuclear-fusion.html

Scientists Are Planning A Floating City Where They Can Conduct Research Unregulated
In the hopes of rising above the laws and regulations of terrestrial nations, a group has bold plans to build a floating city in Tahiti, French Polynesia. It…  http://www.iflscience.com/technology/floating-city-project-wants-to-make-an-unregulated-hub-of-scientific-research/

Two girls make rare addition to UK maths Olympiad squad
Rosie Cates: ‘I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of Olympiad maths’Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian The rarefied world of international… http://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/14/rosie-cates-international-mathematical-olympiad-uk-team

Controversial New Theory Suggests Life Wasn't a Fluke of Biology—It Was Physics
The biophysicist Jeremy England made waves in 2013 with a new theory that cast the origin of life as an inevitable outcome of thermodynamics. His equations… https://www.wired.com/story/controversial-new-theory-suggests-life-wasnt-a-fluke-of-biologyit-was-physics/

The $10 Hardware Hack That Wrecks IoT Security
Most consumer tech manufacturers figure that once a hacker can physically access a device, there's not much left that can be done to defend it. But a group of… https://www.wired.com/story/sd-card-hack-iot-zero-days/

SPP 83: Spectacle of Rockin' Romans in Space (and BitCoin) – Gears of Resistance
S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #83 for July 29, 2017. This week we chat about BitCoin, Roman-era concrete, future of jobs, Google's jump into geothermal and much more… http://gearsofresistance.com/2017/07/spp-83-spectacle-rockin-romans-space-bitcoin/

First human embryos edited in U.S., using CRISPR
A still from a video shows gene-editing chemicals being injected into a human egg at the moment of fertilization. Scientists used the technique to correct DNA…  https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608350/first-human-embryos-edited-in-us/

Researchers shut down AI that invented its own language
An artificial intelligence system being developed at Facebook has created its own language. It developed a system of code words to make communication more efficient…  http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/technology/a-step-closer-to-skynet-ai-invents-a-language-humans-can-t-read/article/498142

Mathematics yields techniques for more accurate weather predictions
Figure 1 shows an illustration of the ensemble Kalman filter concept. Each green dot represents a possible estimate of earth atmosphere at a given time.…  https://phys.org/news/2017-07-mathematics-yields-techniques-accurate-weather.html

Tesla Gigafactory Adds Microgrid Lab
BuildZoom reports that Tesla applied for several building permits, including one to add a microgrid lab to its colossal Gigafactory near Reno NV. It's not clear whether its purpose is to eventually make the Gigafactory
http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/15364/Tesla-Gigafactory-Adds-Microgrid-Lab.aspx

Astronomers Might Have Found the First Alien Moon
Visualizations based on NASA data show a planet with a huge moon. PUBLISHED Close to the swirling depths of a huge alien world, a new… http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/moon-discovery-planets-kepler-exomoon-space-science/

Modifying mice: SF startup unleashes new feat in genetic engineering
Startup of the week: Who they are: Ravata Solutions What they do: Genetic engineering of embryos Why it’s cool: Ravata created technology that makes the process… http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/30/sf-startup-unleashes-new-feat-genetic-engineering/

 

 

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]]> Stanford built a ‘4D' camera for cars, robots and VR
 A team of Stanford scientists have created what could be the perfect “eye” for autonomous vehicles and delivery drones thus far. It's a…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/25/stanford-4d-camera-robots/

Citizen scientists find a failed star in the Sun's neighborhood
Citizen scientists may not have the time and equipment of their pro counterparts, but their dedication can sometimes… https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/24/citizen-scientists-find-brown-dwarf-near-sun/

World's First Ropeless Elevator Can Move Up, Down, and Sideways
While elevators have enabled the rise of city skylines, since the day one, these elevators have worked on a roped hydraulic mechanism for lifting and lowering… http://www.industrytap.com/worlds-first-ropeless-elevator-can-move-sideways/43273

From Waste to Innovation: 22-Year-Old Computer Engineer Converts Soda Can Into Mini-Satellite
Back in school, we all created crafts using easily available, cheap, and recyclable materials in our art projects. However, this 22-year-old computer engineer…  http://www.industrytap.com/waste-innovation-22-year-old-computer-engineer-converts-soda-can-mini-satellite/43247

Grasping Robots Compete to Rule Amazon’s Warehouses
Amazon employs 45,000 robots, but they all have something missing: hands. Squat wheeled machines carry boxes around in more than 20 of the company’s cavernous…  https://www.wired.com/story/grasping-robots-compete-to-rule-amazons-warehouses/

Google working with Tri-alpha Energy on nuclear fusion
Google is helping the Tri-alpha energy nuclear fusion project with improved algorithms, sensor data analysis and simulations. Google developed a new computer…https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/07/google-working-with-tri-alpha-energy-on-nuclear-fusion.html

Scientists Are Planning A Floating City Where They Can Conduct Research Unregulated
In the hopes of rising above the laws and regulations of terrestrial nations, a group has bold plans to build a floating city in Tahiti, French Polynesia. It…  http://www.iflscience.com/technology/floating-city-project-wants-to-make-an-unregulated-hub-of-scientific-research/

Two girls make rare addition to UK maths Olympiad squad
Rosie Cates: ‘I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of Olympiad maths’Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian The rarefied world of international… http://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/14/rosie-cates-international-mathematical-olympiad-uk-team

Controversial New Theory Suggests Life Wasn't a Fluke of Biology—It Was Physics
The biophysicist Jeremy England made waves in 2013 with a new theory that cast the origin of life as an inevitable outcome of thermodynamics. His equations… https://www.wired.com/story/controversial-new-theory-suggests-life-wasnt-a-fluke-of-biologyit-was-physics/

The $10 Hardware Hack That Wrecks IoT Security
Most consumer tech manufacturers figure that once a hacker can physically access a device, there's not much left that can be done to defend it. But a group of… https://www.wired.com/story/sd-card-hack-iot-zero-days/

SPP 83: Spectacle of Rockin' Romans in Space (and BitCoin) – Gears of Resistance
S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #83 for July 29, 2017. This week we chat about BitCoin, Roman-era concrete, future of jobs, Google's jump into geothermal and much more… http://gearsofresistance.com/2017/07/spp-83-spectacle-rockin-romans-space-bitcoin/

First human embryos edited in U.S., using CRISPR
A still from a video shows gene-editing chemicals being injected into a human egg at the moment of fertilization. Scientists used the technique to correct DNA…  https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608350/first-human-embryos-edited-in-us/

Researchers shut down AI that invented its own language
An artificial intelligence system being developed at Facebook has created its own language. It developed a system of code words to make communication more efficient…  http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/technology/a-step-closer-to-skynet-ai-invents-a-language-humans-can-t-read/article/498142

Mathematics yields techniques for more accurate weather predictions
Figure 1 shows an illustration of the ensemble Kalman filter concept. Each green dot represents a possible estimate of earth atmosphere at a given time.…  https://phys.org/news/2017-07-mathematics-yields-techniques-accurate-weather.html

Tesla Gigafactory Adds Microgrid Lab
BuildZoom reports that Tesla applied for several building permits, including one to add a microgrid lab to its colossal Gigafactory near Reno NV. It's not clear whether its purpose is to eventually make the Gigafactory
http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/15364/Tesla-Gigafactory-Adds-Microgrid-Lab.aspx

Astronomers Might Have Found the First Alien Moon
Visualizations based on NASA data show a planet with a huge moon. PUBLISHED Close to the swirling depths of a huge alien world, a new… http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/moon-discovery-planets-kepler-exomoon-space-science/

Modifying mice: SF startup unleashes new feat in genetic engineering
Startup of the week: Who they are: Ravata Solutions What they do: Genetic engineering of embryos Why it’s cool: Ravata created technology that makes the process… http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/30/sf-startup-unleashes-new-feat-genetic-engineering/

 

 

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]]> 6 and 20 Sided Dice Simulator 6 and 20 Sided Dice Simulator Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:56:15 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2314 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d811 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d811 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Looking for something cool to build with your new Micro:bit embdded device?  How about a dice simulator that rolls a 6-sided die if you press button A or a 20-sided die if you press button B.

The post 6 and 20 Sided Dice Simulator appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Looking for something cool to build with your new Micro:bit embdded device?  How about a dice simulator that rolls a 6-sided die if you press button A or a 20-sided die if you press button B.

The post 6 and 20 Sided Dice Simulator appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> SPP 83: Spectacle of Rockin’ Romans in Space (and BitCoin) SPP 83: Spectacle of Rockin’ Romans in Space (and BitCoin) Sat, 29 Jul 2017 21:44:41 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2309 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d812 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d812 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #83 for July 29, 2017. http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2017/STEAM_0083_29JUL17.mp3 This week we cover: Clothing That Can Charge Your Phone Human Radio Signals Could Be Helping Shield Us From Space Storms Explaining BitCoin S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #83 for July 29, 2017.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork/Image: A computer-generated image representing space debris as could be seen from high Earth orbit. The two main debris fields are the ring of objects in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) and the cloud of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO). Source: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

clothing, vanderbilt, energy, wearables, magnetosphere, radiation, VLF, radio, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, ethereum, google, alphabet, geothermal, dandelion, quindar, NASA, glass, snapchat, IoT, disney, star wars, roman, civil engineering, concrete, economy, jobs, AI, artificial intelligence

The post SPP 83: Spectacle of Rockin' Romans in Space (and BitCoin) appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #83 for July 29, 2017.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork/Image: A computer-generated image representing space debris as could be seen from high Earth orbit. The two main debris fields are the ring of objects in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) and the cloud of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO). Source: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

clothing, vanderbilt, energy, wearables, magnetosphere, radiation, VLF, radio, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, ethereum, google, alphabet, geothermal, dandelion, quindar, NASA, glass, snapchat, IoT, disney, star wars, roman, civil engineering, concrete, economy, jobs, AI, artificial intelligence

The post SPP 83: Spectacle of Rockin' Romans in Space (and BitCoin) appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #2 Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #2 Tue, 25 Jul 2017 13:12:54 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2306 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d813 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d813 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Bluetooth LE Standard Gains Mesh Networking for Improved Smart Home Connectivity
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group today announced that its Bluetooth technology has been updated with support for mesh networking , designed to create…https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/18/bluetooth-standard-mesh-networking/

Google Glass Is Officially Back, Doing Something It Doesn't Suck At
Agco Google has officially announced what we’ve known for two and a half years—Google Glass isn’t dead, the company has just been redeveloping the… http://gizmodo.com/google-glass-is-back-with-a-new-trick-it-doesnt-suck-at-1797017601

Scientists Just Observed an Effect of Gravity on Tiny Particles For the First Time
Bad news: Humans will probably never explore the area around a black hole, at least while you’re alive. That’s mostly because most…  http://gizmodo.com/scientists-just-observed-an-effect-of-gravity-on-tiny-p-1797057322

Disney is opening an immersive Star Wars Hotel where each guest gets a storyline
AHHHHHHH. Disney just announced something that’s potentially so damned cool that I hardly need complete sentences here: Immersive. Star Wars. Hotel. Details are… http://social.techcrunch.com/2017/07/15/disney-is-opening-an-immersive-star-wars-hotel-where-each-guest-gets-a-storyline/

This famous roboticist doesn’t think Elon Musk understands AI
Earlier this week, at the campus of MIT, TechCrunch had the chance to sit down with famed roboticist Rodney Brooks, the founding director of MIT’s Computer… http://social.techcrunch.com/2017/07/19/this-famous-roboticist-doesnt-think-elon-musk-understands-ai/

GoldieBlox Releases New Video Series to Get Girls Tinkering
Getting girls into STEAM* activities has been a big deal in the last few years. GoldieBlox is an engineering construction set based on fairy-tale-esque stories…  https://geekdad.com/2017/07/goldieblox-releases-new-video-series-to-get-girls-tinkering/

Intel reportedly disbands wearables division as it focuses on AR
Intel reportedly disbands wearables division as it focuses on AR Intel has reportedly laid off the few employees working in its health wearables division, which… http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/07/20/intel-reportedly-disbands-wearables-division-as-it-focuses-on-ar

US House Panel Approves Broad Proposal On Self-Driving Cars – US House Panel Approves Broad Proposal On Self-Driving Cars (reuters.com) An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: A U.S. House panel on… https://yro.slashdot.org/story/17/07/19/2249224/us-house-panel-approves-broad-proposal-on-self-driving-cars

Neuroscientists find new way to make lab equipment on the cheap
Neuroscientists from the Universities of Tubingen and Sussex have created a budget-friendly imaging and microscope system for research, training and teaching… http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/cheap-lab-equipment-1.4212166

Westworld: Where Technology and Ethics Collide
HBO’s Westworld , a reimagining of Michael Crichton’s 1973 feature Gunslinger film debut, is quickly gaining a cult following akin to Lost , The Walking Dead… http://www.mouser.com/blog/westworld-where-technology-and-ethics-collide

Lawbreaking Particles May Point to a Previously Unknown Force in the Universe
A diagram of two protons colliding inside the LHCb experiment. Credit: CERN For decades physicists have sought signs of misbehaving particles—evidence of subtle…  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lawbreaking-particles-may-point-to-a-previously-unknown-force-in-the-universe/

The Moon's Interior Could Contain Lots of Water, Study Shows
Ancient volcanic deposits on the moon reveal new evidence about the lunar interior, suggesting it contains substantial amounts of water. Using satellite data,…  https://www.space.com/37596-moon-interior-could-have-water.html

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Bluetooth LE Standard Gains Mesh Networking for Improved Smart Home Connectivity
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group today announced that its Bluetooth technology has been updated with support for mesh networking , designed to create…https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/18/bluetooth-standard-mesh-networking/

Google Glass Is Officially Back, Doing Something It Doesn't Suck At
Agco Google has officially announced what we’ve known for two and a half years—Google Glass isn’t dead, the company has just been redeveloping the… http://gizmodo.com/google-glass-is-back-with-a-new-trick-it-doesnt-suck-at-1797017601

Scientists Just Observed an Effect of Gravity on Tiny Particles For the First Time
Bad news: Humans will probably never explore the area around a black hole, at least while you’re alive. That’s mostly because most…  http://gizmodo.com/scientists-just-observed-an-effect-of-gravity-on-tiny-p-1797057322

Disney is opening an immersive Star Wars Hotel where each guest gets a storyline
AHHHHHHH. Disney just announced something that’s potentially so damned cool that I hardly need complete sentences here: Immersive. Star Wars. Hotel. Details are… http://social.techcrunch.com/2017/07/15/disney-is-opening-an-immersive-star-wars-hotel-where-each-guest-gets-a-storyline/

This famous roboticist doesn’t think Elon Musk understands AI
Earlier this week, at the campus of MIT, TechCrunch had the chance to sit down with famed roboticist Rodney Brooks, the founding director of MIT’s Computer… http://social.techcrunch.com/2017/07/19/this-famous-roboticist-doesnt-think-elon-musk-understands-ai/

GoldieBlox Releases New Video Series to Get Girls Tinkering
Getting girls into STEAM* activities has been a big deal in the last few years. GoldieBlox is an engineering construction set based on fairy-tale-esque stories…  https://geekdad.com/2017/07/goldieblox-releases-new-video-series-to-get-girls-tinkering/

Intel reportedly disbands wearables division as it focuses on AR
Intel reportedly disbands wearables division as it focuses on AR Intel has reportedly laid off the few employees working in its health wearables division, which… http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/07/20/intel-reportedly-disbands-wearables-division-as-it-focuses-on-ar

US House Panel Approves Broad Proposal On Self-Driving Cars – US House Panel Approves Broad Proposal On Self-Driving Cars (reuters.com) An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: A U.S. House panel on… https://yro.slashdot.org/story/17/07/19/2249224/us-house-panel-approves-broad-proposal-on-self-driving-cars

Neuroscientists find new way to make lab equipment on the cheap
Neuroscientists from the Universities of Tubingen and Sussex have created a budget-friendly imaging and microscope system for research, training and teaching… http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/cheap-lab-equipment-1.4212166

Westworld: Where Technology and Ethics Collide
HBO’s Westworld , a reimagining of Michael Crichton’s 1973 feature Gunslinger film debut, is quickly gaining a cult following akin to Lost , The Walking Dead… http://www.mouser.com/blog/westworld-where-technology-and-ethics-collide

Lawbreaking Particles May Point to a Previously Unknown Force in the Universe
A diagram of two protons colliding inside the LHCb experiment. Credit: CERN For decades physicists have sought signs of misbehaving particles—evidence of subtle…  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lawbreaking-particles-may-point-to-a-previously-unknown-force-in-the-universe/

The Moon's Interior Could Contain Lots of Water, Study Shows
Ancient volcanic deposits on the moon reveal new evidence about the lunar interior, suggesting it contains substantial amounts of water. Using satellite data,…  https://www.space.com/37596-moon-interior-could-have-water.html

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]]> Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #1 Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #1 Tue, 18 Jul 2017 06:23:41 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2293 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d814 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d814 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Hello, World! Here is your weekly digest of all the latest and quirkiest science, technology, engineering, art, math, open source, DIY, and Pro-Maker news!

Early universe ‘fireworks' challenge notions of how stars form
NASA, ESA, T. Johnson/University of Michigan At the rate things are going, astronomers may have to toss out the rule book for galaxy formation. Researchers…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/09/early-universe-fireworks-challenge-star-formation-ideas/

China starts 200-day simulation of living on another planet
The US definitely doesn't have a monopoly on long-term simulations of living on another planet . Four Beijing University students have…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/09/china-200-day-simulation-of-living-in-space/

Tutorial: Creating and managing a Node.js server on AWS, part 1
Intro There are many ways to run servers and plenty of cloud platforms to do so. To start this tutorial series I am going to go with managing an EC2 server… https://hackernoon.com/tutorial-creating-and-managing-a-node-js-server-on-aws-part-1-d67367ac5171


What jobs will still be around in 20 years? Read this to prepare your future
According to a 2013 report from Oxford academics, 47% of workers in America have jobs at high risk of potential automation.Photograph: Mona Chalabi The robots…  http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/26/jobs-future-automation-robots-skills-creative-health


China have teleported a photon 500 kilometers to orbiting satellite
China’s Micius satellite is a highly sensitive photon receiver that can detect the quantum states of single photons fired from the ground. Micius orbits at an… https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/07/china-have-teleported-a-photon-500-kilometers-to-orbiting-satellite.html

MeArm Deluxe Kit (Blue) with Brains board and Joystick controller.
Ever since I first watched the opening scenes of Short…  https://store.hackaday.com/products/mearm-pocket-sized-robot-arm

Soft Sensors Might Make Wearables Actually Wearable
Picture a rectangle of fabric cut from a standard grey t-shirt. It’s stretchier than most tees, because it’s made from a mix of nylon and spandex, not cotton.…  https://www.wired.com/story/soft-sensors-might-make-wearables-actually-wearable/


Bench Talk | Mind Your R’s and C’s: A Look at Different Types of Resistors and Capacitors
Learning electronics is a lot like peeling an onion. No matter how much you learn, there is always a deeper level of knowledge that can be uncovered and…  http://www.mouser.com/blog/mind-your-rs-and-cs-a-look-at-different-types-of-resistors-and-capacitors

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The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #1 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Hello, World! Here is your weekly digest of all the latest and quirkiest science, technology, engineering, art, math, open source, DIY, and Pro-Maker news!

Early universe ‘fireworks' challenge notions of how stars form
NASA, ESA, T. Johnson/University of Michigan At the rate things are going, astronomers may have to toss out the rule book for galaxy formation. Researchers…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/09/early-universe-fireworks-challenge-star-formation-ideas/

China starts 200-day simulation of living on another planet
The US definitely doesn't have a monopoly on long-term simulations of living on another planet . Four Beijing University students have…  https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/09/china-200-day-simulation-of-living-in-space/

Tutorial: Creating and managing a Node.js server on AWS, part 1
Intro There are many ways to run servers and plenty of cloud platforms to do so. To start this tutorial series I am going to go with managing an EC2 server… https://hackernoon.com/tutorial-creating-and-managing-a-node-js-server-on-aws-part-1-d67367ac5171


What jobs will still be around in 20 years? Read this to prepare your future
According to a 2013 report from Oxford academics, 47% of workers in America have jobs at high risk of potential automation.Photograph: Mona Chalabi The robots…  http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/26/jobs-future-automation-robots-skills-creative-health


China have teleported a photon 500 kilometers to orbiting satellite
China’s Micius satellite is a highly sensitive photon receiver that can detect the quantum states of single photons fired from the ground. Micius orbits at an… https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/07/china-have-teleported-a-photon-500-kilometers-to-orbiting-satellite.html

MeArm Deluxe Kit (Blue) with Brains board and Joystick controller.
Ever since I first watched the opening scenes of Short…  https://store.hackaday.com/products/mearm-pocket-sized-robot-arm

Soft Sensors Might Make Wearables Actually Wearable
Picture a rectangle of fabric cut from a standard grey t-shirt. It’s stretchier than most tees, because it’s made from a mix of nylon and spandex, not cotton.…  https://www.wired.com/story/soft-sensors-might-make-wearables-actually-wearable/


Bench Talk | Mind Your R’s and C’s: A Look at Different Types of Resistors and Capacitors
Learning electronics is a lot like peeling an onion. No matter how much you learn, there is always a deeper level of knowledge that can be uncovered and…  http://www.mouser.com/blog/mind-your-rs-and-cs-a-look-at-different-types-of-resistors-and-capacitors

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The post Weekly STEAM and Maker Digest #1 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> SPP 82: Now With Artificially Flavored Intelligence SPP 82: Now With Artificially Flavored Intelligence Sun, 18 Jun 2017 23:31:46 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2284 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d815 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d815 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #82 for June 18, 2017.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork/Image:  Lowe's Employee with an Exoskeleton. Courtesy of Lowes/Virginia Tech. 2017.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

wastewater, pathogens, energy, exoskeletons, lowes, google, ai, tensorFlow, TPU, HaaS, nutella, design, algorithm, math, time travel, physics, supreme court, patents

The post SPP 82: Now With Artificially Flavored Intelligence appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #82 for June 18, 2017.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork/Image:  Lowe's Employee with an Exoskeleton. Courtesy of Lowes/Virginia Tech. 2017.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

wastewater, pathogens, energy, exoskeletons, lowes, google, ai, tensorFlow, TPU, HaaS, nutella, design, algorithm, math, time travel, physics, supreme court, patents

The post SPP 82: Now With Artificially Flavored Intelligence appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> 3D Printable Enclosure Design with Fusion 360 3D Printable Enclosure Design with Fusion 360 Mon, 29 May 2017 02:58:33 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2269 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d816 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d816 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Special for May 24, 2017

In the previous two videos was we talked about the workflow for taking an Eagle PCB board file and using the OtherMill Pro to make a circuit board.  Then we took tat same Eagle board file and moved it into Fusion 360 to begin making an enclosure. This week we go in-depth on enclosure making and make a practical 3D printable enclosure in Fusion 360. Some of the tools we use:

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

eagle, autodesk, othermachine, othermill pro, pcb, circuit, milling, adafruit, sparkfun, seeedstudio, github, octopart, snapeda, eda, hobby lobby, end mills, isolation milling, fusion 360, electronics, enclosures, mcad, ecad, matter control, 3d printing

The post 3D Printable Enclosure Design with Fusion 360 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Special for May 24, 2017

In the previous two videos was we talked about the workflow for taking an Eagle PCB board file and using the OtherMill Pro to make a circuit board.  Then we took tat same Eagle board file and moved it into Fusion 360 to begin making an enclosure. This week we go in-depth on enclosure making and make a practical 3D printable enclosure in Fusion 360. Some of the tools we use:

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

eagle, autodesk, othermachine, othermill pro, pcb, circuit, milling, adafruit, sparkfun, seeedstudio, github, octopart, snapeda, eda, hobby lobby, end mills, isolation milling, fusion 360, electronics, enclosures, mcad, ecad, matter control, 3d printing

The post 3D Printable Enclosure Design with Fusion 360 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> 3D Printed Enclosures with EagleCAD and Fusion 360 3D Printed Enclosures with EagleCAD and Fusion 360 Fri, 19 May 2017 17:38:20 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2261 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d817 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d817 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Special for May 19, 2017

Last time we talked about the workflow for taking an Eagle PCB board file and using the OtherMill Pro to make a circuit board.  This week we show how to use the same Eagle board file to build a 3D printable enclosure in Fusion 360. Some of the tools we use

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

eagle, autodesk, othermachine, othermill pro, pcb, circuit, milling, adafruit, sparkfun, seeedstudio, github, octopart, snapeda, eda, hobby lobby, end mills, isolation milling, fusion 360, electronics, enclosures, mcad, ecad, matter control, 3d printing

The post 3D Printed Enclosures with EagleCAD and Fusion 360 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Special for May 19, 2017

Last time we talked about the workflow for taking an Eagle PCB board file and using the OtherMill Pro to make a circuit board.  This week we show how to use the same Eagle board file to build a 3D printable enclosure in Fusion 360. Some of the tools we use

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

eagle, autodesk, othermachine, othermill pro, pcb, circuit, milling, adafruit, sparkfun, seeedstudio, github, octopart, snapeda, eda, hobby lobby, end mills, isolation milling, fusion 360, electronics, enclosures, mcad, ecad, matter control, 3d printing

The post 3D Printed Enclosures with EagleCAD and Fusion 360 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 81: Poopin’ in Space and Star Trek Society SPP 81: Poopin’ in Space and Star Trek Society Sun, 23 Apr 2017 00:09:10 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2242 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d818 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d818 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #81 for April 22, 2017.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Artist concept of Cassini spacecraft as it makes final studies of the uncharted space between Saturn and her rings.  Courtesy of JPL-CALTECH/NASA

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

nasa, space, congress, isp, internet, privacy, ai, robot, society, workers, employment, art, taxes, donations, math, CGI, Gaussian correlation inequality

The post SPP 81: Poopin' in Space and Star Trek Society appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #81 for April 22, 2017.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: Artist concept of Cassini spacecraft as it makes final studies of the uncharted space between Saturn and her rings.  Courtesy of JPL-CALTECH/NASA

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

nasa, space, congress, isp, internet, privacy, ai, robot, society, workers, employment, art, taxes, donations, math, CGI, Gaussian correlation inequality

The post SPP 81: Poopin' in Space and Star Trek Society appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GoR 26: OtherMill and Eagle for PCB Milling GoR 26: OtherMill and Eagle for PCB Milling Sat, 22 Apr 2017 23:59:34 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2240 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d819 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d819 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Episode 26 for April 22, 2017

This week we talk about the workflow for taking an Eagle PCB board file and using the OtherMill Pro to make a circuit board.  We also visit our brand new Hobby Lobby.  Links for the things we talk about are below:

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

eagle, autodesk, othermachine, othermill pro, pcb, circuit, milling, adafruit, sparkfun, seeedstudio, github, octopart, snapeda, eda, hobby lobby, end mills, isolation milling

The post GoR 26: OtherMill and Eagle for PCB Milling appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Episode 26 for April 22, 2017

This week we talk about the workflow for taking an Eagle PCB board file and using the OtherMill Pro to make a circuit board.  We also visit our brand new Hobby Lobby.  Links for the things we talk about are below:

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

eagle, autodesk, othermachine, othermill pro, pcb, circuit, milling, adafruit, sparkfun, seeedstudio, github, octopart, snapeda, eda, hobby lobby, end mills, isolation milling

The post GoR 26: OtherMill and Eagle for PCB Milling appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> #DIY Vacuum Chamber #DIY Vacuum Chamber Sun, 16 Apr 2017 01:30:16 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2233 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81a 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81a 5e471844643b69565ab97514  

Spent the previous weekend building the above DIY vacuum chamber.  Pretty straightforward to build and lots of good YouTube videos out there to do just that.  What was lacking was a good list of the pipe fitting people used.  Trust when when I say it is not as straightforward as naive me wanted to believe.  MIP, FIP, FL, PT, NPT, OD, ID, M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E.  So, if you have a Lowe's nearby and are itching to build your vacuum chamber, here are the parts I bought:

– x2 AMERICAN VALVE 1/4-in Brass Female In-Line Ball Valve. Item # 369194 Model # G100 1/4-IN
– x2 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Adapter Adapter Fitting Item # 645723 Model # 462-4-4X P (F FLARE to F OD)
– x1 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Tee Tee Fitting Item # 645692 Model # 203-4X P (FIP T)
– x2 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Adapter Adapter Fitting Item # 645880 Model # PHN-4X P (MIP HEX NIPPLE)
– x1 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Flare x MIP Adapter Adapter Fitting Item # 645733 Model # 48-4-4X P
– x1 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Female Adapter Coupling Fitting Item # 645697 Model # 207-4X P (FIP to FIP)
– x2 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Street Elbow Elbow Fitting Item # 645687 Model # 202-4X P
– x1 EASTMAN 1/4-in x 20-ft PVC Clear Vinyl Tubing Item # 814315 Model # 98560
– x1 Blue Hawk 0.6-in x 43-ft Plumber's Tape Item # 456833 Model # 31430L
– x1 Clear Silicone Caulk Item # 51220
– Target: 1 Gallon Collector's Mason Jar Clear from Ball

 

The post #DIY Vacuum Chamber appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>  

Spent the previous weekend building the above DIY vacuum chamber.  Pretty straightforward to build and lots of good YouTube videos out there to do just that.  What was lacking was a good list of the pipe fitting people used.  Trust when when I say it is not as straightforward as naive me wanted to believe.  MIP, FIP, FL, PT, NPT, OD, ID, M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E.  So, if you have a Lowe's nearby and are itching to build your vacuum chamber, here are the parts I bought:

– x2 AMERICAN VALVE 1/4-in Brass Female In-Line Ball Valve. Item # 369194 Model # G100 1/4-IN
– x2 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Adapter Adapter Fitting Item # 645723 Model # 462-4-4X P (F FLARE to F OD)
– x1 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Tee Tee Fitting Item # 645692 Model # 203-4X P (FIP T)
– x2 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Adapter Adapter Fitting Item # 645880 Model # PHN-4X P (MIP HEX NIPPLE)
– x1 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Flare x MIP Adapter Adapter Fitting Item # 645733 Model # 48-4-4X P
– x1 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Female Adapter Coupling Fitting Item # 645697 Model # 207-4X P (FIP to FIP)
– x2 BrassCraft 1/4-in x 1/4-in Threaded Street Elbow Elbow Fitting Item # 645687 Model # 202-4X P
– x1 EASTMAN 1/4-in x 20-ft PVC Clear Vinyl Tubing Item # 814315 Model # 98560
– x1 Blue Hawk 0.6-in x 43-ft Plumber's Tape Item # 456833 Model # 31430L
– x1 Clear Silicone Caulk Item # 51220
– Target: 1 Gallon Collector's Mason Jar Clear from Ball

 

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]]> GoR 25: Podcast Studio in a Box GoR 25: Podcast Studio in a Box Sat, 25 Feb 2017 04:29:03 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2223 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81b 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81b 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Episode 25 for February 24, 2017

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 25: Podcast Studio in a Box appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Episode 25 for February 24, 2017

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 25: Podcast Studio in a Box appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 80: Abstract Walls and Acid Powered Robots SPP 80: Abstract Walls and Acid Powered Robots Mon, 13 Feb 2017 01:23:03 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2216 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81c 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81c 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #80 for February 12, 2017 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2017/STEAM_0080_12FEB17.mp3 This week we cover: Abstract: Art of Design on Netflix Drug to Regenerate Teeth (just like Doctor Who!) NASA Makes a Computer Chip that S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #80 for February 12, 2017

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: ALMA (ESO, NAOJ, NRAO), ALEXANDRA ANGELICH (NRAO, AUI, NSF)

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

abstract, art, design, netflix, e.t., spielberg, d&d, dentistry, dentine, teeth, regenerate, nasa, venus, computer chip, integrated circuit, SiC, robots, medicine, stomach acid, voltaic, eiffel tower, math, movement, education

The post SPP 80: Abstract Walls and Acid Powered Robots appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #80 for February 12, 2017

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artwork: ALMA (ESO, NAOJ, NRAO), ALEXANDRA ANGELICH (NRAO, AUI, NSF)

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

abstract, art, design, netflix, e.t., spielberg, d&d, dentistry, dentine, teeth, regenerate, nasa, venus, computer chip, integrated circuit, SiC, robots, medicine, stomach acid, voltaic, eiffel tower, math, movement, education

The post SPP 80: Abstract Walls and Acid Powered Robots appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GoR 24: Battery Box, DIY Light Filter, and Foamy Fun GoR 24: Battery Box, DIY Light Filter, and Foamy Fun Sun, 12 Feb 2017 21:28:23 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2211 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81d 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81d 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Episode 24 for February 12, 2017

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 24: Battery Box, DIY Light Filter, and Foamy Fun appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Episode 24 for February 12, 2017

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 24: Battery Box, DIY Light Filter, and Foamy Fun appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GoR 23: LED Lights, Altoid Tins, and the End of the DMCA GoR 23: LED Lights, Altoid Tins, and the End of the DMCA Sun, 06 Nov 2016 23:13:19 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2185 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81e 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81e 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Episode 23 for November 6, 2016

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 23: LED Lights, Altoid Tins, and the End of the DMCA appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Episode 23 for November 6, 2016

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 23: LED Lights, Altoid Tins, and the End of the DMCA appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 79: The STEAM Strikes Back SPP 79: The STEAM Strikes Back Sun, 23 Oct 2016 23:23:14 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2125 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81f 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d81f 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #79 for October 23, 2016 NSFW WARNING: Just a word of warning, towards the end of this episode we discuss entertainment and impact on society where we touch upon violence and sexuality. Nothing too raunchy but listener discretion S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #79 for October 23, 2016
NSFW WARNING: Just a word of warning, towards the end of this episode we discuss entertainment and impact on society where we touch upon violence and sexuality. Nothing too raunchy but listener discretion is advised.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artist's illustration of Planet Nine, a world about 10 times more massive than Earth that may lie undiscovered in the outer solar system. Credit: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

9th planet, elon musk, mars, space travel, colonization, open source, housing, open building institute, construction, smithsonian, kickstarter, wizard of oz, ruby red shoes, math, kids, spatial reasoning

The post SPP 79: The STEAM Strikes Back appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #79 for October 23, 2016
NSFW WARNING: Just a word of warning, towards the end of this episode we discuss entertainment and impact on society where we touch upon violence and sexuality. Nothing too raunchy but listener discretion is advised.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Artist's illustration of Planet Nine, a world about 10 times more massive than Earth that may lie undiscovered in the outer solar system. Credit: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

9th planet, elon musk, mars, space travel, colonization, open source, housing, open building institute, construction, smithsonian, kickstarter, wizard of oz, ruby red shoes, math, kids, spatial reasoning

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]]> GoR 22: 3D Printing + Woodworking and OSHW News GoR 22: 3D Printing + Woodworking and OSHW News Sun, 09 Oct 2016 03:15:34 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2112 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d820 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d820 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Episode 22 for October 8, 2016

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 22: 3D Printing + Woodworking and OSHW News appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Episode 22 for October 8, 2016

For more tech news and how-to’s follow along on Google+ and check out our YouTube Channel.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post GoR 22: 3D Printing + Woodworking and OSHW News appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Homebrewing a Tool Box with LEDs! Homebrewing a Tool Box with LEDs! Tue, 27 Sep 2016 04:38:52 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2107 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d821 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d821 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Some times you just want to make stuff with no real practical purpose! Some call it art. I call it fun. I have wanted a toolbox with LEDs inside so it's easier to find stuff in the dark. So I set out to make as ‘unique' (that's being gentle!) a box as I could using what skills I've managed to (relatively) master.

This is part 1 of 2. Here we focus on the woodworking, metalworking, 3D printing, and CNC routing. In the next video we will focus on add some electronic wizardry. Because it's a proven fact that everything is better with electronic goodness inside!

Also, I do not know why the audio sucks in some parts, and is okay in others. Needless to say, I am not Steven Spielberg.

The post Homebrewing a Tool Box with LEDs! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Some times you just want to make stuff with no real practical purpose! Some call it art. I call it fun. I have wanted a toolbox with LEDs inside so it's easier to find stuff in the dark. So I set out to make as ‘unique' (that's being gentle!) a box as I could using what skills I've managed to (relatively) master.

This is part 1 of 2. Here we focus on the woodworking, metalworking, 3D printing, and CNC routing. In the next video we will focus on add some electronic wizardry. Because it's a proven fact that everything is better with electronic goodness inside!

Also, I do not know why the audio sucks in some parts, and is okay in others. Needless to say, I am not Steven Spielberg.

The post Homebrewing a Tool Box with LEDs! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> 2016 Bmore Comic Con 2016 Bmore Comic Con Sun, 04 Sep 2016 23:12:34 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=2097 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d822 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d822 5e471844643b69565ab97514 What place does art have in science, technology, engineering and math? And more importantly, what's this got to do with the 2016 Baltimore Comic Con?

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]]> What place does art have in science, technology, engineering and math? And more importantly, what's this got to do with the 2016 Baltimore Comic Con?

The post 2016 Bmore Comic Con appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Rise of The Purple Collar Worker Rise of The Purple Collar Worker Wed, 06 Jul 2016 03:17:58 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1706 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d823 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d823 5e471844643b69565ab97514 A little background in case you've never heard the terms blue collar or white collar jobs. To be a blue collar worker was to hold a job that tended to be more physical labor and less education.  Whereas as white collar workers tended to be the office drones, sometimes requiring college education.  Blue collar tended to be paid a wage, white collar workers were paid a salary.  Blue collar jobs tend to fall victim to changes in technology and automation but are mostly immune to outsourcing.  For example factory workers were largely replaced with robots but when the drains are are clogged in your house you need someone local to fix it. White collar jobs on the other hands are much more susceptible to outsourcing especially workers whose job involves a lot of “computer time”.  While the white collar workforce in the Western world has had a sip of the forthcoming changes as a result of the Great Recession, the real dramatic shift will occur as Artificial Intelligence technology matures and Big Data finally delivers on its promises after years of false starts.

In the end, both traditional white collar and blue collar workers will have become victims to economic forces that aim to drive down cost. Strictly knowledge worker jobs will die just like strictly labor jobs gave way to machinery. But in change there is always hope for new and better workplace. Enter a new breed of worker.  What I affectionately call the “purple collar” worker.  In short, the purple collar worker is mix of the traditional blue collar and white collar workers.

My prediction is that these new workers will mostly be independent consultants who self finance both their retirement and healthcare. After all, as of the 2010 census 99.7% of companies in the United States employe 500 or fewer employees. 89.6% have fewer than 20 employees. The trend is toward smaller and independent, especially as your health insurance status is not directly tied to your employment status. People will be more likely to take the plunge of self-employment.

Purple collar workers will be very adept at using technology.  They will be very mobile.  They will not work set 9-to-5 schedules though they may very well end up working 50+ hour weeks spread over 6 or even 7 days a week.  Still, they will enjoy a much better life/work balance. Workers don't want to be drones and employers/patrons don't want “good enough” drone quality results. They will be extremely customer oriented, perhaps to a fault. But they will also strive to put customer first since their livelihoods will depend on it more so than a company guy or gal.

They will blend entrepreneurial business savvy with a practical, technical ability.  They will have practical, hands-on skills and abilities that balanced academic knowledge.  They will have more breadth than depth and rely on networking with other similar consultants who have depth in parallel fields to their own.  This will allow them to fill-in the blanks of missing knowledge when working on specific projects.  Think of these relations as a sort of loose guild.  Many may very well take advantage of resources such as makerspaces or worksharing (also called coworking) spaces for any reason including access to classes for continuing education, tools, machines, social interaction and business networking.  We may even see the introduction of “professional makerspaces” that are geared more towards small businesses versus the amateur enthusiast.  What exactly a professional makerspace could be is a topic I would love to explore in a blog post.

Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame, who also happens to be a fellow Eagle Scout and Marylander, has often repeated his mantra that  he want people to work smart … and hard. It's a simple notion but one that is immensely powerful for rebuilding our economy post-Great Recession. Too often the strictly white collar office gigs have become complacent and a bit arrogant in believing that being smart is a substitute for being a hardworker. Conversely, blue collars tend to look down at the cushy office jobs as a waste of resources. The truth is in a globally connected economy that travels near the speed of light, you need both types of skillsets.

So the future needs to be purple collar jobs. Where human creativity and hardwork can complement and take advantage of technology and computational-heavy analysis skills. True renaissance men and women. People as comfortable with a welding machine as they are running an Excel spreadsheet.  People who can leverage the emerging desktop manufacturing technologies and build personal brands will be able to maker very lucrative careers out of catering to hyper niches with unique products and services. After all, consumers want the quality of handcrafted products but at mass produced prices. Historically the answer is pick one or the other. But I beg to differ, we can do both we just never really sat down to figure it out. Purple collar workers will crack that question. While this seems to be heavily referencing jobs that produce tangible products, I believe services can benefit from adopting a purple collar mindset as well.

So there you have it.  My prediction on the rise of the purple collar worker.  Of course our education system will need to evolve as well. Future of education is another topic I think about a lot too. After all what is education but a preparation course for a work life. It's a system and thus you can't tweak one without tweaking the other to ensure the overall system remains in-tune. But that's a blog for another time.

The post Rise of The Purple Collar Worker appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> A little background in case you've never heard the terms blue collar or white collar jobs. To be a blue collar worker was to hold a job that tended to be more physical labor and less education.  Whereas as white collar workers tended to be the office drones, sometimes requiring college education.  Blue collar tended to be paid a wage, white collar workers were paid a salary.  Blue collar jobs tend to fall victim to changes in technology and automation but are mostly immune to outsourcing.  For example factory workers were largely replaced with robots but when the drains are are clogged in your house you need someone local to fix it. White collar jobs on the other hands are much more susceptible to outsourcing especially workers whose job involves a lot of “computer time”.  While the white collar workforce in the Western world has had a sip of the forthcoming changes as a result of the Great Recession, the real dramatic shift will occur as Artificial Intelligence technology matures and Big Data finally delivers on its promises after years of false starts.

In the end, both traditional white collar and blue collar workers will have become victims to economic forces that aim to drive down cost. Strictly knowledge worker jobs will die just like strictly labor jobs gave way to machinery. But in change there is always hope for new and better workplace. Enter a new breed of worker.  What I affectionately call the “purple collar” worker.  In short, the purple collar worker is mix of the traditional blue collar and white collar workers.

My prediction is that these new workers will mostly be independent consultants who self finance both their retirement and healthcare. After all, as of the 2010 census 99.7% of companies in the United States employe 500 or fewer employees. 89.6% have fewer than 20 employees. The trend is toward smaller and independent, especially as your health insurance status is not directly tied to your employment status. People will be more likely to take the plunge of self-employment.

Purple collar workers will be very adept at using technology.  They will be very mobile.  They will not work set 9-to-5 schedules though they may very well end up working 50+ hour weeks spread over 6 or even 7 days a week.  Still, they will enjoy a much better life/work balance. Workers don't want to be drones and employers/patrons don't want “good enough” drone quality results. They will be extremely customer oriented, perhaps to a fault. But they will also strive to put customer first since their livelihoods will depend on it more so than a company guy or gal.

They will blend entrepreneurial business savvy with a practical, technical ability.  They will have practical, hands-on skills and abilities that balanced academic knowledge.  They will have more breadth than depth and rely on networking with other similar consultants who have depth in parallel fields to their own.  This will allow them to fill-in the blanks of missing knowledge when working on specific projects.  Think of these relations as a sort of loose guild.  Many may very well take advantage of resources such as makerspaces or worksharing (also called coworking) spaces for any reason including access to classes for continuing education, tools, machines, social interaction and business networking.  We may even see the introduction of “professional makerspaces” that are geared more towards small businesses versus the amateur enthusiast.  What exactly a professional makerspace could be is a topic I would love to explore in a blog post.

Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame, who also happens to be a fellow Eagle Scout and Marylander, has often repeated his mantra that  he want people to work smart … and hard. It's a simple notion but one that is immensely powerful for rebuilding our economy post-Great Recession. Too often the strictly white collar office gigs have become complacent and a bit arrogant in believing that being smart is a substitute for being a hardworker. Conversely, blue collars tend to look down at the cushy office jobs as a waste of resources. The truth is in a globally connected economy that travels near the speed of light, you need both types of skillsets.

So the future needs to be purple collar jobs. Where human creativity and hardwork can complement and take advantage of technology and computational-heavy analysis skills. True renaissance men and women. People as comfortable with a welding machine as they are running an Excel spreadsheet.  People who can leverage the emerging desktop manufacturing technologies and build personal brands will be able to maker very lucrative careers out of catering to hyper niches with unique products and services. After all, consumers want the quality of handcrafted products but at mass produced prices. Historically the answer is pick one or the other. But I beg to differ, we can do both we just never really sat down to figure it out. Purple collar workers will crack that question. While this seems to be heavily referencing jobs that produce tangible products, I believe services can benefit from adopting a purple collar mindset as well.

So there you have it.  My prediction on the rise of the purple collar worker.  Of course our education system will need to evolve as well. Future of education is another topic I think about a lot too. After all what is education but a preparation course for a work life. It's a system and thus you can't tweak one without tweaking the other to ensure the overall system remains in-tune. But that's a blog for another time.

The post Rise of The Purple Collar Worker appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Maker Lessons from Cooking Maker Lessons from Cooking Sat, 04 Jun 2016 05:14:51 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1673 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d824 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d824 5e471844643b69565ab97514 RatatouillePosterYou may not have an electronics laboratory or woodworking shop at your home, but chances are you do have a kitchen. There is also a chance that every now and then you use for it's intended purpose of cooking food. In my mind cooking is the original Maker skill. Instead of mixing together electronic components, software bits, wood, or metal; cooking uses meats, fruits, vegetables, etc. There are tons of tools involved in cooking. There are also a lot of skills to be learned. I am admittedly a neophyte when it comes to cooking and rely extensively on the culinary equivalent of “application notes and data sheets” known to most of us as a cookbook. My favorite is “A Man, a Can, and a Plan”. But I digress.

I have a confession to make. One of my favorite movies is Pixar's Ratatouille. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and go find it online and watch it. If you haven't seen it and can't make the time right now, allow me to give you the Cliffnote's version. The story centers around a mouse named Remy who, against all odds, aspires to be a great chef like his recently deceased idol, a man named August Gusteau. Chef Gusteau had a motto “Anyone can cook” which annoyed the film's semi-antagonist, film critic Anton Ego (great name). In a nutshell, the film follows Remy and his journey to becoming a chef in the eyes of Ego.

In the end, Ego learns what is really meant by “Anyone can cook”.

In my mind's eye there were two meanings.

  1. Greatness can come from anywhere. To believe there is a “right” path is naive.
  2. Not everyone makes the major leagues. But that doesn't mean you don't play the game. Anyone can cook, you don't have to be THE best chef to be a good or even great chef.

Extrapolate those ideals to the Maker Movement.

Anyone can make.

You don't have to build an iPhone killer to be good at electronics. You don't have to be able to build a Stradivarious violin to be a good woodworker. You don't have to be a Michelin starred chef to be a good cook.

Regardless of the medium that you prefer to use in your tinkering, food, metal, wood, or electronics; there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the art, science, and social interaction of cooking that can be applied to Making in general. I highly encourage you to watch the Netflix series “Chef's Table” to get an idea of what I mean.

Then get out there and make something.

The post Maker Lessons from Cooking appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> RatatouillePosterYou may not have an electronics laboratory or woodworking shop at your home, but chances are you do have a kitchen. There is also a chance that every now and then you use for it's intended purpose of cooking food. In my mind cooking is the original Maker skill. Instead of mixing together electronic components, software bits, wood, or metal; cooking uses meats, fruits, vegetables, etc. There are tons of tools involved in cooking. There are also a lot of skills to be learned. I am admittedly a neophyte when it comes to cooking and rely extensively on the culinary equivalent of “application notes and data sheets” known to most of us as a cookbook. My favorite is “A Man, a Can, and a Plan”. But I digress.

I have a confession to make. One of my favorite movies is Pixar's Ratatouille. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and go find it online and watch it. If you haven't seen it and can't make the time right now, allow me to give you the Cliffnote's version. The story centers around a mouse named Remy who, against all odds, aspires to be a great chef like his recently deceased idol, a man named August Gusteau. Chef Gusteau had a motto “Anyone can cook” which annoyed the film's semi-antagonist, film critic Anton Ego (great name). In a nutshell, the film follows Remy and his journey to becoming a chef in the eyes of Ego.

In the end, Ego learns what is really meant by “Anyone can cook”.

In my mind's eye there were two meanings.

  1. Greatness can come from anywhere. To believe there is a “right” path is naive.
  2. Not everyone makes the major leagues. But that doesn't mean you don't play the game. Anyone can cook, you don't have to be THE best chef to be a good or even great chef.

Extrapolate those ideals to the Maker Movement.

Anyone can make.

You don't have to build an iPhone killer to be good at electronics. You don't have to be able to build a Stradivarious violin to be a good woodworker. You don't have to be a Michelin starred chef to be a good cook.

Regardless of the medium that you prefer to use in your tinkering, food, metal, wood, or electronics; there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the art, science, and social interaction of cooking that can be applied to Making in general. I highly encourage you to watch the Netflix series “Chef's Table” to get an idea of what I mean.

Then get out there and make something.

The post Maker Lessons from Cooking appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Prototyping Workflow using the Silhouette Portrait Prototyping Workflow using the Silhouette Portrait Thu, 21 Apr 2016 02:08:28 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1653 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d825 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d825 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 9.27.42 PMLong the tool of choice of scrapbookers and wedding invite makers, the humble electronic tool is finding itself more and more a part of industrial design workflows. Known to many as a Cricut machine (Cricut being a company that manufacturers these tools, think Kleenex versus tissues or Windex versus window cleaner) these “CNC knives” are very useful for a variety of design functions. A competitor to Circuit, the company known as Silhouette currently manufactures three machines with the entry level being the Portrait.  For full details you can visit the product page.

So there are four major use cases I have for the Portrait including:

  • Quick 3D models of objects before they are sent to the 3D printer.
  • Creating stencils for airbrushing logos and text onto project enclosures.
  • Cutting vinyl for adhesive logos.
  • Replacing the knife with a marker to create PCBs ready for etching.

I have not yet attempted the third use case of creating PCBs so I will save that for a later entry. For now, let's focus on the workflows for the other use cases.

 

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 10.08.55 PM3D Models

Believe it or not, yes, you can create 3D objects from a flat piece of paper.  Card stock or some other heavy type of paper is recommended. While you are limited to smaller objects, the time needed to cut and tape together an object is far faster than sending a design to a 3D printer then finding a flaw that requires you to rework and print again. Here is recommended workflow for your next DIY project:

  1. Create the model in SketchUp or 123D Design. Export the design to an STL file.
  2. Next you will need to purchase an app called Pepakura that is currently Windows-only. This software is magic. It takes the 3D STL file and “unfolds” into a design that can be cut out from a sheet of paper.  From here you will need to export to a DXF file.
  3. Silhouette offers free software for use with its electronic cutting machines, but you will have to spring for the $25 upgrade to the “Designer Edition” in order to import DXF files.  The upgraded version will also allow you to import SVG files as well.  Import your DXF file into your library and then drag it onto the virtual cutting mat.
  4. You may have to adjust layers that are meant to be cut and those that are just to be perforated.  Right click the drawing and click “Ungroup”. You will be left with three layers, one where the lines are colored red, another one colored blue. and the last one black. Using the cutting options menu you can set each layer to cut or perforate.
  5. That's it, send it to your Silhouette device and let it cut it out.
  6. Also of note, while I use the Silhouette Portrait, if you spring for the Curio there is an app that directly connects Pepakura to the XXX, making this workflow moot!

2D Drawings for Stencils and Vinyl

  1. I first do my drawing in either Pixelmator or AutoDesk Graphic. Inkscape is a great option too. Once done, I export to SVG.  Be sure your design is no wider than 8 inches.
  2. Again, after springing for the Designer Edition you will be able to import SVG files.  ENsure in setting that the SVG importer maintains the dimensions of the drawing and does not try to scale to fit.  I failed to do this once and the resulting cut out was much larger than I anticipated.
  3. Drag the imported drawing onto the virtual cutting board and viola, you're ready to send it to your SIlhouette machine.
  4. WARNING: Once big reason of getting this machine was that you cannot cut vinyl in my laser cutter. The laser cutter causes the vinyl to release chlorine gas which I am told is very, very bad.

 

Last bit of advice, remember that you will have to both physically and in the software settings set your knife length to a sufficient length to cut through whatever material you are using.  Also, while the Portrait machine is not as expensive as even a modest 3D printer, it can be a bit expensive as a mere experiment. Keep an eye out for rather frequent sales on the company's website, with discounts as deep as 44% sometimes being offered.

The post Prototyping Workflow using the Silhouette Portrait appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 9.27.42 PMLong the tool of choice of scrapbookers and wedding invite makers, the humble electronic tool is finding itself more and more a part of industrial design workflows. Known to many as a Cricut machine (Cricut being a company that manufacturers these tools, think Kleenex versus tissues or Windex versus window cleaner) these “CNC knives” are very useful for a variety of design functions. A competitor to Circuit, the company known as Silhouette currently manufactures three machines with the entry level being the Portrait.  For full details you can visit the product page.

So there are four major use cases I have for the Portrait including:

  • Quick 3D models of objects before they are sent to the 3D printer.
  • Creating stencils for airbrushing logos and text onto project enclosures.
  • Cutting vinyl for adhesive logos.
  • Replacing the knife with a marker to create PCBs ready for etching.

I have not yet attempted the third use case of creating PCBs so I will save that for a later entry. For now, let's focus on the workflows for the other use cases.

 

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 10.08.55 PM3D Models

Believe it or not, yes, you can create 3D objects from a flat piece of paper.  Card stock or some other heavy type of paper is recommended. While you are limited to smaller objects, the time needed to cut and tape together an object is far faster than sending a design to a 3D printer then finding a flaw that requires you to rework and print again. Here is recommended workflow for your next DIY project:

  1. Create the model in SketchUp or 123D Design. Export the design to an STL file.
  2. Next you will need to purchase an app called Pepakura that is currently Windows-only. This software is magic. It takes the 3D STL file and “unfolds” into a design that can be cut out from a sheet of paper.  From here you will need to export to a DXF file.
  3. Silhouette offers free software for use with its electronic cutting machines, but you will have to spring for the $25 upgrade to the “Designer Edition” in order to import DXF files.  The upgraded version will also allow you to import SVG files as well.  Import your DXF file into your library and then drag it onto the virtual cutting mat.
  4. You may have to adjust layers that are meant to be cut and those that are just to be perforated.  Right click the drawing and click “Ungroup”. You will be left with three layers, one where the lines are colored red, another one colored blue. and the last one black. Using the cutting options menu you can set each layer to cut or perforate.
  5. That's it, send it to your Silhouette device and let it cut it out.
  6. Also of note, while I use the Silhouette Portrait, if you spring for the Curio there is an app that directly connects Pepakura to the XXX, making this workflow moot!

2D Drawings for Stencils and Vinyl

  1. I first do my drawing in either Pixelmator or AutoDesk Graphic. Inkscape is a great option too. Once done, I export to SVG.  Be sure your design is no wider than 8 inches.
  2. Again, after springing for the Designer Edition you will be able to import SVG files.  ENsure in setting that the SVG importer maintains the dimensions of the drawing and does not try to scale to fit.  I failed to do this once and the resulting cut out was much larger than I anticipated.
  3. Drag the imported drawing onto the virtual cutting board and viola, you're ready to send it to your SIlhouette machine.
  4. WARNING: Once big reason of getting this machine was that you cannot cut vinyl in my laser cutter. The laser cutter causes the vinyl to release chlorine gas which I am told is very, very bad.

 

Last bit of advice, remember that you will have to both physically and in the software settings set your knife length to a sufficient length to cut through whatever material you are using.  Also, while the Portrait machine is not as expensive as even a modest 3D printer, it can be a bit expensive as a mere experiment. Keep an eye out for rather frequent sales on the company's website, with discounts as deep as 44% sometimes being offered.

The post Prototyping Workflow using the Silhouette Portrait appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GoR 21: Not Your Grandpa’s DIY GoR 21: Not Your Grandpa’s DIY Sun, 17 Apr 2016 21:50:42 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=171 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d826 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d826 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Episode #21 for 17 April 2016

 

 

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Arduino, MKR1000, Hackster, JavaScript, Johnny-Five.io, robotics, framework, MPLAB, PIC, Microchip, embedded, wearables, antenna, sewing, embroidery, michaels, mandrels, silhouette, portrait, pixelmator, graphic, autodesk, sketchup, 123D Design, Pepakura, 2D/3D design, matboard, airbrushing, clay, super sculpey, 3D printer, filament, gears, mechanical, woodgears.ca, papercraft, prototyping, prototype, DIY, Maker

 

The post GoR 21: Not Your Grandpa's DIY appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Episode #21 for 17 April 2016

 

 

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Arduino, MKR1000, Hackster, JavaScript, Johnny-Five.io, robotics, framework, MPLAB, PIC, Microchip, embedded, wearables, antenna, sewing, embroidery, michaels, mandrels, silhouette, portrait, pixelmator, graphic, autodesk, sketchup, 123D Design, Pepakura, 2D/3D design, matboard, airbrushing, clay, super sculpey, 3D printer, filament, gears, mechanical, woodgears.ca, papercraft, prototyping, prototype, DIY, Maker

 

The post GoR 21: Not Your Grandpa's DIY appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Making BIG Things In SMART Ways Making BIG Things In SMART Ways Fri, 25 Mar 2016 17:58:13 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1646 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d827 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d827 5e471844643b69565ab97514 4BOOKSIf you are interested developing a lightweight project management ethos, may I recommend these four books:

  • Creativity, Inc. : Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull
  • Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland
  • The Project Manager's Guide to Mastering Agile by Charles Cobb
  • The Mythical Man Month by Fred Brooks

I am huge believer in Agile and Scrum philosophies to project management, chiefly because it really is impossible to know what you will want a product to be at the beginning of development. The need for requirement flexibility is huge in the breakneck speed world we live in.  Admittedly I do not follow the concepts religiously, but the overall framework concepts are sound and I try to apply them to each project as appropriate.

 

I recommend listening and/or reading the books in the order above.  The order is meant to start from very high-level management and leadership concepts, and to answer the questions of why use Agile and Scrum concepts.  The third book gets you into the details of how to actually incorporate those concepts into your workflow. Lastly, the Mythical Man Month of the esteemed Fred Brooks is simply put a seminal piece of work that every tech leader should read. Originally written in 1975 it shows that the issues was face in today's tech arena are nothing new and that more often than not we do not learn from our past mistakes. His takeaways, in my humble opinion, are the foundation of all good tech project management thesis that have come since.

The post Making BIG Things In SMART Ways appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> 4BOOKSIf you are interested developing a lightweight project management ethos, may I recommend these four books:

  • Creativity, Inc. : Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull
  • Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland
  • The Project Manager's Guide to Mastering Agile by Charles Cobb
  • The Mythical Man Month by Fred Brooks

I am huge believer in Agile and Scrum philosophies to project management, chiefly because it really is impossible to know what you will want a product to be at the beginning of development. The need for requirement flexibility is huge in the breakneck speed world we live in.  Admittedly I do not follow the concepts religiously, but the overall framework concepts are sound and I try to apply them to each project as appropriate.

 

I recommend listening and/or reading the books in the order above.  The order is meant to start from very high-level management and leadership concepts, and to answer the questions of why use Agile and Scrum concepts.  The third book gets you into the details of how to actually incorporate those concepts into your workflow. Lastly, the Mythical Man Month of the esteemed Fred Brooks is simply put a seminal piece of work that every tech leader should read. Originally written in 1975 it shows that the issues was face in today's tech arena are nothing new and that more often than not we do not learn from our past mistakes. His takeaways, in my humble opinion, are the foundation of all good tech project management thesis that have come since.

The post Making BIG Things In SMART Ways appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Passion. It Makes All The Difference. Passion. It Makes All The Difference. Thu, 10 Mar 2016 04:02:41 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1637 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d828 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d828 5e471844643b69565ab97514 powerposter-300pxI was recently asked to help mentor some upcoming graduates with their interviewing skills. Aside from the perfunctory suggestions of showing up on time and bringing extra copies of your resume, the most important thing I stressed was you must, above all else, exude passion.

Here's the reality.  Universities are cranking out degree holders at unprecedented rates. Aside from a few technical disciplines and the medical career field, a degree does nothing to set you apart.  Even in the technical disciplines, especially software and technology-centric career fields, chances are what you learned over 4 (or 5, or 6) years of undergraduate courses are going to be outdated in a year or two. Unless it's old news already. Oh, and there is a good chance that your academic knowledge is going to be (nearly) useless in the real-world. In short, they don't call it a Bachelors degree for nothing. At best, you are now smart enough to start learning.  Lastly, we have Google now.  And IBM's Watson-esque AI is coming soon to a smartphone in your pocket. So jobs that relied on rote memorization of mundane facts are, well, going the way of the Dodo. But want to know what's not going extinct?

Passion.

That's what will keep you from the unemployment line as Artificial Intelligence wreaks havoc on knowledge workers just as machines took over for human hands in factories.

But enough of the cold splash of reality!  There is plenty to be optimistic about!

Passion.

It's what separates an employee from a superstar employee. An innovator. A leader.

Passion is the ‘x factor'. It's about connecting the dots. It's about seeing the future before anyone else. It's about believing in an idea or product everyone else writes off as trivial, only to have that idea change the world years later. Passion breeds curiosity, creativity, innovation, tenacity, and hard work. Passionate workers take the leaps of faith to take risk that lead to positive change, be they evolutionary or revolutionary. Passionate workers aren't afraid to test boundaries and push limits. They see the bigger picture before anyone else. They know their value is in improving, creating, building, and inventing.  They treat their mind as a factory, not a warehouse. In short, passion is what separates humanity from technology. It's not about doing things better, faster, cheaper; it's about doing things we never dreamt about doing before.

So there you have it. Passion. Exude it and employers will notice. We need passionate workers. Even if you are but a cog in the machine, be the most passionate cog ever!

Oh, and if all else fails. Hopefully you were nice to those kids that didn't go to college and instead took up a trade. They might just be willing to teach you some hands-on skills to complement that shiny new sheepskin.

The post Passion. It Makes All The Difference. appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> powerposter-300pxI was recently asked to help mentor some upcoming graduates with their interviewing skills. Aside from the perfunctory suggestions of showing up on time and bringing extra copies of your resume, the most important thing I stressed was you must, above all else, exude passion.

Here's the reality.  Universities are cranking out degree holders at unprecedented rates. Aside from a few technical disciplines and the medical career field, a degree does nothing to set you apart.  Even in the technical disciplines, especially software and technology-centric career fields, chances are what you learned over 4 (or 5, or 6) years of undergraduate courses are going to be outdated in a year or two. Unless it's old news already. Oh, and there is a good chance that your academic knowledge is going to be (nearly) useless in the real-world. In short, they don't call it a Bachelors degree for nothing. At best, you are now smart enough to start learning.  Lastly, we have Google now.  And IBM's Watson-esque AI is coming soon to a smartphone in your pocket. So jobs that relied on rote memorization of mundane facts are, well, going the way of the Dodo. But want to know what's not going extinct?

Passion.

That's what will keep you from the unemployment line as Artificial Intelligence wreaks havoc on knowledge workers just as machines took over for human hands in factories.

But enough of the cold splash of reality!  There is plenty to be optimistic about!

Passion.

It's what separates an employee from a superstar employee. An innovator. A leader.

Passion is the ‘x factor'. It's about connecting the dots. It's about seeing the future before anyone else. It's about believing in an idea or product everyone else writes off as trivial, only to have that idea change the world years later. Passion breeds curiosity, creativity, innovation, tenacity, and hard work. Passionate workers take the leaps of faith to take risk that lead to positive change, be they evolutionary or revolutionary. Passionate workers aren't afraid to test boundaries and push limits. They see the bigger picture before anyone else. They know their value is in improving, creating, building, and inventing.  They treat their mind as a factory, not a warehouse. In short, passion is what separates humanity from technology. It's not about doing things better, faster, cheaper; it's about doing things we never dreamt about doing before.

So there you have it. Passion. Exude it and employers will notice. We need passionate workers. Even if you are but a cog in the machine, be the most passionate cog ever!

Oh, and if all else fails. Hopefully you were nice to those kids that didn't go to college and instead took up a trade. They might just be willing to teach you some hands-on skills to complement that shiny new sheepskin.

The post Passion. It Makes All The Difference. appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 78: Gravity in Meatspace SPP 78: Gravity in Meatspace Sun, 06 Mar 2016 23:52:21 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=873 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d829 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d829 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #78 for March 6, 2016 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2016/STEAM_0078_6MAR16.mp3 This week we cover: Gravitational Waves Discovered Ex-NSA Chief Agrees with Apple Teaching Math Using Dance and Theater Google Invents Needle S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #78 for March 6, 2016

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

gravitational waves, physics, astrophysics, Apple, FBI, cybersecurity, iPhone, teaching, art, math, dance, theater, Google, wearables, medical, IFTTT, internet of things, IoT, Mattel, 3D Printer

The post SPP 78: Gravity in Meatspace appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #78 for March 6, 2016

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

gravitational waves, physics, astrophysics, Apple, FBI, cybersecurity, iPhone, teaching, art, math, dance, theater, Google, wearables, medical, IFTTT, internet of things, IoT, Mattel, 3D Printer

The post SPP 78: Gravity in Meatspace appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GOR 20: Bus Pirate Says ‘01010010’ GOR 20: Bus Pirate Says ‘01010010’ Sun, 14 Feb 2016 22:02:34 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=159 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82a 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82a 5e471844643b69565ab97514 FullSizeRender 2Gears of Resistance Episode #20
14 February 2016

 

This week we cover:

Don't forget this is a great time of year to go through your lab or workshop and tidy up.  Get rid of the clutter and donate unneeded tools or supplies to your local school, library, or makerspace.

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

occipital, 3d scanner, 3d printing, glowforge, laser cutter, meshmixer, meshlab, autodesk, netfabb, inventables, carvey, bus pirate, saleae, logic analyzer, i2s, spi, serial communications, cnc, desktop manufacturing

 

If you are still reading this ‘01010011' = 0x52 which according to ASCII = ‘R'. Pirates say Rrrrrrrr!

 

The post GOR 20: Bus Pirate Says ‘01010010' appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> FullSizeRender 2Gears of Resistance Episode #20
14 February 2016

 

This week we cover:

Don't forget this is a great time of year to go through your lab or workshop and tidy up.  Get rid of the clutter and donate unneeded tools or supplies to your local school, library, or makerspace.

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

occipital, 3d scanner, 3d printing, glowforge, laser cutter, meshmixer, meshlab, autodesk, netfabb, inventables, carvey, bus pirate, saleae, logic analyzer, i2s, spi, serial communications, cnc, desktop manufacturing

 

If you are still reading this ‘01010011' = 0x52 which according to ASCII = ‘R'. Pirates say Rrrrrrrr!

 

The post GOR 20: Bus Pirate Says ‘01010010' appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Building a Workshop on a Budget Building a Workshop on a Budget Sat, 23 Jan 2016 02:21:54 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1625 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82b 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82b 5e471844643b69565ab97514 FullSizeRenderWith the holidays now behind us and with a few gifts cards in hand, the question before many is what to buy?  When starting out in any hobby, electronics tinkering especially, there is just way too much useful stuff to acquire at once. This “stuff” breaks down into two categories:  Tools and Parts (aka consumables).  The advice here is meant to be general enough to apply to just about any trade or hobby, though my poison of choice is electronics.

Like all good technical questions there is no right answer. And if you ask 10 makers who have a few years of experiences in your chosen hobby, chances are you will get at least 11 answers.  So take the following for what it is, just some lesson learned from my personal .experiences.  Things I wished I had known, could change or just didn't have access to when I was just starting out.

So tool or parts?  Here's the pros and cons of both:

Parts:  Parts are what make a project work.  They tend be less expensive than tools and thus you might be tempted to buy a bunch of raw materials.  However buying too many parts without a specific project in mind (like resistors and caps for us electronics nerds) might mean being left a bunch of parts to be misplaced, lost or just plain never needed.  On the flipside, not having a small stash of spare parts can mean being one or two components from completing your project at 9pm on Thursday night.  Now you have either wait until tomorrow or worse, order online and wait!  This can lead to a loss of “mojo”.  You laugh, but it does happen to the best of us.  Then the project just sits…for weeks.

Tools:  Tools are cool.  When we use them we feel like Tony Stark. But they can be expensive (relative to parts) and some tools are more valuable when starting out, though may not be as sexy (take for example a digital multimeter versus an oscilloscope).  DMMs are useful but the waveforms of an oscope are so darn cool.  But again, given the expense, you may not be able to purchase as much depending on your budget.

So what's a nerd to do?  If possible, join a local makerspace for a few months and use their tools with your supplies to build a project.  Learn what tools you actually use and which manufacturers/models your prefer. If makerspace is not possible, maybe you befriend someone who is a few years ahead of you in a mutually pursued hobby. See if they have recently upgraded from entry level tools and perhaps you can borrow the tools they now have relegated to workshop storage.

If a makerspace or a friend are not possible, then I would find a well documented project online (one that lays out the parts and tools used) that peaks your interest and duplicate their purchase.  Chances are the tools will be handy across multiple projects.  Also, double the part count so that you have other extras should you burn some parts (especially ICs, and trust me, you will) or best case, you will have some extras to start building a parts library.

Another thing to consider, there are things you will need that aren't directly involved with making a project, think of them as the “cost-of-doing-business”.  Storage bins, power strips, lighting, and ample horizontal workspace will be just as valuable, if not more so, than tools and parts.  Be sure to invest in things that spruce up the utility of the workshop too.

Lastly, be prepared for change. You never stop learning and growing as a maker. The best makers tend to have broad and seemingly orthogonal interests that intersect in unique ways. For example, wearable electronics. If you told me 10 years ago I'd be sewing circuits. I'd laugh. But now I do. So the point is be prepared to acquire tools and parts that you would never have thought necessary.  To do wearables, in addition to soldering irons, I needed to acquire conductive thread, needles, and fabric hoops, clear fingernail polish.

So there you have it. In my opinion, when starting out try to find ways to beg/borrow for the tools and put the money to project-specific components.  Order extra parts to start building a spare parts library and keep it organized. Acquire (and upgrade) tools over time based on using actual tools and getting advice from people who also participate in your chosen hobby.  Don't forget those who come after you as well, pay it forward!

The post Building a Workshop on a Budget appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> FullSizeRenderWith the holidays now behind us and with a few gifts cards in hand, the question before many is what to buy?  When starting out in any hobby, electronics tinkering especially, there is just way too much useful stuff to acquire at once. This “stuff” breaks down into two categories:  Tools and Parts (aka consumables).  The advice here is meant to be general enough to apply to just about any trade or hobby, though my poison of choice is electronics.

Like all good technical questions there is no right answer. And if you ask 10 makers who have a few years of experiences in your chosen hobby, chances are you will get at least 11 answers.  So take the following for what it is, just some lesson learned from my personal .experiences.  Things I wished I had known, could change or just didn't have access to when I was just starting out.

So tool or parts?  Here's the pros and cons of both:

Parts:  Parts are what make a project work.  They tend be less expensive than tools and thus you might be tempted to buy a bunch of raw materials.  However buying too many parts without a specific project in mind (like resistors and caps for us electronics nerds) might mean being left a bunch of parts to be misplaced, lost or just plain never needed.  On the flipside, not having a small stash of spare parts can mean being one or two components from completing your project at 9pm on Thursday night.  Now you have either wait until tomorrow or worse, order online and wait!  This can lead to a loss of “mojo”.  You laugh, but it does happen to the best of us.  Then the project just sits…for weeks.

Tools:  Tools are cool.  When we use them we feel like Tony Stark. But they can be expensive (relative to parts) and some tools are more valuable when starting out, though may not be as sexy (take for example a digital multimeter versus an oscilloscope).  DMMs are useful but the waveforms of an oscope are so darn cool.  But again, given the expense, you may not be able to purchase as much depending on your budget.

So what's a nerd to do?  If possible, join a local makerspace for a few months and use their tools with your supplies to build a project.  Learn what tools you actually use and which manufacturers/models your prefer. If makerspace is not possible, maybe you befriend someone who is a few years ahead of you in a mutually pursued hobby. See if they have recently upgraded from entry level tools and perhaps you can borrow the tools they now have relegated to workshop storage.

If a makerspace or a friend are not possible, then I would find a well documented project online (one that lays out the parts and tools used) that peaks your interest and duplicate their purchase.  Chances are the tools will be handy across multiple projects.  Also, double the part count so that you have other extras should you burn some parts (especially ICs, and trust me, you will) or best case, you will have some extras to start building a parts library.

Another thing to consider, there are things you will need that aren't directly involved with making a project, think of them as the “cost-of-doing-business”.  Storage bins, power strips, lighting, and ample horizontal workspace will be just as valuable, if not more so, than tools and parts.  Be sure to invest in things that spruce up the utility of the workshop too.

Lastly, be prepared for change. You never stop learning and growing as a maker. The best makers tend to have broad and seemingly orthogonal interests that intersect in unique ways. For example, wearable electronics. If you told me 10 years ago I'd be sewing circuits. I'd laugh. But now I do. So the point is be prepared to acquire tools and parts that you would never have thought necessary.  To do wearables, in addition to soldering irons, I needed to acquire conductive thread, needles, and fabric hoops, clear fingernail polish.

So there you have it. In my opinion, when starting out try to find ways to beg/borrow for the tools and put the money to project-specific components.  Order extra parts to start building a spare parts library and keep it organized. Acquire (and upgrade) tools over time based on using actual tools and getting advice from people who also participate in your chosen hobby.  Don't forget those who come after you as well, pay it forward!

The post Building a Workshop on a Budget appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> PCB Milling Workflow PCB Milling Workflow Mon, 18 Jan 2016 04:53:58 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1622 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82c 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82c 5e471844643b69565ab97514 IMG_1616

After months of trial and error, I am finally getting decent single-sided PCBs milled with X-Carve.  I am currently using 5 apps: EagleCAD, Pixelmator, SuperVectorizer, AutoDesk Graphic and Inventables' Easel.  Here is the workflow I am using from my MacBook:

  1. EagleCAD to draw up the circuit
    1. Edit > Net Classes
      1. Width to 0.04 inches or 40mil
      2. Drill: 20mil
      3. Clearance:10mil
    2. Set board dimension to the size of copper plate, note the dimensions in inches
    3. Hide dimension and other layers except top traces and pads.
    4. Export monochrome image as a bitmap (.BMP) @ 600dpi, note dimension in pixels
  2. Pixelmator:  Just one step here, invert colors so the traces are black.
  3. SuperVectorizer to create an SVG.  Use these settings:
    1. Mode: Color
    2. Gray: OFF
    3. Stack: OFF
    4. Colors: 2
    5. Smooth Radius: 15
  4. AutoDesk Graphic (formerly iDraw)
    1. Modify > Artwork Size
    2. Change to pixels and use the X and Y values from EagleCAD step #4.
    3. Uncheck “Scale Proportionally”
    4. Export SVG
  5. Easel
    1. Import SVG into Easel
    2. Set mill depth to .015” and 10in/min feed
    3. Use mill bit 0.02” @ 15 or 20-degrees
    4. Select PCB as material and set X-Y dimensions to blank dimensions
    5. Set copper Z thickness, verify with calipers
    6. Center on circuit on board
    7. CARVE!
  6. Drilling holes with a Dremel
    1. Make sure speed is fast enough else tips will break
    2. 0.9mm Tip Spiral Flute Tungsten Carbide Micro PCB Drill Bit for Screw Terminals
    3. 0.7mm for Male Headers

The post PCB Milling Workflow appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> IMG_1616

After months of trial and error, I am finally getting decent single-sided PCBs milled with X-Carve.  I am currently using 5 apps: EagleCAD, Pixelmator, SuperVectorizer, AutoDesk Graphic and Inventables' Easel.  Here is the workflow I am using from my MacBook:

  1. EagleCAD to draw up the circuit
    1. Edit > Net Classes
      1. Width to 0.04 inches or 40mil
      2. Drill: 20mil
      3. Clearance:10mil
    2. Set board dimension to the size of copper plate, note the dimensions in inches
    3. Hide dimension and other layers except top traces and pads.
    4. Export monochrome image as a bitmap (.BMP) @ 600dpi, note dimension in pixels
  2. Pixelmator:  Just one step here, invert colors so the traces are black.
  3. SuperVectorizer to create an SVG.  Use these settings:
    1. Mode: Color
    2. Gray: OFF
    3. Stack: OFF
    4. Colors: 2
    5. Smooth Radius: 15
  4. AutoDesk Graphic (formerly iDraw)
    1. Modify > Artwork Size
    2. Change to pixels and use the X and Y values from EagleCAD step #4.
    3. Uncheck “Scale Proportionally”
    4. Export SVG
  5. Easel
    1. Import SVG into Easel
    2. Set mill depth to .015” and 10in/min feed
    3. Use mill bit 0.02” @ 15 or 20-degrees
    4. Select PCB as material and set X-Y dimensions to blank dimensions
    5. Set copper Z thickness, verify with calipers
    6. Center on circuit on board
    7. CARVE!
  6. Drilling holes with a Dremel
    1. Make sure speed is fast enough else tips will break
    2. 0.9mm Tip Spiral Flute Tungsten Carbide Micro PCB Drill Bit for Screw Terminals
    3. 0.7mm for Male Headers

The post PCB Milling Workflow appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 77: Weirder Science 2016 SPP 77: Weirder Science 2016 Sat, 16 Jan 2016 23:19:20 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=867 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82d 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82d 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #77 for January 16, 2016 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2016/STEAM_0077_16JAN16.mp3 This week we cover: Painless Tooth Remineralization Mariachi Music and Math Standing Student Study Better 3D Printing Saves Kids Life Met S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #77 for January 16, 2016

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

dentistry, medicine, music, math, education, standing desk, 3D printing, heart surgery, metallic glue, material science, astronomy, comets, dyson sphere, space, law, asteroid, mining, HR 2262, U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act

The post SPP 77: Weirder Science 2016 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #77 for January 16, 2016

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

dentistry, medicine, music, math, education, standing desk, 3D printing, heart surgery, metallic glue, material science, astronomy, comets, dyson sphere, space, law, asteroid, mining, HR 2262, U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act

The post SPP 77: Weirder Science 2016 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GOR 19: Maker Skills To Learn in 2016 GOR 19: Maker Skills To Learn in 2016 Wed, 23 Dec 2015 00:07:39 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=149 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82e 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82e 5e471844643b69565ab97514  

IMG_1571Gears of Resistance Episode #19
22 December 2015

 

The maker skills we want to learn in 2016:

  1. CNC Milling  |  Inventables Carvey
  2. Metalworking and Welding   |  Harbor Freight
  3. 3D Printing  |  123D Design
  4. 3D Scanning  | Skanect  |  123D Catch
  5. Airbrushing  |  Master  |   Air Compressor and Tank
  6. Laser Cutting  |  NEJE Laser Engraver
  7. Molds, Models, Props, Costumes (Wearables)  |  Punished Props
  8. PCB Design  |  KiCAD
  9. New Embedded Platforms  |  Adafruit Feather
  10. Android, iOS, and web development
  11. Photography and videography  |  Snap Chick  |  Film Riot
  12. Karma Go

Don't forget this is a great time of year to go through your lab or workshop and tidy up.  Get rid of the clutter and donate unneeded tools or supplies to your local school, library, or makerspace.

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

CNC, Milling, Inventables, Carvey, Metalworking, Welding, Harbor Freight, 3D Printing, 123D Design, 3D Scanning, Skanect, 123D Catch, Airbrushing, Master, Laser Cutting, NEJE Laser Engraver, props, Costumes, Wearables, Punished Props, KiCAD, Adafruit Feather, Android, iOS, web development, photography, videography, Snap Chick, Film Riot, Karma Go

 

The post GOR 19: Maker Skills To Learn in 2016 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>  

IMG_1571Gears of Resistance Episode #19
22 December 2015

 

The maker skills we want to learn in 2016:

  1. CNC Milling  |  Inventables Carvey
  2. Metalworking and Welding   |  Harbor Freight
  3. 3D Printing  |  123D Design
  4. 3D Scanning  | Skanect  |  123D Catch
  5. Airbrushing  |  Master  |   Air Compressor and Tank
  6. Laser Cutting  |  NEJE Laser Engraver
  7. Molds, Models, Props, Costumes (Wearables)  |  Punished Props
  8. PCB Design  |  KiCAD
  9. New Embedded Platforms  |  Adafruit Feather
  10. Android, iOS, and web development
  11. Photography and videography  |  Snap Chick  |  Film Riot
  12. Karma Go

Don't forget this is a great time of year to go through your lab or workshop and tidy up.  Get rid of the clutter and donate unneeded tools or supplies to your local school, library, or makerspace.

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

CNC, Milling, Inventables, Carvey, Metalworking, Welding, Harbor Freight, 3D Printing, 123D Design, 3D Scanning, Skanect, 123D Catch, Airbrushing, Master, Laser Cutting, NEJE Laser Engraver, props, Costumes, Wearables, Punished Props, KiCAD, Adafruit Feather, Android, iOS, web development, photography, videography, Snap Chick, Film Riot, Karma Go

 

The post GOR 19: Maker Skills To Learn in 2016 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Don’t Reinvent the 3D Printed Wheel Don’t Reinvent the 3D Printed Wheel Mon, 16 Nov 2015 19:50:39 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1612 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82f 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d82f 5e471844643b69565ab97514 printrbot

 

3D printing has unleashed the product designer bug in many of us. Now more than ever, a mere few mouse clicks let's one go from idea to tangible item in no time. Whether your 3D modeling skills are still under development or you just need a quick prototype, sometimes we don't have the time to design from scratch. Thankfully there are a ton of resources that house pre-built 3D models ready to print. Here's a few of our favorites:

The post Don't Reinvent the 3D Printed Wheel appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> printrbot

 

3D printing has unleashed the product designer bug in many of us. Now more than ever, a mere few mouse clicks let's one go from idea to tangible item in no time. Whether your 3D modeling skills are still under development or you just need a quick prototype, sometimes we don't have the time to design from scratch. Thankfully there are a ton of resources that house pre-built 3D models ready to print. Here's a few of our favorites:

The post Don't Reinvent the 3D Printed Wheel appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GOR 18: PCB Design Resources GOR 18: PCB Design Resources Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:51:36 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=138 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d830 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d830 5e471844643b69565ab97514  

pcbGears of Resistance Episode #18
8 November 2015

 

This week the stories are:

  1. Extra Life Fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
  2. KiCAD
  3. EagleCAD
  4. Simon Monk EagleCAD Book
  5. Fritzing
  6. Simon Monk Fritzing Book
  7. Mouser MultiSIM Blue
  8. SparkFun According to Pete PCB YouTube Videos
  9. SparkFun DRC Rules
  10. How to Create Arduino PCB Shield
  11. CircuitCalculator.com
  12. SMD LEDs
  13. Adafruit PCB Ruler
  14. Octopart Common Parts Library
  15. SnapEDA
  16. Parts.io
  17. 3D Board Viewer
  18. OSHPark
  19. Particle.io Building a BOM Guide
  20. PCB Assembly Express
  21. GSG Q Branch

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Extra Life, Children's Hospital, Charity, Fundraiser, KiCAD, PCB, PCBA, printed circuit board, EagleCAD, schematic, capture, circuit, electronics, design, engineering, simon monk, sparkfun, fritzing, mouser, ni, multisim blue, simulator, BOM, CircuitCalculator.com, arduino, shield, DRC, ERC, SMD, PTH, adafruit, snapeda, octopart, cpl, parts,io, components, footprints, symbols, 3D, Particle.io, PCB Assembly Express, oshpark

 

The post GOR 18: PCB Design Resources appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>  

pcbGears of Resistance Episode #18
8 November 2015

 

This week the stories are:

  1. Extra Life Fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
  2. KiCAD
  3. EagleCAD
  4. Simon Monk EagleCAD Book
  5. Fritzing
  6. Simon Monk Fritzing Book
  7. Mouser MultiSIM Blue
  8. SparkFun According to Pete PCB YouTube Videos
  9. SparkFun DRC Rules
  10. How to Create Arduino PCB Shield
  11. CircuitCalculator.com
  12. SMD LEDs
  13. Adafruit PCB Ruler
  14. Octopart Common Parts Library
  15. SnapEDA
  16. Parts.io
  17. 3D Board Viewer
  18. OSHPark
  19. Particle.io Building a BOM Guide
  20. PCB Assembly Express
  21. GSG Q Branch

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Extra Life, Children's Hospital, Charity, Fundraiser, KiCAD, PCB, PCBA, printed circuit board, EagleCAD, schematic, capture, circuit, electronics, design, engineering, simon monk, sparkfun, fritzing, mouser, ni, multisim blue, simulator, BOM, CircuitCalculator.com, arduino, shield, DRC, ERC, SMD, PTH, adafruit, snapeda, octopart, cpl, parts,io, components, footprints, symbols, 3D, Particle.io, PCB Assembly Express, oshpark

 

The post GOR 18: PCB Design Resources appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 76: Who’s Your DNA Daddy? SPP 76: Who’s Your DNA Daddy? Mon, 02 Nov 2015 22:39:47 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=859 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d831 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d831 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #76 for November 2, 2015

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

dna, paternity, human chimera, common core, new math, education, death star, astronomy, genetic engineering, material science, speed of light, waves, quantum mechanics, thomas jefferson, chemistry, uva, laboratory

The post SPP 76: Who's Your DNA Daddy? appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #76 for November 2, 2015

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

dna, paternity, human chimera, common core, new math, education, death star, astronomy, genetic engineering, material science, speed of light, waves, quantum mechanics, thomas jefferson, chemistry, uva, laboratory

The post SPP 76: Who's Your DNA Daddy? appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Extra Life: Kick Childhood Disease in the N@ts! Extra Life: Kick Childhood Disease in the N@ts! Fri, 30 Oct 2015 15:51:16 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=128 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d832 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d832 5e471844643b69565ab97514 extra

Gears of Resistance Episode #17
30 October 2015

 

This week the stories are:

  1. Extra Life Fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
  2. Orange Pi: $39 Android-Powered RasPi Competitor | Purchase for $15
  3. Arduino 101 powered by Intel Curie
  4. Anthony Bourdain's New “Raw Craft” Series Focuses on Makers
  5. How Makers Shaped New Star Wars Props
  6. Fixes to the Ill-Conceived DMCA
  7. AllAboutCircuits.com
  8. MIT Solve Conference | MIT
  9. Outernet: Internet for the Developing World

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Extra Life, Children's Hospital, Charity, Fundraiser, Orange Pi, Arduino 101, Intel Curie, Anthony Bourdain, Maker, Raw Craft, Star Wars, movie props, lightsaber, DMCA, AllAboutCircuits.com, MIT, Solve, Outernet, Internet, developing world, satellite

 

The post Extra Life: Kick Childhood Disease in the N@ts! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> extra

Gears of Resistance Episode #17
30 October 2015

 

This week the stories are:

  1. Extra Life Fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
  2. Orange Pi: $39 Android-Powered RasPi Competitor | Purchase for $15
  3. Arduino 101 powered by Intel Curie
  4. Anthony Bourdain's New “Raw Craft” Series Focuses on Makers
  5. How Makers Shaped New Star Wars Props
  6. Fixes to the Ill-Conceived DMCA
  7. AllAboutCircuits.com
  8. MIT Solve Conference | MIT
  9. Outernet: Internet for the Developing World

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Extra Life, Children's Hospital, Charity, Fundraiser, Orange Pi, Arduino 101, Intel Curie, Anthony Bourdain, Maker, Raw Craft, Star Wars, movie props, lightsaber, DMCA, AllAboutCircuits.com, MIT, Solve, Outernet, Internet, developing world, satellite

 

The post Extra Life: Kick Childhood Disease in the N@ts! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 75: How Much Swish to Buy a Dyson Sphere? SPP 75: How Much Swish to Buy a Dyson Sphere? Sat, 17 Oct 2015 23:32:15 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=851 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d833 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d833 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #75 for October 17, 2015 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0075_17OCT15.mp3 This week we cover: Liquid Crystals to Repair Eyeball Lens Nanobots to Make Us Omniprescient Digital Healthcare Revolution AI has IQ of 4 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #75 for October 17, 2015

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Medical, eyes, liquid crystals, material science, ray kurzweil, AI, nanobots, healthcare, digital records, iot, telehealth, dyson sphere, astronomy, alien civilization, stars, sweden, monetary, financial, swish, mobile banking, drones, registration

The post SPP 75: How Much Swish to Buy a Dyson Sphere? appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #75 for October 17, 2015

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Medical, eyes, liquid crystals, material science, ray kurzweil, AI, nanobots, healthcare, digital records, iot, telehealth, dyson sphere, astronomy, alien civilization, stars, sweden, monetary, financial, swish, mobile banking, drones, registration

The post SPP 75: How Much Swish to Buy a Dyson Sphere? appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GOR 16: Documenting Your OSHW Project GOR 16: Documenting Your OSHW Project Mon, 12 Oct 2015 20:55:54 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=117 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d834 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d834 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Gears of Resistance Episode #16
12 October 2015

 

This week the stories are:

  1. Join the GoR Slack Community | Slack.com
  2. $9 CHIP Computer is Shipping!
  3. AutoDesk open sources Ember 3D Printer, Fusion 360 Update
  4. AutoDesk 123D Apps
  5. Photon Environmental Datalogger GitHub Repo
  6. BuddyBot Project Write-Up Example
  7. GitLab
  8. Evernote
  9. EagleUp (EagleCAD to SketchUp 3D Model Tool)
  10. EagleCAD
  11. Lexan Acrylic Sheets

My current setup for documenting a project:

  • 3D Files:  The raw 3D models and STL exports
  • Documentation:  Screen captures of all physical products, BOMs, User Guides
  • Eagle: The schematic and board files. Gerber files and exports from EagleUp ULP.
  • Software: Subfolders for each unique codebase (e.g. Firmware folderfor Photon firmware, Server folder for HTML, CSS, and Node.js files)

What do you do to document your OSHW projects?

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Slack, CHIP computer, Autodesk, 3D printer, Ember, Fusion 360, Spark, 123D Apps, Photon, GitHub, GitLab, project documentation, Evernote, EagleCAD, EagleUP, 3D models, lexan, transparent whiteboard

 

The post GOR 16: Documenting Your OSHW Project appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Gears of Resistance Episode #16
12 October 2015

 

This week the stories are:

  1. Join the GoR Slack Community | Slack.com
  2. $9 CHIP Computer is Shipping!
  3. AutoDesk open sources Ember 3D Printer, Fusion 360 Update
  4. AutoDesk 123D Apps
  5. Photon Environmental Datalogger GitHub Repo
  6. BuddyBot Project Write-Up Example
  7. GitLab
  8. Evernote
  9. EagleUp (EagleCAD to SketchUp 3D Model Tool)
  10. EagleCAD
  11. Lexan Acrylic Sheets

My current setup for documenting a project:

  • 3D Files:  The raw 3D models and STL exports
  • Documentation:  Screen captures of all physical products, BOMs, User Guides
  • Eagle: The schematic and board files. Gerber files and exports from EagleUp ULP.
  • Software: Subfolders for each unique codebase (e.g. Firmware folderfor Photon firmware, Server folder for HTML, CSS, and Node.js files)

What do you do to document your OSHW projects?

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Slack, CHIP computer, Autodesk, 3D printer, Ember, Fusion 360, Spark, 123D Apps, Photon, GitHub, GitLab, project documentation, Evernote, EagleCAD, EagleUP, 3D models, lexan, transparent whiteboard

 

The post GOR 16: Documenting Your OSHW Project appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 74: Citizen Science Rules, Common Core Drools! SPP 74: Citizen Science Rules, Common Core Drools! Sun, 04 Oct 2015 21:08:37 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=840 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d835 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d835 5e471844643b69565ab97514 S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #74 for October 4, 2015 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0074_4OCT15.mp3 This week we cover: Goodbye Google, Hello Alphabet The Exercise Pill Salt Water Flows on Mars Breakthrough in Desalination Going Driverless S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #74 for October 4, 2015

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

STEM, STEAM, Google, medicine, exercise, physiology, mars, nasa, water, RSL, desalination, egypt, drought, darpa, prosthetics, smart things, sensors, common core, testing, citizen science, SETI@home, FoldIt

The post SPP 74: Citizen Science Rules, Common Core Drools! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> S.T.E.A.M. Power Podcast #74 for October 4, 2015

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

STEM, STEAM, Google, medicine, exercise, physiology, mars, nasa, water, RSL, desalination, egypt, drought, darpa, prosthetics, smart things, sensors, common core, testing, citizen science, SETI@home, FoldIt

The post SPP 74: Citizen Science Rules, Common Core Drools! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> On Invention and Making On Invention and Making Wed, 23 Sep 2015 23:57:13 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1582 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d836 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d836 5e471844643b69565ab97514 planning-mdIt would seem that the opposition to the the Ahmed Mohamed situation has derided into an almost comical “debate” as to whether or not his homebrewed clock was worthy of being considered an invention or not; and I suppose therefore questioning his motives?  I am not sure really what the purpose of adults denigrating a 14-year-old is, but I would be willing to bet good money most of the folks voicing this opinion couldn't set the time on their VCR. When we had VCRs. If you are  under 20, please Google VCR 🙂

So here's the thing. I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from UMBC. A Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins. I am also a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Manager. In short, I have a little experience dealing with electronics and engineering. I also tinker around most evenings and weekends, just like Ahmed.

Let me assure everyone, what Ahmed did is amazing.

Most folks seem to bask in willful ignorance. Very much so when it comes to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We seem to think the Hollywood portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man is how “real inventing gets done.” We also live in world of iPhones, iPad, Android tablets and Microsoft Surfaces.  Thus the idea of “simply” taking existing components and slapping them together can't possibly be worthy of being called an invention, right?!  Wrong. So very, very wrong. In fact, that's how literally very consumer electronics device is built. If you think for a moment that every component in every device you buy was invented by a single company, well, I have so ocean front property in Arizona I would love for you to look at.  Much of modern “inventions” is really “just” integration of existing components, perhaps with something unique thrown in every now and then. But be assured “simple” integration ain't that simple! Even the “simple” process of refactoring a design into a form factor requires engineering discipline.  That is why for example it takes a few years for a new generation Xbox or PlayStation to get a “slimmed” version.  If you are over 40, Google that to understand what I am talking about.

So here's to the naysayers. Engineers of today started their careers by tinkering just like Ahmed. And if you had dared to insinuate my creations weren't worthy of being called an invention I'd probably amaze you with language that would make a sailor jealous. You myopic definition of “invention” does a disservice to those who spent years tinkering away in their labs and workshops to make things just a little better for humanity. The least we could do is show a little gratitude. I will also let you in on a little secret.  Every engineer, scientist, technician, theorist, hell even artists, builds on those who come before them. And this goes back for 1000s of years.  If you think invention is a divine flash of light in the brain of a lone inventor, well, I'd call you a moron. But that's not my style. Instead, allow me to recommend a book called “The Inventors” by Walter Isaacson. It would serve you well to educate yourself before speaking on topics you are quite obviously ignorant about.

While I have your attention, I am going to assume that if you are a naysayer you probably don't understand the importance of testing and failures. You probably believe that being innovative can be planned, that if you just follow a recipe for inventing that you can go from point A to point B and poof, you will have something that “just works”.  You opine at the waste of resources when something fails a test. Let me educate you that failure is part of the process. If you aren't failing you aren't trying. And at least Ahmed is trying.

Actually, on second thought, the least we could do is act like adults. Shaming a child for anything, let alone for being curious and inventive, doesn't really reflect well on your character.

Ahmed my friend, keep inventing, making, hacking, creating, mashing, coding, designing, and dreaming!  Ignore those who get off on nitpicking definitions of words and humiliating a nerdy kid. You are way further along to becoming an engineer than I was at 14, and I think I've turned out okay! 😉

Let me leave you with this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

The post On Invention and Making appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> planning-mdIt would seem that the opposition to the the Ahmed Mohamed situation has derided into an almost comical “debate” as to whether or not his homebrewed clock was worthy of being considered an invention or not; and I suppose therefore questioning his motives?  I am not sure really what the purpose of adults denigrating a 14-year-old is, but I would be willing to bet good money most of the folks voicing this opinion couldn't set the time on their VCR. When we had VCRs. If you are  under 20, please Google VCR 🙂

So here's the thing. I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from UMBC. A Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins. I am also a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Manager. In short, I have a little experience dealing with electronics and engineering. I also tinker around most evenings and weekends, just like Ahmed.

Let me assure everyone, what Ahmed did is amazing.

Most folks seem to bask in willful ignorance. Very much so when it comes to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We seem to think the Hollywood portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man is how “real inventing gets done.” We also live in world of iPhones, iPad, Android tablets and Microsoft Surfaces.  Thus the idea of “simply” taking existing components and slapping them together can't possibly be worthy of being called an invention, right?!  Wrong. So very, very wrong. In fact, that's how literally very consumer electronics device is built. If you think for a moment that every component in every device you buy was invented by a single company, well, I have so ocean front property in Arizona I would love for you to look at.  Much of modern “inventions” is really “just” integration of existing components, perhaps with something unique thrown in every now and then. But be assured “simple” integration ain't that simple! Even the “simple” process of refactoring a design into a form factor requires engineering discipline.  That is why for example it takes a few years for a new generation Xbox or PlayStation to get a “slimmed” version.  If you are over 40, Google that to understand what I am talking about.

So here's to the naysayers. Engineers of today started their careers by tinkering just like Ahmed. And if you had dared to insinuate my creations weren't worthy of being called an invention I'd probably amaze you with language that would make a sailor jealous. You myopic definition of “invention” does a disservice to those who spent years tinkering away in their labs and workshops to make things just a little better for humanity. The least we could do is show a little gratitude. I will also let you in on a little secret.  Every engineer, scientist, technician, theorist, hell even artists, builds on those who come before them. And this goes back for 1000s of years.  If you think invention is a divine flash of light in the brain of a lone inventor, well, I'd call you a moron. But that's not my style. Instead, allow me to recommend a book called “The Inventors” by Walter Isaacson. It would serve you well to educate yourself before speaking on topics you are quite obviously ignorant about.

While I have your attention, I am going to assume that if you are a naysayer you probably don't understand the importance of testing and failures. You probably believe that being innovative can be planned, that if you just follow a recipe for inventing that you can go from point A to point B and poof, you will have something that “just works”.  You opine at the waste of resources when something fails a test. Let me educate you that failure is part of the process. If you aren't failing you aren't trying. And at least Ahmed is trying.

Actually, on second thought, the least we could do is act like adults. Shaming a child for anything, let alone for being curious and inventive, doesn't really reflect well on your character.

Ahmed my friend, keep inventing, making, hacking, creating, mashing, coding, designing, and dreaming!  Ignore those who get off on nitpicking definitions of words and humiliating a nerdy kid. You are way further along to becoming an engineer than I was at 14, and I think I've turned out okay! 😉

Let me leave you with this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

The post On Invention and Making appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Why I Stand With Ahmed Why I Stand With Ahmed Mon, 21 Sep 2015 03:11:46 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1571 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d837 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d837 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Screen Shot 2015-09-20 at 11.09.45 PMThis past week a young 9th grader in Irving, Texas was arrested for his curiosity. Ahmed Mohamed, like many teenage nerds (For the record I am also a teenage nerd, I just happen to have an additional 15 years of experience) has innate desire to understand how things work and a desire to make things they conceive in their imagination. In Ahmed's case, he scrounged together various electronic parts to build a digital clock. A clock that not while necessarily as refined as an Apple product, was still something he was justly proud of. Like many of us geeks and nerds who seek to find friends, mentors and general acceptance; he took his clock to school with him to show his teacher. Now, much of what we have learned about what happened next comes from interviews and news articles written since most of us were not there to experience first-hand. Some reports state that the clock was a part of a homework assignment. Others state he simply built the clock to impress an engineering teacher. After showing his technology teacher the clock, which was small enough to fit in a pencil case that one finds in the dollar section of Target, he placed the clock in his backpack for the remainder of the day. Towards the end of the school day, while in English class, his clock beeped. Just as many of us in meetings or classes have had our cell phone ring because we forgot to put it into silent mode. Ahmed voluntarily showed his English teacher the clock to assure him/her what it was.

Here is where things go crazy. The English teacher looks at the clock and sees a ticking weapon of mass destruction. Apparently this adult, charged with educating our youth, could not differentiate between a bomb and a digital clock. Now, giving the teacher the benefit of the doubt that while ignorant, they were acting in the interest of the greater good to protect everyone in the school. Fine. So Ahmed was whisked away to the Principal's office where he was met by multiple police officers. Then promptly placed in handcuffs. For building a clock. Some articles go on to state that the first police officer made a snide remark to the fact that he guessed that the student would be a Muslim. Yes, Ahmed is a Muslim. Which is totally irrelevant. Now, there are many commentaries out there about this situation. There are those who assume that it was Ahmed's faith and ethnicity that really put him handcuffs. Supporters argue that if he were caucasian that the story would have unfolded differently. Others believe that the teachers and police were simply following rules and acting out of an abundance of caution. As with all cases that involve even the scent of racism or Islamaphobia it's difficult, if not impossible, to really see into the hearts and minds of people. Certainly, I am not foolish enough to believe that we live  in a world free from hatred. But in this specific case, there does not seem to be blatant racism at play, at least nothing reported as of today. Personally, I can see the argument of acting out of precaution up to the point that they placed Ahmed in handcuffs. In my minds eye, a scrappy little 14-year-old would have never presented a physical danger to armed cops. Also, where was the engineering teacher? The one Ahmed showed his clock to at the beginning of the school day. Certainly he/she could have corroborated Ahmed's story. Never did Ahmed ever insinuate that the clock was a bomb or ever a hoax. He simply stood by the fact that all he built was clock.

But as I said, I cannot speak or judge the hearts and minds of the teachers, administrators, or cops involved. Whether there was racism at play we may never know for 100% certainty. While I don't condone racism or hatred in any form, it's not the major reason I stand with Ahmed.

I stand with Ahmed because his situation has thrown a light on what happens when an society has 0 scientific or technical literacy. Any rational adult should have looked at that clock and reasoned that if this were a bomb where is the actual explosives? Where is the part of the bomb that actually goes boom? It's too easy to hide behind feigning ignorance of knowledge. Benjamin Franklin is often attributed as stating “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Has the land of the Free and the home of the Brave become so afraid of technology and so ignorant of scientific and rational thought that we are willing to trample the civil liberties of a child to make ourselves “feel” better. I hope not. Collectively we need to look at ourselves and ask some tough questions.

  1. Why have become slaves to rules setup to knee-jerk reactions? We should realize that every incident is unique. That blindly following rules vice using rational thought on a case-by-case basis is the surest path to destroying someone's civil liberties.  I pray we never live in a world where we think it is okay to extinguish even one innocent person's rights and dignity to keep everyone else safe.
  2. Why are we proud of scientific, technological. and logical ignorance? The world is a complicated places. Way more so than the 1950s. And it's only going to get more complicated. We can whine and bitch about things not being like they used to be. Or we can accept it and learn to adjust. We have a lot of challenges ahead. Global Climate Change. Cyber Threats, Driverless Vehicles. Net Neutrality. Renewable Energy. Space Exploration. These are not light subjects and we are going to have to confront these things more and more. While not everyone need be a PhD rocket scientist; people do need basic appreciation of scientific principles and rational thought. Our every survival depends on making data driven decisions and not gambling away the future based on emotional gratification of the now.
  3. Do really believe what we say about the importance of the Maker Movement, STEM/STEAM, and Open Source initiatives? If we do, than kids like Ahmed are going to become more of the norm. And I hope they do because it is kids like Ahmed that are going to advance our economy and our society. Here's the cold hard truth. Learning how to write an essay in MLA format is not going to get you a job. Being able to hack, build, engineer, tinker, design is. What Ahmed is learning at home under his own initiative will get him further along in life than anything he doing in school. Shouldn't we flip that reality? Shouldn't we be preparing kids for competing in a global economy that values innovation and creating? Rote memorization of fact and understanding Shakespeare is nice, but should not be the primary focus of primary education. Not anymore. We are failing our kids because we are failing to let change happen.

I stand with Ahmed. I stand with him personally because if his arrest was racially motivated than I am here to say that discrimination in any form is wrong and not welcome in my United States of America. As a caucasian male, the normal WASP retort of “just being cautious” is too simple as WASPs have never felt the burden of stereotypes and bigotry. Not to the extent other minorities in this country have been accustomed to for a long time. Furthermore, saying “I didn't know” or “Just being safe” becomes too easy of an answer for those who seek to hide their prejudice behind a veil of ignorance. We need to nip that in the butt now.

I also stand with Ahmed because his situation is a reflection of the worst aspects of ourselves. Willful ignorance, fear run rampant, rules trumping rational thought, failure to adapt education to the realities of 21st century economy; to name but a few of our sins. I stand with Ahmed because if we really want a better tomorrow than we need to start acting like it. We need to earn our future by embracing change and diversity. We need to build a basic scientific and technological vocabulary and understanding so we can react rationally to events.

But perhaps the most important reason that I stand with Ahmed is because I was and I am Ahmed.

I will leave you with this quote from Martin Niemoller:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

The post Why I Stand With Ahmed appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Screen Shot 2015-09-20 at 11.09.45 PMThis past week a young 9th grader in Irving, Texas was arrested for his curiosity. Ahmed Mohamed, like many teenage nerds (For the record I am also a teenage nerd, I just happen to have an additional 15 years of experience) has innate desire to understand how things work and a desire to make things they conceive in their imagination. In Ahmed's case, he scrounged together various electronic parts to build a digital clock. A clock that not while necessarily as refined as an Apple product, was still something he was justly proud of. Like many of us geeks and nerds who seek to find friends, mentors and general acceptance; he took his clock to school with him to show his teacher. Now, much of what we have learned about what happened next comes from interviews and news articles written since most of us were not there to experience first-hand. Some reports state that the clock was a part of a homework assignment. Others state he simply built the clock to impress an engineering teacher. After showing his technology teacher the clock, which was small enough to fit in a pencil case that one finds in the dollar section of Target, he placed the clock in his backpack for the remainder of the day. Towards the end of the school day, while in English class, his clock beeped. Just as many of us in meetings or classes have had our cell phone ring because we forgot to put it into silent mode. Ahmed voluntarily showed his English teacher the clock to assure him/her what it was.

Here is where things go crazy. The English teacher looks at the clock and sees a ticking weapon of mass destruction. Apparently this adult, charged with educating our youth, could not differentiate between a bomb and a digital clock. Now, giving the teacher the benefit of the doubt that while ignorant, they were acting in the interest of the greater good to protect everyone in the school. Fine. So Ahmed was whisked away to the Principal's office where he was met by multiple police officers. Then promptly placed in handcuffs. For building a clock. Some articles go on to state that the first police officer made a snide remark to the fact that he guessed that the student would be a Muslim. Yes, Ahmed is a Muslim. Which is totally irrelevant. Now, there are many commentaries out there about this situation. There are those who assume that it was Ahmed's faith and ethnicity that really put him handcuffs. Supporters argue that if he were caucasian that the story would have unfolded differently. Others believe that the teachers and police were simply following rules and acting out of an abundance of caution. As with all cases that involve even the scent of racism or Islamaphobia it's difficult, if not impossible, to really see into the hearts and minds of people. Certainly, I am not foolish enough to believe that we live  in a world free from hatred. But in this specific case, there does not seem to be blatant racism at play, at least nothing reported as of today. Personally, I can see the argument of acting out of precaution up to the point that they placed Ahmed in handcuffs. In my minds eye, a scrappy little 14-year-old would have never presented a physical danger to armed cops. Also, where was the engineering teacher? The one Ahmed showed his clock to at the beginning of the school day. Certainly he/she could have corroborated Ahmed's story. Never did Ahmed ever insinuate that the clock was a bomb or ever a hoax. He simply stood by the fact that all he built was clock.

But as I said, I cannot speak or judge the hearts and minds of the teachers, administrators, or cops involved. Whether there was racism at play we may never know for 100% certainty. While I don't condone racism or hatred in any form, it's not the major reason I stand with Ahmed.

I stand with Ahmed because his situation has thrown a light on what happens when an society has 0 scientific or technical literacy. Any rational adult should have looked at that clock and reasoned that if this were a bomb where is the actual explosives? Where is the part of the bomb that actually goes boom? It's too easy to hide behind feigning ignorance of knowledge. Benjamin Franklin is often attributed as stating “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Has the land of the Free and the home of the Brave become so afraid of technology and so ignorant of scientific and rational thought that we are willing to trample the civil liberties of a child to make ourselves “feel” better. I hope not. Collectively we need to look at ourselves and ask some tough questions.

  1. Why have become slaves to rules setup to knee-jerk reactions? We should realize that every incident is unique. That blindly following rules vice using rational thought on a case-by-case basis is the surest path to destroying someone's civil liberties.  I pray we never live in a world where we think it is okay to extinguish even one innocent person's rights and dignity to keep everyone else safe.
  2. Why are we proud of scientific, technological. and logical ignorance? The world is a complicated places. Way more so than the 1950s. And it's only going to get more complicated. We can whine and bitch about things not being like they used to be. Or we can accept it and learn to adjust. We have a lot of challenges ahead. Global Climate Change. Cyber Threats, Driverless Vehicles. Net Neutrality. Renewable Energy. Space Exploration. These are not light subjects and we are going to have to confront these things more and more. While not everyone need be a PhD rocket scientist; people do need basic appreciation of scientific principles and rational thought. Our every survival depends on making data driven decisions and not gambling away the future based on emotional gratification of the now.
  3. Do really believe what we say about the importance of the Maker Movement, STEM/STEAM, and Open Source initiatives? If we do, than kids like Ahmed are going to become more of the norm. And I hope they do because it is kids like Ahmed that are going to advance our economy and our society. Here's the cold hard truth. Learning how to write an essay in MLA format is not going to get you a job. Being able to hack, build, engineer, tinker, design is. What Ahmed is learning at home under his own initiative will get him further along in life than anything he doing in school. Shouldn't we flip that reality? Shouldn't we be preparing kids for competing in a global economy that values innovation and creating? Rote memorization of fact and understanding Shakespeare is nice, but should not be the primary focus of primary education. Not anymore. We are failing our kids because we are failing to let change happen.

I stand with Ahmed. I stand with him personally because if his arrest was racially motivated than I am here to say that discrimination in any form is wrong and not welcome in my United States of America. As a caucasian male, the normal WASP retort of “just being cautious” is too simple as WASPs have never felt the burden of stereotypes and bigotry. Not to the extent other minorities in this country have been accustomed to for a long time. Furthermore, saying “I didn't know” or “Just being safe” becomes too easy of an answer for those who seek to hide their prejudice behind a veil of ignorance. We need to nip that in the butt now.

I also stand with Ahmed because his situation is a reflection of the worst aspects of ourselves. Willful ignorance, fear run rampant, rules trumping rational thought, failure to adapt education to the realities of 21st century economy; to name but a few of our sins. I stand with Ahmed because if we really want a better tomorrow than we need to start acting like it. We need to earn our future by embracing change and diversity. We need to build a basic scientific and technological vocabulary and understanding so we can react rationally to events.

But perhaps the most important reason that I stand with Ahmed is because I was and I am Ahmed.

I will leave you with this quote from Martin Niemoller:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

The post Why I Stand With Ahmed appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> I Stand With Ahmed I Stand With Ahmed Sun, 20 Sep 2015 17:52:13 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=92 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d838 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d838 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Screen Shot 2015-09-20 at 1.29.29 PMGears of Resistance Episode #15
20 September 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week the stories are:

  1. We Need The Right To Repair Our Gadgets
  2. How Tech Companies Can Build A ‘Can Do' Generation
  3. #IStandWithAhmed | Twitter | GoFundMe
  4. Fishino – The Arduino for the Internet of Things
  5. Octopart Common Parts Library for Prototyping
  6. Hot Air Rework Station
  7. Anti-Static Tweezers

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image:  Ahmed Mohamed
Attribution:  twitter.com/istandwithahmed

gadgets, STEM, STEAM, #IStandWithAhmed, Maker Movement, Mouser, GoFundMe, Fishino, Arduino, Internet of Things, IoT, Octopart, prototyping, hot air rework station

The post I Stand With Ahmed appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Screen Shot 2015-09-20 at 1.29.29 PMGears of Resistance Episode #15
20 September 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week the stories are:

  1. We Need The Right To Repair Our Gadgets
  2. How Tech Companies Can Build A ‘Can Do' Generation
  3. #IStandWithAhmed | Twitter | GoFundMe
  4. Fishino – The Arduino for the Internet of Things
  5. Octopart Common Parts Library for Prototyping
  6. Hot Air Rework Station
  7. Anti-Static Tweezers

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image:  Ahmed Mohamed
Attribution:  twitter.com/istandwithahmed

gadgets, STEM, STEAM, #IStandWithAhmed, Maker Movement, Mouser, GoFundMe, Fishino, Arduino, Internet of Things, IoT, Octopart, prototyping, hot air rework station

The post I Stand With Ahmed appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 73: It’s Gettin’ Hot In Here SPP 73: It’s Gettin’ Hot In Here Sun, 20 Sep 2015 17:50:07 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=799 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d839 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d839 5e471844643b69565ab97514 STEAM Power Podcast #73 for September 20, 2015.

[Download]

The post SPP 73: It's Gettin' Hot In Here appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> STEAM Power Podcast #73 for September 20, 2015.

[Download]

The post SPP 73: It's Gettin' Hot In Here appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Lighting up the IoT with a Particle.io Photon Lighting up the IoT with a Particle.io Photon Sun, 06 Sep 2015 18:54:40 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=80 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83a 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83a 5e471844643b69565ab97514 FullSizeRender 6

UPDATE:  The code is now up on Github: https://github.com/geekcowboy/PhotonNodeJS

Gears of Resistance Episode #14
6 September 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we show off some code to make the Particle.io Photon get on the web to help power the DIY Internet of Things. Check back soon for the links to the code!

Tools:

  1. iTerm
  2. Atom Editor
  3. Particle Dev IDE
  4. build.particle.io Web IDE
  5. dashboard.particle.io
  6. docs.particle.io
  7. Sparkfun Photon Add-ons
  8. Photon-based Garage Door Opener

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image:  Particle.io Photon In Action
Attribution:  M. Parks

particle.io, photon, electron, iot, internet of things, embedded, javascript, HTML, CSS, C/C++, Arduino, Raspberry Pi

The post Lighting up the IoT with a Particle.io Photon appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> FullSizeRender 6

UPDATE:  The code is now up on Github: https://github.com/geekcowboy/PhotonNodeJS

Gears of Resistance Episode #14
6 September 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we show off some code to make the Particle.io Photon get on the web to help power the DIY Internet of Things. Check back soon for the links to the code!

Tools:

  1. iTerm
  2. Atom Editor
  3. Particle Dev IDE
  4. build.particle.io Web IDE
  5. dashboard.particle.io
  6. docs.particle.io
  7. Sparkfun Photon Add-ons
  8. Photon-based Garage Door Opener

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image:  Particle.io Photon In Action
Attribution:  M. Parks

particle.io, photon, electron, iot, internet of things, embedded, javascript, HTML, CSS, C/C++, Arduino, Raspberry Pi

The post Lighting up the IoT with a Particle.io Photon appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> DIY Wearables 101 DIY Wearables 101 Sun, 30 Aug 2015 18:18:29 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=73 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83b 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83b 5e471844643b69565ab97514 IMG_0411Gears of Resistance Episode #13
30 August 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we cover it all, including:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Direction Glove
Attribution:  M. Parks

particle.io, photon, lightblue bean, msp432, launchpad, ti, P401R, wearables, sewhole, conductive thread, fabric, sewing, fashion, electronics, arduino, lilypad, flora, mouser, adafruit, sparkfun, bluetooth, restful api, wifi, 3g, 4g, electron

The post DIY Wearables 101 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> IMG_0411Gears of Resistance Episode #13
30 August 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we cover it all, including:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Direction Glove
Attribution:  M. Parks

particle.io, photon, lightblue bean, msp432, launchpad, ti, P401R, wearables, sewhole, conductive thread, fabric, sewing, fashion, electronics, arduino, lilypad, flora, mouser, adafruit, sparkfun, bluetooth, restful api, wifi, 3g, 4g, electron

The post DIY Wearables 101 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 72: Scoutin’ Out STEAM SPP 72: Scoutin’ Out STEAM Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:47:17 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=796 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83c 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83c 5e471844643b69565ab97514 STEAM Power Podcast #72 for August 30, 2015. http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0072_30AUG15.mp3 This week we cover: STEM Scouts Four Day School Week Boost Math Skills Making Comp Sci Classes More Inviting To All Pentagon Drops $75M for Fl STEAM Power Podcast #72 for August 30, 2015.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Super Massive Black Hole
Image and Caption Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

STEM Scouts, education, school, computer science, gender, diversity, tech, DoD, flexible circuits, 3D printing, medicine, microscopic, MouthLab, vital signs, diagnosis, software, algorithm, health

The post SPP 72: Scoutin' Out STEAM appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> STEAM Power Podcast #72 for August 30, 2015.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Super Massive Black Hole
Image and Caption Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

STEM Scouts, education, school, computer science, gender, diversity, tech, DoD, flexible circuits, 3D printing, medicine, microscopic, MouthLab, vital signs, diagnosis, software, algorithm, health

The post SPP 72: Scoutin' Out STEAM appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 71: Got 99 Problems But Science Ain’t One SPP 71: Got 99 Problems But Science Ain’t One Sun, 16 Aug 2015 17:57:32 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=804 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83d 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83d 5e471844643b69565ab97514 STEAM Power Podcast #71 for August 16, 2015. http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0071_16AUG15.mp3 This week we cover: 3D Printing Food Smart Diapers Tetris Used To Block Cravings Exercise Means Better Math Comprehension Shrimp Exoskeletons STEAM Power Podcast #71 for August 16, 2015.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Image and Caption Credit:  European Space Agency (ESA)

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

esa, philae, rosetta, organics chemistry, life, space, renewable energy, hydro, pipeline, 3D printing, food, smart tech, video games, psychiatry, brain, exercise, math, material science, biomimicry

The post SPP 71: Got 99 Problems But Science Ain't One appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> STEAM Power Podcast #71 for August 16, 2015.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Image and Caption Credit:  European Space Agency (ESA)

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

esa, philae, rosetta, organics chemistry, life, space, renewable energy, hydro, pipeline, 3D printing, food, smart tech, video games, psychiatry, brain, exercise, math, material science, biomimicry

The post SPP 71: Got 99 Problems But Science Ain't One appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Experience The Future of Entertainment Today! Experience The Future of Entertainment Today! Mon, 27 Jul 2015 03:33:23 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1547 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83e 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83e 5e471844643b69565ab97514 east-ed-640x520There is some history behind the fact we call movies “motion pictures“.  When technology progressed to the point that movies were possible, we attempted to simply transpose still photography artistic skills onto the new medium. After all, photography had an approximately 70 year period to perfect the skills and practices, so what worked for still photography was strongly ingrained into the mindsets of practitioners of this new medium. It took many years to progress from simply recording still life to the realization that motion could be captured  across multiple shots and scenes. As the new art form matured it gave rise to technology improvements such as a rotating camera mount to do pan shots. Audio would be added to motion pictures in the 1920s. In short, we realized film to be its own art form, complete not just with different technology but also new skills and practices that were unique to film.

Flash forward to the past decade. With the emergence of smartphones, Internet ubiquity, and the second-coming (or third) of Virtual Reality, we have seen at many attempts to exploit these new technologies to tell stories. Stories that for the most part, built upon the linear and carefully crafted notions found in motion picture industry. Sound familiar? It should. Just like motion films were defined originally by concepts for the still photography world, our current crop of Internet and smartphone-based entertainment has been limited to simply showing movies in different form factors with increasing resolution. But fundamentally we are still just watching movies.

maxresdefaultBut things are changing! Slowly we are seeing some innovation in yet-to-be-defined new mediums of storytelling that can will take advantage of our technology in exciting new ways. Take for instance, Google Spotlight Stories.

Spotlight Stories are (for now) short movies that play on your smartphone. Nothing new…yet. But unlike your run-of-the-mill Netflix and YouTube video, Spotlight Stories lets you become the director and move anywhere around the scene, full 360-degree freedom of motion. This allows you to pick your own shots and show what you are interested in seeing. That means you could watch the same movie 50 times and see it from a different angle every time. It also means two people can watch the same movie and have totally different experiences. Sorta like life in general, right? We can all witness the same event, yet from different angles, what we see can vary greatly. Without going to meta, this is pretty darn cool. Think of the replay value of movies! I recently experienced “Help” from director Justin Lin and “buggy night” from Mark Oftedal.  The former being a more adult oriented, alien crash in a big city movie. The latter being a more kid friendly romp in the backyard searching for bugs at night.  I highlight these two because they offered two screenshot_2015-05-26-23-14-49-e1432707486464different experiences. “Help” was a sort of like a “FPS on rails” movie.  For the uninitiated into the world of video games, a game that is “on rails” means that the player can turn their head and aim, but they have no real control of the movement of their character. Think of the difference between a train (on rails) and truck (decidedly not on rails). The Justin Lin movie carried the fewer along from scene to scene, but the fewer could control which direction they were seeing. Contrast this with “buggy night” where the movie did not move along until the viewer turned their attention to various objects on screen. For example, the movie did not progress until I gazed upward to find an owl in a tree. Once I did, a new set of bugs came crawling onto my screen for me to discover. In short, this movie was more interactive.

Each were exhilarating in their own way, “Help” having a much more traditional summer Blockbuster feel while “buggy night” was something unique, a sort of “choose-your-own-adventure” for movies.  Now, with that said, the cat and mouse game between art and technology will have to continue. “Help” clocked in at a 500MB download and ate a chunk of battery life to give only a few minutes of entertainment. No doubt, my iPhone 13S will need a few TBs of storage.

Screen Shot 2015-07-26 at 11.26.41 PMWhat will be interesting to see is coupling Google Spotlight Stories with their Google Cardboard 3D initiative.  In fact, I just picked up my $10 Google Cardboard headset off of eBay and have been using to take Google StreetView excursions around the world and have played a few 3D shooter and space exploration games. It works mind-boggling well given the fact that it use a free app, on a phone I already own, with a cheap $10 piece of hardware that you could actually make yourself if you were so inclined using nothing more than cardboard.

So there you have it. For at most $10, you can experience the nascent future of entertainment. No doubt we still have a lot of learning to do (and unlearning) as we transition from the traditional motion picture entertainment that has dominated for over 100 years to whatever it is that is coming next!

The post Experience The Future of Entertainment Today! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> east-ed-640x520There is some history behind the fact we call movies “motion pictures“.  When technology progressed to the point that movies were possible, we attempted to simply transpose still photography artistic skills onto the new medium. After all, photography had an approximately 70 year period to perfect the skills and practices, so what worked for still photography was strongly ingrained into the mindsets of practitioners of this new medium. It took many years to progress from simply recording still life to the realization that motion could be captured  across multiple shots and scenes. As the new art form matured it gave rise to technology improvements such as a rotating camera mount to do pan shots. Audio would be added to motion pictures in the 1920s. In short, we realized film to be its own art form, complete not just with different technology but also new skills and practices that were unique to film.

Flash forward to the past decade. With the emergence of smartphones, Internet ubiquity, and the second-coming (or third) of Virtual Reality, we have seen at many attempts to exploit these new technologies to tell stories. Stories that for the most part, built upon the linear and carefully crafted notions found in motion picture industry. Sound familiar? It should. Just like motion films were defined originally by concepts for the still photography world, our current crop of Internet and smartphone-based entertainment has been limited to simply showing movies in different form factors with increasing resolution. But fundamentally we are still just watching movies.

maxresdefaultBut things are changing! Slowly we are seeing some innovation in yet-to-be-defined new mediums of storytelling that can will take advantage of our technology in exciting new ways. Take for instance, Google Spotlight Stories.

Spotlight Stories are (for now) short movies that play on your smartphone. Nothing new…yet. But unlike your run-of-the-mill Netflix and YouTube video, Spotlight Stories lets you become the director and move anywhere around the scene, full 360-degree freedom of motion. This allows you to pick your own shots and show what you are interested in seeing. That means you could watch the same movie 50 times and see it from a different angle every time. It also means two people can watch the same movie and have totally different experiences. Sorta like life in general, right? We can all witness the same event, yet from different angles, what we see can vary greatly. Without going to meta, this is pretty darn cool. Think of the replay value of movies! I recently experienced “Help” from director Justin Lin and “buggy night” from Mark Oftedal.  The former being a more adult oriented, alien crash in a big city movie. The latter being a more kid friendly romp in the backyard searching for bugs at night.  I highlight these two because they offered two screenshot_2015-05-26-23-14-49-e1432707486464different experiences. “Help” was a sort of like a “FPS on rails” movie.  For the uninitiated into the world of video games, a game that is “on rails” means that the player can turn their head and aim, but they have no real control of the movement of their character. Think of the difference between a train (on rails) and truck (decidedly not on rails). The Justin Lin movie carried the fewer along from scene to scene, but the fewer could control which direction they were seeing. Contrast this with “buggy night” where the movie did not move along until the viewer turned their attention to various objects on screen. For example, the movie did not progress until I gazed upward to find an owl in a tree. Once I did, a new set of bugs came crawling onto my screen for me to discover. In short, this movie was more interactive.

Each were exhilarating in their own way, “Help” having a much more traditional summer Blockbuster feel while “buggy night” was something unique, a sort of “choose-your-own-adventure” for movies.  Now, with that said, the cat and mouse game between art and technology will have to continue. “Help” clocked in at a 500MB download and ate a chunk of battery life to give only a few minutes of entertainment. No doubt, my iPhone 13S will need a few TBs of storage.

Screen Shot 2015-07-26 at 11.26.41 PMWhat will be interesting to see is coupling Google Spotlight Stories with their Google Cardboard 3D initiative.  In fact, I just picked up my $10 Google Cardboard headset off of eBay and have been using to take Google StreetView excursions around the world and have played a few 3D shooter and space exploration games. It works mind-boggling well given the fact that it use a free app, on a phone I already own, with a cheap $10 piece of hardware that you could actually make yourself if you were so inclined using nothing more than cardboard.

So there you have it. For at most $10, you can experience the nascent future of entertainment. No doubt we still have a lot of learning to do (and unlearning) as we transition from the traditional motion picture entertainment that has dominated for over 100 years to whatever it is that is coming next!

The post Experience The Future of Entertainment Today! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> SPP 70: The Future Is Real Shiny SPP 70: The Future Is Real Shiny Sun, 26 Jul 2015 18:01:35 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=808 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83f 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d83f 5e471844643b69565ab97514 STEAM Power Podcast #70 for July 26, 2015. http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0070_26JUL15.mp3 This week we cover: Pluto Driveby Philae Phones Home Again (then doesn’t again) Buckyballs At Universe Center Dawn Probe at Ceres (the Other Dwa STEAM Power Podcast #70 for July 26, 2015.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Pluto
Image and Caption Credit:  NASA/New Horizons Mission

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

nasa, esa, pluto, new horizon, dawn, ceres, rosetta, philae, juno, jupiter, buckyballs,  planetary resources, asteroid mining, space x, car seats, music, education, neuroscience, dna, genetics, amazon, australia, fiat, hacking, automobiles, project auro, uab, distributed computing, iot

The post SPP 70: The Future Is Real Shiny appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> STEAM Power Podcast #70 for July 26, 2015.

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Pluto
Image and Caption Credit:  NASA/New Horizons Mission

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

nasa, esa, pluto, new horizon, dawn, ceres, rosetta, philae, juno, jupiter, buckyballs,  planetary resources, asteroid mining, space x, car seats, music, education, neuroscience, dna, genetics, amazon, australia, fiat, hacking, automobiles, project auro, uab, distributed computing, iot

The post SPP 70: The Future Is Real Shiny appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Just (CNC) Millin’ Around Just (CNC) Millin’ Around Sun, 26 Jul 2015 16:25:06 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=60 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d840 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d840 5e471844643b69565ab97514 IMG_1147Gears of Resistance Episode #12
26 July 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we cover it all, including:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: LED Backlit Milled CIrcuit Board
Attribution:  M. Parks

tools, particle.io, photon, electron, 3g, node.js, programming, hackster.io, makerspace, satNOGS, ham radio, satellite, OSHW, open source, hardware, HC-05, bluetooth, raspberry pi, arduino, Blyk, octopart, snapEDA, eagleCAD, inventables, x-carve, easel, reflowster, cnc, milling, smd, soldering, reflow, eBay, parts, adafruit, mouser, forrest mims, engineer notebook, breakout board, electronics, design

The post Just (CNC) Millin' Around appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> IMG_1147Gears of Resistance Episode #12
26 July 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we cover it all, including:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: LED Backlit Milled CIrcuit Board
Attribution:  M. Parks

tools, particle.io, photon, electron, 3g, node.js, programming, hackster.io, makerspace, satNOGS, ham radio, satellite, OSHW, open source, hardware, HC-05, bluetooth, raspberry pi, arduino, Blyk, octopart, snapEDA, eagleCAD, inventables, x-carve, easel, reflowster, cnc, milling, smd, soldering, reflow, eBay, parts, adafruit, mouser, forrest mims, engineer notebook, breakout board, electronics, design

The post Just (CNC) Millin' Around appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Do You “IoT”? Do You “IoT”? Sat, 25 Jul 2015 02:02:31 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1538 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d841 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d841 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Unless you've been sleeping under the rock for past few years, you've heard the term “Internet of Things” or IoT. It is a polarizing topic of conversation depending on the circles you travel around.  If you did just wake up, good morning! Now brush your teeth and then check out this article about IoT that I did for Mouser. On one hand, it is preached as being the next big thing that will change the world and even automatically slice and dice potatoes into perfect french fries… finally! Other see it as fad that will subside in favor of some yet-to-be-invented actual innovation. Much of this sentiment stems from the fact the fundamental enabling technologies have existed for decades and the lukewarm reception of related product categories such as home automation tech.  While it is true that the IoT isn't quite “magic”, nor should it be, there are signs that something big and fundamental is afoot in the technology landscape that makes IoT something more than just a passing fad. This is largely a byproduct of the fact that IoT is a convergence platform that is coming to fruition with other emerging technologies and societal change including:

Technologyfamily_portrait_outlines-ff57b991

  • Yes we've had microcontrollers and the Internet for decades. But the cost is plummeting and the capabilities are skyrocketing. As of the time I wrote this article I have just started playing with the Photon platform from Particle.io which is $19 web-enabled microcontroller that makes getting electronics onto the Internet silly easy. And it's not just the Photon, there are literally tons of products coming to market that are open source and cheap. Competition from so many new competing entrants into the electronics marketplace is changing the technology landscape.
  • The Internet has become wireless and ubiquitous. And people now have an Internet connected computer in their pocket (or wrist) 24/7. The breadth and depth of the connectivity and its impact, I think, has not yet been fully understood or felt. This change cannot be underestimated from the early 2000s and before.
  • Huge Ass Data Centers. Just like the fiber explosion of the dot-com era that has given rise to the ubiquitous Internet connection, the current push to build data centers to store the world's data will eventually become a sunk cost. And once the hardware is seen as just “being there” the real fun begins.  Of course data is great, knowledge is better. Research into Artificial Intelligence and Big Data algorithms is going to help us take advantage of all that beautiful, raw data that we will be collecting.

Society

  • Technology changes represent a push-pull relationship with society. On one hand new technologies are invented in the lab and then are unleashed onto the world. They change us. But on the other hand, we as collective force, demand change from technology. And thankfully the human spirit (coupled with a little capitalistic encouragement) responds. The Maker and STEM/STEAM movement represent this push back into the technology space and it has responded accordingly.  Over the last decade there has been a resurgence in interest of the DIY spirit and science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Furthermore, we demanded that these ideas be more open and more accessible to the masses than ever before. Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other platforms geared towards makers have helped to unleash a torrent of unbridled creativity and innovation. Low costs and fantastic communities have thrust platforms into homes and classrooms around the world.  Once again, it's not just big business making world-changing products, it's the tinkerers whittling away in their garage or local makerspace that are changing the world too.
  • Resurgence of caring.  Despite what you might see in Hollywood pop culture, the vast majority of us care about our world and our fellow human being. And increasingly we are following up our sentiment with action. The explosion of interest and financial commitment to renewable energy and electric vehicles has nowhere to go but up. People want this technology and are willing to spend money to acquire it. This is helping to accelerate development and deployment of sustainable technologies to the point that they will be the more cost-effective norm sooner than later.

So wait? What's this got to do with the Internet of Things? Well everything. Because everything will eventually be a node on the IoT.

NodesAtHeartOfTheIoT

 

So the cost to embed “smarts” into devices is plummeting, and the Internet is everywhere, and anyone can access it from anywhere, and we are more concerned about the world. We need to data to make informed decisions to be interact with the world. That's where the IoT comes into place. It's a intelligent network that allows us to measure and quantify our world in unprecedented detail; which will in turn allows us to manifest a more mature and more equitable society in ways we can't even dream of today.

 

__________

As an aside, from a technical perspective there are some constraints on IoT nodes, including:

  • Low power
  • Tiny form factor
  • Cheap per unit cost
  • Internet connected (well, duh)

 

The post Do You “IoT”? appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Unless you've been sleeping under the rock for past few years, you've heard the term “Internet of Things” or IoT. It is a polarizing topic of conversation depending on the circles you travel around.  If you did just wake up, good morning! Now brush your teeth and then check out this article about IoT that I did for Mouser. On one hand, it is preached as being the next big thing that will change the world and even automatically slice and dice potatoes into perfect french fries… finally! Other see it as fad that will subside in favor of some yet-to-be-invented actual innovation. Much of this sentiment stems from the fact the fundamental enabling technologies have existed for decades and the lukewarm reception of related product categories such as home automation tech.  While it is true that the IoT isn't quite “magic”, nor should it be, there are signs that something big and fundamental is afoot in the technology landscape that makes IoT something more than just a passing fad. This is largely a byproduct of the fact that IoT is a convergence platform that is coming to fruition with other emerging technologies and societal change including:

Technologyfamily_portrait_outlines-ff57b991

  • Yes we've had microcontrollers and the Internet for decades. But the cost is plummeting and the capabilities are skyrocketing. As of the time I wrote this article I have just started playing with the Photon platform from Particle.io which is $19 web-enabled microcontroller that makes getting electronics onto the Internet silly easy. And it's not just the Photon, there are literally tons of products coming to market that are open source and cheap. Competition from so many new competing entrants into the electronics marketplace is changing the technology landscape.
  • The Internet has become wireless and ubiquitous. And people now have an Internet connected computer in their pocket (or wrist) 24/7. The breadth and depth of the connectivity and its impact, I think, has not yet been fully understood or felt. This change cannot be underestimated from the early 2000s and before.
  • Huge Ass Data Centers. Just like the fiber explosion of the dot-com era that has given rise to the ubiquitous Internet connection, the current push to build data centers to store the world's data will eventually become a sunk cost. And once the hardware is seen as just “being there” the real fun begins.  Of course data is great, knowledge is better. Research into Artificial Intelligence and Big Data algorithms is going to help us take advantage of all that beautiful, raw data that we will be collecting.

Society

  • Technology changes represent a push-pull relationship with society. On one hand new technologies are invented in the lab and then are unleashed onto the world. They change us. But on the other hand, we as collective force, demand change from technology. And thankfully the human spirit (coupled with a little capitalistic encouragement) responds. The Maker and STEM/STEAM movement represent this push back into the technology space and it has responded accordingly.  Over the last decade there has been a resurgence in interest of the DIY spirit and science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Furthermore, we demanded that these ideas be more open and more accessible to the masses than ever before. Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other platforms geared towards makers have helped to unleash a torrent of unbridled creativity and innovation. Low costs and fantastic communities have thrust platforms into homes and classrooms around the world.  Once again, it's not just big business making world-changing products, it's the tinkerers whittling away in their garage or local makerspace that are changing the world too.
  • Resurgence of caring.  Despite what you might see in Hollywood pop culture, the vast majority of us care about our world and our fellow human being. And increasingly we are following up our sentiment with action. The explosion of interest and financial commitment to renewable energy and electric vehicles has nowhere to go but up. People want this technology and are willing to spend money to acquire it. This is helping to accelerate development and deployment of sustainable technologies to the point that they will be the more cost-effective norm sooner than later.

So wait? What's this got to do with the Internet of Things? Well everything. Because everything will eventually be a node on the IoT.

NodesAtHeartOfTheIoT

 

So the cost to embed “smarts” into devices is plummeting, and the Internet is everywhere, and anyone can access it from anywhere, and we are more concerned about the world. We need to data to make informed decisions to be interact with the world. That's where the IoT comes into place. It's a intelligent network that allows us to measure and quantify our world in unprecedented detail; which will in turn allows us to manifest a more mature and more equitable society in ways we can't even dream of today.

 

__________

As an aside, from a technical perspective there are some constraints on IoT nodes, including:

  • Low power
  • Tiny form factor
  • Cheap per unit cost
  • Internet connected (well, duh)

 

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]]> I Compute Therefore I Am I Compute Therefore I Am Sun, 05 Jul 2015 18:06:28 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=811 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d842 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d842 5e471844643b69565ab97514 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0069_5JUL15.mp3 This week we cover: Apple Music Launches The City That Runs on Twitter Google Tackles Urban Planning with Sidewalk Labs Astro Wireless Speaker/Lightbulb Mashup Amazon Drones Launch in One

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Quantum Dots In a Mouse Intestines
Image and Caption Credit: Thermo Fisher Scientific / THOMAS DEERINCK AND MARK ELLISMAN/NATIONAL CENTER FOR MICROSCOPY AND IMAGING RESEARCH

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

 

apple, music, jun, twitter, local government, sidewalk labs, google, astro, iot, internet of things, amazon, drone, delivery, stem, education, placebo, medicine, ethics, ford, driverless cars, 3D printing, minecraft, gaming, AI, artificial intelligence, MTG, magic, the gathering

The post I Compute Therefore I Am appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Quantum Dots In a Mouse Intestines
Image and Caption Credit: Thermo Fisher Scientific / THOMAS DEERINCK AND MARK ELLISMAN/NATIONAL CENTER FOR MICROSCOPY AND IMAGING RESEARCH

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

 

apple, music, jun, twitter, local government, sidewalk labs, google, astro, iot, internet of things, amazon, drone, delivery, stem, education, placebo, medicine, ethics, ford, driverless cars, 3D printing, minecraft, gaming, AI, artificial intelligence, MTG, magic, the gathering

The post I Compute Therefore I Am appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Halt and Catch Up Halt and Catch Up Sun, 28 Jun 2015 23:35:57 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=55 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d843 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d843 5e471844643b69565ab97514 pita
Gears of Resistance Episode #11
28 June 2015

In this week's episode we play catch up!  Little discussion on Ham Radio Field Day 2015,  the Octopart Common Parts Library, some RF hacking news from Technion Research Institute, the new USA Network show “Mr. Robot“, Hackster.io, and FreshBooks!

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Portable Instrument for Trace Acquisition courtesy of Tel Aviv University

mr robot, halt and catch fire, hacking, rf, PITA, Technion, Octopart, components, footprints, datasheet, hackster.io, freshbooks, invoicing

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> pita
Gears of Resistance Episode #11
28 June 2015

In this week's episode we play catch up!  Little discussion on Ham Radio Field Day 2015,  the Octopart Common Parts Library, some RF hacking news from Technion Research Institute, the new USA Network show “Mr. Robot“, Hackster.io, and FreshBooks!

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Portable Instrument for Trace Acquisition courtesy of Tel Aviv University

mr robot, halt and catch fire, hacking, rf, PITA, Technion, Octopart, components, footprints, datasheet, hackster.io, freshbooks, invoicing

The post Halt and Catch Up appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Fuzzballs and Flutes Fuzzballs and Flutes Sun, 21 Jun 2015 18:09:19 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=813 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d844 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d844 5e471844643b69565ab97514 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0068_21JUN15.mp3 This week we cover: Hillman Project Parts Google X Wearables Neural Lace Goodbye Blackholes, Hello Fuzzballs Neutrino Identity Crisis Far Out Music from 3D Printed Flutes SpaceX to Sponso

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Asthma Research, Pain-sensing fibers of a mouse’s airway
Image and Caption Credit: S. Talbot et al / Neuron 2015

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Fuzzballs and Flutes appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Asthma Research, Pain-sensing fibers of a mouse’s airway
Image and Caption Credit: S. Talbot et al / Neuron 2015

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Fuzzballs and Flutes appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Preventing the Professional Priesthood Preventing the Professional Priesthood Tue, 16 Jun 2015 02:49:49 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=47 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d845 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d845 5e471844643b69565ab97514 IMG_0929
Gears of Resistance Episode #10
15 June 2015

In this week's episode we talk with about the National Maker Faire that was held in Washington D.C. from June 12-13, 2015.  I can on my rant against open source hardware certification and why we need to keep the Maker Movement and STEAM Movement as nimble as possible. Brief discussion on some new electronic components from the Walking Dead Radio Shack.  Lastly, we solicit your input on desktop CNC machines, specifically the X-Carve from Inventables.com

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: L. Parks

The post Preventing the Professional Priesthood appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> IMG_0929
Gears of Resistance Episode #10
15 June 2015

In this week's episode we talk with about the National Maker Faire that was held in Washington D.C. from June 12-13, 2015.  I can on my rant against open source hardware certification and why we need to keep the Maker Movement and STEAM Movement as nimble as possible. Brief discussion on some new electronic components from the Walking Dead Radio Shack.  Lastly, we solicit your input on desktop CNC machines, specifically the X-Carve from Inventables.com

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: L. Parks

The post Preventing the Professional Priesthood appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Full STEAM Ahead At The National Maker Faire Full STEAM Ahead At The National Maker Faire Sun, 14 Jun 2015 18:11:27 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=815 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d846 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d846 5e471844643b69565ab97514 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0067_14JUN15.mp3 This week we cover: National Maker Faire 2015 Tindie Inventables X-Carve Nanoparticles and Human Limb Regeneration Lego Worlds Launches Ikea Gets Into Home Automation Does C-Section Birth

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Maker Faire 2015
Image and Caption Credit:  L. Parks

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Full STEAM Ahead At The National Maker Faire appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  Maker Faire 2015
Image and Caption Credit:  L. Parks

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Full STEAM Ahead At The National Maker Faire appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Becoming a Better Engineer Becoming a Better Engineer Sun, 07 Jun 2015 23:45:53 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1502 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d847 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d847 5e471844643b69565ab97514 diversity“To improve the quality of life for someone is a very powerful feeling.”
Johns Hopkins Magazine Summer 2015

Building technology is relatively simple these days thanks to advances in computer aided design tool and cheap manufacturing techniques. But building great technology that changes peoples lives for the better is as elusive as effort. Reason being, building great tech is not about mastering bit, bytes, nuts and bolts. It's about learning to read and understand people and their intentions versus their actions.

These are some random thoughts on becoming a better engineer by becoming a people person and embracing diversity. Technical knowledge and education will get you far, but understanding how people think and interact with each other and with their technology, will make you a much better engineer. Given that many engineers are introverts, embracing a diverse set of co-workers can help improve your chances of success in building products that people want to use and feel comfortable with using. More brains from a greater variety of backgrounds is a decent, though not perfect, substitute for being more extroverted. However you go about it, learning to understand people is an invaluable skill for engineers.

 

Clipart courtesy of clker.com

The post Becoming a Better Engineer appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> diversity“To improve the quality of life for someone is a very powerful feeling.”
Johns Hopkins Magazine Summer 2015

Building technology is relatively simple these days thanks to advances in computer aided design tool and cheap manufacturing techniques. But building great technology that changes peoples lives for the better is as elusive as effort. Reason being, building great tech is not about mastering bit, bytes, nuts and bolts. It's about learning to read and understand people and their intentions versus their actions.

These are some random thoughts on becoming a better engineer by becoming a people person and embracing diversity. Technical knowledge and education will get you far, but understanding how people think and interact with each other and with their technology, will make you a much better engineer. Given that many engineers are introverts, embracing a diverse set of co-workers can help improve your chances of success in building products that people want to use and feel comfortable with using. More brains from a greater variety of backgrounds is a decent, though not perfect, substitute for being more extroverted. However you go about it, learning to understand people is an invaluable skill for engineers.

 

Clipart courtesy of clker.com

The post Becoming a Better Engineer appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Cloister Founder Alexis Matelin Cloister Founder Alexis Matelin Sun, 31 May 2015 02:32:32 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=41 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d848 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d848 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Screen Shot 2015-05-30 at 10.30.58 PM
Gears of Resistance Episode #9
30 May 2015

In this week's episode we talk with Alexis Matelin, the founder of Cloister and blogs at digitaljunky.io. It's a fascinating discussion about how people get into tech and how people can turns ideas into companies. Big thanks to Alexis for his time! Highly encourage you check out his post on taking an Arduino proof of concept into a final prototype.

Links:  cloister.io  |  digitaljunky.io

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Cloister

The post Cloister Founder Alexis Matelin appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Screen Shot 2015-05-30 at 10.30.58 PM
Gears of Resistance Episode #9
30 May 2015

In this week's episode we talk with Alexis Matelin, the founder of Cloister and blogs at digitaljunky.io. It's a fascinating discussion about how people get into tech and how people can turns ideas into companies. Big thanks to Alexis for his time! Highly encourage you check out his post on taking an Arduino proof of concept into a final prototype.

Links:  cloister.io  |  digitaljunky.io

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Cloister

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> A Rant on Google Brillo+Weave, Apple HomeKit, OpenHAB A Rant on Google Brillo+Weave, Apple HomeKit, OpenHAB Thu, 28 May 2015 18:30:41 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1495 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d849 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d849 5e471844643b69565ab97514

Going to start something new. Instead of writing my blogs, I am going to try (when I am wearing pants) to do more videos. We shall see how long this lasts! But for now… I go on a rant about the potential of Google's newly announced #Brillo and #Weave projects. How it racks and stacks against Apple #HomeKit and the open source project #OpenHAB. What are your thoughts? Is this going to make a meaningful and lasting impact to fully realizing an Internet of Things and Doohickies? Or are we looking at another Android@Home?  Read more about each of the projects:

https://developers.google.com/brillo/
https://developer.apple.com/homekit/
http://www.openhab.org/

video

 

The post A Rant on Google Brillo+Weave, Apple HomeKit, OpenHAB appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

Going to start something new. Instead of writing my blogs, I am going to try (when I am wearing pants) to do more videos. We shall see how long this lasts! But for now… I go on a rant about the potential of Google's newly announced #Brillo and #Weave projects. How it racks and stacks against Apple #HomeKit and the open source project #OpenHAB. What are your thoughts? Is this going to make a meaningful and lasting impact to fully realizing an Internet of Things and Doohickies? Or are we looking at another Android@Home?  Read more about each of the projects:

https://developers.google.com/brillo/
https://developer.apple.com/homekit/
http://www.openhab.org/

video

 

The post A Rant on Google Brillo+Weave, Apple HomeKit, OpenHAB appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> NSFW: Shake Your Holograms! NSFW: Shake Your Holograms! Sun, 24 May 2015 18:14:24 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=817 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84a 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84a 5e471844643b69565ab97514 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0066_24MAY15.mp3 This week we cover: FitBit Charge HR Review U.S. Gets Access To Cuban Lung Cancer Treatment Apple Wants Your DNA Fat Fighting Microbiomes Tesla Model S Software Hacking Smartphone App Wil

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Shrinking and Growing Magnet
Image and Caption Credit: H. Chopra

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post NSFW: Shake Your Holograms! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Shrinking and Growing Magnet
Image and Caption Credit: H. Chopra

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post NSFW: Shake Your Holograms! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Ciao Arduino! Hello Genuino! Ciao Arduino! Hello Genuino! Sun, 17 May 2015 22:30:31 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=35 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84b 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84b 5e471844643b69565ab97514 genuino
Gears of Resistance Episode #8
17 May 2015

In this week's episode we talk about the news from Microsoft's Build Developer Conference and the announcement about their IoT initiatives with Arduino and Raspberry Pi.  We also answer listener mail about what tools you need when getting started doing electronics. Some links from the episode:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Genuino! Courtesy of MakingSociety

The post Ciao Arduino! Hello Genuino! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> genuino
Gears of Resistance Episode #8
17 May 2015

In this week's episode we talk about the news from Microsoft's Build Developer Conference and the announcement about their IoT initiatives with Arduino and Raspberry Pi.  We also answer listener mail about what tools you need when getting started doing electronics. Some links from the episode:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Genuino! Courtesy of MakingSociety

The post Ciao Arduino! Hello Genuino! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Soundbite Philosophy Soundbite Philosophy Thu, 14 May 2015 04:12:20 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1483 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84c 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84c 5e471844643b69565ab97514 yin

If one had to condense a philosophy on leading a good life into a series of soundbites, these would be my choice:

  1. All lives matter.
  2. Your choices do too.
  3. The Golden rule is the only rule.
  4. Measure success in what you give and not what you get. Live simply so that others may simply live.
  5. Live like today is your last.   The race of life is, in the end, only against yourself. No one makes it out alive.
  6. Fear and apathy are our greatest threats. Hypocrisy our greatest sin. Always remain empathetic, open to change and strive to live in the other person's shoes.
  7. Small talk and gossip are the mark of a small mind.
  8. Don’t be afraid to march to the beat of your own drummer.  Don’t be so proud as to ignore good advice.  You can learn something from everyone.
  9. 99.9% of things in life are not black-or-white.  Not everything is a competition.
  10. Take time to ponder the meaning of why we have two ears and only one mouth.
  11. Actions may speak louder than words, but words matter all the same, so too does silence.  A scared person knows when to be quiet. A smart person knows when to talk.  A wise person knows when each is appropriate. Silence can be deafening, especially when no one speaks up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
  12. Creating good childhood memories is always worth the investment of time and money.
  13. Time will always be more valuable than money.
  14. The truth lies in the middle.
  15. Compromise is not four letter word.
  16. Accept failure as part of the process of building success.
  17. Perfection is the enemy of the good enough.
  18. Take everything in moderation. Including moderation.
  19. The most effective test of person’s character is to take them out to lunch and see how they treat the waiter.
  20. How we improve the world for the next generation is the greatest testament to who we truly are.

The post Soundbite Philosophy appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> yin

If one had to condense a philosophy on leading a good life into a series of soundbites, these would be my choice:

  1. All lives matter.
  2. Your choices do too.
  3. The Golden rule is the only rule.
  4. Measure success in what you give and not what you get. Live simply so that others may simply live.
  5. Live like today is your last.   The race of life is, in the end, only against yourself. No one makes it out alive.
  6. Fear and apathy are our greatest threats. Hypocrisy our greatest sin. Always remain empathetic, open to change and strive to live in the other person's shoes.
  7. Small talk and gossip are the mark of a small mind.
  8. Don’t be afraid to march to the beat of your own drummer.  Don’t be so proud as to ignore good advice.  You can learn something from everyone.
  9. 99.9% of things in life are not black-or-white.  Not everything is a competition.
  10. Take time to ponder the meaning of why we have two ears and only one mouth.
  11. Actions may speak louder than words, but words matter all the same, so too does silence.  A scared person knows when to be quiet. A smart person knows when to talk.  A wise person knows when each is appropriate. Silence can be deafening, especially when no one speaks up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
  12. Creating good childhood memories is always worth the investment of time and money.
  13. Time will always be more valuable than money.
  14. The truth lies in the middle.
  15. Compromise is not four letter word.
  16. Accept failure as part of the process of building success.
  17. Perfection is the enemy of the good enough.
  18. Take everything in moderation. Including moderation.
  19. The most effective test of person’s character is to take them out to lunch and see how they treat the waiter.
  20. How we improve the world for the next generation is the greatest testament to who we truly are.

The post Soundbite Philosophy appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> In Space No One Can Hear You Perform Arithmetic In Space No One Can Hear You Perform Arithmetic Sun, 10 May 2015 18:16:13 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=819 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84d 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84d 5e471844643b69565ab97514

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  A Look Inside a Memristor
Image and Caption Credit:  Dmitri Strukov / UCSB

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post In Space No One Can Hear You Perform Arithmetic appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic:  A Look Inside a Memristor
Image and Caption Credit:  Dmitri Strukov / UCSB

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post In Space No One Can Hear You Perform Arithmetic appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> 50 Shades of Microsoft 50 Shades of Microsoft Sun, 03 May 2015 18:07:29 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=26 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84e 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84e 5e471844643b69565ab97514 ArduinoAndLumia
Gears of Resistance Episode #7
3 May 2015

In this week's episode we talk about the news from Microsoft's Build Developer Conference and the announcement about their IoT initiatives with Arduino and Raspberry Pi.  We also answer listener mail about what tools you need when getting started doing electronics. Some links from the episode:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Microsoft+Lumia+Arduino courtesy of Microsoft

The post 50 Shades of Microsoft appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> ArduinoAndLumia
Gears of Resistance Episode #7
3 May 2015

In this week's episode we talk about the news from Microsoft's Build Developer Conference and the announcement about their IoT initiatives with Arduino and Raspberry Pi.  We also answer listener mail about what tools you need when getting started doing electronics. Some links from the episode:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Microsoft+Lumia+Arduino courtesy of Microsoft

The post 50 Shades of Microsoft appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Google Grabs Some Radio Waves Google Grabs Some Radio Waves Sat, 25 Apr 2015 18:16:34 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=821 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84f 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d84f 5e471844643b69565ab97514

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Chilean Volcano
Image and Caption Credit:  Daniel Basualto/EPA

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Google Grabs Some Radio Waves appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]>

This week we cover:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Halloween, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
Logo courtesy of Avi Odenheimer

This Week’s STEAM Art Pic: Chilean Volcano
Image and Caption Credit:  Daniel Basualto/EPA

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Google Grabs Some Radio Waves appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Less Data, More Creativity Less Data, More Creativity Thu, 23 Apr 2015 23:32:30 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1461 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d850 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d850 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Check this site outScreen Shot 2015-04-23 at 7.24.05 PM.

A lot of blue collar jobs have been lost to robots, especially in factories and manufacturing.  More jobs are at risk as robots begin to become more mobile and intelligent.

But we rarely talk about the huge risk for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to take over the vast majority of white collar jobs in our “data driven” economy.  It's scary because we place so much emphasis on needing “data analysts” to the point we kill human creativity. It seems Darwinism will take care of that.  So if you are seen as an Excel or PowerPoint Ranger, starting packing your bags, your days are numbered.  AI will be doing your job in 5-15 years.

Who will survive the 2-1 robot/AI punch?  Jobs that require social skills and creativity.  So perhaps consider taking a few more art classes, and a few math classes.

The post Less Data, More Creativity appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Check this site outScreen Shot 2015-04-23 at 7.24.05 PM.

A lot of blue collar jobs have been lost to robots, especially in factories and manufacturing.  More jobs are at risk as robots begin to become more mobile and intelligent.

But we rarely talk about the huge risk for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to take over the vast majority of white collar jobs in our “data driven” economy.  It's scary because we place so much emphasis on needing “data analysts” to the point we kill human creativity. It seems Darwinism will take care of that.  So if you are seen as an Excel or PowerPoint Ranger, starting packing your bags, your days are numbered.  AI will be doing your job in 5-15 years.

Who will survive the 2-1 robot/AI punch?  Jobs that require social skills and creativity.  So perhaps consider taking a few more art classes, and a few math classes.

The post Less Data, More Creativity appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Kiss My Arduino! Kiss My Arduino! Sun, 19 Apr 2015 02:36:06 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=14 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d851 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d851 5e471844643b69565ab97514 zero
Gears of Resistance Episode #6
18 April 2015

In this week's episode we talk about why I pick certain embedded platforms to use in my small design business.  We also talk a little about the new 3rd edition of the Art of Electronics and a bit on the Arduino legal kerfluffle.  Some links from the episode:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Arduino Zero board courtesy of Arduino.cc

The post Kiss My Arduino! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> zero
Gears of Resistance Episode #6
18 April 2015

In this week's episode we talk about why I pick certain embedded platforms to use in my small design business.  We also talk a little about the new 3rd edition of the Art of Electronics and a bit on the Arduino legal kerfluffle.  Some links from the episode:

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes or Stitcher.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/

CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

Image: Arduino Zero board courtesy of Arduino.cc

The post Kiss My Arduino! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Why Crap Is Good Why Crap Is Good Fri, 17 Apr 2015 02:29:18 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1454 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d852 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d852 5e471844643b69565ab97514 cartCrap is good.

Well, sorta.  Mostly. Hear me out.

I am huge supporter of free market capitalism. It works mostly. To paraphrase Dwight Eisenhower, it is the “worst” form of economics, except for all the rest.  Unfortunately, many larger corporations and mature industries that have formed oligopolies like to cherry pick the aspects of capitalism that work to their advantage. They like to forget the aspects of a free market that are meant to protect the other partner in a business transaction, the customer. Competition in particular annoys entrenched businesses. They really hate competition to the point that they go out of their way to eliminate competition. In the United States we are plagued with oligopolies in our wireless network providers, and outright monopolies in certain part of the country for cable service provider. A monopoly is antithetical to a free market, tt is a cancer to the health of capitalism. Industries where there are high barriers to entry are especially susceptible to collusion.

By contrast in the smartphone app world, there are a plethora of options for every app type. Some argue to the detriment of the consumer. How could the consumer possible know what the best app is for any given category. As though customers are ignorant children. Interestingly, this sentiment is usually shown by app creators who had initial success in the various app markets, but are slowly losing grounds to upstarts. To be sure, when there is a successful new app there will be tons of knockoffs, imitations, and clones. Many, if not most, will be craptastic. It may be noble in the eyes of the original creator to “protect” consumers from fraudulent, or at least poorer quality apps by petitioning marketplaces to rid themselves of these ripoff apps. But human and corporate nature is eventually abused to protect incumbent powerhouses. Crap apps suck. But existence of crap apps is a sign of a truly healthy and open competition. If the original creator doesn't keep innovating and providing quality support, than their apple cart should be toppled by a gutsy young upstart. But if the market is fixed to prevent such upstarts, either by design or by happenstance, then capitalism begins to fail for the consumers.

So there you have it. Why I like to see crap.It's a sign of healthy competition, just like the other type of crap is a sign of healthy digestive system. Beware of those who extol the virtues of capitalism for the business owner, without saying a peep about the benefits that should also exist for consumers. Business is a transaction between two parties, and good business is mutually beneficial. Otherwise you're just playing with yourself. And your crap.

 

Clipart provide by clker.com

The post Why Crap Is Good appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> cartCrap is good.

Well, sorta.  Mostly. Hear me out.

I am huge supporter of free market capitalism. It works mostly. To paraphrase Dwight Eisenhower, it is the “worst” form of economics, except for all the rest.  Unfortunately, many larger corporations and mature industries that have formed oligopolies like to cherry pick the aspects of capitalism that work to their advantage. They like to forget the aspects of a free market that are meant to protect the other partner in a business transaction, the customer. Competition in particular annoys entrenched businesses. They really hate competition to the point that they go out of their way to eliminate competition. In the United States we are plagued with oligopolies in our wireless network providers, and outright monopolies in certain part of the country for cable service provider. A monopoly is antithetical to a free market, tt is a cancer to the health of capitalism. Industries where there are high barriers to entry are especially susceptible to collusion.

By contrast in the smartphone app world, there are a plethora of options for every app type. Some argue to the detriment of the consumer. How could the consumer possible know what the best app is for any given category. As though customers are ignorant children. Interestingly, this sentiment is usually shown by app creators who had initial success in the various app markets, but are slowly losing grounds to upstarts. To be sure, when there is a successful new app there will be tons of knockoffs, imitations, and clones. Many, if not most, will be craptastic. It may be noble in the eyes of the original creator to “protect” consumers from fraudulent, or at least poorer quality apps by petitioning marketplaces to rid themselves of these ripoff apps. But human and corporate nature is eventually abused to protect incumbent powerhouses. Crap apps suck. But existence of crap apps is a sign of a truly healthy and open competition. If the original creator doesn't keep innovating and providing quality support, than their apple cart should be toppled by a gutsy young upstart. But if the market is fixed to prevent such upstarts, either by design or by happenstance, then capitalism begins to fail for the consumers.

So there you have it. Why I like to see crap.It's a sign of healthy competition, just like the other type of crap is a sign of healthy digestive system. Beware of those who extol the virtues of capitalism for the business owner, without saying a peep about the benefits that should also exist for consumers. Business is a transaction between two parties, and good business is mutually beneficial. Otherwise you're just playing with yourself. And your crap.

 

Clipart provide by clker.com

The post Why Crap Is Good appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> The Lost Episodes The Lost Episodes Wed, 15 Apr 2015 18:19:33 GMT 0 http://steampowerpodcast.com/?p=823 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d853 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d853 5e471844643b69565ab97514 Ep 63 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0063_12APR15.mp3 Ep 62 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0062_14MAR15.mp3 Ep 61 http://greenshoegarage.com/podcast/SPP/2015/STEAM_0061_25FEB15.mp3 Ep 60 http://greenshoegarage.com/po Ep 63

Ep 62

Ep 61

Ep 60

Ep 59

Ep 58

Ep 57

Ep 56

Ep 55

Ep 54

The post The Lost Episodes appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Ep 63

Ep 62

Ep 61

Ep 60

Ep 59

Ep 58

Ep 57

Ep 56

Ep 55

Ep 54

The post The Lost Episodes appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Opening the Open Source Kimono Opening the Open Source Kimono Tue, 14 Apr 2015 02:08:53 GMT 0 http://gearsofresistance.com/?p=8 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d854 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d854 5e471844643b69565ab97514 GOR MAIN LOGO

Gears of Resistance Episode #5
1 April 2015

So we are shifting gears (pun intended) with Gears of Resistance. I've come to realize that there are tons of great electronics tutorial videos out there already. I love the idea of an Open Source Hardware podcast, but just can't dedicate the time to do really awesome how-to videos right now. So we're going to “pivot” as they say in the start-up world. GoR is going to be predominantly an audio podcast, and doing visual stuff like we've been doing just doesn't work. What does work is talking about new OSHW platforms, interviews with people doing OSHW, and talk about what it's like to run an embedded design studio built on OSHW. We will occasionally do videos for things like project overviews or product reviews.

I personally love doing the electronics 101 stuff, but I think I need to focus on something that is more unique and can be done justice given the limited time I have to put this together. So, stick around, things are going to get real awesome, real fast!

With all that said, we start off with a chat about what my little embedded product design studio does and how it came to be.

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes , Stitcher, or SoundCloud.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Opening the Open Source Kimono appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> GOR MAIN LOGO

Gears of Resistance Episode #5
1 April 2015

So we are shifting gears (pun intended) with Gears of Resistance. I've come to realize that there are tons of great electronics tutorial videos out there already. I love the idea of an Open Source Hardware podcast, but just can't dedicate the time to do really awesome how-to videos right now. So we're going to “pivot” as they say in the start-up world. GoR is going to be predominantly an audio podcast, and doing visual stuff like we've been doing just doesn't work. What does work is talking about new OSHW platforms, interviews with people doing OSHW, and talk about what it's like to run an embedded design studio built on OSHW. We will occasionally do videos for things like project overviews or product reviews.

I personally love doing the electronics 101 stuff, but I think I need to focus on something that is more unique and can be done justice given the limited time I have to put this together. So, stick around, things are going to get real awesome, real fast!

With all that said, we start off with a chat about what my little embedded product design studio does and how it came to be.

[Download]

For more tech news and how-to’s visit the blog, follow along on Google+, and check out our YouTube Channel. Or listen to the audio only version at iTunes , Stitcher, or SoundCloud.

Music is “Computer Control” by Tom Woxom, available at http://freemusicarchive.org/
CC: Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 International

Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com. They have over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/steampowerpodcast

The post Opening the Open Source Kimono appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

]]> Why I Believe: Potential over Fear Why I Believe: Potential over Fear Thu, 09 Apr 2015 20:54:25 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1450 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d855 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d855 5e471844643b69565ab97514 oldradioThere is any interesting dichotomy at play in the technology world.  As someone is who is cold-stone engineer by day, but a struggling product design artist by night, I am keenly aware that people both embrace (at the notion of) innovation yet fear change.  We like to dream of a better tomorrow, rather than live it.  We are blessed to live in remarkably dynamic and creative times.  If humanity is to take the next steps in our collective evolution, we must begin to embrace change, even when we fear it.  Driverless cars and drones come to mind immediately when I think of technology that seems to bring out the extremes of fear and anxiety.

The vast majority of people outside of the technology sphere (and actually quite few inside that world) express fears about these innovations that are rational from the perspective of possibility, they are not rational concerns when one considers probability. When I solicit perspectives from people on the concept of the driverless car from people who can and do drive themselves today, the response is more often than not one of trepidation. What if it gets hacked?  What if something “goes wrong”?  Well, what happens when human operated vehicle has a problem?  Perhaps nothing, perhaps there is indeed an accident.  But that has not stopped 100 years of favoring automobiles over horse and buggies (Amish aside).  In short, the able bodied focus on what can go wrong.

But then something interesting happens when you ask someone with a disability such as blindness about driverless cars.  Many of whom have spent large portions of their lives depending on others to perform tasks that those with no disabilities take for granted.  They are excited about the possibilities that driverless cars offers.  The chance to live life on their own terms without reliance on others.  They embrace the potential technology offers, they recognize the probability of failure is so low that they'd rather accept some nominal risk in exchange for more fulfilling and self-reliant livelihoods.

I have learned from those with challenges in life to embrace possibility over fear.  That we can engineer a better tomorrow.  Sure there are risks.  There have always been risks with new technology.  Yet here we are.  If we want to move forward, we must continue to innovate and embrace the change that it entails.  Life without risk is no life at all.  And as an engineer I'd rather give a better life to as many people as possible, than to simply protect those fortunate enough to have needed to rely on others to simply sustain life.  Everyone deserves better.

The post Why I Believe: Potential over Fear appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> oldradioThere is any interesting dichotomy at play in the technology world.  As someone is who is cold-stone engineer by day, but a struggling product design artist by night, I am keenly aware that people both embrace (at the notion of) innovation yet fear change.  We like to dream of a better tomorrow, rather than live it.  We are blessed to live in remarkably dynamic and creative times.  If humanity is to take the next steps in our collective evolution, we must begin to embrace change, even when we fear it.  Driverless cars and drones come to mind immediately when I think of technology that seems to bring out the extremes of fear and anxiety.

The vast majority of people outside of the technology sphere (and actually quite few inside that world) express fears about these innovations that are rational from the perspective of possibility, they are not rational concerns when one considers probability. When I solicit perspectives from people on the concept of the driverless car from people who can and do drive themselves today, the response is more often than not one of trepidation. What if it gets hacked?  What if something “goes wrong”?  Well, what happens when human operated vehicle has a problem?  Perhaps nothing, perhaps there is indeed an accident.  But that has not stopped 100 years of favoring automobiles over horse and buggies (Amish aside).  In short, the able bodied focus on what can go wrong.

But then something interesting happens when you ask someone with a disability such as blindness about driverless cars.  Many of whom have spent large portions of their lives depending on others to perform tasks that those with no disabilities take for granted.  They are excited about the possibilities that driverless cars offers.  The chance to live life on their own terms without reliance on others.  They embrace the potential technology offers, they recognize the probability of failure is so low that they'd rather accept some nominal risk in exchange for more fulfilling and self-reliant livelihoods.

I have learned from those with challenges in life to embrace possibility over fear.  That we can engineer a better tomorrow.  Sure there are risks.  There have always been risks with new technology.  Yet here we are.  If we want to move forward, we must continue to innovate and embrace the change that it entails.  Life without risk is no life at all.  And as an engineer I'd rather give a better life to as many people as possible, than to simply protect those fortunate enough to have needed to rely on others to simply sustain life.  Everyone deserves better.

The post Why I Believe: Potential over Fear appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> My “100:1 Funnel” Strategy to Keep Innovation and Productivity Moving My “100:1 Funnel” Strategy to Keep Innovation and Productivity Moving Tue, 24 Feb 2015 03:38:03 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1433 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d856 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d856 5e471844643b69565ab97514 lightbulb2-mdI have what you might call obsessive compulsive tinkering (that’s a self-diagnosis). I love tinkering. The feeling one gets from taking an idea existing solely in the mind’s eye and creating a physical, working prototype is like none other.

Tinkering also forces me to learn. That is also why I think I did relatively poor in grade school, education was purely an academic pursuit with no practical applicability. On the flipside, that is why I thrived in college while in pursuit of an engineering degree. The theoretical was finally holding hands with the practical. This is why I am so vehemently opposed to Common Core curriculum. But that’s a tangent we’re going to skip for today.

You would think constant and endless tinkering is a sure sign of someone suffering from adult attention deficit disorder. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Being excited by so many topics that are both related and disparate requires extreme attention to detail and discipline. I wanted to share my system with you, but please don’t accept this as prescriptive. It is a framework you should tweak and adapt for your own needs and capabilities.

My “100:1 Funnel” strategy is as follows (oh, how it desperately needs a better name!):

100: I keep a notebook with 100 project ideas and areas of study that I want to learn. Doesn’t matter how wacky or how unlikely I will actually pursue the topics contained on the list. This notebook is my “idea catcher”. You never know when a random idea may come to forefront as a potential solution to solve a newly discovered problem. My list sometimes contains more than 100 ideas, but the top 100 make it onto a brain map. This helps me visualize relationships between topics and helps illustrate the progression of topics that I need to study. It also helps in prioritizing my study topics. A node that has a lot of related topics is ripe for the picking. This is the day dreaming phase of work.

25: Of those 100+ ideas, I keep various notebooks in Evernote for the top 25 ideas or topics. These are the ones I am most likely to pursue in the next year or two. When I have time or find a random article on the Internet about one of these topics, I save it in Evernote. If I have a good idea about a topic, I will make a note. In short, this begins the narrowing down and fleshing out process. Picking what goes on the list forces discipline to limit myself to 25 topic areas. I pull topics into this top 25 list but looking for things that are practical and have the potential to solve a very particular problem. Or topics that seem that will be important to clients. Then sometimes I just pick things that I think are going to be plain old fun to learn. This is my research and prioritization phase of work.

10: I pick 10 of the 25 ideas I am tracking in Evernote and favorite them. These are the ones I am doing regular research on. Perhaps not every day, but I am actively engaged and hope to start prototyping in the next 6 to 12 months. Here I am sketching out circuits, writing some pseudocode, and making sketches for final designs. In short, this is my brainstorming phase of work.

3: Form the list of 10 ideas I am actively pursuing, 3 will be on the front burner. I am either actively prototyping these projects or will start in the next 1 to 2 months. I might be testing circuits in simulator or even breadboarding particular subsystems, writing blocks of code to prove concepts, or beginning to do the CAD design of mechanical components. This is my experimenting phase. Trying a bunch of possible solutions before settling on a final design to refine. This is also where money gets spent on materials and tools as needed. Buying supplies before a project reaches this phase just helps to create a nice inventory of parts and stuff. Before I would buy parts whenever and many would get stuck in drawers; never see the light of day again. Then I would forget about them and buy the same part again later for another project. Waiting to buy parts until you actually need them saves on storage space and money.

1: A very special project on the top 10 list is the project I am working full-time on. It is the one that I am committed to getting working 100% within the next month or so. I am documenting the heck out of my work. Photographs, sketches, and code is being saved up to GitHub. When I get stumped or frustrated, I may go off to another lower priority project to give my brain a chance to work the problem offline. As I get to the polish phase of this one special project then I may start writing a blog post, doing videos, cleaning up the code comments and refining schematic diagrams. If the project warrants it, I may start doing a PCB layout. Once I get to the polish phase, I start ramping up one of my top 3 projects to be the new #1. This is my polish phase.

So there you have it, my system to keeping the innovation and self-education train running 24/7/365. I will also note that another key is to do things that are completely unrelated to any of this. For me that is photography, ham radio, gaming, geocaching, and flying my little quadcopter. These activities help to get my mind of problems I have encountered and can serve as inspiration for a new topic that I will want to look into … one day … after I get done with this one … or that one. 😉

What are you secrets to keeping the pipeline full of new ideas and project to work on?

 

Image courtesy of openclipart.org

The post My “100:1 Funnel” Strategy to Keep Innovation and Productivity Moving appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> lightbulb2-mdI have what you might call obsessive compulsive tinkering (that’s a self-diagnosis). I love tinkering. The feeling one gets from taking an idea existing solely in the mind’s eye and creating a physical, working prototype is like none other.

Tinkering also forces me to learn. That is also why I think I did relatively poor in grade school, education was purely an academic pursuit with no practical applicability. On the flipside, that is why I thrived in college while in pursuit of an engineering degree. The theoretical was finally holding hands with the practical. This is why I am so vehemently opposed to Common Core curriculum. But that’s a tangent we’re going to skip for today.

You would think constant and endless tinkering is a sure sign of someone suffering from adult attention deficit disorder. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Being excited by so many topics that are both related and disparate requires extreme attention to detail and discipline. I wanted to share my system with you, but please don’t accept this as prescriptive. It is a framework you should tweak and adapt for your own needs and capabilities.

My “100:1 Funnel” strategy is as follows (oh, how it desperately needs a better name!):

100: I keep a notebook with 100 project ideas and areas of study that I want to learn. Doesn’t matter how wacky or how unlikely I will actually pursue the topics contained on the list. This notebook is my “idea catcher”. You never know when a random idea may come to forefront as a potential solution to solve a newly discovered problem. My list sometimes contains more than 100 ideas, but the top 100 make it onto a brain map. This helps me visualize relationships between topics and helps illustrate the progression of topics that I need to study. It also helps in prioritizing my study topics. A node that has a lot of related topics is ripe for the picking. This is the day dreaming phase of work.

25: Of those 100+ ideas, I keep various notebooks in Evernote for the top 25 ideas or topics. These are the ones I am most likely to pursue in the next year or two. When I have time or find a random article on the Internet about one of these topics, I save it in Evernote. If I have a good idea about a topic, I will make a note. In short, this begins the narrowing down and fleshing out process. Picking what goes on the list forces discipline to limit myself to 25 topic areas. I pull topics into this top 25 list but looking for things that are practical and have the potential to solve a very particular problem. Or topics that seem that will be important to clients. Then sometimes I just pick things that I think are going to be plain old fun to learn. This is my research and prioritization phase of work.

10: I pick 10 of the 25 ideas I am tracking in Evernote and favorite them. These are the ones I am doing regular research on. Perhaps not every day, but I am actively engaged and hope to start prototyping in the next 6 to 12 months. Here I am sketching out circuits, writing some pseudocode, and making sketches for final designs. In short, this is my brainstorming phase of work.

3: Form the list of 10 ideas I am actively pursuing, 3 will be on the front burner. I am either actively prototyping these projects or will start in the next 1 to 2 months. I might be testing circuits in simulator or even breadboarding particular subsystems, writing blocks of code to prove concepts, or beginning to do the CAD design of mechanical components. This is my experimenting phase. Trying a bunch of possible solutions before settling on a final design to refine. This is also where money gets spent on materials and tools as needed. Buying supplies before a project reaches this phase just helps to create a nice inventory of parts and stuff. Before I would buy parts whenever and many would get stuck in drawers; never see the light of day again. Then I would forget about them and buy the same part again later for another project. Waiting to buy parts until you actually need them saves on storage space and money.

1: A very special project on the top 10 list is the project I am working full-time on. It is the one that I am committed to getting working 100% within the next month or so. I am documenting the heck out of my work. Photographs, sketches, and code is being saved up to GitHub. When I get stumped or frustrated, I may go off to another lower priority project to give my brain a chance to work the problem offline. As I get to the polish phase of this one special project then I may start writing a blog post, doing videos, cleaning up the code comments and refining schematic diagrams. If the project warrants it, I may start doing a PCB layout. Once I get to the polish phase, I start ramping up one of my top 3 projects to be the new #1. This is my polish phase.

So there you have it, my system to keeping the innovation and self-education train running 24/7/365. I will also note that another key is to do things that are completely unrelated to any of this. For me that is photography, ham radio, gaming, geocaching, and flying my little quadcopter. These activities help to get my mind of problems I have encountered and can serve as inspiration for a new topic that I will want to look into … one day … after I get done with this one … or that one. 😉

What are you secrets to keeping the pipeline full of new ideas and project to work on?

 

Image courtesy of openclipart.org

The post My “100:1 Funnel” Strategy to Keep Innovation and Productivity Moving appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Why Science Matters In Politics Why Science Matters In Politics Sat, 14 Feb 2015 20:08:41 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1418 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d857 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d857 5e471844643b69565ab97514 awf-microscopeVaccines.  Evolution.  Global climate change. The World is round.  Things that should not be in question in the 21st century,

A certain U.S. governor and 2016 presidential hopeful responded to whether or not he accepted biological evolution as scientific fact.  To which he promptly responded “I'm going to punt on that one, as well, that's a question a politician shouldn't be involved in one way or the other. So I'm going to leave that up to you.”  I will not mention the governors name or political party as it is a moot point.  Politicians of all ilks seem to hate, or at the very least, refuse to demonstrate elementary school understanding of scientific fact.  Besides, Google is just one tab over anyways.

Now on the face it, that comment would at least be an improvement from some comments we've heard in years past.  Uneducated politicians should seek expert opinion on matters that they don't comprehend.  If it were that simple.  Unfortunately governors and state governments have unique power through their control of public education to influence the scientific literacy of our children.  If school boards across this country did indeed stay away from revising scientific fact to meet local prejudices or religious beliefs, I would be okay with the governor's statement, well, a little bit at least.

But here's the rub.

We've already gone through the Dark Ages.  We should not be deliberately steering for a second one.

Science is, fundamentally, about seeking truth.  Regardless if the truth matches the vision we hold for the Universe in our mind's eye.  Science, along with technology, engineering, art, and mathematics; is key to our continued survival as a species.  Ignoring scientific fact, without being over-the-top, threatens our species.  And at the very least, threatens the U.S. economic way of life as the world recovers from the Great Recession.  While the rest of the world continues to creep past the United States in the practical and theoretical applications of scientific research, we will only have ourselves to blame if we continue to elect politicians who, due solely to seeking political gain, irreversibly damage investments in STEAM arenas of knowledge.

When a politician makes statements as this governor did, it shows he/she is more interested in pandering to his establishment that he/she is interested in the collective survival and well-being of society.  Its shows that they cannot make decision based on fact, rather they will make choices based on who donates the most to the political coffers.  And most importantly, it shows they are locked in their way, facts be damned.  Just this week a new theory on cosmology, which solves some of problems with existing theories, states that there was no Big Bang.  That the Universe is indeed eternal.  Now if this theory proves true, it fundamentally rocks scientific understanding of astrophysics and cosmology.  And you know what?  That would be just dandy!  Science, unlike political stance, can grow and change as our understanding and research grows and changes.  To be ignorant of the possibility to change the fundamentals, would make science no more reliable than religion or politics in attempting to understand reality.  We would sway solely at the whim of the priesthood and politicians, not universal truth.   This ability to admit that you're wrong is fundamental to science.  It also antithetical to politicians like this governor.  I want an elected leader that can admit, when faced with fact, is willing to do the right thing.  Not the politically expedient thing.

Thankfully, science has thus far survived the onslaught of charlatans and pseudoscience.  Electing politicians like this governor, with their immense power to influence policy and education funding, would put us on a direct course to the Dark Ages 2.0.  That is why, as much as science and politics shouldn't mix, having scientifically literate elected officials is crucial.  Scientific literacy and acceptance shows that an individual is reasonable, embraces logic, is a good listener,  takes action based on fact, and is looking out for the greater good.

To elect an official that is otherwise leads us to a reality that we simply cannot afford.

 

Clipart courtesy of openclipart.org

The post Why Science Matters In Politics appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> awf-microscopeVaccines.  Evolution.  Global climate change. The World is round.  Things that should not be in question in the 21st century,

A certain U.S. governor and 2016 presidential hopeful responded to whether or not he accepted biological evolution as scientific fact.  To which he promptly responded “I'm going to punt on that one, as well, that's a question a politician shouldn't be involved in one way or the other. So I'm going to leave that up to you.”  I will not mention the governors name or political party as it is a moot point.  Politicians of all ilks seem to hate, or at the very least, refuse to demonstrate elementary school understanding of scientific fact.  Besides, Google is just one tab over anyways.

Now on the face it, that comment would at least be an improvement from some comments we've heard in years past.  Uneducated politicians should seek expert opinion on matters that they don't comprehend.  If it were that simple.  Unfortunately governors and state governments have unique power through their control of public education to influence the scientific literacy of our children.  If school boards across this country did indeed stay away from revising scientific fact to meet local prejudices or religious beliefs, I would be okay with the governor's statement, well, a little bit at least.

But here's the rub.

We've already gone through the Dark Ages.  We should not be deliberately steering for a second one.

Science is, fundamentally, about seeking truth.  Regardless if the truth matches the vision we hold for the Universe in our mind's eye.  Science, along with technology, engineering, art, and mathematics; is key to our continued survival as a species.  Ignoring scientific fact, without being over-the-top, threatens our species.  And at the very least, threatens the U.S. economic way of life as the world recovers from the Great Recession.  While the rest of the world continues to creep past the United States in the practical and theoretical applications of scientific research, we will only have ourselves to blame if we continue to elect politicians who, due solely to seeking political gain, irreversibly damage investments in STEAM arenas of knowledge.

When a politician makes statements as this governor did, it shows he/she is more interested in pandering to his establishment that he/she is interested in the collective survival and well-being of society.  Its shows that they cannot make decision based on fact, rather they will make choices based on who donates the most to the political coffers.  And most importantly, it shows they are locked in their way, facts be damned.  Just this week a new theory on cosmology, which solves some of problems with existing theories, states that there was no Big Bang.  That the Universe is indeed eternal.  Now if this theory proves true, it fundamentally rocks scientific understanding of astrophysics and cosmology.  And you know what?  That would be just dandy!  Science, unlike political stance, can grow and change as our understanding and research grows and changes.  To be ignorant of the possibility to change the fundamentals, would make science no more reliable than religion or politics in attempting to understand reality.  We would sway solely at the whim of the priesthood and politicians, not universal truth.   This ability to admit that you're wrong is fundamental to science.  It also antithetical to politicians like this governor.  I want an elected leader that can admit, when faced with fact, is willing to do the right thing.  Not the politically expedient thing.

Thankfully, science has thus far survived the onslaught of charlatans and pseudoscience.  Electing politicians like this governor, with their immense power to influence policy and education funding, would put us on a direct course to the Dark Ages 2.0.  That is why, as much as science and politics shouldn't mix, having scientifically literate elected officials is crucial.  Scientific literacy and acceptance shows that an individual is reasonable, embraces logic, is a good listener,  takes action based on fact, and is looking out for the greater good.

To elect an official that is otherwise leads us to a reality that we simply cannot afford.

 

Clipart courtesy of openclipart.org

The post Why Science Matters In Politics appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Comparing Form/Function to Program/Algorithm Comparing Form/Function to Program/Algorithm Mon, 05 Jan 2015 02:32:11 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1383 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d858 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d858 5e471844643b69565ab97514 IMG_0451In product design, striking a balance between form and function is constant struggle.   I ascribe to the philosophy that when faced with a design decision, it is better to given precedence to function over the form.  I say that not just because it's better for something to work well vice looking good, but rather by keeping function front and center you keep your mind open to possibilities.  When you become “married” to particular implementation or design you tend to unconsciously cutoff other designs that could meet the functional requirements in a more effective/efficient manner.

This can be extrapolated to other facets of modern life including business processes and software engineering.  In some ways, software designers are some of the most adept and separating form and function.  I draw a parallel of form and function to programs and algorithms in the software world.  In the world of software, an algorithm is simply a recipe or set of instruction to complete computational task.  There are many different types of algorithms within each family of algorithms.  For example there are a family of algorithms are geared towards sorting data, these include bubble sort, merge sort, and quicksort to name just a few.  At the end of the day though, they each sort.  But a good software designer knows that each has their own pros and cons in terms of memory and execution time to complete.  So when they go about writing a particular piece of software they taken into account the data structures before deciding to which sorting algorithm (or any other algorithm for that matter) to implement in code.  In short, they put the algorithm (function) first in their mind before building the program (form).

The post Comparing Form/Function to Program/Algorithm appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> IMG_0451In product design, striking a balance between form and function is constant struggle.   I ascribe to the philosophy that when faced with a design decision, it is better to given precedence to function over the form.  I say that not just because it's better for something to work well vice looking good, but rather by keeping function front and center you keep your mind open to possibilities.  When you become “married” to particular implementation or design you tend to unconsciously cutoff other designs that could meet the functional requirements in a more effective/efficient manner.

This can be extrapolated to other facets of modern life including business processes and software engineering.  In some ways, software designers are some of the most adept and separating form and function.  I draw a parallel of form and function to programs and algorithms in the software world.  In the world of software, an algorithm is simply a recipe or set of instruction to complete computational task.  There are many different types of algorithms within each family of algorithms.  For example there are a family of algorithms are geared towards sorting data, these include bubble sort, merge sort, and quicksort to name just a few.  At the end of the day though, they each sort.  But a good software designer knows that each has their own pros and cons in terms of memory and execution time to complete.  So when they go about writing a particular piece of software they taken into account the data structures before deciding to which sorting algorithm (or any other algorithm for that matter) to implement in code.  In short, they put the algorithm (function) first in their mind before building the program (form).

The post Comparing Form/Function to Program/Algorithm appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Wearables Prototyping: Digital Compass Glove Wearables Prototyping: Digital Compass Glove Thu, 25 Dec 2014 01:19:47 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1374 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d859 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d859 5e471844643b69565ab97514 gauntletOfDirectionI am admittedly a better electronics hacker than I am a seamstress.  But I firmly believe that wearables is going to be more than a fad, eventually.  So I figure I better at least get enough skills to be able to design prototypes, as I have done with straight up electronics for the last 17 years.  I have a lot of learning to do.  The hardest thing thus far is finding a suitable replacement for a breadboard.  Short of, you know, strapping an actually breadboard to a piece of cloth.  I really think there needs to be more work done on the “foundational” prototyping hardware to make wearables electronics hacking much easier.  It's not that I mind sewing, it's just proving to be a beast to troubleshoot.  So I think in 2015 I am going to try and figure out a way to make wearables prototyping easier.  But for now, may I present the Mk I Digital Compass Glove.  Basically, an Arduino Flora, and LSM303 Triple-Axis Accelerometer/Magnetometer, and a NeoPixel (essentially a souped up RGB LED).  The idea is if you are out hiking or skiing instead of whipping out a compass, GPS device, or smartphone.  You just hold your hand out and a glowing LED gives you basic feeling for what direction you are facing.  The LED glows white for north, green for east, blue for south, and red for west.  Here are some videos of the design process:

Thanks to Lisa of Super Chic Dollies for the crocheting the awesome gauntlet!

Some lessons learned I have so far from doing this wearables project:

  • Don’t sew directly onto final product, sew circuit on to fabric then attach onto the final garment.
  • Use sewing rings to keep the fabric taunt. It will also help to store the circuit safely until it's finished.
  • Use nail polish to protect the start and finish point of each connection you sew, but be careful no to insulate contacts.
  • If you are using I2C devices you may need external resistors or double the thread to reduce resistance/increase current between points.
  • Snaps are key so that you can use your wearable microcontrollers across multiple projects/
  • Rivet kit, seam ripper, and needle threader are essential first purchases.
  • Use a double layer of cloth between circuit and garment to prevent shorts as fabrics move against each other.  So in the end you will have layer where the circuit is sewn onto, an “insulating” layer, then the final layer is the underlying garment itself.

 

The post Wearables Prototyping: Digital Compass Glove appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> gauntletOfDirectionI am admittedly a better electronics hacker than I am a seamstress.  But I firmly believe that wearables is going to be more than a fad, eventually.  So I figure I better at least get enough skills to be able to design prototypes, as I have done with straight up electronics for the last 17 years.  I have a lot of learning to do.  The hardest thing thus far is finding a suitable replacement for a breadboard.  Short of, you know, strapping an actually breadboard to a piece of cloth.  I really think there needs to be more work done on the “foundational” prototyping hardware to make wearables electronics hacking much easier.  It's not that I mind sewing, it's just proving to be a beast to troubleshoot.  So I think in 2015 I am going to try and figure out a way to make wearables prototyping easier.  But for now, may I present the Mk I Digital Compass Glove.  Basically, an Arduino Flora, and LSM303 Triple-Axis Accelerometer/Magnetometer, and a NeoPixel (essentially a souped up RGB LED).  The idea is if you are out hiking or skiing instead of whipping out a compass, GPS device, or smartphone.  You just hold your hand out and a glowing LED gives you basic feeling for what direction you are facing.  The LED glows white for north, green for east, blue for south, and red for west.  Here are some videos of the design process:

Thanks to Lisa of Super Chic Dollies for the crocheting the awesome gauntlet!

Some lessons learned I have so far from doing this wearables project:

  • Don’t sew directly onto final product, sew circuit on to fabric then attach onto the final garment.
  • Use sewing rings to keep the fabric taunt. It will also help to store the circuit safely until it's finished.
  • Use nail polish to protect the start and finish point of each connection you sew, but be careful no to insulate contacts.
  • If you are using I2C devices you may need external resistors or double the thread to reduce resistance/increase current between points.
  • Snaps are key so that you can use your wearable microcontrollers across multiple projects/
  • Rivet kit, seam ripper, and needle threader are essential first purchases.
  • Use a double layer of cloth between circuit and garment to prevent shorts as fabrics move against each other.  So in the end you will have layer where the circuit is sewn onto, an “insulating” layer, then the final layer is the underlying garment itself.

 

The post Wearables Prototyping: Digital Compass Glove appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> Making Snail Mail Cool Again! Making Snail Mail Cool Again! Thu, 25 Dec 2014 00:43:44 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1368 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d85a 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d85a 5e471844643b69565ab97514 solar-energy-harvesting-fig2I have a new article over at Mouser Electronics Bench Talk for Design Engineers blog!  Click here  to go right to the article. See what magic you can make happen with some TI MSP430s and a TI LaunchPad!   Hint:  Snail Mail Gets a High Tech prototype!  You don't have to be an engineer to enjoy this one, DIYers and Makers of all skill levels should be able to follow along.  There are more blogs coming that help explain the underlying electronics, so stay tuned!  You can find all my articles here, there is a RSS feed you can subscribe to so you never miss an article.

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]]> solar-energy-harvesting-fig2I have a new article over at Mouser Electronics Bench Talk for Design Engineers blog!  Click here  to go right to the article. See what magic you can make happen with some TI MSP430s and a TI LaunchPad!   Hint:  Snail Mail Gets a High Tech prototype!  You don't have to be an engineer to enjoy this one, DIYers and Makers of all skill levels should be able to follow along.  There are more blogs coming that help explain the underlying electronics, so stay tuned!  You can find all my articles here, there is a RSS feed you can subscribe to so you never miss an article.

The post Making Snail Mail Cool Again! appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> More Phidget Phun More Phidget Phun Fri, 21 Nov 2014 01:51:13 GMT 0 http://michaelbparks.com/?p=1323 false https://shows.acast.com/gears-of-resistance/episodes/5e47185c9fd6599927a1d85b 5e47185c9fd6599927a1d85b 5e471844643b69565ab97514 phdigets

I have been playing with Phidgets more and more lately. Mainly because it is forcing me to go relearn good OOP programming skills, it's also serving to push me to learn Python. As a hardware guy, it's always a challenge to get motivated to learn yet another new programming language. But so far, so good. I have got inputs and outputs working to a half-way decent GUI interface. Yes, I know, absolute positioning of widgets is not recommended. I am sure that I am screwing up something with classes, inheritance, encapsulation or some other software best practice. But it works.

On top of that, I have added some basic file handling to the app, it now dumps the I/O status to a CSV file at the press of a button. That let's me manipulate in Google Spreadsheets for some cool visualizations (see above, hover your mouse over the image, it's interactive!). Next up, using a Pyhton library that allows you to dump directly to a Google Spreadsheets through an API call.

Example code after the break…

The post More Phidget Phun appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

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]]> phdigets

I have been playing with Phidgets more and more lately. Mainly because it is forcing me to go relearn good OOP programming skills, it's also serving to push me to learn Python. As a hardware guy, it's always a challenge to get motivated to learn yet another new programming language. But so far, so good. I have got inputs and outputs working to a half-way decent GUI interface. Yes, I know, absolute positioning of widgets is not recommended. I am sure that I am screwing up something with classes, inheritance, encapsulation or some other software best practice. But it works.

On top of that, I have added some basic file handling to the app, it now dumps the I/O status to a CSV file at the press of a button. That let's me manipulate in Google Spreadsheets for some cool visualizations (see above, hover your mouse over the image, it's interactive!). Next up, using a Pyhton library that allows you to dump directly to a Google Spreadsheets through an API call.

Example code after the break…

The post More Phidget Phun appeared first on Gears of Resistance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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