Category: Technology

MP-B200 and MP-B300 the 2 latest Mp3 player from Sharp

MP-B200

 I look at this MP3 player and wonder why I’m so enamoured with the Apple iPod…

Sharp just released today the MP-B200 and the MP-B300 2 player with a miniSD Slot and with only 8.9mm of thickness for 65g. Our players are available in either 512 or 1GB of memory and can also record the FM thanks to their FM Tuner. Both can play Mp3 and WMA files.

I feel that the final point of decision in buying a portable music player is always going to be how well it works with where you keep your music. Sony, for example, makes the amazing MiniDisc format players. The quality is impressive as well as the size, cost, and storage medium. However, the software that you have to use to manage your music absolutely bites. If the player > library interface isn’t transparent then it’s a pain to use and what do you know, you won’t. The Apple iPod still kicks butt with iTunes. It’s pretty much a one stop shop for your data and data you buy (music, videos, podcasts, etc). That’s going to be hard to beat. If anyone has experience with the Sharp interface, or knows how you sync your music to it please tell. If its just ‘you drag your files onto the miniSD card after you plug the card into the reader’ then don’t bother. This product is doomed.

[via gadgets.fosfor]

MP-B200 and MP-B300 the 2 latest Mp3 player from Sharp

PongSats

PongSats

Now you can send you own scientific experiment into near space. As long as it fits into the space of a ping-pong ball:

A PongSat is an experiment that fits inside of a ping pong ball.
These ping pong ball ‘satellites’ are flown to the edge of space by balloon or launched in sounding rockets. The PongSats are then returned to the student. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to get students excited about science and engineering. There are endless possibilities for experiments that can fit inside a ping pong ball. PongSat’s can be as simple or complex as you want them to be. Experiments can be as simple as comparing how high a ball bounces before and after being exposed to vacuum. The PongSat can carry seeds to see if exposure to cosmic rays effect their growth. Several small inexpensive computers and other electronic can fit inside a PongSat. These can be used to create a wide range of experiments. Whether carrying a marshmallow to see if it puffs up in the vacuum of near space or an entire sophisticated satellite in miniature, PongSat can create motivation, drive and passion in the classroom.
PongSats are flown at no cost to the student or school.

How cool is that? Some flights have reached over 100,000 feet, that’s definitely high enough to measure the UV index or even gamma rays if your detector is small enough.

[via neatorama] 

PongSats

Glass Blowing for Vacuum Devices

Thermonic Diode 

What a perfect companion to my light bulb DIY! This has some amazingly valuable information on how to cut, bend, and blow glass for scientific devices. It also has information on how you can use this new found knowledge to make your own photo cells, vacuum diodes,and even a cathode ray tube. For the amateur scientist this is a gold mine of information.

[via MAKE] 

Teralab – Glass Blowing for Vacuum Devices

Scrolling LED Display For Less Than $20

Cheap Scroling LED Display 

People need computers with blinking lights. I slave away at a Macintosh all day and all I have to look at is a calm glowing white light. It glows the same way when the thing is doing nothing as is does when the CPUs are maxed out and locked up. I can’t even tell if there is any hard drive activity! Now, I can’t put this project on the Mac. For starters it’s not mine, work owns it. Second, there is that lack of a parallel port that causes some problems. However, this would work just fine on my PC. The front LED that shows hard drive activity is blown out (what is this problem I have with lack of hard drive feedback?!?) so this would be a cool indicator of when my drives are off in a world of their own. Unlike the author of the how to I don’t have a fancy table saw to make a mount for it, I’ll have to make do with hot glue. ;P

[via MAKE] 

Put a scrolling LED display in your computer for less than $20

Underwater CVS Camcorder hack

Underwater CVS Camera Mod

What a fantastic mod! I love the magnet and the reed switch. 

Connect this one to the contacts of the record button and mount it on the back of the case, right under the screen. Now, waving a magnet by the bottom of the screen will start and stop recording underwater, without breaking the seal of the case.

I’ve often thought of building an underwater case for a camera but doing the interfaces for the buttons has always been a daunting task. For a while I was thinking I would use a water proof IR remote but never worked quite right. Plus it was a pain to mess with underwater. The magnetic switches are perfect. I wish I would have had this while I was on the beach…

Underwater CVS Camcorder