Mass Geek

Easy access to detailed information and pro-quality tools means nearly anyone can become expert in nearly anything. The future belongs to these Mass Geeks: global communities joined by obsessive interest, demanding highly tailored experiences.

  • January 30, 2012

    The Only Film Tribute to Make the Kessel Run in Less Than 12 Parsecs

    The original Star Wars is perhaps the unifying cultural touchpoint. It’s quite difficult to go through life never having seen it, and thus we all have our own memories of how Star Wars colored our lives. So much so that thousands of internet denizens jumped at the chance to recreate their own slice of the film. Their assignment? Recreate any 15 second chunk of Star Wars in any manner you see fit. The best were stitched into an adorably lo-fi DIY project called Stars Wars Uncut—a shot for shot recreation of the movie.

    Throw on your Jedi tunic and enjoy Star Wars Uncut at Vimeo.

  • January 23, 2012

    An Online Protest That (Maybe) Changed the Future

    It’s impossible to say whether last week’s blackout protests by Wikipedia, BoingBoing and dozens of other high-traffic websites were directly responsible for dozens of members of Congress withdrawing support for the SOPA and PIPA acts, but the coincidence is remarkable. Through the relatively simple act of taking down their websites for a few hours, these diverse and often grassroots organizations startled media outlets and politicians by wielding far more influence than anyone was prepared to acknowledge. Given their apparent effectiveness, could information or service blackouts become the go-to protest acts of the next decade?

    See detailed reports of SOPA and PIPA’s decline at Ars Technica and Torrentfreak.

  • January 16, 2012

    Tomorrow’s Market is Black

    DIY is more than just making toys in your garage; it’s also an approach to business. And journalist Robert Neuwirth thinks it might just be the approach that’s going to save the global economy. The author of a recent book on black markets throughout the world, Neuwirth recently sat for an interview with Wired magazine, and points out that informal economies now employ half the world’s workers, generate $10 trillion in value annually, and in many countries are the only part of the economy that’s growing.

    Read the interview to see why “System D” is the future.

    Photo: (cc) by Flickr user negrab.

  • January 10, 2012

    D&D Enlists the Masses

    When you create something as beloved by geeks as the classic role playing game Dungeons & Dragons, you have to be prepared for some scrutiny. After the game’s fourth edition was released in 2008 to howls of outrage at many of its changes and inconsistencies, publisher Wizards of the Coast is enlisting thousands of fans and die-hard players to help them get the next edition just right. Whether they can all agree on the best way to cast an Invisibility spell is still unknown.

    Read the NY Times’ take, and one gaming expert’s insider view at Escapist.

    Photo: (cc) by Flickr user merydith.

  • January 03, 2012

    From Reading Room to Laboratory

    Hackerspaces, where interested DIYers can indulge their maker tendencies in the company of like-minded enthusiasts, are nothing new — we’ve been documenting the spread of these collaborative spaces since the MASS GEEK trend began. But a hackerspace in a public library is worth notice. A recent NPR story talks about two public libraries, in Indiana and upstate New York, that are installing workspaces complete with 3D printers and electronics benches, in hopes of encouraging residents of all economic backgrounds to pursue their projects. In an internet era where information is cheap, perhaps the future of the library is in tools, not pages.

    Read more about hackerspaces going public at NPR.

    Photo: (cc) by Flickr user TonZ.

  • December 19, 2011

    Everyone’s a Translator

    Two web startups yield two visions for revolutionizing the way languages get translated, not through better technology but better communication. DuoLingo is an effort by the creators of Captcha to link up language learners with translation tasks appropriate to their skill level, translating huge volumes of web pages while “paying” the translators with skill-building exercises.

    Babelverse, started by two young Europeans who met at a conference, also employs real-life humans to do its translating, but in real time. They envision a time when a Chinese supplier could IM effortlessly with a Brazilian business owner, via two students or freelancers who might be anywhere on earth. It’s a small world, and with services like these, it could soon be a much more connected one.

    Read more about Babelverse and Duolingo on Fast Company.

  • December 12, 2011

    The Economist Goes to Maker Faire

    Wondering what might spark the next Industrial Revolution? No less a publication than The Economist is saying the Maker movement could be the answer. The story is familiar to Mass Geek readers: starting from their hobbyist west coast beginnings, Makers are spreading across the globe, bringing new tools, a new culture and a new way of thinking with them. Spanning the physical and the digital, it depends heavily on open-source sharing and user input, an enthusiastic return to ‘hands-on’, and seeks to change everything from the way science and technology are taught in schools to the way physical designs are shared among creators.

    Read about some of the most recent maker innovations here.

    Image via Flickr user Jurvetson.

  • December 05, 2011

    A Card-sized Computer That Turns Kids Into Hackers

    Lowering the cost of failure is key to fostering creativity, we’re often told, and now there’s a digital device designed to do just that. At just $25, the Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized mini computer that its creators hope will let parents and teachers stop worrying, and let their kids start hacking. Equipped with a wide array of inputs and outputs, the Raspberry Pi invites kids to actively mess with its operating system, promising that if anything goes wrong, they can just re-install it.

    Read up on this tiny enabling technology at Good, and on the Raspberry Pi blog.

  • November 28, 2011

    Born of Frustration, Guerilla Signage Leads the Way

    Here in Portland, the bike commuter crowd is a constant source of DIY ingenuity, whether modifying their rides or the infrastructure they ride on. One anonymous rider, frustrated by the lack of signage for cyclists wishing to ride over the I-5 bridge between Oregon and Washington, took matters into his or her own hands. Almost 30 homemade signs and painted symbols manifested one day, clarifying the route and prompting cheers among the local bike community. The local Department of Transportation’s response was swift: they’re removing the impromptu signage…and replacing it with 29 official signs of their own.

    See the original DIY signs, and the replacements at BikePortland.

    Image by Todd Boulanger via BikePortland.org.

  • November 21, 2011

    Facing the Flood

    Navigating shopping cart walkways and commuting via bicycle-powered boats are just a couple of the ways residents of the central Chao Phraya river basin in Thailand are confronting the worst flooding in recent history. Tumblr Thai Flood Hacks captures everything from stilt walking through floodwaters to pet life vests made from old water bottles. Just another reminder that hardship can sometimes provide the catalyst for striking ingenuity.

    See more disaster-inspired cleverness on the Thai Flood Hacks Tumblr.

  • November 14, 2011

    Survival in the Wilds of Manhattan

    Camouflage, fire-building, rope-making — it’s all part of the curriculum in New York’s Central Park. Survival skill schools have been around for decades, but Mountain Scout Survival School takes the unique step of bringing its classes right into the least wild part of the entire US. Their goal is to give hardcore city dwellers the chance to learn what it takes to survive without food delivery, or even grocery stores.

    Read the NY Times review, and visit Mountain Scout’s website.
    Firestarting image via Flickr user US Army Africa.

  • November 07, 2011

    Tech Support for Fixers

    At the intersection of the Maker movement and the new austerity lies an army of consumers rediscovering the possibility of repair, rather than replacement, for worn out electronics and appliances. While this might sound like bad news for manufacturers, many are embracing the trend with expert phone support that walks customers through simple repair procedures. The repair experience turns out to be a great brand-building opportunity, and it steers customers away from buying a competitor’s product as replacement.

    The Wall Street Journal has the details.
    Home Mac repair via Flickr user kap4001.

  • October 31, 2011

    Design, Divide and Conquer

    As technology continues to be a key driver in establishing connections, Ideacious is a recent community that links creators and buyers to share roles in bringing new designs into the world. Through the platform, “Creators” get access to networks and support to turn their design ideas into market-ready products. Funding is provided by “Buyers” who get the chance to help their ideas and designs come to life, in exchange for a financial stake in the project.

    Pick your next investment at Ideacious.

  • October 24, 2011

    Crooks Hiding in The Clouds

    Cloud computing is making all sorts of human enterprises more powerful and less centralized, and that goes for enterprise of the illegal sort too. This recent article outlines the various uses criminals have found for the cloud, both as a source of hackable data and a convenient and anonymous venue for planning their exploits and selling the results.

    Read up on the distributed future of crime at MIT Technology Review.

    “Identity thief” via Flickr user CarbonNYC

  • October 17, 2011

    Zero to Maker

    Anyone with a shred of DIY ability can find something useful in Make Magazine’s information dense magazine and enthusiastic, rapid-fire blog posts. Now even that requirement may fall by the wayside, with the new “Zero to Maker” blog, aimed at taking DIY to the last frontier: the clueless. The blog follows “reluctant maker” David Lang as he learns the basics of plastic casting, machining and electronics from a group of patient experts, told with plenty of reflection and humor.

    See what DIY looks like to a newbie at Make.

  • October 10, 2011

    Hackers Gone Good

    Presumably tired of being portrayed in every movie as pasty nerds that never leave their apartments and spend all of their time breaking websites, hackers in San Francisco have collaborated with local government to help the city run more smoothly. The Gray Area Foundation For The Arts Summer of Smarts was a series of three hackathons that took place this past summer. Teams created projects that could help solve San Francisco’s biggest problems; now the four winning teams are presenting their projects to the city’s mayoral candidates—to actually be put into use.

    Fast Company explains the winning projects and has more about the hackathons.

  • October 03, 2011

    Just Like a Real Leica

    With digital “point and shoots” now capturing the majority of the camera market, film cameras are becoming novelty items. For those who appreciate the craft of Leica but can’t drop a thousand dollars for one, London-based designer and photographer Matthew Nicholson has made it possible to afford your very own. His Leica-like paper pinhole camera is fully functional, with 35mm film, and comes with a ten page infographic guide on how to build it. Nicholson’s project allows just about anyone to experience the luxury of the Leica brand in a playful way.

    Read more at yatzer.com

    Image © Matthew Nicholson

  • September 26, 2011

    Hacking Autism

    Touch-enabled technology has tremendous potential to help autistic kids connect with each other and their communities, and overcome the socialization challenges many of them face. But its best days lie ahead. Hewlett-Packard has begun tapping the wisdom of the crowd and the open source movement with its Hacking Autism initiative, an open forum for submitting ideas and highlighting apps that already make a difference in the lives of autistic kids. The initiative’s Autism Hackathon, coming to Cupertino on October 11, aims to expand on those efforts, by pairing technologists with autism experts for a day and seeing what they can invent.

    Visit the Hacking Autism website, and read the write-up at Make Magazine.

  • September 19, 2011

    10 Billion Posts Later, Tumblr Hires a Designer

    Tumblr didn’t invent blogging, but they did make it so unbelievably easy that literally anyone can do it. What’s more, they did it with a staff of just 45 — among them only five product managers and one designer. Yet Tumblr has a clear, powerful design culture that permeates their brand and has helped them build a fervent following. As of this month, the tiny powerhouse is finally expanding its design capabilities, having already shown that good design depends less on designers than on innovative thinkers with a commitment to getting it right.

    Read the story in Fast Company.

  • September 19, 2011

    Interactive Guide to Coding for Beginners

    For would-be online entrepreneurs, writing code can be the last great obstacle to turning their vision into reality. Code Academy aims to dismantle even this stumbling block, with an approachable website that uses simple prompts and text boxes to get users writing functioning programs before they realize it. The past decades have seen a trend not just toward more powerful software-building tools, but also toward making those tools faster to learn. With its “come try me!” approach, Code Academy may be the best example yet.

    See how fast you can get nerdy at Code Academy.

  • September 12, 2011

    The Crowdsourced Birthday Book

    When a world’s worth of crowdsourced creativity is at your fingertips, what do you do? If you’re David Cole, you commission 365 portraits of your friend Tag Savage, and bind them into a book to present to him for his birthday. In addition to using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service to get the portraits drawn (at varying levels of artistry), Cole and friends took advantage of another web-based DIY resource, micropublisher Blurb, allowing anyone else who wants a copy of the book to buy their own. Put these Mass Geek tools together, and you’ve got the coolest present of the year.

    Read more about it on Cole’s Tumblr, and see a gallery of the ’(external)portraits":http://davidcole.me/man/.

  • August 29, 2011

    The Telecommute Comes to India’s Villages

    The popular vision of massive call centers in big Indian cities may be on its way out if a current Xerox initiative succeeds. Along with several other technology companies, Xerox is looking for ways to combine offshoring with telecommuting, granting access to overseas service jobs to millions of rural Indians. With bandwidth and mobile device penetration improving throughout the country, Xerox says, India is ripe for digital solutions that let people make money without having to migrate. The devil is now in the details, as researchers seek to make these system confidential and manageable enough to satisfy the corporations that will use them.

    Read the interview with Xerox’s CTO at MIT Technology Review.
    Xerox image via flickr user Iain Tait.

  • August 22, 2011

    Security Specialists to Hackers: Target Your Hacking Victims Better

    Anonymous and LulzSec, two hacker/activist groups once dismissed as nerdy pranksters, are starting to gain clout, and with it, attention from security professionals. But not all of the attention is bad: a recent panel of Internet security experts in Las Vegas has gone on the record to ask that these groups start using the power they wield in more constructive ways. Calling on the community to “build a better Anonymous”, the panel suggested they go after more universally reviled targets, such as child-exploitation sites and corrupt officials. The vigilantes, in other words, are being asked to take a step toward legitimacy.

    Hear more about this unusually exciting panel at Wired.
    Classy Anonymous via Flickr user irrezolut.

  • August 15, 2011

    A Riot of Social Media, For Good and For Evil

    In addition to being tragic and widespread, the riots that gripped many UK cities last week were notable for the role played by social media: this may be the first significant social unrest that was both spread by and responded to with massive online and mobile media campaigns. And the diversity of ways in which it was used is astounding. The BlackBerry got bad press for its use in bringing mobs together, but text, Twitter and Facebook played major roles in organizing rapid-response cleanup efforts and anti-riot demonstrations. Police got in on the game too, taking a page from Vancouver’s police and posting photos online to catch looters — then tweeting their identities upon arrest.

    Is civil unrest going digital? Read these accounts from Good, FastCompany, The Guardian and Mashable.

    Image via Flickr user Looking&Learning.

  • August 08, 2011

    Using DNA to Sleuth Out Unscrupulous Dogs

    Consumer-grade science comes to the aid of frustrated yard owners. Pooprints is a DNA-mapping service that takes samples of dog waste and sequences them to determine the breed of dog that left them behind. Marketed as “the solution for responsible dog owners”, the service aims to throw some scientific certainty into neighborly squabbles.

    Check out the Pooprints website for details.
    Dog pic via Gem Salsberg

  • August 08, 2011

    Autodesk Buys Instructables

    Instructables is a cornerstone of the online DIY community, offering step-by-step instructions on making just about anything to its thousands of devoted users. It’s also, as of last week, a part of Autodesk, the world’s largest 3D software company and maker of pro-level programs like Alias and AutoCAD. This quiet acquisition marks a shift in the relationship between DIY and “real” design communities, as they recognize that the tools they use are rapidly converging, and put their money behind it. Watch this space for some serious Mass Geek advances in the near future.

    Read the official announcement on the Instructables website.

  • August 01, 2011

    Using Kinect to Make Music and Art Easier

    Russ Maschmeyer has taken something many people associate with time wasting and brain rotting—the Microsoft Kinect video game controller—and put it to a use more associated with creative intelligence: music. Maschmeyer has hacked the Kinect to track his body movements, not to move an onscreen character but to create different musical notes. He can even grab notes out of the air. The really impressive part is how accessible it becomes for non-musicians to create challenging music. Suddenly you can use your video game console to give Bach a run for his money.

    The New York Times takes a look at this project and the larger trend of Kinect hacking.
    3D Graffiti hack via Flickr user jcnaour.

  • July 25, 2011

    A Trophy for the DIY Enablers

    In a Mass Geek world, gadgets are more than just useful and fun, they also bend to your will. Make Magazine recently announced The Makeys, an awards series that recognizes platforms and programs that go the extra mile to encourage people to tinker and hack. The winners, in categories like “Most Hackable Gadget” and “Most Repair Friendly”, will be announced at the New York City Maker Faire in September.

    See the nominees at Make.

  • July 18, 2011

    How To Make a “How To”

    The recent explosion of online tutorials, with instructions for everything from soldering a circuit board to baking a pie, has advanced the Mass Geek trend immeasurably. Now there’s a platform for making your own. Tildee is a website that makes creating and posting a step-by-step how-to as easy as blogging something on Tumblr — which is to say, effortless. The lightweight interface lets you incorporate images, text and video with a single click, and the resulting assortment of tutorials is searchable, rate-able, and predictably haphazard.

    Share your wisdom with the DIY world at Tildee.

  • July 12, 2011

    Astrometry.net Turns Your Photo into Astronomical Gold

    In an era where millions of people take pictures of the sky every night, what’s keeping astronomers from using them for research? Accurate location data, that’s what. Fortunately, Astrometry.net’s “astronomy engine” is here to help: simply upload your photo and it identifies the exact portion of the night sky depicted. While that may not sound earth-shattering, it’s already yielding results for astronomers, two of whom recently used the site to process 2500 images from the web, and determine the exact track of a short-lived comet… from 2007.

    Read the astro-sleuthing story at MIT Technology Review, then check out Astrometry.net

  • July 05, 2011

    You Can Be the Next Philip Glass...For an Afternoon

    Despite maybe lacking the talent, all of us at some point wanted to be a musician. Recently, composer Aaron Siegal and iPhone developer Larry Legend teamed up to create GROUP, an app that, for one afternoon at least, allowed anyone in New York to become part of an original symphonic performance. Working kind of like a scavenger hunt for sound, the app directed users to walk slowly toward a central location, playing a small piece of a multi-part composition as they go. As they converged toward the New York Stock Exchange, the parts built in volume and complexity, until dozens of strangers found themselves bound together in an impromptu orchestra.

    The performance is done, but learn more about it at the GROUP website.

  • June 27, 2011

    Focus Frustration No More

    We’ve all had a photo or two ruined by our camera thinking it’s smarter than we are and auto-focusing on the wrong part of the picture. That wall looks super sharp, but Uncle Bob’s face is completely blurry. But if Dr. Ren Ng realizes his vision, focusing will never be an issue again. Dr. Ng has created Lytro, the camera that lets you choose your focus after you take a picture. Instead of capturing just the information necessary to recreate a single photo, it takes all of the visual information available. It’s as if with one push of the shutter button, Lytro takes all of the photos possible at that moment, then lets you choose the one you wanted.

    Click over to Mashable for an in-depth look at Lytro and a preview of the experience.
    Never again an out of focus cat for Flickr user michele aquila.

  • June 20, 2011

    On This Album, The Track List is Up to You

    Punk/art rock band Kaiser Chiefs are stretching the limits of fan empowerment by releasing their latest album, “The Future is Medieval”, on a pick-and-choose model. Twenty tracks are posted on their website, and listeners are asked to choose ten and assemble them into an album. Critic Stephen McLeod points out that the interface and selection process are as much a part of the album experience as the songs themselves, which helps dispel concerns that the band is sacrificing artistic integrity for a PR stunt. Carefully applied, this approach could revive a hint of the curatorial joy that we lost with the demise of the mixtape.

    Check out the album and read the review on Artrocker.

  • June 20, 2011

    The Power of the DIY PSA

    What began a few years ago with clever video rants about tech support and airlines that damage luggage, has turned into a full-fledged art form. Now that making and distributing video is almost universally accessible, the quality and cleverness of the protest video is reaching new heights. The latest example comes from Casey Neistat, a New York City filmmaker who got ticketed for riding his bike outside of the bike lane, and responded with a hilariously entertaining three minute movie that demonstrates the many obstructions an urban cyclist faces. 3.5 million views later, it’s garnered international attention, and done more to prompt discussion about bike lane conditions than a dozen letter-writing campaigns.

    Watch the video, and read an interview with Neistat at New York Magazine.
    Santa Monica Door Lane by Gary Rides Bikes

  • June 13, 2011

    A Little More Botox in Mine, Please

    There’s nothing new about a cosmetics company giving you recommendations based on your user profile, but the level of detail and control that French brand MyCodage offers is extraordinary. In addition to the site’s extensive profile worksheet, it offers extremely specific information on ingredients and their effects, and the ability to adjust their ratios directly, including such technical compounds as “botox-like” muscle relaxants and “not over-the-counter” acne medication.

    Explore the fantastically detailed MyCodage site.

  • June 06, 2011

    Fighting Crime, One App at a Time

    Scroll down to October 4th in this very column, and you’ll see a post about a writer in the Bay Area who recovered her stolen GPS using a clever combination of social media and online research. Just eight months later, there’s now an app for that. Several stories have hit the web recently about people using programs with names like “Hidden” and “Prey” to recover their snatched MacBooks. Both use a combination of triangulation and clandestine photography to determine the thief’s appearance and whereabouts, making the tech-empowered citizen sleuth that much more effective.

    Read about a California man’s successful recovery at NY Daily News.
    Image via the blog thisguyhasmymacbook.tumblr.com.

  • June 06, 2011

    Turning Astronomy Into a Green Lantern Game

    It’s all a bit confusing, but the upcoming Green Lantern movie is taking some unusual steps to build anticipation online, including giving fans the opportunity to help out with some real world astronomy research. The Milky Way Project is an actual crowdsourcing effort, led by a consortium of astronomers and Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, that uses a simplified, game-like interface to let amateurs help identify unusual stellar entities. With a bit of clever phrasing (“please note you are taking part in a confidential project”) and a tie-in from the blog of one of the film’s fictional villains, the promotional team has directed a lot more traffic to the MWP, and added a sheen of credibility to the film’s backstory.

    Check out The Milky Way Project, read the blog of supervillain Dr. Amanda Waller, and read the history behind this unique collaboration.

  • May 31, 2011

    Students Answer Your Environmental Questions

    Stanford students in environmental science, engineering, business and journalism are doing research with a dual purpose. Rather than look up answers to theoretical questions, the students are fielding queries about sustainability from the public at large, through an online service called SAGE. “No conundrum [is] too picayune” says the SAGE website, and requests have run the gamut, from the environmental impact of paper vs. plastic, to the carbon footprint of bio-fuels. The program puts academic-quality research in the hands of average folks, and educates future environmental leaders in the process.

    Read a description of SAGE at the Stanford Alumni website, and see Treehugger’s take.

  • May 23, 2011

    Getting the Straight Political Scoop, via YouTube

    Political junkies and civic-minded voters have a new way of getting informed, and politicians have a new way of getting to know their constituents. YouTube recently launched Town Hall, an elegantly designed debate platform that lets viewers browse short, targeted video clips by dozens of American politicians, on issues ranging from Afghanistan to long-term energy policy. The service hopes to cut through the sound bites and attack ads to give voters reliable information about where senators and representatives stand, side-by-side and without external spin. Viewers who hear a stance they like can hit the “support” button; results are tallied and displayed, giving a more nuanced view of voter sentiment than the average telephone poll.

    Visit Town Hall yourself, or read FastCompany’s description.

  • May 16, 2011

    Like Google Goggles for Live Events

    You’re watching a basketball game, and suddenly wonder what the free throw percentage is for that rookie who just stepped up to the line. A new SF-based company called CrowdOptic plans to make that sci-fi scenario a reality, via (what else?) your iPhone. Matching your phone’s GPS and orientation data with a real-time database of major events, CrowdOptic’s app shows you info and stats on whatever your device camera’s pointing at, be it an athlete, band or actor. Details are still scarce, but the hyper-targeted ad potential could make this the augmented reality app that breaks into the big time.

    Peruse CrowdOptic’s official site, and read Fast Company’s overview.

  • May 09, 2011

    Make Any Product You Want This Weekend

    Bug Labs creates separate electronic modules equipped with GPS, cameras or other sensors. Users decide what they want to make, buy the proper modules, and put them together to create a new device, quickly and easily. In other words, say goodbye to waiting for a big tech company to create the product you want. Peter Semmelhack is the founder of Bug Labs, and the man behind many of its ideas and direction. In a recent New York Times interview, he explains how he sees this idea growing, and gives a peek into the mind behind one of Mass Geek’s iconic products.

    Read the The New York Times interview with Peter Semmelhack.

  • May 02, 2011

    The Camera For All Your Wildest Camera Dreams

    A carpenter that wants to build a never-before-seen type of bookcase still knows where to start: with wood. But where do you start if you want to create a new type of camera? A group of Stanford graduate students hopes that the obvious choice becomes the Frankencamera. They created this easily hackable camera to allow for experimentation and customization that’s not possible with current market consumer or pro cameras. Imagine it as a lump of clay that can take pictures, waiting to be molded into use for whatever purpose you can come up with.

    Watch a video about the Frankencamera at MIT Technology Review and then read more from the Stanford Report.

  • April 25, 2011

    Build Your Own Geiger Counter

    After the devastation of earthquakes, tsunamis, and related nuclear power problems in Japan, some citizens are taking measures to keep themselves. One of the more recent trends is to create DIY Geiger counters. Enterprising citizens are gathering online to share the best methods to make these radiation detectors and then crowdsourcing maps of problem areas.

    MAKE Magazine culls together many of the DIY Geiger models.
    Tokyohackerspace’s Geiger Counter Model Number Two from image via Flickr user Nokton.

  • April 18, 2011

    A Picture Worth 1,000 Calories

    Dieters know all too well the effort and attention to detail required to properly count how many calories you eat every day. iPhone app Meal Snap wants to give you one less excuse for eating that second helping of mom’s meatloaf by streamlining the process. Just photograph your meal and the app tells you how many calories it contains. It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, and the debate about how it actually works is ongoing. TechCrunch speculates that actual humans may be making the magic happen on the other end, looking at the photo and looking up the food’s calorie stats in a database.

    Read the writeup on Mobile Crunch and venture your own guess.
    Grouchy BF bento via Flickr user Sakurako Kitsa.

  • April 11, 2011

    Answers To Your Most Asked Questions

    Haven’t you always wondered what makes glass transparent? Or how many satellites are currently in orbit? Armchair researcher Jarret Green let curiosity get the best of him, and created I Always Wondered, a collection of cleverly illustrated answers to the world’s most nagging questions. Memorize this website, and you’ll surely be the life of the next party when you give an authoritative explanation for why curly hair is curly.

    Find your answers at I Always Wondered.

  • April 11, 2011

    What To Do When a Snowy Forecast Isn't Enough

    How about that weather? That oft-repeated small talk question holds the key to a fun weekend for some people. Skiers, snowboarders, and surfers rely on hyper-specific weather forecasts to make plans — not just whether it’s snowing, but how’s the powder? That need, combined with the accessibility of the internet, has led to a new kind of tailored weather service. However, this isn’t the Weather Channel, or even local news filling the gap. Snowboarders and skiers turned amateur meteorologists are using DIY methods to get and report the weather forecast that they really need.

    Wired takes a closer look at some of these services.
    Orchard, GA weather station (see rock) via Flickr user The Rocketeer.

  • April 04, 2011

    Comparing DIY and Corporate Innovation, From a Master of Both

    From DIY Wii-mote hacking to heavily-funded Microsoft Kinect research, and now at Google, Johnny Lee has innovated up and down the spectrum. Over at Make magazine, he takes a look at where hobbyists have the advantage in creating new ideas, where the money matters, and what stays the same regardless. Start your Dremels and your soldering irons—it’s an earnest and inspiring take on how new technology is made that’ll have you taking apart your expensive gadgets in no time.

    Read the entire essay at Make.
    Inside your iPhone by Flickr user John Biehler.

  • March 28, 2011

    Sing for Your Supper; Teach for Your Class

    Trade School is vocational education with a healthy dash of social innovation. Operating in New York City for just over a year now, the organization invites interested city folks to teach practical skills in a classroom setting. In return, they gain access to a wide array of other classes. A part of “barter network” OurGoods.org, Trade School has already attracted plenty of media attention, and features a jam-packed schedule of lessons on everything from belly dance to felting and online marketing.

    See the schedule at Trade School, and see what else OurGoods is up to.

  • March 28, 2011

    DIY Biolabs on the Rise

    Six months after GenLab opened its doors in Brooklyn, DIY genetics labs are taking the country by storm. A brief post from Discover Magazine’s “Gene Expression” blog mentions several California-based DIY bio labs, as well as linking to some of the proliferating online resources for budding biotech entrepreneurs.

    Is there one in your neighborhood? Check the blog.
    Buy your own knit frog from aKNITomy.

  • March 21, 2011

    Summer Camps for the Tech Set

    “Computer Camp” had an irredeemably nerdy connotation in the ’80s, but no longer. As geeky goes mainstream, technology-focused summer camps are popping up all over the country, offering precocious kids and teenagers the chance to immerse themselves in skills like animation, robotics and app design. Swimming and kickball still feature in the schedules, but presumably, the cool kids will all be coding.

    See what summer vacation looks like in the future.
    Certificate in Pascal earned by Flickr user Dimmerswitch.

  • March 14, 2011

    'War Against Makers' Yields Hackers' Protest

    The makers at Make have some grievences to air regarding Sony’s aggressive moves to curtail the whims of tinkerers and inspirational visions of innovators. While Sony may regard its legal roadblocks against software hacking as necessary to the protection of its intellectual property, hackers regard it as an affront to fun . . . and technological progress.

    Read more about Phillip Torrone’s top 7 sins of Sony at Make Online.

    The BBC takes on Hardware Hacking.

  • March 08, 2011

    Coke, Maroon 5 and a Few Thousand Fans Write a Song

    Coca-Cola is embarking on an unusual collaboration in London, by challenging the band Maroon 5 to write a song in 24 hours. Fans who RSVP for the event, scheduled for March 22, will be able to suggest lyrics, melodies and rhythms, and to comment on the progress of the song as it develops. Whether the resulting track makes a dent in the charts remains to be seen, but as a publicity effort it’s likely to be a hit — Coke will be publicizing it through its own Facebook page, which already has over 20 million fans.

    Watch the countdown on Coca-Cola.com, or read the announcement on Mashable.

  • February 28, 2011

    The Muriel Awards

    Fed up with the politics and irrelevance of the Academy Awards, a group of film critics and writers have taken things into their own hands. The Muriel Awards, named after one of the founders’ pet guinea pig, is remarkable for its transparency (votes and runners-up are clearly indicated), and its inclusion of some interesting categories that belie the passion of the folks who put it together: Best Cinematic Moment, Best Body of Work, Best Film From 10 (and 20, and 50) Years Ago, and more.

    Turn off the Oscars, and turn on this.

  • February 28, 2011

    Make Your Own Safety

    Two stories of guerilla signposting that worked. Recently, a still-unidentified resident of Cranston, Rhode Island got the backing of the town government, when they elected to keep all but 21 of the 600 signs he or she planted at dangerous intersections. This echoes a story from last year, when Good magazine documented the efforts of a Los Angeles artist to paint a much needed off-ramp sign above one of the city’s crowded freeways. This too was finally made official by government decree, though it took considerably longer — it stayed put for nine years before Caltrans finally incorporated his “suggestion” into new signage.

    Read the Rhode Island story and the LA one too.

    Image via flickr user Wootpeanuts

  • February 21, 2011

    NBC Looks to Tweets for Local News

    Occasionally referencing the Twitter feed of a famous politician is commonplace on national news these days, as is mining the American mood through the postings of its citizens. NBC, however, recently announced that they’re taking the trend local with “The 20,” a tightly curated collection of prolific tweeters in New York and Washington DC. Contributers will not only provide 140-character news tidbits to the media giant, but also be introduced as real, actual people through video interviews. A bold step toward granting reporter-level recognition to thoughtful social media users.

    Read about The 20, and NBC’s plans for a nationwide roll out, on Media Bistro.

  • February 14, 2011

    Professional Confessional

    Ever been tongue-tied in the confessional? Now, thank gawd, there’s an app for that. Confession: a Roman Catholic App, shepherds penitents through the Confession process and allows them to examine their consciences against the 10 Commandments. Users can create a checklist that details their sins and add new sins. Penitents must still visit a priest for absolution, but the app helps them get a head start.

    Read about the app here

  • February 07, 2011

    Introducing Make:Live

    Make Magazine has been at the heart of the Mass Geek movement for years, first with their print magazine, then with their Maker Faires and DIY wikis. Make:Live takes an obvious and necessary next step for the publication, offering video walkthroughs of basic maker skills like soldering and wiring. Viewers who watch live can pipe up with questions via Twitter or UStream, letting demonstrators fine-tune their presentations for the community in real time.

    Warm up your soldering iron and head over to Make:Live for more.

  • January 31, 2011

    Qwiki

    Qwiki is a visual-based wikipedia, combining video, imagery, sound and information into easily digestible entries. Employing “storytelling instead of search,” Qwiki hopes that this more experiential presentation of information will inspire users. In the Alpha phase, they are also asking users to suggest additional images, information and videos to bolster and improve entries. One recommendation from us: fix the friendly, but haltingly digital voice.

    Brush up on your knowledge of millions of things at Qwiki.

  • January 24, 2011

    YouTube Symphony Orchestra Enters Second Year

    When we hear “YouTube Symphony” we think of yet another clever web-enabled collaboration—something that lets a violinist in Helsinki, say, jam with a trombonist in Cape Town. But this is the real deal. Now in its second year, YouTube Symphony uses video sharing to audition members and rehearse parts, but then takes a bold step into the real world: last year’s season culminated in a performance at Carnegie Hall, and this year brings the international musicians together at the Sydney Opera House. The group’s deeper goal is to spread music to the masses: by offering video tutorials, jam sessions, and even some innovative online instruments, the Symphony hopes to make classical as accessible as punk rock.

    Read (and watch) Mashable’s video-heavy explanation of the phenomenon.

  • January 18, 2011

    The Science Fair Moves Out of the School Gym

    Google, in partnership with CERN, LEGO, National Geographic and Scientific American, is accepting entries for their global online science fair. Kids aged 13 – 18 can submit their project for a chance to win scholarships from Google, a trip to the Galapagos islands with National Geographic Expeditions, and more. This new format gives all kids the opportunity to engage in their passion for science.

    See more at Google.
    Image via Flickr user mightyohm.

  • January 18, 2011

    DIY Dye Kit for Denham's Denim

    Dutch denim brand Denham has teamed up with Woad-inc to release a DIY dye kit. Professional quality dye is made from the woad plant, grown on a farm in Norfolk, England. Looking like a cross between spinach and sugar beet, and with origins dating back to ancient times, woad offers a healthy alternative to harmful chemicals that exist in synthetic indigo dyes. If dyeing your own sounds too daunting, Denham is also releasing 75 pairs of hand-dipped Woad-inc dyed jeans available in their Amsterdam, London and Tokyo stores.

    Learn more about the collaboration and the history of woad at Denham.

  • January 10, 2011

    Unlock Your Front Door the Extra Nerdy Way

    Mass Geek on several different levels. First, there’s the uber-geeky web developers of Apartm.net who hooked up their apartment’s front door to Foursquare, letting guests of their New Year’s party unlock by simply checking in. Then there’s the video they made to publicize the system (with a bit of the new Tron: Legacy soundtrack playing in the background). And now there’s the possibility, according to FastCompany, that they’ll soon put together and sell a kit that lets anyone do the Foursquare thing with their own front door. And then there’s the apartment itself, which has to be seen to be believed.

    Read FastCompany’s story, and watch the video at Apartm.net.

  • January 04, 2011

    DIY Biotech Lab opens in NYC

    Shared shop spaces like TechShop are gaining popularity all over the country, but now the DIY hobbyist has a new field in which to tinker: biotechnology. GenSpace, recently opened in downtown Brooklyn, is the nation’s first public biotech lab, where homespun investigators can do their own research in a well-equipped, CDC containment level 1 facility.

    Tour the lab at Wired Science, and read the New York Times’ review of its Dec 10 opening.
    Image via flickr user Bookhling

  • January 04, 2011

    Vimeo Video School Tutorials

    Vimeo brings video education to its already active user community. The site describes its purpose as “a fun place for anyone to learn how to make better videos.” Tutorials include a DIY video guide on how to build a camera dolly for $50 and how to “paint with light.”

    Learn how to be a better videographer at Vimeo.

  • December 21, 2010

    High-end Photos on the Cheap

    The sorts of incredibly detailed high-speed photographs that make us stare and gasp are now within reach of the dedicated amateur. Wired Magazine chronicles the efforts of British pharmaceutical developer and talented hobbyist photographer Linden Gledhill, as he pushes his craft into the realm of the astonishing. Using low-cost accessories from small Michigan-based company Cognisys, he captures milk droplets in mid-air and insects in mid-flight, for a fraction of what a professional setup costs.

    See more of these incredible amateur shots at Wired

  • December 13, 2010

    Hacktivists, Armchair Pundits, and Other Soldiers of the Infowar

    The recent WikiLeaks phenomenon has the potential to make pundits out of millions of observers, but are we up to the challenge? The unfiltered text and dubious quality of this new slew of sources is demanding information literacy skills that were once confined to professional analysts. As media is increasingly placed in the hands of skilled amateurs, there’s no doubt that many will try, but is the non-professional pontificator up to the challenge?

    Read the New York Times’ cache of cables and analysis, and decide for yourself.

    At the other end of the Mass Geek spectrum, legions of amateur “hacktivists” have taken up the WikiLeaks cause, mounting loosely organized Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on websites they see as hostile to free electronic speech. Web-enabled activism is nothing new, and DDoS attacks have been around for years, but the ease with which people can participate, using “hacking” tools that are push-button simple, means nearly anyone can be a potential info-warrior.

    Learn more about “Operation Payback” and friends at GigaOm.
    Image via Flickr user Anonymous9000.

  • December 09, 2010

    Student Protesters Out-map the Police

    Via BoingBoing, some breaking Mass Geek news. A group of students in London protesting proposed educational fee hikes in sub-freezing conditions are using a frequently updated Google Map to report police anti-protest activity, allowing them to avoid being “kettled” (rounded up and detained outdoors) or dispersed. The blogger referenced in the story explains that “…with this, with Wikileaks, and…underground video news outlets like Undercurrents…it does feel a bit as if tools traditionally only available to the state for things like surveillance, evidence gathering, coordination and dissemination are being democratised.”

    Read the post, and watch the map update in real time.

  • December 06, 2010

    A DIY Camera for Kids

    Bigshot camera ships as a kit of parts, challenging kids to assemble it before they can shoot with it. More than just keeping the cost down, this process also teaches a number of lessons about science and photography, and the Bigshot Connect website encourages kids from all over the world to compare how they’re using it.

    Read the Bigshot story at Change Observer.

  • December 06, 2010

    Intelligentsia Brings Coffee Connoisseurship to the Kitchen

    Chicago coffee authority Intelligentsia is demystifying and democratizing the science of a perfect cup of joe with a new iPhone app. The beans’ origins and tasting notes are described before next instructing specific directions for whatever your brewing mechanism may be. A brew timer rounds out the app’s directions before connecting to Facebook for larger commentary with your community of fellow coffee connoisseurs.

    Take a closer look at the iTunes App Store and read a detailed review at DearCoffeeILoveYou.

  • November 30, 2010

    Artist's Eye on Google's Street

    Google Street View is available to anyone with an internet connection, but to find images like these takes the eyes of an artist. Montreal-based Jon Rafman scours the globe looking for frame-worthy stills from Google’s wandering vans, and the results are now on display at the New Museum in New York City.

    See a few examples of the art that’s all around us at Coolhunting.
    His original Tumblr blog (Note: occasional non-blurred nudity) 9eyes.tumblr.com

  • November 23, 2010

    The Internet of Walls

    “Dead Drops” is an ominous sounding name, but the idea is mostly harmless. By permanently affixing USB flash drives into publicly accessible spaces, a group of NYC artists is hoping to take the digital concept of file sharing and make it analog, and therefore more tangible and engaging. Interested participants are urged to grab an unknown file off a drive and leave their own, restoring a bit of fun and mystery to the file sharing experience, but also creating a new (albeit high-effort) opportunity for purveyors of viruses and other malware.

    Read the story and watch the video.

  • November 15, 2010

    The Story of Glif

    When we hear about DIY-enabling technologies like rapid prototyping, we feel a rush of potential tempered by skepticism: interesting, yes, but can you really get a product to market this way? As recent start-up Glif demonstrates, you really can. The two New Yorkers who came up with the idea to manufacture a small iPhone tripod attachment used new, inexpensive, accessible technology to help every step of the way, from raising capital through Kickstarter, to prototyping with a Dutch service called Shapeways, to getting rapid tooling built inexpensively at Protomold. After raising $70,000 in the first three days, the duo earned attention from no less than The Economist, whose coverage points to the project as a real example of technology dropping the cost of entry to manufacturing in a dramatic way.

    Read the story at The Economist, and check on The Glif’s progress at Kickstarter.

  • November 08, 2010

    New Tools Let Hobbyist Investors Trade Like The Pros

    The democratization of professional level investing tools continues. A recent BusinessWeek article surveys the growing ranks of analysis and trading tools, including websites like Fidelity and tradeMONSTER that offer “features that online traders couldn’t have dreamed of little more than 10 years ago.”

    Read the article on BusinessWeek.com.
    Image via Flickr user Christopher S. Penn.

  • November 01, 2010

    Plastic Recycling on Your Countertop

    For the eco-conscious technophile, it’s no longer enough to simply collect your plastic for recycling—the Japanese-built Blest Machine now offers the ability to bring the entire process into your home. Inventor Akinori Ito has simplified and miniaturized plastic recycling, packing an entire factory’s worth of technology into a single home-friendly unit that converts old yogurt containers and detergent bottles into usable oil, with nothing more than a carefully controlled electric heater. The company’s website claims it fits on a tabletop, converts a kilo of plastic into a liter of oil, and costs just under US$10,000.

    Read the review at Coolhunting, or check out the Blest website for details.

  • October 25, 2010

    Mass Foraging for the Obscure in Oregon

    While the locavore movement is gaining traction in foodie circles around the globe, here in Oregon it’s approaching the level of religion. The New York Times’ T Magazine profiles the growing popularity of gourmet foraging: chefs and experts in local plant lore work together to track down edible plants in the wild, and teach interested food geeks how to do the same.

    Learn the difference between pickleweed and wood sorrel on the T Magazine blog.

    Image via Flickr user jen_maiser

  • October 18, 2010

    McCormick's Flavor Forecast 2010

    One of the biggest spice manufacturers in the world gives professionals and consumers their 2010 flavor forecast. For professionals, it inspires products like the next Doritos flavor, but evolving foodie consumers want in on the trends too. This year’s forecast seeks to make holiday entertaining more professional and on-trend than before, targeting and updating specific holiday flavors and pairings.

    Plan your foodie feasts with flavors and recipes at McCormick.com.
    Dorito Cheesburger flavor bag image via Flickr user nano

  • October 18, 2010

    Phone Photography Made Professional

    The convenience and ease of camera-phone photography are beyond dispute, but the results aren’t quite the high-quality finish you’d appreciate. Now, fisheye, macro and wide angle lenses for any camera phone make the professional accessible as they snap on magnetically and dramatically improve the quality and variety of shots you can achieve.

    Check out which lens (or bundle!) is right for you.

  • October 11, 2010

    Family Space Camera is Homeschool for Tomorrow's Inventors

    When someone uses balloons to send an HD video camera into space for some high-altitude shots of the earth, that’s geeky. But when it’s a father and his kids doing it, it’s charming, fascinating and maybe even prescient. As attested by the seven minute video they created, this was no small undertaking — eight months of designing, modifying and testing, followed by a launch, GPS-enabled recovery and post-flight evaluation. The fact that it was a technically complex family project takes this beyond the realm of DIY photography and into DIY education of the most creative sort.

    Watch the remarkable video, and wish your dad was this cool.

  • October 11, 2010

    The People's Hackintosh

    The Hackintosh has been around for a while, describing what happens when tech-inclined hobbyists do some surgery on a generic laptop to coax it into running the Mac OS, at a fraction of Apple’s price. But recently, California-based Quo Computers has been making this process easier by selling desktops that can be configured to run OS X, Windows, Linux or any combination of the three. It raises the question of how Apple will respond: by acknowledging a broader, geekier audience that wants more control over their hardware, or by suing Quo into oblivion.

    Read the summary on Tuaw.com.
    Organic Hackintosh by Flickr user SanGatiche.

  • October 04, 2010

    On the Internet, Everyone Knows Who Stole Your Stuff

    A Bay Area writer uses Craigslist, MySpace, a dating site and a few phone calls to track down the man who stole her GPS, then writes about it on Salon. MASS GEEK is full of stories about engaged and savvy citizens using newly available tools to do professional-level tasks, but in this case, a cop is the professional being emulated.

    Read the thrilling tale of crime, justice and social media on Salon.
    Great use of the “Interrupting Kanye” meme image via Carissa Marie.

  • September 28, 2010

    Your New Kitchen is In The Bag

    It used to be that a customized selection of swatches and material samples was something you paid an interior designer handsomely to assemble. Now, for a fraction of the cost, “Design In a Bag” will ship you all the tile, wood, paint and trim samples you need to step boldly forward with your kitchen plans. About 50 different “bags” with twee names like ‘Marshfield’ and ‘Windsor’ are sorted into palettes and genres, and come with hand-drawn renderings of a generic kitchen to demonstrate final effect. While we can’t say if the result will be anything spectacular, it’s definitely a page in the ongoing empowerment fable of MASS GEEK, and might even avoid a stylistic train wreck or two.

    Warm, cool or neutral? Vintage, classic or modern? Make your pick and order your bag.

  • September 20, 2010

    Outlasting Zombies Using Art and the Internet

    Combining know-how from Army and FEMA manuals with his own artistic inclination, Albuquerque resident Chad Person has created the ultimate survival shelter for the upcoming zombie/robot apocalypse. This is more than just a well-stocked bunker: security measures include a video-based sentry wielding a homemade shotgun, and the entire cinder block and concrete affair is concealed by landscaping to disappear once the 300-lb. steel door is closed. What’s even more remarkable is that Person has no formal construction background—he completed the entire project using free information found online.

    Read the article and prepare for the coming plague.

  • September 13, 2010

    Code for America

    Open source technology projects have been around approximately forever, and often produce phenomenal work, as any user of Linux or OpenOffice will tell you. With its appeal to civic duty and decidedly un-techy aesthetic, however, Code for America is taking open source down the Web 2.0 path. Starting with a video call to action from luminaries at Twitter, Facebook and O’Reilly Media, the project seeks to hook social media-savvy coders up with governmental agencies, in the hopes of making them “more efficient, transparent, and participatory.” If an app could do all that…it’d be worth at least $1.99.

    Use your geek superpowers for good, not for evil, at Code for America.

  • September 13, 2010

    OpenBuildings

    OpenBuildings is a beautifully designed, openly editable encyclopedia of buildings from around the world. The site pulls in images, films, plans and commentary from throughout the web and invites its network of contributors to massage it all into a useful reference for architects, historians, tourists and enthusiasts. The interface includes a “completeness bar” to encourage contributions, and makes submitting new building data a snap. Let a thousand architecture geeks bloom!

    Visit the site, click the “Submit Building” button, and you’re on your way.

  • September 13, 2010

    AP Begins Officially Crediting Bloggers

    In a reversal of its policies of the past decade, the 160-year-old Associated Press has announced that bloggers are to be officially credited as news sources. We’ve heard for years about the democratization of media, but in truth the vast majority of blogs don’t break news; this announcement could help change that. An article at TheNextWeb points out that “it could mean that bloggers are approached with the right information and maybe even given exclusives ahead of traditional publications.” With newspapers and networks relentlessly cutting staff, is this a move toward better journalism, or just lower overhead?

    Catch the excitement and the implications on TheNextWeb.
    Blogger hat photo via Flickr user DexterPerrin.

  • September 07, 2010

    Tweeting Weed(s)?

    “The Micro Grow Project’s LabBox Grower is a small automated hydroponic growing system that uses a microcontroller to automate watering cycles, light schedules, and temperatures. It can be controlled and monitored via the Web or mobile phone, and can tweet about its condition.”

    Our favorite comment: “Tweeting your ‘medicine’ growing? What could possibly go wrong?”

    Read about it at Boing Boing and see it at PocketGrow.

  • September 07, 2010

    Inside the Museum Walls

    Like the website says, “Museums and galleries not only house fascinating collections, they are also the home to leading experts who love to share their passion…” For one day (last Wednesday in fact), curators from 23 different countries opened themselves up to questions from anyone with a Twitter account. Response was so great that #askacurator became a trending topic, and global experts found themselves awash in questions about paintings, fossils, Van Gogh’s ear…and spam.

    Visit the site, follow the Twitter stream, and read a review at Columbus Underground.

  • August 31, 2010

    Gaming the Lawyers

    Digital Rights Management has been a topic of hot contention almost forever, it seems, but now one particular group of consumers is taking action. Hardcore gamers, not copyright policy wonks, are the newest thorn in the side of pro-DRM media producers. Their complaints about limits on gameplay, and the ingenious ways they’re circumventing them, are spurring some real policy changes from game companies like Ubisoft.

    Read more about it at Technology Review.
    Cosplay lawyer photo CC via Flickr user stargonautone

  • August 30, 2010

    Levi’s Workshops Expand

    Levi’s spreads its brand by spreading skills. Pulling in big name creative folks like Bob Mould and Stefan Sagmeister, Levi’s Workshops bring everyday folks into an educational version of a pop-up store, to learn anything from letterpress printing to short filmmaking.

    Get schooled (and branded) here.

  • August 23, 2010

    Citizen Scientists and Linked Home Computers Lead to Pulsar Discovery

    Astronomers are no slouches, but with massive amounts of computing power within reach of hobbyists, a new community of “citizen scientists” is occasionally beating the pros to the punch. Most recently a pulsar called SR J2007+2722 was discovered by a global amateur network of over 250,000 computers, linked through a program called Einstein@Home. Not only did they crunch the data at record speed, but generated tremendous excitement in the process. “It was like watching 5-year-olds tearing Christmas presents,” notes one researcher.

    Get in on the science at Tonic.

  • August 23, 2010

    Hipster Moonshine

    Now that home brewing, home winemaking and home infusing are commonplace, what’s a DIY-minded hipster to take on next? According to this Atlantic article, they’re turning to moonshine. Though still illegal in the US (and most everywhere else), independent distilling is seeing a resurgence in popularity, stretching beyond its rural roots to be embraced by younger, more urban enthusiasts, empowered by online knowledge and the thrill of the vaguely illicit.

    Read the article.
    Learn the details.
    Image CC via Flickr user Lyle58

  • August 16, 2010

    Hello my Beautiful Makeup Geeks!

    While cosmetic tutorials are certainly nothing new, online or otherwise, the level of specificity and complexity that we’re seeing on sites like MakeUpGeek.com is breaking new ground. This recent video (the 187th posted so far) goes for an elaborate Bollywood-inspired look, clocking in at just over seven minutes and going through 21 separate products in the process.

    Improve your skills at Makeup Geek.

  • August 16, 2010

    DIY Research: Threat or Opportunity?

    The CEO of SurveyMonkey answers some questions on the world’s premier DIY polling tool, starting with an acknowledgement of how commonplace surveys have become, even for everyday activities like planning a family reunion or getting feedback on an office meeting. He also discusses the Monkey’s relationship to traditional market research and how it’s viewed by research professionals: “It’s not a research tool, it’s a decision making tool…It’s not something to be fearful of.”

    Watch the video at Research Live.

  • August 09, 2010

    Handcuffs Off iPhone Hacking

    Locked devices, turnkey software and digital rights management (DRM) have all lost ground to the growing ranks of geeks and consumer activists demanding full rein and control over their purchases. Even more frightening for mobile phone carriers is the newly legal opportunity to break DRM for switching carriers. The news is the first signaling a change of policy toward consumers and hackers and away from big computer/media companies.

    Read more at Fast Company.

  • August 09, 2010

    Molecular Gastronomy Comes Home

    For cooks intrigued by the bizarre world of edible foams, gels and popped candies, Cuisine Innovation is a new online shop that offers all the specialized gadgets and ingredients necessary to relive the glory days of El Bulli in their own kitchens.

    Visit Cuisine Innovation for more.

  • August 02, 2010

    Make:Projects

    Make Magazine unveils a wiki where anyone can post step-by-step instructions for their favorite DIY projects, from a $30 micro forge to a batch of bourbon chicken wings. While sites like eHow and Instructables have been doing this sort of thing for a few years now, the fervor and mutual support of Make’s existing online community of makers has us expecting even more.

    Find your next project at Make: Project.

  • August 02, 2010

    Build Your Own Engine

    For an additional US$5800, Chevy gives fans a chance to travel to one of their factories and assemble their very own Corvette engines—with their bare hands. It may seem a lot to pay for the opportunity to do manual labor, but as the article points out, “for some people, it’s impossible to put a price on the special connection with one’s car.” (We’d call them MASS GEEKS.)

    See more at Sub 5 Zero.

  • July 26, 2010

    Drag ‘n’ Drop Invention

    Google’s recent release of “App Inventor” for the Android operating system allows just about anyone to create a smartphone application. While the results are rarely iPhone-pristine, the ability for regular users to rapidly generate custom solutions is a bold step toward fulfilling Android’s promise of an open source utopia. Equally important, its accessibility could help inspire a new generation of code writers.

    Full article available at Fast Company.
    Image via flickr user laihiu

  • July 20, 2010

    Homemade Cosmetics

    This wholesale and retail supplier of natural ingredients and cosmeceuticals for skin care, hair care color, cosmetics and soap allows you to concoct all your beauty products at home. Will future Lauren Lukes also share their own recipes with the world, in addition to makeup tips?

    Figure out which type of zinc oxide is right for you at MakingCosmetics.com.
    Image via flickr user m-louis.

  • July 12, 2010

    Universities Open Up

    As more educational institutions begin to place their course materials online for free, the worldwide demand for learning is beginning to increase. iTunes U hosts more than 250,000 courses, including lectures from MIT, Standford, Yale and Oxford — all of them ready to download for free. Recently UK-based Open University boasted 20 million downloads of its courses alone. For those seeking expertise in niche subjects, there has never been more opportunity. You may not be able to get a diploma from MIT by following along online, but you can certainly put your knowledge to good use.

    Read more about Open University’s success.

  • July 12, 2010

    Making Complex Issues Accessible...and Beautiful

    Big ideas, issues and complex knowledge domains undoubtably have a lot of data behind them. But the number of facts and figures flooding through our mediasphere today can be overwhelming. The ascending art of infographics holds promise for helping us better visualize and comprehend perplexing problems. Information Is Beautiful is a great example of a site that helps us become better informed by transforming chaos into comprehensible abstractions. The author, David McCandless, even encourages the crowdsourcing of data to help him craft his representations of information.

    Behold the drool-worthy infographics at Information is Beautiful.

  • July 12, 2010

    iPad Makes Education Couch-Friendly

    The iPad provides an attractive platform for highly visual edutainment apps, such as Theodore Gray’s striking “The Elements”.

    Read about the making of this app on PopScience.
    Image: The Elements

  • July 12, 2010

    Sartorial Splendor, Accessible Anywhere

    With over 250,000 hits a day, Scott Schuman’s site The Sartorialist has been described by Time Magazine as a Top 100 Design Influencer. From the comfort of our own homes, we can view the daily wear of the fashion elite in their natural habitats — whether they be in Milan, Paris or New York. The site has introduced these fashion-forward sensibilities to the mass market. GQ magazine now regularly features photos and analysis from Schuman.

    Read The Sartorialist.

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