标签: geek

I just got a jolly interesting email from a reader called Mark, who wrote as follows:   Hi Max, it's been a while since we've been in touch. I hope all is well in your corner of the universe. I think we're finally done with the snow for a little up here in New England! As a designer of circuit boards, and a believer that one should always have spares of everything handy, I've accumulated a variety of boards over the years, many of them un-populated. Until recently, they mostly just collected dust. Then I had a cool idea, based on my wife's tireless and wildly creative scrapbooking, I decided to scrapbook a bunch of my old PCBs. I think that you're able to appreciate the notion better than most of my non-geek friends! Anyway, if you have some time, I was wondering if you could pop over to this entry on my blog and check it out.   Well, I for one am a fan. I love the way in which different technologies have evolved, so I would really like to see a PCB scrapbook starting with the earliest techniques and progressing through to today's offerings. I'll have to ask Mark if he's planning on creating such a thing.     I also love the concept of blogging in general. Check out this link to the home page for Mark's blog and then scroll down to peruse and ponder his musings. If I weren't an editor at UBM Canon, I'd probably have a blog of my own. As it is, I effectively do have a blog of my own, because -- as this column shows -- I'm free to post articles about whatever's currently on my mind.   Mark closed by saying: "I'd be very interested to know what you think." I replied that I thought scrapbooking PCBs was a cool idea, and Mark responded with: "I'm very glad you like it! I worry sometimes that I'm an oddball, even among geeks."   Fear not Mark, you are not alone. How about you, dear reader? To what geeky hobbies do you subscribe? And do you sometimes worry that you would stand "proud in the crowd" at a geek convention?

  目标：要做一个网络可编程的恒温器，做成如期待得现成恒温器一样，同时也可以通过网络/因特网连接。我简化了一些东西，消除了大多数的装配功能，因为我可以硬编码指定的功能，不需要UI去设置（24小时钟表，华氏温度，可编程温度表） 所有这些普遍的功能都可实现—可以暂时调制温度上升或下降，可设置保持固定温度，如果”保持”,可以被设置回调节模式。显示器显示时间、当前温度、程序模式、冷/热模式和目标温度。如果恒温器关闭，它就显示时间，温度和日期。也有其他的功能和特性，它们与恒温器不直接相关。 通过一个网络连接，它可通过它本身访问所有信息和控制。这是一个无格式的“原始”协议，目的是，以后我可以给我的电话写一个iOS应用，还能有漂亮的界面。在这期间，我仅使用一个telnet客户端且要记住我设置的命令协议。 主控的运行，基本上兼容了Arduino Deumilanova。他通过几个物理迭代（Freeduino, Boarduino等等），现在仅基于一个后挂的ATMega 328pand一个LCD显示屏。同样的网络适配器开始作为一个Adafruit 以太网插板，但逐渐被减缩为热粘合在内部的一个WIZnet模块。 原文翻译自： http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2011/04/21/diy-thermostat/ ——————————————————————————————————————— 注意到最近关于恒温器这小东西，受到Geek们的一些关注。 特别在当“ipod之父”Tony Fadell打造了这个“绝密产品”– Nest恒温器之后。 这个让家变得智能起来的小机器，更是绿色能源的引领。 由于制作不需要太过繁琐的过程，仅仅通过一个网络连接，简单的些许代码即可实现基本功能。DIY一个网络恒温器变得容易实现。 挑选一下你需要的设备，动手自制一个属于你的室内恒温器，再为他设计一个漂亮的外形！   By Katrina   更多信息与我们交流： WIZnet邮箱： wiznetbj@wiznettechnology.com WIZnet官方主页：        http://www.iwiznet.cn/ WIZnet中文博客：       http://blog.iwiznet.cn/ WIZnet企业官方微博： http://e.weibo.com/wiznet2012  

  目标：要做一个网络可编程的恒温器，做成如期待得现成恒温器一样，同时也可以通过网络/因特网连接。我简化了一些东西，消除了大多数的装配功能，因为我可以硬编码指定的功能，不需要UI去设置（24小时钟表，华氏温度，可编程温度表） 所有这些普遍的功能都可实现—可以暂时调制温度上升或下降，可设置保持固定温度，如果”保持”,可以被设置回调节模式。显示器显示时间、当前温度、程序模式、冷/热模式和目标温度。如果恒温器关闭，它就显示时间，温度和日期。也有其他的功能和特性，它们与恒温器不直接相关。 通过一个网络连接，它可通过它本身访问所有信息和控制。这是一个无格式的“原始”协议，目的是，以后我可以给我的电话写一个iOS应用，还能有漂亮的界面。在这期间，我仅使用一个telnet客户端且要记住我设置的命令协议。 主控的运行，基本上兼容了Arduino Deumilanova。他通过几个物理迭代（Freeduino, Boarduino等等），现在仅基于一个后挂的ATMega 328pand一个LCD显示屏。同样的网络适配器开始作为一个Adafruit 以太网插板，但逐渐被减缩为热粘合在内部的一个WIZnet模块。 原文翻译自：http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2011/04/21/diy-thermostat/ ——————————————————————————————————————— 注意到最近关于恒温器这小东西，受到Geek们的一些关注。 特别在当“ipod之父”Tony Fadell打造了这个“绝密产品”– Nest恒温器之后。 这个让家变得智能起来的小机器，更是绿色能源的引领。 由于制作不需要太过繁琐的过程，仅仅通过一个网络连接，简单的些许代码即可实现基本功能。DIY一个网络恒温器变得容易实现。 挑选一下你需要的设备，动手自制一个属于你的室内恒温器，再为他设计一个漂亮的外形！   By Katrina   更多信息与我们交流： WIZnet邮箱： wiznetbj@wiznettechnology.com WIZnet官方主页：        http://www.iwiznet.cn/ WIZnet中文博客：       http://blog.iwiznet.cn/ WIZnet企业官方微博： http://e.weibo.com/wiznet2012

Last July 13, I got a newsletter from those little rascals at ThinkGeek ( www.ThinkGeek.com ). This started off by informing me that July 13 is "Embrace Your Geekiness Day!?" "Hmmm", I thought, "I've not heard of this one". So I did a quick search on Google for "Embrace Your Geekiness Day" and by golly there are hits everywhere. Of course this is not to be confused with Geek Pride Day , which is celebrated on 25 May. Also of interest is the fact that Geek Pride Day shares the same day as Towel Day , for fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy saga by Douglas Adams, and the Glorious 25 May for fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld (see also my Enter Discworld blog). You have to admit that these are more fun than some of the more traditional holidays. In fact, thinking about it, we should all soon start preparing for International Talk Like a Pirate Day , which takes place on 19 September (am I the only one who dresses up for this?). But that's not what I wanted to talk about. One of the products mentioned in the ThinkGeek newsletter was a set of Special Glasses that are said to turn 3D films back into 2D. Check out this video on YouTube where the presenter (who starts off saying "I like pie, but that's not why we're here today" ) explains why he invented these glasses that let people watch a 3D movie in "Two very crisp, very beautiful dimensions."   Now, on the one hand this makes sense. Some people become nauseated when watching today's 3D offerings (hopefully they will enjoy things more as the technology improves). So you might ask why these folks would want to watch a 3D movie in the first place. The answer is simple--going to the movies or to a friend's house to watch a movie is a social thing--so if you are one of the people who can't take today's 3D movies, but you want to see one for social reasons, then these glasses would be a good idea. If the truth be told I'm now quite sure how these work. In a traditional 3D movie two images are displayed overlapped on the movie screen. My understanding is that these images are presented using polarized light--horizontally polarized for one image/eye and vertically polarized for the other. The ThinkGeek Site explains that these special glasses eliminate the left eye image and show only the right eye image to both eyes. I suppose that this could work if the lens for the left eye took the polarized light intended for the right eye and rotated it by 90 degrees before presenting it to the eye. Hmmm... I'll have to think about this. Also of interest is that the ThinkGeek folks also say "In double-blind scientific tests it was determined that when watching 3-D movies the right-eye image was consistently more action packed and humorous than the left-eye image." Hmmm... I'll have to think about this also. The only thing that worries me is that those little rascals at ThinkGeek have been known to play tricks. Do you recall my Console offer arcade-style games with iPad blog? I hear that this actually started out as a spoof product (possibly an April Fool's Joke), but that the ensuing demand was so great that they ended up building them. The trouble with the ThinkGeek site is that once you are there you get sucked in. A couple of weeks ago I purchased an EvilTron , which is currently puzzling my friend Bruce Till who sits in the office next door, and an Electronic Butterfly in a Jar , which is sitting on my desk and which looks amazingly lifelike. I for one am really enjoying both of these products (I obviously can't speak for Bruce, who does not yet know what?s making the strange sounds in his office :-)