Australian Space Agency - why

Came across a good article here about why Australia needs a space agency, and how we can create our own solutions instead of piggybacking off others and be able to build a new industry which benefits us.


The ACSER seems pretty cool.
I wonder if the GPS module could be used for other Australian spacecraft ...

Also, if you read my Mt Stromlo (AIAA tour) post back in early August when AIAA Sydney Section toured Canberra, here are some projects that the AITC are looking at at the moment. Hope I get to participate soon =)

Valve and AMD reveals

So Valve has revealed their SteamOS a couple of days ago which is based on Linux, so it's pretty much a Linux distro. It will be a living room entertainment OS, so think console+xbmc combined. It is also free and open source!
Today, they also revealed SteamBox, and are offering 300 beta units for testers to be randomly selected, as long as you earn the Steam Hardware badge level 2.Unfortunately, actual specs are not disclosed, although they are saying the system is open, and you can upgrade individual components (like a PC!), as well as being free to install any OS on it or turn it into a robot! Gotta love Valve and their open/hacker/community culture. First open console since the PC =P. They are also claiming to have different boxes available in 2014 from different vendors, so PC and linux gaming seems to be ever on fire and advancing, thanks in no small part to Valve! [S2] (companion cube). It's great to see games like Dota 2, L4D2, Kerbal Space Program, X3: Albion Prelude and Guns of Icarus Online (and hopefully the Crytek 3 Engine soon) on Linux!
In a couple of days, Valve will reveal something else. Using symbols 'O' as the SteamOS reveal, and '[O ]' as the SteamBox reveal, they are revealing something along the lines of 'O+O'. They've already suggested streaming video from your gaming PC to the steambox via LAN, and family sharing for games, but it could be something different. Check the reveal here below in 33 hours:



AMD has revealed their newest line of GPUs at every price point, and personally I'm rooting for them as they are actually supporting open source linux driver development. Unlike a certain competitor which only releases binary blobs, although they run alright. In the livestream other game devs were also featured as were a lot of audio technology.
Check out Star Citizen's Chris Roberts at 1hr 44minutes of the livestream and some new hangar module features! (And an Aurora take off sequence in the new trailer demo!). It's also set to break 20 million in crowdfunding within 24 hours. See you in the 'verse!

Watch live streaming video from amdlivestream at livestream.com

Arduino + starter kit $12 or less, shipped worldwide

Yes, even though you could get arduinos for less than USD7 on taobao, you need a taobao payment method, conversion rates and whatnot, and pay shipping.

Here, it's on a familiar website (indiegogo), ships worldwide, purposed for education, and is definitely an inspiring and sharable campaign/project =) So grab one or more and share to the world the fun of electronics =D

Obligatory iframe:

Fixer movement?

http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/06/qq_thompson/
Fixer movement?
Next in the Hacker/Maker movement, it looks like what I've been trying to do to dying devices except being too noob to do it. Sounds good! (Sustainability (Y) haha)

2012 SciFi realities and Future Tech + Virgin Galactic

http://myscienceacademy.org/2013/01/03/27-science-fictions-that-became-science-facts-in-2012/


That chimera - bloody biologists are making FMA stuff a reality! I also lol'd at the accidents on self-driving cars ...

Also, Oculus Rift (revealed 2012) is a giant leap for NerveGear (SAO).

And congratulations to the folks at Virgin Galactic for the first powered SpaceShipTwo flight breaking mach 1, add that to the list of official responses =P.

Various Prepackaged Circuits

Ah, the joys of soldering.
Too bad these circuits come pre-etched and most of the complex workings are hidden inside those ICs.

This first one is supposed to be a radio bug. There's a mic and it transmits on FM - the coil of black wire is the antenna and you can change frequency manually and in analogue by screwing that green component.

Below is a dice thrower. It just works by changing LEDs very fast (i.e. 1,2,3,4,5,6,1,2,3,4,5,6, ...) and when you press the switch it stops. Then when the switch is pressed again the LEDs start flashing again. It needs to flash really fast (so fast that all of them look like they are on at the same time, albeit dimmer) so you can't cheat. Also, one of the ICs count in base 10 so it needed to be converted to base 6, or loop from 6 to 1 and not 7.

Have yet to uncover my hand drawn circuit from year 8. I had to use a marker and place it in the electrolytic tank. The copper was oxidised to become soluble in the solution and only the copper under the marked areas were left. Hurray for old-school stuff. =P