Seeing RFID on the cheap

Seeing RFID on the cheap: "

Immaterials: the ghost in the field from timo on Vimeo.

The folks at BERG developed this neat method for visualizing the sensitivity of an RFID reader. Rather than using an expensive set of test equipment to measure the magnetic field intensity, they just hooked their reader up so that it lit an LED every time their card was detected, and then captured it using a camera. This is pretty similar to the technique used to make the Roomba art. They were also able to show that (due to polarization) the orientation of the card with respect to the sensor changes how it responds. Fascinating!

New hacker hang out in Seattle

New hacker hang out in Seattle: "

This Thursday, Oct 15, Metrix Create: Space will open its doors in Seattle (at 623A Broadway East). It's hackerspace meets an indie coffee house. They'll have tools and equipment for building projects, 3D fabbing machines, classes on various types of high-tech makery, coffee and snacks. They even have a vending machine that'll dispense Sun Chips, M&Ms, Clif Bars, and Arduinos, breadboards, jumper wires, etc. How cool.

More:

All of our hackerspace coverage on Make: Online

Use TinEye to Find Source Images for Desktop Wallpaper [Image Search]

Use TinEye to Find Source Images for Desktop Wallpaper [Image Search]:

It turns out that TinEye, the image search engine, is good for more than simply finding carbon-copy matches of pictures. You can also use it to go from a screenshot of a desktop to the source image.

While reviewing the TinEye Firefox extension last week, we noted that results were rather precise in nature and that variations on an image were often excluded. While that is true to an extent, reader TheLostVikings pointed out a way he uses the database and that it wasn't quite as narrow in scope as we initially believed:

Note on the 'surgically precise' comment. I routinely use TinEye to find the actual background image when people post pictures o their desktops (complete with open windows, taskbars, docks, etc) and tineye will usually be able to locate the original picture.

To test this approach out we fired up Firefox with the TinEye extension and headed over the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Pool. Chalk it up to luck or the popularity of the images people were using for their desktop background, but we were able to find 8 out of 10 of the source background images using TinEye.

The next time you see a capture of someone's desktop and you're dying to know where they got the cool background, give TinEye a shot at finding it for you. Thanks TheLostVikings!

TinEye

Make a Desk Out of Concrete [DIY]

Make a Desk Out of Concrete [DIY]:

You don't need to spend big bucks to own a desk with some heft to it. Through the miracle of concrete and a little elbow grease, you can work on a surface with a stone-like finish.

Instructables user hivoltage wanted a unique computer desk and wasn't afraid to bust out the power tools to get it. The most distinct feature of his desk is the surface. Taking a cue from the popularity of concrete countertops, he used poured concrete to make his desktop.

It's certainly not as easy as buying some extra counter pieces from the local kitchen shop or throwing a door across two file cabinets, but the end result is quite impressing. Check out the full tutorial to see how he goes from a plywood form to a polished final product.

How To Build a Polished Concrete Desk [via Make]