Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re the sort of DIY tinkerer that likes to fiddle about with Arduino-based projects, you’ll be glad to hear that the Arduino project has officially launched a new version of the powerful little microcontroller. The new product is called the Arduino Micro board, and it is based on the technology behind the Leonardo board. The main feature of the device is its small size, measuring just 1.9″ x 0.7″.

The new Micro board packs an ATmega32U4 controller, and all the power and performance of that Leonardo board in a significantly smaller package. Arduino says the new smaller form-factor makes it easy or for enthusiasts to embed the technology inside of even smaller projects. The Arduino Micro board can be used on a breadboard or soldered to a custom-designed PCB.

The Micro was developed in conjunction with Adafruit Industries. Adafruit is also creating a series of accessories to go along with the new Micro board. The new Micro board will be available exclusively online through Adafruit and in Radio Shack retail stores. The version with headers will sell for €21 (~$27 USD) and version without headers go for €18 ($23 USD). It will be available for pre-order starting next week, and shipments start on November 26th.

If you only have a cassette player in your car, you probably bought a cassette adapter to connect your mp3 player or phone.  This neat hack by the clever Kipkay will help you keep up with the times without shelling out a lot of money by turning this:

Into… (drumroll, please…) this:

The hack involves taking the Bluetooth transmitter from a (used) Bluetooth headset and connecting it with the electronics inside the adapter:

I wish Kipkay provided an alternative way of making the Bluetooth transmitter’s controls accessible, because that’s an equally crucial part of the hack. Otherwise it seems like a straightforward project.

[via Kipkay]

I love candy. Any color will do; candy is candy. But some of you entitled consumers seem to think only one color is good enough for you. Brian Egenriether seems to be one of these discriminating snackers, because he’s built a device that can sort Skittles according to color. Ah, first world problems.

This is actually the second version of egenriether’s machine. This newer one makes the color detection stage visible (when you open the machine) and has had more of its parts painted. The machine uses an RGB sensor to detect the color of the Skittles.

It’s obviously faster to sort the candy by hand, but that doesn’t make the device less remarkable. Egenriether said that if he made the machine sort faster, some of the Skittles ended up on their side below the sensor – as opposed to lying flat  – causing errors in detection. I like that it looks like an old appliance despite being made of parts from different objects, including a bird feeder and a telescope. No word if Egenriether is selling the device or if it can also sort other colored candy.

[via DudeIWantThat]

It seems there’s always a better iPhone case around the corner… While I don’t think I have that many iPhone cases, I do have about 8 and unlike some people boast that their iPhones are naked, and without protection, I like to have my iPhone nicely protected, so that I can sell it when I eventually upgrade. That being said, using a rubber band as simple iPhone grip is definitely a cool idea.

If you like the naked iPhone look, but still want to get a better grip on yours, then check out what Instructables user timwikander came up with. You can basically use any thick rubber band and stretch it out around your iPhone, without sacrificing much in looks. While he reports that he was able to drill in a couple of holes to get access to the ports, I think it’s probably better just to remove it when you need access. That way, the rubber band remains tight and secure, no matter what.

If you can find some transparent, thick rubber bands, it might look really good too.

[via GadgetOse]

Remember Myst? The graphic adventure game that transported players to the island of Myst by using a special book? Well, how would you like to give the game another go while playing it in an actual book?

If you’re a fan of the classic adventure game, then this must feel like a dream come true. This book was basically hollowed out and filled in an actual hand-assembled desktop computer that runs Windows XP, which is the system used to boot up the actual game.

Mike Ando, the man behind the machine book, explains:

Unlike Cyan’s well-worn copy, this one is almost pristine. The cover has been beautifully restored & the cracked hinge has been repaired. Custom embossing dies were made for the individual MYST letters, then the embossing was filled with 24-carat gold paint.

Mike is selling his real Myst creation for a cool $15,625. Pretty pricey, if you ask me – but he wanted the price to be exactly 1000 in D’ni numerals. If you’re interested, check out his site and hit him up with an email.

[via Obvious Winner]