Hasta La Gadget!

You may remember the ParaShoot wearable camera we covered a few weeks ago, which had shattered its crowdfunding target with a month and change to spare. If you decided to sink some cash into the project, then you may also be aware it was suspended on Kickstarter a couple of days ago. Matt Sandy from the ParaShoot team has been in touch to share what little info he has — it’s claimed the suspension was out of the blue, and no communication has come from the funding site since. With “manufacturing plans” sorted, however, there’s no time to twiddle thumbs, so ParaShoot’s hit Indiegogo instead. Seeking $117,358 — the amount the Kickstarter campaign was frozen at — version 2.1 proposes a slightly different flat-fronted design (see above and try to ignore the ugly watermark), more choices of skin and a new time-lapse photo feature. Pledge levels are the same, although there’s now a “Distributor Pack” option if you want ten of the things. We’ve reached out to Kickstarter to see if it’s willing to tell us the other side of the story, and we’ll let you know if we hear back.

Filed under: Cameras, Wearables

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Source: Indiegogo

Anyone who has had an experience with the PengPod range of 7” and 10” tablets would know that those tablets were able to run on Android, Ubuntu, or other Linux-based operating systems, and it seems that the time is ripe for upgraded hardware to be introduced to the PengPod range. The name does sound rather corny in my opinion, but to each his or her own, right? This time around, the PengPod1040 would be the one to come under scrutiny, as it would arrive in decent iPad-sized form factor, coupled with a high-resolution display and a quad-core processor.

A working prototype is already available, but the PengPod1040 would remain but a distant dream if it fails to raise $349,000 in pre-orders via an Indiegogo campaign. Those who are interested in seeing the PengPod1040 enter our fabric of reality will be able to place a pledge of $249 (or $220 if you happen to be one of the first 100 people to claim an early bird special). Fret not, should the campaign fail to raise that amount of money by the time the deadline approaches, no money will be charged. Intended hardware specifications for this dual-booting PengPod1040 include a 9.7” display at 2048 x 1536 pixels, an Allwinner A31 ARM Cortex-A7 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory, USB connectivity, Wi-Fi, front and back cameras, and both Android and Ubuntu loaded to its internal storage. [Indiegogo Page]

PengPod1040 Tablet Runs On Android Or Linux original content from Ubergizmo.

Do you appreciate TechShop’s community-driven hackerspaces? If so, the company would like your help in keeping one of those facilities alive. TechShop has to relocate its original Menlo Park workspace before October 31st, and it just launched a $250,000 crowdfunding campaign to help cover the moving costs. Should the fundraiser prove successful, TechShop will reward contributors with both prizes and passes to a Halloween benefit party; it will also hand out gift memberships to military veterans. Those who want to give the Menlo Park workshop a second chance can make a pledge at the source link.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: Indiegogo

We’ve had an analogue film to digital smartphone scanning device on Kickstarter, so here’s pretty much the reverse: a smartphone digital photo to analogue print photo enlarger on Indiegogo.

Phone-owning humans’ love affair with digital photography continues charging along at full tilt — fuelled by the ubiquity of cameraphones and the apps that allow easy digital photo remixing, whether it’s Instagram filters, or Frontback‘s dual aspect, or Rando‘s serendipity. All that snapping means a mountain of photos on mobile devices and social networks (not to mention sitting unloved on servers in the cloud). Sure you can browse them digitally, and repurpose a few as e-wallpaper, but this kind of photography is mostly a communication medium. The photos keep flowing to keep the conversation going. But what if you want to stop and linger on a few choice shots — and maybe even see real-world photo filters in action?

The Enfojer is a photo enlarger designed to make it (relatively) easy to translate digital photos into analogue black and white prints — so you can put a few digital shots up on your wall and get involved in the creation process yourself. It doesn’t reproduce colour, to keep the photo development process simple (and non-toxic), and does require you to get your hands dirty with dipping prints in and out of developing and fixing fluids but its creators claim to have streamlined the process so it’s suitable for Generation App. Once all the kit is set up they reckon you can turn an Instagram into a B&W artefact in a mere six minutes.

Enfojer can enlarge images from any smartphone (the cradle is compatible with phones up to 141 mm x 71 mm) or film up to 6×6 format. Prints can be created up to 20x20cm. The smartphone photo enlarger uses the phone’s own LED screen as the light source to expose the photographic paper. The device also has a wide angle polycarbonate “toy camera style meniscus lens” — which blurs the image slightly so it doesn’t end up looking pixellated. Think of it as an analogue filter (to go with your digital filters); “we tried sharper and better ones, but the results were too sterile,” note Enfojer’s creators.  The rest of the required kit is classic darkroom stuff like photo developing trays, fluids and a red LED light to work to.

Of course there’s no shortage of services offering to pro print your Instagram photos for you, in a variety of ways — such as Piccolo, Instantgram.me, Kanvess.com to name three — but Enfojer has an educational/enthusiast angle since it’s DIY photo printing. Enfojer’s creators say they’re aiming the device at ”budding photographers” who don’t already have access to a pro photo enlarger and are interested in learning about the dark (fading) arts of analogue photography. They also reckon it’s a cheaper photo-printing option than “average” photo printers.  Which may well be true, since printer ink is apparently more expensive than blue diamond dust.

Enfojer’s Croatian creators are seeking $100,000 on Indiegogo to fund manufacturing costs of the device — but it’s not a fixed funding campaign so they’ll get to take home whatever the crowd decides to shower on them. Backers can pay to bag an Enfojer on its own for $200, or pay up to $450 for a full kit that includes several trays, tongs, a  tray rack, darkroom light and a pack of photographic paper.

We tried a prototype of the GlassUP wearable display back in March and it went up on IndieGoGo to raise crowdsourcing support in July. Since then, the eyeglasses that show users any information they want to see thanks to a built-in projector, has seen $110,000 raised. However, the wearable’s release date has been pushed back […]