Machine Collective reveals modular prototyping platform

While Bug Labs may have brought modular gadget kits to the forefront, you won't find us kvetching about yet another formidable opponent. Machine Collective has just launched a website to showcase its modular prototyping platform, which essentially consists of a number of interchangeable I/O modules "designed to work with development platforms such as Arduino and Wiring." Needless to say, the possibilities for DIYers and electrical engineers are pretty much endless here, though you'll have to "wait a few weeks" before excitedly beaming in your order and credit card information.

[Via MAKE]

[Indubitably @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:22AM]

Too cool.

[initialxy @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:23AM]

hey you are back! hahaha

ready to get low ranked again?

[andres @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:46AM]

please, stop killing english. and how you can call yourself mature i dont even know, thats not even 1337speek, thats some sort of system designed to obfuscate everything you say.

[AngryPenguin @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:53AM]

DOUCHE.

[initialxy @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:17PM]

i mean, i am pleased to know that you have acknowledged the fact that you needed to be matured. for that, i praise you. but your writing is just so painful to read that i didn't bother reading most of it. so i gave you a low rank as soon as i read "1st! ...". please work on that.

by the way, are you trying to imitate Michael McDonald's role or something?

[chris @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:17PM]

I live in a college town, and we have an old-timer who has been here for 30 years living down the street. He likes to call the cops on us regardless of how loud/how many people we have outside of our house. The idea came up to attach a relay to his air conditioner that lets us turn it off every night so he wakes up sweating his balls off. For someone that doesn't have much experience in this regard, how easy would it be to use something like this to program that?

Or any other ideas for getting back at a senile asshole...

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:01PM]

4:45am: finished last bottle of Wild Turkey
5:00am: time to turn off the geezer's a/c! who wants to flip the switch tonight?
9:00am: woken up from an alcohol-induced coma by local cops... old man died in sleep from heat stroke. damn... should have used wireless relay!
9:05am: fuck... out of Tums!

[ethana2 @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:46PM]

Oh my gosh! There's an old guy in that guy's house! Call the cops!

[OldtechNavNuk @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:56PM]

I've been around awhile, Chris (learned *magnetic amplifiers* in the Navy!), so take my word for this: spite and revenge should always be your last resort to an interpersonal problem. If he's a wanker, retaliation won't make him any less so. If you cannot avoid him, then you have to ignore him or deal with him.

I'd suggest inviting him over for pizza, then get him drunk and/or laid. Even if you don't become, you know, *friends*, he'll probably be less inclined to be quite so cranky. (Or not, in which case you're left with plan B). At most it costs you the risk of *one* of your parties sucking for a bit -- but that occasionally happens naturally anyway, hmmm?

[chris @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:07PM]

@OldtechNavNuk

I'd normally agree with you on revenge being a last resort, and we've tried talking to him several times. He's somewhat friendly in conversations until he gets on the subject of kids in the neighborhood, and then turns right around. We've offered to have him over for dinner or drinks, which he refuses (usually without a thanks), and when we ask to give him our number so that he can just call us when we're too loud, he informs us that this "never works. Kids don't start running until they see blue and red lights in their front yard."

I didn't think we were being completely unreasonable.

[teej @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:58PM]

steal his newspaper and kick his dog

you could always plant mary jane in his backyard...

[michaelportent @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:54PM]

I can see an awesome homebrew drum machine coming out of this kit. All those knobs and faders and buttons. *Nerd Squeals*

[Minilap @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:54PM]

Please don't make them expensive like the Monome.

[StrangeBum @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:01PM]

STOP!! I wannaa doo it myselff

[Grant @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:13PM]

i hate you.

[Echo1 @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:20PM]

Makes me think of those old Radioshack 40 in 1 kits (I clearly remember hooking up all the power connectors, and seconds after the smell of Burning IC)
AH, Nostalgia

[Minilap @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:24PM]

You know engadget doesn't really say that it's exclusively revealed to them, it just reads "Machine Collective reveals modular prototyping platform".

[James Stubbs @ Jul 3rd 2008 2:56AM]

I see a very large controller for my Ableton, I've been waiting for something like this for a long time, if you check out Faderfox they're fairly pricey on my little pay check :) (Blame Gordon and the tax office). I'd love to get as many of these as possible get them connected, build them into a rack and maybe even a lick of paint would be nice. I'd be interested in how these would work with an old Mac, they should develop some variety of input method. A collection of sliders with a cue and solo button underneath would make me sweat hot man foam.