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The enduring myth of the hacker boy-band
Last week, Wired magazine published a sprawling feature on a group of young hackers the magazine claimed would "make us or break us" with their "exceptional talent." The article fawningly profiled each member of a group of Northeastern University college students who would "soon dominate technology -- and shape our future."
Adafruit demos Display port to Retina display adapter
Here's something you don't see every day: a MacBook Air with a Retina display sitting on top where you'd normally see the Apple logo. The geniuses at Adafruit hacked together a Display port to Retina display adapter, using it to drive the same display that's used in the third-generation iPad. In the video below at about 49m20s, you'll see Adafruit's Limor "Lady Ada" Fried and Phillip Torrone talking about the display adapter as part of last Saturday's "Ask an Engineer" video podcast. The adapter and display will both be available for sale from Adafruit in the near future for your hardware hacking fun. Until then, you can dream about how you'll use that "display on the back of your display" on your MacBook.
Adafruit's Limor Fried takes on the Engadget Questionnaire
Every week, a new and interesting human being tackles our decidedly geeky take on the Proustian Q&A. This is the Engadget Questionnaire. In the inaugural appearance of our questionnaire on Engadget, Adafruit founder Limor Fried opens up about her love for her Metcal MX-500 soldering station and the joys of open-source build projects. Follow us after the break for more from Limor.
Adafruit unveils Lego Ladyada's Workshop, vote for it to become a reality
If 10,000 of you go and vote at Lego Cuusoo, we could soon have a Ladyada Lego Workshop. The concept, whipped up by Limor Fried and Phillip Torrone, was a direct response to the borderline offensive Lego Friends set that was marketed to young girls last year. The seemingly unnecessary line of pastel-hued bricks inspired Fried to hire renowned Lego artist Bruce Lowell to help create a set of blocks that told girls it was ok to aspire to more than good hair and gossipy friends. Ladyada's Workshop is an ABS celebration of hacking, tinkering, strong women and all things DIY. Now all that needs to happen is that enough of you head on over to the Cuusoo site when the set goes up for vote. Hit up the source link for more images of what could wind up being the very first Lego product based on a company that sells DIY electronics kits.
Adafruit's Circuit Playground app deciphers resistor codes, helps you remember Ohm's Law
If the names Phillip Torrone, Limor Fried and Collin Cunningham don't ring a bell then you probably need to hand over your geek badge. If, on the other hand, those names immediately make you sit up and pay attention, you maybe excited to hear the trio have just released the first Adafruit-branded app for iOS. Circuit Playground is a reference app for makers, hackers and tinkerers that helps you decipher resistor and capacitor values; calculate resistance, current or voltage; convert decimal, hexadecimal and binary values; and store PDF data sheets for ICs. The app is $2.99, but it comes with a $3 credit at the Adafruit shop, so it's kinda-sorta free. It's available for iPad and iPhone only, but an Android version is in the works. If you're an impatient Google fan, they suggest you check out ElectroDroid which performs many of the same functions and we can confirm is awesome. Check out the video after the break and hit up the source link to get Circuit Playground now.
Engadget alum wants to laser-etch your gadgets
We're big fans of laser-etched gadgetry, and heck, we're big fans of former Engadget editor Phil Torrone, too. That's why when we heard that the two were finally coming together for fun and profit, well, we were pretty much overjoyed. According to CNET, Torrone and Limor Fried, a former fellow at the tech-focused art studio Eyebeam R&D, have joined forces to create Adafruit, a new open-source laser-etching company in New York. (It's open-source in that PT is giving away the business plan for free to all comers). For $30, they'll do up your iPod or cellphone real nice, and for $100 they'll put your laptop under the laser. Torrone said that while the service is currently limited to the Big Apple for now, he plans on expanding to San Francisco and other locations next year. And yes, that tarsier-engraved PowerBook is PT's very own machine.
