I just got back from the first day of the Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA. It was a blast! If you weren’t there, I suggest you go tomorrow for the second day. Some highlights:
- Bruce Shapiro is showing his computer controlled stepper motor egg painters. Very cool. His ribbon dancer is also nice.
- Microsoft has a UMPC experience lab on site. Prototypes of the TabletKiosk eo, the Samsung Q1, the ASUS and the Founder are all there, along with really friendly staff.
- MAKE and MakingThings are announcing a USB interface device for homebrew projects. It will cost $150 and will be out in a couple months. It’ll be neat to see projects published in Make adopt that platform – project costs will decline! Prototypes are at the conference. I saw a poster for Don Overholt’s inexpensive USB interface, too, but I couldn’t find him. His is $50 and is available now.
- Graffiti Research Labs is there. Build LED Throwies for free to toss on their bus or pay $1 a piece to take them home.
- Other fun stuff: The Second Life booth, the Parallax Basic Stamp booth, the great presentations, the awesome people!!
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John Tokash’s Blog » My First UMPC Hands On Experience // April 22, 2006 at 8:58 pm |
[...] At the Maker Faire today, I visited the UMPC Experience Area in the Microsoft section of the Faire. When I arrived, there were only a few attendees near the UMPCs, so I got to spend about 20 minutes with the TabletKiosk eo prototype. Later, I spent a few minutes with the Founder and Samsung prototypes. I did not try the ASUS. Near the end of the day, I attended a 30 minute presentation on the UMPCs. [...]