maker faire

Pee power! African teens create urine-fueled generator

In a stroke of ingenuity that could have proven handy during Hurricane Sandy, four teenage African girls have come up with a urine-powered generator.

Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, and Faleke Oluwatoyin, all 14, and Bello Eniola, 15, collaborated on the invention, which they claim generates one hour of electricity from one liter (about a quart) of urine.

The pee-powered product made its debut at Maker Faire Africa in Lagos, Nigeria, this week. A post on the Maker Faire Africa blog describes the generator's workings in the following words: … Read more

The 404 1,161: Where we don't eat the snow (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Square launches mobile payment service at 7,000 Starbucks stores.

- Razer Naga gaming mouse requires always-on Internet connection; license agreement says they can use this to spy on you.

- Mr. Fusion (sorta) cell phone charger.

- Four African teenagers invent a urine-powered generator.

- Follow Bridget Carey on Twitter and check out CNET Update every afternoon!

- Don't forget to enter our Halloween Samsung Galaxy S3 Giveaway contest, ending this Sunday!… Read more

Flaming unicorns and USB typewriters: Maker Faire NYC

Setting up shop in and around the New York Hall of Science, Maker Faire brought with it its usual cavalcade of robots, 3D printers, lock-picking tutorials, DIY circuit boards, and other experimental, artistic, and otherwise inspired technology and creative projects.

I certainly didn't capture everything at the event in the above slideshow, but after walking around for 3 hours this past Saturday, I'll say that I caught a reasonably representative slice of the Maker Faire at large.

Commodore 64 bass guitar: Revenge of the keytar!

Keytars used to be cool. Then they were lame. Now they're cool again, thanks to Jeri Ellsworth and her Commodore 64 bass guitar.

The unique instrument debuted at the Bay Area Maker Faire over the weekend. It's essentially a bass guitar grafted onto a Commodore 64, creating an unholy alliance between the thudding bottom end of a rock song and the raw retro power of an iconic computer.… Read more

The real business of the DIY movement

PALO ALTO, Calif.--Since 2006, Maker Faire has offered tens of thousands of people an annual celebration of the best and brightest in the do-it-yourself movement.

But while everyone from individual tinkerers who have built small rockets to two people doing amazing things with Diet Coke and Mentos to paper airplane masters and crafters making magic out of felt has had a venue for the last five years to showcase their innovative projects, there's never been a forum for the growing number of people and companies that are developing the new business platforms that are merging manufacturing and making. … Read more

MakerBot's robot petting zoo ready to storm Maker Faire

BROOKLYN, N.Y.--Given that Maker Faire is being held next month at a Northern California fairgrounds, it's appropriate that one of the attractions will be a petting zoo.

But this will be unlike any you've seen before. There won't be "animals" on display, and there won't be any fur.

Welcome to the Robot Petting Zoo.

The brainchild of the geeks at MakerBot Industries, the zoo will feature a collection of 3D printed robots, each of which will do something unique. Take "Button bot," for example, a happy-looking android with a head … Read more

'Battlestar Galactica' fans, rejoice! A real-life Viper is in the works

As a "Battlestar Galactica" fan, I've always dreamed of seeing a Viper on Earth. Now, a group of students is coming close to making it a reality.

Simply called The Viper, the students' creation is a motion-controlled flight simulator inspired by BSG's Mark VII Viper. The students took the fuselage of a small plane and suspended it from a motion-controlled platform capable of spinning it 360 degrees around the pitch and roll axes. On the inside, there is a BSG-inspired cockpit, radar and all.

In order to create the flying effect, the students have been modifying … Read more

Crave 43: Meeting the Makers (podcast)

What better venue for an episode of Crave than the annual Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif.? We rub elbows with robots, learn the art of making a Master Chief costume, and meet a group of teens who take Rock Band to its fiery extreme.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video… Read more

This Day in Tech: First look at new Nook, Windows Phone update

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Tuesday, May 24.

Exclusive hands-on: Windows Phone update to integrate apps into hubs CNET gets a close look at four big changes that pertain to apps in Windows Phone 7's next update, code-named Mango. More

B&N's new Nook: Better than Kindle? Barnes & Noble has officially unveiled the second-generation Nook, a touch-screen e-ink e-reader that the company is branding as the "Simple Touch eReader." CNET's David Carnoy gets up close and personal with … Read more