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Steampunk Con Mixes In More Maker Fun 50

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the rebuttal-of-disposable-culture dept.
California has once again been blessed with another steampunk convention, this time to be held in Emeryville, CA on March 12-14 as the "Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition." This year's event promises to mix in much more of the DIY/maker flavor for a greater hands-on feel. Steampunk has been gaining much broader appeal in recent months with the continued growth of maker communities, and the many delightful varieties of music and literature. The con will feature, among other things, a 2 day track of 2-hour how-to, hands-on, and interactive workshops gear towards makers, DIY-ers, mad scientists, and evil geniuses. Of course, if you are an evil genius you probably don't need a workshop except as a gathering for potential test subjects.

Comment Re:Who wants to update?? (Score 1) 1012

by dishpig (#29964192) Attached to: Mac OS X 10.6.2 Will Block Atom Processors
Technically he's right. All boxed versions of the Mac OS are upgrades. All Macs come with an OS so the only reason Apple provides boxed versions are for user upgrades. Apple is generally not in the software business, nor in the hardware business - it's in the integrated hardware / software business.

Comment Re:Some More Names to Consider (Score 1) 1021

by dishpig (#29651933) Attached to: What Belongs In a High School Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit Class?

Well, to be taken seriously, you'd need to ignore the fact that it's a high school lit class. It's tough to say what to choose, since a good lit class should have a 'theme' other than two broad genres. I'd focus on novels / stories that are plot-driven and had more to offer - things that could provide insight into literary trends / techniques.

Orwell is taught anyway in mainstream lit (at least when I was in high school) so I'd pass on him.

I'd second Vance, especially The Eyes of the Overworld / Cugel the Clever. It's a great modern picaresque.

Vonnegut certainly. Hard to say which I'd choose. Probably stay predictable and go with Slaughterhouse Five. He employs some interesting narrative tricks.

It's too bad the Gormenghast novels are prohibitive in length - they're some of the finest fantasy written and avoid the typical genre cliches.
Robotics

Submission + - Giggling robot is treated as equal by toddlers

Submitted by galactic grub
galactic grub writes: New Scientist has this story about experiments that involved leaving toddlers with a small humanoid robot (QRIO). The robot was programmed to respond in very basic ways, but the researchers from the University of California, San Diego, found that the kids became increasingly attached to it. Videos included show them hugging it, laughing when it "giggles" and putting a blanket over it when it's batteries ran down. It's not entirely clear how much they may have been simply "playing", but their behaviour changed dramatically when the robot was programmed to be less interactive.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Linux-powered Legos target device developers (linuxdevices.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: A six-person startup is readying a product resembling nothing so much as a set of electronic Legos for device designers. The idea is to provide a set of snap-together components from which engineers can build "anything," the company claims, without having to learn solid state electronics. Both hardware and software (Linux/Java phoneME/OSGi) are open source, so that over time, the Lego box will grow, the company hopes. Initially, there's an ARM11-powered base with built-in wifi, and modules for camera, GPS, motion detector, LCD display, keyboard, touchscreen, and stereo speakers. Ooh, and a mysterious "teleporter," too.

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