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February 23 2012
Electronic bag pipes need no bag and use only 1 pipe
A lot of people might turn their noses up at an electronic version of bagpipes. But we see a definite need for them. After all, it’s pretty hard to take your bagpipes on a road trip, but this eChanter will have no trouble entertaining your fellow travelers.
The musical instrument is Arduino-based and the builder can decide between a headphone jack (use it with that FM transmitter when in the car!) or a speaker. The version seen above uses headphones with a piece of PVC pipe as the body, screw heads as touch sensors, and a project box to hold the electronics. But there are a lot of alternatives suggested, such as using automatic sprinkler parts. It sounds like a riser, connector, and pop-up sprinkler head body will do just as well hosting all of the components.
Want to hear what it sounds like? There’s an mp3 clip under the final steps section.
Filed under: musical hacks
February 08 2012
Logitech M600 Mouse is Hungry for Your Touch but Not for Power
I never got used to Apple’s Magic Mouse, but it seems that many people are keen on the idea of combining the trackpad with a mouse. Microsoft followed Apple’s lead and released their own touch-sensitive mouse, and now Logitech has thrown its hat into the ring as well with the Touch Mouse M600.
Unlike the Apple and Microsoft mice, the M600 does not support multi-touch gestures. Think of it as a basic trackpad in a mouse’s body – you can point, click, scroll and swipe anywhere on its surface. Nothing more, nothing less. The M600 does make up for its simplicity with a practical feature. The M600 can run on either one or two AA batteries. Put one battery in and you’ll be able to mouse around for three months; add a spare one and you’ll get twice the amount. You can think of it as either having the ability to run at half the power or store extra power. Both sound good in my book of good sounding thoughts. One other thing to keep in mind is that Logitech currently lists the M600 as Windows 7 only, so Mac users will need to stick with the Magic Mouse for now.
Point and click to Logitech’s website to pre-order the Touch Mouse M600 for $70 (USD). Yes, batteries are included.
[via SlashGear]
February 06 2011
Piano Lamp: Play With Your Light
This innovative LED lamp has a touch-sensitive surface which lets you turn segments on and off with a touch of your fingertip.
QisDesign’s Piano lamp is comprised of a series of LED bars which resemble large piano keys. As you glide your fingers across the “keys”, the segments illuminate, changing the intensity of the light to suit your mood. Each lamp features a polycarbonate shade, and a stainless steel base.
Here’s a video showing off the Piano lamp in action:
Click to View Embedded Video Clip
The Piano lamp is available in both a desk and floor lamp version, with the table version selling for $630 (USD), and the floor model selling for $1650.
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