So the next shipment of ShiftBrites was delayed in Alaska Customs again. Last time, I had to call and provide an EIN or social security number, I hoped they had that on file. Also, they never billed me for duties and eventually sent a collection agency after me. That always looks good on a credit report. Anyway, I used their online support contact form to ask for help:  Read more»

I've added several new products to the macetech store. The 5.5 volt, 2 amp power supply will come in handy for projects using 32 or fewer ShiftBrite modules. The 6 conductor cables make it easy to chain multiple ShiftBrites. If you've ever tried to make a lot of cables, you'll understand why many of our customer have demanded some kind of cable solution.

Anyway, these new products will make it easier to get your ShiftBrite project going...or should I say glowing?

No, I shouldn't.

What happens when you mix electronics, chain-letters, and awkward acronyms? You get TGIMBOEJ, or The Great Internet Migratory Box Of Electronics Junk. A nefarious plot to obtain more junk under the guise of giving away junk, hatched up by Windell at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (with whom I occasionally cross paths at TechShop).

The idea is to recieve a TGIMBOEJ, pick out some interesting parts, put some more of your own electronics miscellany back in the box, and send it along to the next person. There are now several boxes circulating; you can track their progress and get yourself on the request list by visting the TGIMBOEJ wiki. Be warned there's a little vandalism on that site, so it may not be what you expect by the time you visit.  Read more»

It's not simple to set up a new store! But it's finally done (my roommate works with web sites as part of his day job, and helped get everything formatted), and I'm liking the new software a lot better than what I was using before. This will make it a lot easier to keep track of orders, set up discounts, allow user logins, add new products, etc. Currently there's just the one product, but stay tuned for more in the near future. Please leave a comment below if you notice anything I missed during configuration or templating.

IN STOCK!

Click here to visit the store.

What is ShiftBrite?

ShiftBrite is a high-brightness LED module containing red, green, and blue elements. It uses a simple clocked serial interface to receive a 10-bit brightness value for each color, resulting in over a billion possible colors.  Read more»

The shipment of ShiftBrites should be arriving tomorrow has arrived today, after the customs delay in Alaska. The store is updated and ready for orders. Everyone who pre-ordered last night will have their orders shipped today!

The next stock shipment of ShiftBrites is on the way! Looks like they'll arrive on the 13th. I'll send out an email to the people who contacted me regarding availability, and update the quantity in stock as early as tomorrow depending on how accurate the shipment tracking appears.

Update: we had a customs delay in Alaska...have that ironed out, so hopefully the new stock will arrive tomorrow. When I get confirmation of this, I'll move forward with the email notifications and the stock quantity update.

(Update May 19th, 2008): Re-stock arrangements are complete, we may be ready to ship as early as June 10th and no later than June 20th, assuming no problems. When the FedEx tracking indicates the shipment is within a day or two of arrival, the store will be enabled for purchases to be shipped as soon as stock is in hand. I have a big list of email addreses from people who wanted to be notified; you'll all be the first to know! Use the contact link above if you want to get the update. I think I'll send out an email when the ShiftBrites are on the way, and another right before I enable the web store again.  Read more»

Well, I finally finished setting up a web store to try selling some of the ShiftBrite modules I had manufactured. If these start to go fast, I'll put in a larger order. The product page is available here, and everything should work though it's my first attempt at "e-commerce" I believe is the fashionable term (maybe in 1998). Let me know if anything looks strange.

Ahh, it's that time of year again. Maker Faire Bay Area 2008 is coming up quickly, and I'm in a rush to get my projects done. Worst case, I finish them while at the Faire, which could be interesting too! Above is a photo from last year's Maker Faire here in San Mateo (only a couple miles from where I live and work). My project was a device that makes it easy to send custom keyboard, mouse, or joystick input to a computer over USB. The demo was a model airplane with accelerometers, controlling the same airplane in a flight simulation game. It was really popular, we had people lined up to play the game! Some were actually interested in the hardware behind it.  Read more»