Gearfuse

Using the graphical programming language Processing and an Arduino microcontroller, Trevor Shannon built himself a software-based Etch-A-Sketch. The Arduino reads the input from two potentiometers and then through a serial connection, lines are produced on a computer screen. Over time, the lines disappear, just like a real Etch-A-Sketch. A simple, yet intuitive way of using the Arduino to build a project. Oh, and the knobs are made from an old iTunes gift card!

Want to give it a shot? Trevor has provided the code and schematics that you need to get started.

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It’s no news that we’re Arduino nuts here at Gearfuse, but lately, we haven’t seen anything that has really pushed the boundaries of the popular microcontroller. Now some smarty pants named Martin has come along with a schematic that allows real-time audio processing with the Arduino. This means you can create guitar FX pedals, equalizers and a whole lot of digital instruments thanks to this setup. Says Martin:

The first set of examples alter an incoming audio signal and put it back to an audio output. We achieve effects like Reverb, Phasor, Flanger or Ringmodulator. The second set of examples are outputting computed waveforms like Sinewave, Bell and Xylophone sounds.

Think you can handle it, Mr. Programmer? Then get to it.

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The musical trio from Tokyo, Japan known as d.v.d. sound like a blast to see live. The group consists of drummers Itoken and Jimanica and visualizer Takashi Yamaguchi. As the drummers play and beat on the drums, Takashi projects and manipulates brilliant imagery on a screen. The sounds trigger geometrical shapes and landscapes via Processing (just like Metamorphosis 2), ensuring that it’s a real trip. PingMag has a fantastic interview with d.v.d. and I highly recommend you check it out.

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Glenn Marshall is the master of Processing and mixing an old Boards of Canada song (Corsair) into motion graphics. The above video, dubbed “Metamorphosis 2″, is one of his finest works. Try watching it at 2:00am before going to bed and I think you’ll find it oddly relaxing.

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In the wake of the Commodore 64 LAN party comes a new breed of laptop. Commodore is pulling a Steve Jobs, as in: you heard it was dead, but it was all lies. It’s making a comeback with a netbook, go figure, it’s the UMMD 8010/F. Compared to the Commodore 64, it’s loaded. The UMMD 8010/F has a 10″ screen and comes with a processing power of 1.6GHZ, 80GB of hard drive space and 1GB of RAM.

It’s half the price of the Dell E Mini Notebook, with half the RAM. At $600 dollars, it comes packed with a 1.3-megapixel camera and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capability. But you know the only reason you’d buy it is because it says “Commodore” right below the monitor.

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