kickstarter

It seems like just yesterday we were talking about how Ouya's dream of raising a million dollars on Kickstarter to bring a $99 console and open gaming platform to the people was well...ambitious, to say the least.

Actually, that wasn't even 24 hours ago, but already the public's desire for a hackable console has made it clear that Ouya's ambition must be pursued, nay fulfilled (by the promised March 2013 delivery date, hopefully). Within about eight hours, the $950,000 goal was met. And at last check, more than 20,000 people had pledged north of $2.5 million.… Read more

A robotic crane arm with a 6-foot reach would normally weigh enough to make you grunt and sweat every time you had to move it. Not so with the Cardboard Robot, a large computer-controlled crane arm.

The programmable arm connects to a computer through USB and can be commanded to handle such tasks as picking up dirty socks off the floor or acting as your cameraman while you make "Star Wars" fan movies on your iPhone. The arm can handle just over half a pound when fully extended. … Read more

I silkscreened a shirt once for a middle school art class. It was an intensive, smelly process that didn't come out very well. That's why I'm intrigued by the Lumi Process, a water-based printing method for textiles that uses sunlight to develop the prints.

The Inkodye used in the process was developed from a nearly-forgotten dye formula from the 1950s that has some useful light-sensitive photographic properties.… Read more

Hard-core gamers like a challenge. Just ask gaming business veteran Julie Uhrman.

Uhrman wants to disrupt the gaming industry with an affordable console called Ouya, a name she hopes will become the battle cry of game developers. Her company is soliciting developers to help build an open ecosystem of games on Android, essentially bringing the openness of mobile games back to the TV set.

"It's very ambitious -- it's hardware, it's software, it's building an ecosystem," Uhrman said.

But Uhrman said she believes her team has what it takes to challenge the status quo. … Read more

Kickstarter announced today that millions more people will soon be allowed to launch projects through its crowd-source funding platform.

The company broadcast the news via Twitter saying, "People in the UK will be able to launch projects on Kickstarter starting this autumn! More info soon!"

So far, only people in the U.S. can create projects and solicit funding on Kickstarter. The reason for this, according to The Verge, which first reported this news, is that the U.S. was the only place where Amazon Payments was offered -- the platform Kickstarter uses. However, as of March 2011, … Read more

Here's a weird stop along the circle of life. Thanks to a Kickstarter project, the footsteps of a 14-year-old me and millions of others have found a new destiny: amplifying the volume of some stranger's iPad or iPhone.

The Sounder is an iPad/iPhone stand and amplifier with some real Americana credibility built in. In fact, it's 100 percent Americana. Each of the wooden stands is handmade (with an assist from some power tools) from old-growth lumber reclaimed from 19th century structures, including the Coney Island boardwalk. … Read more

You've got mail. You've got a new Facebook friend request. Someone wants to chat. You've been mentioned in a tweet. Your mom left a voicemail. Your gadgets are constantly trying to get your attention, but bell, ringer, and buzzer alerts get old fast.

Get some peace and quiet (or at least quiet) with the L8 SmartLight. The Kickstarter project consists of a small box full of 64 RGB LEDs in a grid on one side and a single super RGB LED on the other. Talk to your smartphone, connect to your social networks, and feed Internet alerts to the box through Bluetooth or USB.

The battery-powered L8 -- which measures 2.4 inches by 2.4 inches by less than an inch -- can be set to notify you of just about any event you want. Got a new e-mail? Get a flashing light. Status update from your sweetheart? Trigger a pulsing LED heart. Boss left a voicemail on your day off? Set it for an LED frowny face. A control app is coming soon for iOS. Android, and desktop computers.… Read more

The Aviator Travel Jib lets budget videographers capture videos with smooth, cinematic panning at a fraction of the price of professional systems. A jib is also known as a camera crane, which is typically used in movie productions to get a sense of the scene, usually with the camera panning or zooming from a higher vantage point.

Weighing only 3.7 pounds, the camera crane is able to extend up to 6 feet and should be able to carry your dSLR and a kit lens (the accessory can support cameras of up to 6 pounds). When not in use, it can be folded down to 24 inches for portability. … Read more

Sous-vide cooking has been getting a lot of attention recently and for good reason: cooking food in a water bath at an exact and consistent temperature provides unique results. As the method keeps gaining popularity, appliances and gadgets are cropping up designed to make the process accessible and affordable.

The Nomiku combines a heat source with an immersion circulator. Many other consumer appliances do not integrate an immersion circulator into their designs. The capability to circulate water (in this case at 10 L/min) allows for more consistent results. Unfortunately, the cost of integrating an immersion circulator into these devices … Read more