50 Shades of Gray owes its popularity to the Kindle, and dubstep would die without iTunes. Now, these don't need the technology. You could read 50 Shades in paperback, and you could listen to dubstep without headphones. But you won't. You don't want to be seen reading smut on the morning bus. You don't want your soft-rock top-40 … Continue reading On Enablers
Author: Yours Truly
I'm the hardware hacker from the near future, building tomorrow's electronics for fun and profit. I'm a pro hardware prototyper specializing in connected devices and wearable technology. I also cofounded the Hoboken MakerBar hackerspace, where I build a lot of my projects.
My Decked-Out Google Glass
Sup dawg, I heard you like electronic accessories. Here are my favorite accessories for my favorite accessory. The power of wearables like Google Glass come from both the functionality and the looks. Since each wearer is so unique, and the superpowers he needs are so specialized, accessories are important to turn an off-the-shelf device into something … Continue reading My Decked-Out Google Glass
Side Project: The Nuclear Option
I needed to carry my Magic: The Gathering decks to tournaments. I jumped straight into The Nuclear Option. I'm a little obsessed with Magic: The Gathering. I do a draft every week, but my format of choice is definitely Commander. I used to bring one deck to my Friendly Local Game Store, but sometimes we just couldn't find that … Continue reading Side Project: The Nuclear Option
Screw Your iBeacons, We Need Point Beacons
Detecting which room I'm in? That's cute. Detecting where I'm pointing? That's critical. Your phone and wearable are loaded with sensors and receivers to detect where you're standing, how fast you're moving, and which direction you're facing. The average phone's sensors have 16 degrees of freedom* - but none them can detect where you're pointing. If … Continue reading Screw Your iBeacons, We Need Point Beacons
Instant Gratification Isn’t Fast Enough
Radio Shack showed me that "instant gratification" is a crappy business model. Radio Shack is collapsing, and that sucks. As a professional prototyper, it's really damn convenient to be able to walk a few blocks and pick up a 470Ω resistor. Sure, it costs 5,000 times more than ordering it from Mouser, but I don't … Continue reading Instant Gratification Isn’t Fast Enough
Your Kids Hate Using Money
Spending money might go obsolete. Think of the children! Many people think that you can forecast a technological revolution by watching the children. This was flaky at best, since 20th-century capitalism was centered around making money and kids are broke. You remember begging your parents for cash so you could buy a toy, right? Remember how … Continue reading Your Kids Hate Using Money
Why Don’t We Use Our Smartphones?
If computers are really ubiquitous, why do we argue over directions? Every few months, Google throws a big, catered event for Glass Explorers. It always turns into a pub crawl afterwards, but not before an infuriating ritual takes place: People argue over directions. These are Glass Explorers, so they're wearing a GPS on their heads. … Continue reading Why Don’t We Use Our Smartphones?
How to Launch Glassware from the IDE
Launching Glassware by hand sucks. Here's how to get Eclipse or Android Studio to do it automatically. You might assume that every time you deploy your Glassware, you have to launch it by voice or menu. It's an annoying waste of time, and it puts this unnerving warning in the DDMS console: What's going on here? Eclipse and … Continue reading How to Launch Glassware from the IDE
Making of the Voidstar StickyBud
I built the prototype of what became the StickyBud accessory for Google Glass in three hours. Here's the story. Back when MP3 players were hot, Oakley released the Thump, a pair of shades with an MP3 player. They had earbuds on articulating arms that snapped into the frame when you weren't listening. It was elegant … Continue reading Making of the Voidstar StickyBud
When Programs Write Programs
Humans are crappy coders. If an AI ever exists, it will completely reshape how we use programs. Us humans really suck at coding. We wrestle with the IDE and toolchain. We need hours of reading and diagramming to grok uncommented code. We get tired and cut corners. We rush and build unmaintainable house-of-cards projects. We get … Continue reading When Programs Write Programs
Zack Freedman 
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