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Google Cardboard and the DODOcase

If you haven’t heard about Google Cardboard it is because the INTERNET IS MADE OF HEATHENS. The Page for Google Cardboard states “David Coz and Damien Henry at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris built a cardboard smartphone housing to prototype VR experiences as part of a 20% project. The results elicited so many oohs and ahs that they inspired a larger group to work on an experimental SDK.” it’s basically VR on your Android phone.

So why haven’t we heard of these oohs, or indeed aahs? Perhaps the DIY approach is mostly something for the modding scene; the creatives. I like building things myself. But I also love buying low-cost products from independent companies. I didn’t have to measure it up, or pick up an NFC Tag – I just ordered my kit from DODOcase. Assembly took 10 minutes.

DODOcase 3

DODOcase 4

DODOcase 5

DODOcase 2

DODOcase 1

The list of components to make your own Cardboard VR headset includes the exact magnet pieces and lenses, so if you want to make your own, you’ll want to do it with some sagely advice: It is fucking awesome. No hyperb. The VR effect you get is pretty mindblowing. I tested this on a Samsung S4. I was concerned there would be too much light leakage, like some kind of Lomo effect with it held to my head. It is nothing like that. The simplest ideas are the best. Standing in the middle of my living room, I watched YouTube videos on a screen in the centre of a virtual cinema and scanned my head around a floating auditorium where I could pick videos to watch with the tug of a magnetic ring. My right-hand was outstretched like a victim of a triffid attack. Flipping the magnetic ring to make selections.

I walked around a sample Google Street, visiting a location in virtual reality. Imagine taking the walk to a job interview ahead of time? Or visiting places you’ve been to and have fond memories of. I’d like to see how this could be coupled with augmented reality.

I viewed artifacts in 3D, which ironically would have been a better place to show off a 3D design recently than my own cardboard maquette and certainly would have saved my integrity.

I’ve found myself packing it in my bag to show off to people. The price is low and the assembly is simple. If you have an Android phone, are handy with a scalpel and some double sided tape, you need to get on this now.

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The Gameboy Pocket That’s Big On Content

The Raspberry Pi has quickly gained a cult following over the past few years, and this mod is not the first to squeeze the board into a Gameboy case. What really sets this mod apart is the fact that it is crammed into a Gameboy Pocket case and is an excellent compromise between aesthetics and function.

Original Pocket on left, modified shell with Raspberry Pi on the right
Original Pocket on left, modified shell with Raspberry Pi and other components on the right

The build, created by Travis Brown, features original Gameboy Pocket buttons driven by a Teensy 2.0 board to output button presses as if it were a QWERTY keyboard which interfaces with the Rasp Pi. The 2.5″ backlit color screen is suitable for emulating many consoles (NES, Gameboy Color, Master System, and Game Gear) and even playing games such as DOOM. Other aesthetics carried over include using the original headphone jack and AC adapter, as well as the volume potentiometer and power switch. Borrowing from its younger brother the Gameboy Advance (SP), the power indicator LED is two-colored to indicate charge level and charging status. The mod uses very little original code, just what was written for the Teensy to work with Gameboy buttons. Otherwise, everything made use of existing code created by the Rasp Pi community. The rechargeable battery provides about 3 hours of uptime per charge, but it can also be played while charging, extending its playability considerably. A brilliant application of thoughtful design and resourceful repurposement of parts that easily could have been discarded, this mod can be bragged on for authenticity as well as innovation. Check out the full build log here, and to see a the beginnings of a Raspberry Pi – Gameboy build in progress by OhmNohmNohm’s very own Michael Television, check out this post.

Overall, this thing looks really really good. I have a passion for hobby programming and retro games, and the pair of broken Gameboy Pockets in my closet make attempting such a project myself look very feasible. In the build log linked above, the parts list helps prove just how possible it is to do this mod on a tight budget. Perhaps one could be for gaming, the other a portable pirate box or music station. Let me know what you think! Please like, comment, or share!

Expect to be hearing more from me in the near future.
Max

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Shifts in Making: Alex McClay

I met Alex McClay during our sophomore year of college in a special studio class, awarded to outgoing freshman the previous year for exemplary work. We gravitated towards each other because we follow a similar philosophy when it comes to creating– we are both very passionate photographers. Alex just graduated recently from the University of Cincinnati with a BFA and a minor in Psychology. In her work, she focuses in book-making, sculpture, and photography and uses her knowledge from all three to create dialogues between traditional and contemporary formats and aesthetics, as well as  between “objects” and “art objects” .

When it comes to the shift towards the digital era of technology and creativity, an artist must ask themselves why they choose the material or medium in which they work. Sometimes we may find ourselves magnetized by the appeal of digital formats, moreso because the artist can make a prolific amount of work. Alex is a very talented book maker; in fact, she traveled to Italy this past year to perfect the craft of hand-bounded books. This is a very “analog” and traditional method in crafting a book and lends an insane amount of detail to the final piece. Alex explains that although this task may be tedious and often difficult, the long and intense process is very meditative for her.

Bound - Alex McClay Bound - detail - Alex McClay

However, she asked herself what more could be done to a book. What could show the shift in how a book is made or what a book is made out of? Or more importantly, how we interact with books now that digital media has eclipsed how we even relate to a book. Alex answers these questions in her plexiglas book sculpture series by using her traditional knowledge of book-binding and a Rapid Prototyping Machine. The machine cuts the design into the plexi-glass and Alex binds them together in order to emulate the traditional idea of a book, yet still giving it a new context to exist. The result is an uncanny version of a book, still tangible yet transcendent from “object” to “art-object.” It may have pages, but the way in which we read the text has changed entirely: it is difficult and sometimes impossible to read these books, lending them useless in the traditional context. This could be interpreted as a commentary towards how we relate to reading in an almost purely digital-only format; therefore rendering making bound books useless.

Safe Footsteps - Alex McClay   Safe Footsteps - detail - Alex McClay

 

Oh See of Course I Didn't - Alex McClay Jacobs Ladder - detail - Alex McClay

The constant upward curve of technological advances indeed makes aspects in our lives easier through communication, documentation, and even creating. But what it also does is propel a movement back to the old school, but not out of spite: to breathe life into something that may be considered “kitsch” to most and make it new. Traditional and old methods can now live in a new context within our technologically-centered society, rendering them somehow both ironic and sentimental. Nostalgia is not just for geeks, but for people who simply enjoy resurrecting the obsolete in a world where easy can be redundant.

 

To see more of Alex’s works, including her newest series featuring obsolete machines “In Media Res,” check out her website.

If you would like to purchase a one-of a kind artwork from Alex, you may reach her on Facebook .

 

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Alley Beach – CMOY 1.0 and 1.1 – micro amplifier, massive sound

I recently received a parcel through the post with a California post stamp on it. I was super-pumped, because Scott was sending me one of his CMOYs: a tiny, symetrical board, mini-jack in and out, potentiometer and LEDs that amplifies anything you plug into it to the max. It was mounted, fairly neatly in a Tazo tin. Sadly, the California customs decided that even though it was leaving the country, it needed its face smashed in, even if it didn’t  have one. It arrived broken with a few leads snapped. It must have been used as a football.

Brilliantly though, its a kit that you put together yourself, so I just fixed it under his instructions with a couple of solder spots and it was up and running.

Because I wanted to paint the Tazo tin, I got viciously annoyed with the amount of adhesive on the tin and set up a tiny replacement box instead while I wait to get some paint thiner. The replacement box originally came with a foam insert for the mouse. I ditched that. The beauty of this tin is that you can see inside the board and LED.

CMOY Tin 1
CMOY in tin – Front
CMOY Tin 2
CMOY in tin – Top

The sound that you get out of this thing is MASSIVE. Why would you need such a thing? It’s a fun piece of kit to have around. It’s small. It’s fun and simple to make and it can amplify a hell of a lot in such a tiny box. Perfect for amping up Gameboys, Toy pianos, Speak and Spells. There’s a revision coming shortly and we’ll make these available. With the kit placed at about ten dollars, it’s hella cheap and hella fun.