2008 Maker Faire

Poll

Which Is More Important, Chocolate's Texture or Flavor?

During this year's Maker Faire, geeky chocolate maker Tcho Chocolate was performing a taste-test.

During this year's Maker Faire, geeky chocolate maker Tcho Chocolate was performing a taste-test. Passerbys were given a sample of A, and a sample of B, and had to tell which they preferred.

Tcho is still developing their signature recipe, and have been tweaking things for the last several months. In this case, sample A was fruitier and had a nicer flavor, but it was chalky and I didn't like the texture. However sample B had a really smooth texture, with a deep chocolate aftertaste, but wasn't flavorful. I ended up voting for A, but noted that B had a better texture. Some of my friends voted for B because while they liked the flavor, they didn't like the chalkiness of A. So tell me, which would you have voted for? Is texture more important, or is flavor?

Books

Hit Up Next Year's Maker Faire As a Maker With DIY Books!

Not only did this year's Maker Faire offer lots of crafty-techie things to swoon over and purchase, some makers offered gifts of knowledge — like Syuzi Pakhchyan's upcoming book, Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro to Smart Crafting.

Not only did this year's Maker Faire offer lots of crafty-techie things to swoon over and purchase, some makers offered gifts of knowledge — like Syuzi Pakhchyan's upcoming book, Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro to Smart Crafting.

Her book and its crafts, including the Rock Star headphones in the gallery, make me want to whip out my sewing machine and put together these simple but clever geeky crafts for me and my friends.

Syuzi, whose résumé calls her a "roboticist" (how do I get that behind my name?!), represented at Maker Faire last year, too, so I couldn't be more stoked to read her book and start sewing. It starts shipping in August, so preorder yours now!

DIY

Maker Faire 2008: Geek Out!

At this year's Maker Faire, there were so many geeky goodies to check out, I seriously felt like a kid in a homemade candy shop.
Maker Faire 2008 Where the Geeks Go To Craft

At this year's Maker Faire, there were so many geeky goodies to check out, I seriously felt like a kid in a homemade candy shop. Held at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds in the SF Bay Area over the weekend, this is the place to show off your homemade inventions, crafts, and projects for the world to see. I love fun DIY projects, and even sometimes like to attempt something new myself, but these guys are totally on top of their game and would put me to shame any day!

I saw a few big hits from last year, and a lot of new eye candy to boot, so check out my slideshow and experience the Maker Faire for yourself!

DIY

Tales From Maker Faire 2008!

This past weekend tens of thousands of geeks and crafters from across the country crowded into the San Mateo fairgrounds (south of San Francisco) for the third annual Maker Faire, which has quickly become a geek Mecca.
Tales From Maker Faire 2008!

This past weekend tens of thousands of geeks and crafters from across the country crowded into the San Mateo fairgrounds (south of San Francisco) for the third annual Maker Faire, which has quickly become a geek Mecca. The event is a two-day extravaganza that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects, crafts, robots, and general geekery.

I will be bringing you coverage and stories throughout the week, but here is a preview of all the fantastic goodies!