Maker Faire 2007

I've been intrigued by the Sony Reader for ages, but hadn't actually tried one out until I visited the Sony booth at Maker Faire.

I was pleased to learn the Sony Reader is just as big, if not bigger than your average paperback, which means your eyes won't have to strain to look at the screen. I was also pleased to see how thin the reader is, and while I love the feeling of a nice paperback by the pool, I think I'd invest in a Reader to use when I am traveling.

The device uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (it apparently lasts for up to 7,500 "page turns"), and it recharges in about 4 hours when using AC wall charger or 6 hours with USB charging from powered computer. (Anyone besides me think that is a long charge time?) It costs $350.

I missed Spark Fun at this year's Maker Faire, but word is they displayed their Picture Frame Tetris, a string of 15 buttons pads and a bunch of ATmega8s programed to the rules of Tetris. The interactive game was made with "720 LEDs, 16 microcontrollers, and 10 pounds of wires, sweat, and code." I am shamelessly entertained.

Media designer Syuzi Pakhchyan embodies geek chic. Pakhchyan's studio Sparklab mixes culture, craft and technology by weaving circuitry into bags, jewelry, wristbands or bicycle safety jackets.

She displayed her tote bags decorated with circuits at this weekend's Maker Faire and drew a huge crowd of geeky girls (and guys!) intrigued by the totes as well as Pakhchyan's Do It Yourself kits which included a circuit which you can sew on to any fabric. "Do It Yourself" is the primary theme of the Maker Faire in general, so they were naturally a hit, but Pakhchyan's style and ingenuity were still standouts from the crowd.

To check out additional images of Sparklab's booth, read more

JiSun Lee's booth at this weekend's Maker Faire featured my favorite "science faire meets real life" art pieces. Lee pulled my boyfriend and I out of the crowd, pinned a white wedding veil on my head and put a bow tie on my boyfriend in record time (he didn't even have time to panic!) then led us to her interactive wedding cake. We were then instructed to push the buttons on the outside of the three-layer cake until the small bride and groom figures on the top of the cake got close enough to one another to kiss. It took us a few tries, but each try was filled with romantic geekiness. When we finally found the right buttons, the cake, which was made of plastic and all wired up, lit up and sang the traditional wedding song.

JiSun Lee created the interactive wedding cake and a more simple birthday cake with YouJeong Paik with the idea that they could increase the enjoyment of significant moments in people's lives. "I designed this cake with my baby and friend in mind," says Lee. "The birthday and wedding cakes need the user's input to turn on and blow out the LED candles. At the end of the user's experience, he or she will hear the greeting messages accompanied by music."

For a gallery of photos of the wedding and birthday cake, as well as a video of the cakes in action,  read more

One of the Maker Faire tables that seemed to draw the most attention from curious onlookers was Aphrodite Project, a series of new media artworks, including interactive, wearable platforms that are a "conceptual homage to the cult of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, a practical object for contemporary sex workers, and a vehicle for public dialogue." While the platforms may look snazzy, shiny and sexy, the platforms are primarily about safety - they feature an audible alarm system (it's a loud piercing alarm sound), a hidden safety compartment, a GPS system and a wireless guardian system to protect women who often have very little protection. Here's more:

An integrated system of shoes and online services, Platforms draws on the innovations of the courtesans and professional companions of antiquity to improve the conditions of 21st century women who, despite advances in culture and technology, are now perceived to be outlaws by trade and are vulnerable to surveillance and violence. Platforms empowers all women with tools to stay safe, wherever they want to go at night, without having to hide.

To check out additional images of the Aphrodite Project's heels ,  read more

This weekend thousands of geeks crowded into the San Mateo fairgrounds for Maker Faire, a celebration of crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself projects put on by Craft and Make Magazines. For those of you who have never attended the event it's a mixture of the world's largest science fair, a craft festival with a mini dose of Renaissance Faire (seriously, there were people jousting and dressed up in corsets, though I am still not 100 percent sure why). I will be sharing stories about some of my favorite geeks in attendance all week, but here is a little teaser of some of the most exciting exhibits at the event.

To check out more pictures from Maker Faire 2007,  read more