cool

Please buy me on of these stealth helicopter R/C toys. They're only 30 dollars and are available from everybody's favorite store: thinkgeek.

This here is one o' them fancy japanese analog synthesizers. It will synthesize fighting robots, dancing robots, sad robots, and tentacle rape. This is a kit, so the electronics and knobs come in a box and you have to put it together yourself, instead of having some azn kid do it. I think that's neat because I'd like to use my own custom knobs and maybe electrocute myself a couple times while putting it together.

This video from The Citizen Engineer is just awesome! Learn how to use a payphone for your home or voip calls! Learn how to modify the payphone so that it accepts quarters again! Then learn how to use a redbox on your very own phone!

WTF? Nobody knows!

Also, hax0r your sim cardz.

Ok, so first impression is that this is a gimmick guitar. Wrong. It's ok, I thought that too. Remember that this is Moog so you know it's going to be something at least really cool. Well they didn't disappoint. Here's what's so cool about it from the website:

What makes this guitar so special?

The Moog Guitar Electronics add an unparalleled range of expression to the Moog Guitar:

FULL SUSTAIN MODE - like no other sustainer; infinite sustain on every string, at every fret position and at any volume. You may have heard sustain before but not with this power (we call it “Vo Power”) and clarity.

CONTROLLED SUSTAIN MODE - allows you to play sustained single or polyphonic lines without muting technique. The Moog Guitar sustains the notes you are playing while actively muting the strings you are not playing.

MUTE MODE - removes energy from the strings, resulting in a variety of staccato articulations. The mute mode has never been heard on any other guitar; the Vo Power stops the strings with the same intensity that it sustains them. You feel the instrument transform in your hands.

HARMONIC BLENDS – use the included foot pedal to shift the positive energy of Vo Power in Sustain mode and the subtractive force of Vo Power in Mute mode between the bridge and neck pick-ups to pull both subtle and dramatic harmonics from the strings.

MOOG FILTER - control the frequency of the built-in, resonant Moog ladder filter using the foot pedal or a CV Input.


Moog Guitar Controls

There are five knobs:

Vo Power- this is the amount of coherent power that is applied to the strings to either sustain or mute them.

Piezo Blend- blends the piezo output with the Moog pick-ups.

Harmonic Balance- shifts the Vo Power (sustain/mute) power between the neck and bridge pick-up. In the center position the power is balanced between the neck and bridge.

Master Volume- controls overall volume including both the Moog Pick-up output as well as the piezos.

Tone/Filter- controls both tone and the resonance of the Moog ladder filter dependent upon the position of the Filter Mode Toggle switch.


There are three switches:

Moog Guitar Mode determines the application of the Vo Power. There are three positions: Sustain, Controlled Sustain, and Mute

Filter Mode Toggle with three positions: Standard Guitar Tone, an articulated Moog filter (e.g similar to an auto-wah), and classic Moog Ladder filter

Five Position Pick-up Selector Switch: Piezo, Bridge only, Out of Phase, In Phase, Neck only.

Ok, blah blah blah with the tech specs. Watch the video. You'll get it. Sadly, they're not coming to North America yet.

 

This is Omer Yosha's AirPiano. The device plays notes based on the proximity of your hands to a bunch of infrared light sensors. It really is a beautiful mix of a theremin and a normal piano. Yosha says:

I’m an Interface Design student from the FH Potsdam (near Berlin), i have a musical background, and the idea to create an AirPiano developed as i was playing around with the Arduino board, Processing and some IR sensors in my free time. It was fun controlling MIDI through moving my hands in the air, so i eventually found a way to set it all up in a way that makes sense and that is easy to control.
The concept behind the AirPiano is having a matrix in the air, with virtual keys & faders. The location of each key must be very clear for the user and easily learnt. The AirPiano is therefore only one example of an application that could adopt this concept. Since it is only the first prototype i built, it features at the moment a matrix with 3 layers, 8 keys for each layer. As long as a key is triggered, a note plays and an LED underneath the virtual key turns on (unfortunately it is hard to see it on the videos). The LEDs give the user additional feedback. The device is connected through USB and communicates with the AirPiano Software, which allows the user to assign each key/fader with a Note/Controller number, Channel and Velocity as well as transpose and save/load presets. The AirPiano Software can communicate with any MIDI instrument/sequencer. It is of course a polyphonic controller.
The AirPiano is not only fun to play, it also invites to experiment, to explore endless arrangements and develop new playing techniques. It might be useful for DJ performance, as a music therapy instrument or as a toy.
I’m at the moment trying to look for investors and people that could help me take this idea further. I presented the prototype two months ago in the Hannover Messe and received very good feedback. The concept is protected as a Provisional U.S. Patent Application.

Neat!