Casey Neistat Starts a Technology Blog
If you love YouTube, chances are you know Casey Neistat, the filmmaker famous for his epic Nike FuelBand commercial, Make it Count, and his stint on HBO with The Neistat Brothers. Today he announced on Facebook that he intends to start blogging on technology. In a blog post published today on Medium.com, Neistat alludes to his childhood love of electronics, telephony, and the general connected-ness he relies on (two smartphones and a Google Glass) for his constantly on-the-go filmmaker lifestyle.
As one of the most modern film making talents around, Neistat is offering a great opportunity for fans to learn from someone on the bleeding edge. Neistat is also known for owning dozens of cameras and, generally, the latest and greatest in tech, so we can only hope he keeps up with it. For the full blog post, check below:
I am a huge technology dork. Mostly my enthusiasm is for little gadgets that fit in my pocket or back pack but social platforms and also occupy way more of my brain space then they should. I’m hoping this platform, Medium, will serve as a place for me to stick those thoughts.
Where to begin. Well. I currently carry two cell phones. I would carry a third but my pants only afford for two. They’re entirely redundant and with little exception carrying two only doubles the amount of time wasted staring into their tiny glowing screens of nothingness. But, alas, I carry two. I used to also always carry a camera, a little one like the canon s120, but cell phones have gotten good enough that they serve for a quick photo or video when there’s something urgent to capture. Anything more than an urgent capture and I can pull my big camera, usually a markiii, out of my back pack. I also shoot a lot of video on my google glass but that’s another post entirely.
I’ve been captivated by mobile hardware as long as I can remember. When I was little (a child of the 80′s) I fantasized about riding my bike and talking on the phone at the same time! what a novel thought. That consideration then involved a large spool of phone cable attached to my bike with a winding mechanism and a rotary phone mounted between the handlebars. I still vividly remember talking on Joe’s mom’s MicroTac from Stop and Shop, the moment I lost my cell phone virginity. “Jordan, (my big sister) I am on a cell phone right now!’ as if she gave a shit.
I have been thinking about a way to share my tech thoughts for a while, really I wanted to start a YouTube channel with all tech focused movies but my lovely wife talked me out of it. She said it would distract me from making my other YouTube movies, she’s right-she usually is.
Via: Facebook
Source: Medium.com
AwesomeCon Overview: A Weekend of Comics, Cosplay, and General Sci-Fi Bliss
AwesomeCon was a unique experience for us at Tech Void, and we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. It’s not a consumer tech event, and most of the scene revolves around hands-on meta hobbies like trading card games, ink-drawn comicbook art, and beautiful, sexy, and awesome hand-sewn costumes.
Of course, celebrities from the sci-fi films and television were also in Washington this weekend, bringing the characters to life out of their written origins. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), Jewel Staite (FireFly), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), and even Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson were nearby. Even Sean Astin, the renowned hobbit, made an appearance. And several Power Rangers? Between the amazing costumes (and there were many) and the plethora of creative materials and artists, it was a brilliant experience to say the least.
Below you’ll find our grand photo album of what and who we saw there:
Two High School Students Solve the Wet Ketchup Problem
It’s the age-old gripe: watery condiments on your sandwich. You know how it is. You shake, you squirt, and all that comes out of your Heinz bottle is watery ketchup–soaking your bread, french fries, and soul into wet misery. Two high school seniors looking to solve this exact problem got a chance when they enrolled in Liberty North High School’s Project Lead the Way program.
Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson (Brothers in Ketchup) spent their school year designing a simple piece of plastic to separate the water residue in ketchup bottles from the blissful tomato paste during a squirt. Using computer software and their school’s epic technology resources, the two 3D-printed their prototypes and tested it to success. Check out the full interview with the duo in KCPTOnline’s video below:
The students said they aren’t looking just yet to patent the plastic piece, but we’re curious if Hunt’s or Heinz would try to buy them out anyway.
Via: PopSci
Source: KCPTOnline
R2DC Brings R2-D2 Building to AwesomeCon 2014
There’s something to be said for Sci-Fi and tech aficionados and their passion for Star Wars at AwesomeCon 2014 this weekend. You can’t make half a turn around before seeing a Stormtrooper, Boba Fett or a RC-controlled R2-D2. As one would have it, we went over to meet Washington DC’s R2 Builders group, R2DC.
In the tutorial below, one of their members talked to us about his fully functioning RC-controlled R2-D2 robot that’s been a hit at AwesomeCon this weekend. The wheels spin, the dome (head) turns, and R2 can make any of the official Star Wars noises using the track list uploaded to an on-board microUSB. He can also last an entire day on his two 12-volt, 20ah batteries when the dome lights aren’t on.
R2 runs on two scooter motors and uses a 2.4 Ghz remote control (same used in a model airplane) to be controlled. Sounds are played using a standard RF remote with fifteen different buttons. R2DC didn’t tell me how fast he moved, but said R2-D2 was on “low” as to not run over children.
Google’s “Project Ara” Looks Super Awesome
When it comes to phone customization, users these days don’t have much power. Take the iPhone, for example. Apple’s engineers made it impossible for the average user to crack open the iPhone to replace its battery, forcing consumers to go to the store to get it fixed. (Thanks a lot, guys.)
