I'm no programmer, but this just strikes me as brilliant. Simple and brilliant.

A pdf of Andy's paper on the subject — "Robust Computer Vision-Based Detection of Pinching for One and Two-Handed Gesture Input" (catchy title, eh) — can be downloaded here.

The Mono Live CD is a way for you to try out Linux, the Mono Framework 1.1.7, and the newest desktop applications without modifying your current computing environment.

Yes, you can absolutely install subversion on a Mac and use it in a terminal. But I've yet to see a good GUI solution for subversion on the mac. Tortoise SVN for Windows tops my list as the easiest to use SVN interface available (and as a Linux user, it pains me to say that). I've found a couple of contenders, but none has been able to fill the bill:

• SCPlugin is supposed to be a Finder plugin for SVN that works like Tortoise. However, when I installed it, it only downloaded about half of the repository, and didn't work at all on another machine. The development team on this one appears to be AWOL, as there's been no news for months.

• SvnX is a stand-alone solution (no Finder integration) that looks pretty nice. Unfortunately, they don't support authentication over http, and the software does a really bad job of telling you about that. It just times out waiting to connect to the repository.

Personally, I have no problems using terminal windows (I count it as a sad comment on the way I use the computer that my favorite thing about Expose is that you can watch several terminals at once). But most Mac users are accustomed to easy interfaces, and dropping them to the terminal is a little like opening the hood of a sports car to reveal a greasy, complicated engine. It works for us mechanics, but I'll never be able to have an artist version photoshop files with it.

I eagerly await the comment that proves me wrong, or, barring that, hate mail.

Over time, I've developed a system for dealing with paper notes. I take notes on a legal pad, and at the end of a meeting, I take all the pages I've written (usually just one or two), and fold them in half. Instead of ripping them off the legal pad (where they'll get lost), I tuck the bottom ends up under the pages. Since I fold all of the pages from one meeting together, I've got neat little groups of notes.

I was going to go snag a bunch of hanging files and start a file for each project for these notes. I hated that idea, since my file drawer is like my trash can, only I look at it less.

So I hit on a better idea: I fired up my trusty copy of IrfanView, dropped my notes pages on the scanner, and scanned them in as line art. I used IrfanView to create multipage tiffs. With compression, the tiffs are small and can be viewed by most fax programs, at sizes that would allow me to print things back out as I needed it. Then I cranked up subversion and put my notes right in the repository alongside my other project documentation.

Now my notes are readily available, and my file drawer can go back to its rightful purpose: storing extra cables that came with monitors and printers.

This nostalgic toy is recognized by many generations and we decided to put a new spin on the device. Most Americans are familiar with the two knob design which allows a user to control the movement of a stylus by turning each knob. The left knob controls horizontal motion and the right knob moves the stylus vertically. Turning both knobs at the same time causes the stylus to draw out a diagonal line. We decided to mount a stepper motor on each knob and control those with the Atmel Mega 32. By connecting a serial mouse to the microcontroller and using our line drawing algorithm, we could move the stylus directly by moving the mouse. The ability to record movements and play them back is available for creating more interesting designs.

I wonder what this will do to those 'etch-a-sketch artist' folks who make portraits by grinding away for hours on end.

Via hack-a-day.