Hackaday Hackerspace Henchmen == Free Stuff For You

October 7, 2013 by Mike Szczys 24 Comments

Are you a member of your local Hackerspace? Do you want some free stuff? Then you need to become one of the Hackaday Hackerspace Henchmen.

Hackerspaces are amazing places full of smart people pulling off delightful hacks. But often the outside world doesn’t hear about them. When a member completes a project they show it to the other members, quenching the need to share the awesomeness and ridding them of the drive which normally prompts someone to publish a post about it. We want to see what you’ve been up to at your Hackerspace, and making it public will help in sharing ideas between Hackerspaces. Send us the details and we’ll thank you with some swag in return, and with a few special rewards for the most exception hacks. Keep reading for prize details and how this is all going to work.

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New Ads – Please Whitelist Hackaday On Adblock

October 4, 2013 by Mike Szczys 163 Comments

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If you’ve been watching very closely you may have noticed that our ads have changed. If you didn’t know we run ads, I’m asking you to consider whitelisting Hackaday.com in your advertisement blocking browser plugin.

The plan to transition to advertisements which are more targeted for our interests was mentioned back in July, when Hackaday was purchased by SupplyFrame, I say ‘our’ interests because the companies who have signed up so far are ones with which I have personally done business when hacking my own projects. These include the manufacturers: Atmel, Microchip, NXP, and Texas Instruments as well as distributors: Arrow Electronics, Element 14, Mouser, and RS Components. The ads are in the exact same places as they have always been, at the same size, with the core belief that on-page advertising should be entirely unobtrusive. If you find the ads to be otherwise, please do let us know about it (screenshots are helpful!).

Hackaday highlights a steady stream of project features every single day. These are the best engineering-oriented hacks the web has to offer. There is some cost involved in do this, which we cover by including advertisements on our pages. Please don’t block the ads. If you haven’t been blocking, thank you! If you do use an Ad blocker, I certainly understand that you want to get away from ads that automatically play audio, flash annoying colors, or include inappropriate content. Our ads don’t do this. Please throw us a bone by adding our domain to your “whitelist”. This is very simple, and after the break I’ve included the instructions for doing so with Adblock Plus.

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Guest Rant: Ham Radio — Hackers’ Paradise

September 23, 2013 by Mike Szczys 157 Comments

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post written by [Bill Meara]

The suits at Hack-a-Day reached out to SolderSmoke HQ and asked me to send in a few words about why their readers should take a fresh look at ham radio. Here goes:

First, realize that today’s ham radio represents a tremendous opportunity for technical exploration and adventure. How about building a station (and software) that will allow you to communicate by bouncing digital signals off the moon? How about developing a new modulation scheme to send packets not down the fiber optic network, but around the world via the ionosphere, or via ham radio’s fleet of satellites? How about bouncing your packets off the trails left by meteors? This is not your grandfather’s ham radio.

You can meet some amazing people in this hobby: Using a very hacked-together radio station (my antenna was made from scrap lumber and copper refrigerator tubing) I’ve spoken to astronaut hams on space stations. Our “low power, slow signal” group includes a ham named Joe Taylor. Joe is a radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics. He’s now putting his software skills to use in the development of below-the-noise receiving systems for ham radio. Join me after the break for more on the topic. Continue reading “Guest Rant: Ham Radio — Hackers’ Paradise” →

Getting Your Feedback And A Staff Update

September 20, 2013 by Mike Szczys 40 Comments

Please join me in welcoming four new members to our crew. I published a post calling for applications almost two weeks ago. I wouldn’t say we were overwhelmed with applications. But I would say we were overwhelmed with qualified applicants. Hackaday writers need to be Jacks of all Trades in order to recognize and feature the best hacks from a wide range of disciplines. To this end we chose writers who have interests in areas what will complement those already represented by the team. I couldn’t be happier with the new contributors. Please join me in welcoming [James Hobson], [Todd Harrison], [Phillip Ryals], and [Adam Fabio]. They’ve already been hard at work dishing up fresh hacks, but you can learn more about their backgrounds by reading the biographies on our Staff Page.

You may have noticed a change this week. Although we’re an English language blog based in the United States, our statistics show readers throughout the world (in fact, almost a third of our writing team aren’t Americans). For this reason we changed our post scheduling earlier this week to a 24-hour cycle. This means more time between posts, and of course new posts being published in the middle of the night. Keep reading for a few more tidbits and a chance to give us your feedback.

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Hackaday Is Going To The NYC Maker Faire!

September 16, 2013 by Brian Benchoff 9 Comments

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In just a few short days, the greatest hackers and makers from all around the globe will descend on the Hall of Science in New York City to show off their wares. Our new guy [Adam] and myself will also be there, giving these makers our unending support, putting up a few posts about what they built, and giving out some Hackaday swag.

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How FindChips Started As A NASA Engineer’s Hack

September 9, 2013 by Mike Szczys 58 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting SupplyFrame to meet the new owners of Hackaday. The CEO, [Steve Flagg] asked me how we can introduce FindChips to the readers. I’m used to people trying to get things on our front page so I had the question ready for him: where’s the hack? Much to my surprise he was ready for me. “What if I tell you that it started as a hack by a NASA Engineer?”

It turns out he was right. He put me in contact with [Randy Sargent], the founder of FindChips.com. If you’ve ever hacked together a script to make your life easier you’ll want to listen to what Randy had to say. You never know when it’ll turn into a full-blown start-up.

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We’re Hiring

September 8, 2013 by Mike Szczys 50 Comments

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The title says it all. We need more writers to keep the fresh hacks coming, now’s your chance to apply for the job.

UPDATE: Thank you for all of the applications. I have made the first round of offers to a select few. Narrowing it down to a handful was difficult as so many highly qualified, avid readers sent in applications. You are still welcome to submit an application which we’ll keep on file, but I don’t anticipate making any more offers at this time.

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