Making Things Talk

OK, it’s been a while since I’ve checked in. We here at Uncommon have been a little swamped (more on those projects in another post). Anyway, we’re pleased to announce that the ybox (picture p.114-woot!) has made it into a book written by Tom Igoe and released by O’Reilly. We’re even more pleased to announce the book rocks! Wow, if a book like that existed 10 years ago… Tom’s done an incredible job of helping this fledgling idea we call Physical Computing grow. Tom has tirelessly writen books, taught classes and maintained the world’s most helpful site on the topic. If any of you are interested in getting your hands dirty with this stuff, Making Things Talk is the most clear and most accessible way to do it. It tells you what tools you’ll need, what suppliers to use, it gives you code snippets and explains abstract concepts like communications protocols while keeping the focus on the actual making of stuff. Really cool, and such an thrill for the ybox to be referenced in it!

ybox2

This would also be a good opportunity to give a shout out to another friend of the ybox, one Mssr. D’arco. Darco was one of our classmates from the Maker Faire last year and decided that while he liked the ybox, there were some changes he wanted to see made. And so he made them: Behold the ybox2! How cool is that thing!? I have to say I thought the ybox was a real pregnant idea–thin, cheap (ish), open, TV-enabled client. And I wish we had had more time to explore it and develop it. So it just makes me feel like a giddy grandpa to see the idea continue to grow. One of my favorite improvements is he managed to cut the materials cost in half. Way to go Darco, keep us posted on your progress :)