Microsoft brings Minority Report hover keyboards to life

Microsoft's research division has released a video detailing a design developed for an augmented mechanical keyboard. It appears to offer a novel way of interacting with devices that blends together the work of a keyboard, mouse and touchscreen into a single module.

The keyboard is designed to allow users to type using a combination of traditional desktop actions and natural gestures such as touching and swiping. The goal is, unsurprisingly, to make typing and navigation faster and easier by allowing users to transfer immediately between text entry and gestures without having to move their hands away from the standard typing position.

By: Katie Collins,

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Arduino Donations 2014: we are open to suggestions!

Once again this year Arduino will make a donation ( for a total of 30,000 USD) to promote open source culture and innovation. This year, Arduino is also soliciting suggestions: throughout 2014, we are asking our community to highlight the 10 organizations which would best benefit from Arduino support. Arduino is based on the contribution […]



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Stress Testing Injected Hot Glue for Solid, Fast, Cheap 3D Prints

Can you make solid, functional prints quickly and cheaply by printing them hollow and filling them with hot glue? Yes, you can.

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Arduino’s Servo Library: Angles, Microseconds, and “Optional” Command Parameters

A closer look at Arduino's servo library and the optional parameters you should be aware of.

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New Project: Computer Power Supply to Bench Power Supply Adapter

This design for an external adapter lets you use a computer power supply without modifying it.

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Could tricks from behavioural science help make city cycling safer?

Research suggests the use of symbols can help drivers identify cyclists more quickly giving them more time to react and provide a shortcut to feelings of empathy and vulnerability

Six more smart cycle safety gadgets

"It's that screech of tyres behind you which makes your heart jump into your mouth," says behavioural consultant Crawford Hollingworth. "I've had some close calls as a cyclist in London and Oxford. Almost every day, friends who cycled to the office would arrive with a story of how they'd had to brake to avoid a car because someone didn't quite see them, or how a wing mirror had caught their arm."

A regular Boris bike user himself, Hollingworth decided to apply some of the techniques honed in his work to the issue of urban cycle safety. The result was Brainy Bike Lights, which uses the familiar icon of a bike and rider to speed up a driver's identification of a cyclist and, hopefully, an associated sense of their vulnerability.

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Bird wing motion study created with nothing more than tongue depressors and paper

Check out this awesome kinetic model of bird wings. The model was created by design student Joyce Lin and is made of nothing more than tongue depressors, paper, and tape. Amazing!

Via Laughing Squid .

[ Thanks Cameron ! ]

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Go to Maker Faire UK, but don’t let them crush your car

We're now less than a week away from the premier maker event in the UK, the Maker Faire UK which will be held at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne this weekend.

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Racket Racket Sessions

Very pleased to announce a new monthly RR daytime music session at The Arches Cafe Bar in Glasgow. Last Sat of the month from 2pm onwards.



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How to make your own Primo prototype using digital fabrication and Arduino boards

Primo‘s team sent us exciting news from their HQ about their contribution to the open source community. After the successful Kickstarter campaign to launch the wooden play-set that uses shapes, colours and spacial awareness to teach programming logic through a tactile, warm and magical learning experience, they took a step further. They released all the […]



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New online resource: The Audio Arts archive

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MAKLab Move Shop

On Monday 7th March 2014 MAKLab opened it’s doors at their new premises in Charing Cross. They started off in Gallery 1 of The Lighthouse and after nearly 2 years in that space decided it was time to move. With a sterling effort from staff and volunteers the move was completed in only 2 weeks. […]



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Floaters

With the huge countdown clock appearing above the departure board at Central Station, excitement for the Commonwealth Games has stepped up. The nine digit clock had initially shown 128 days to the opening ceremony before somebody switched it off and on again to get the correct number of 135 days. This minor glitch of 7 […]



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The World’s First Open Source Laptop Makes its Debut

A computer only a hacker could love.

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