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I just came across this really interesting instructable about controlling motors with the Arduino. It looks like a really simple, and cheap, way to use an L293D chip for use in robotics. Check out the link for all the details and code.

After long research and trial and error, I have came up to a new walkthrough regarding this nice chip, the L293D.Each project is one project and each one has its own unique power configurations, so you must be aware of the best battery choice and how to distribute voltage through your robot.

More about Controlling your motors with an L293D and Arduino

In the Maker Shed:

Makershedsmall

Arduino Family

Make: Arduino

This post has been written by Marc de Vinck on Apr 28, 2009 01:00 AM couresy of makezine.com.


Anticipated for months, Samsung’s first Android phone is finally a (paper) reality after being flushed through the rumor mill just hours ago. Launching "in major European countries from June," the 11.9-mm slim quad-band GSM, tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (900/1700/2100MHz) candybar packs a 3.2-inch, 420 x 480 pixel AMOLED touchscreen, WiFi, GPS, 5 megapixel camera with Power LED, 1,500mAh battery, 8GB of storage (plus MicroSD expansion for up to 32GB more), and a standard 3.5mm heasdset jack. Step aside HTC, you had your chance, let’s all welcome Samsung to the Android party. Full press release after the break.

April 27, 2009, Seoul, Korea – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today unveiled the I7500, its first Android-powered mobile phone. With a launch of I7500, Samsung became the first company among the global top three mobile phone manufacturers to unveil an Android-powered phone.

"Samsung is among the earliest members of the Open Handset Alliance and has been actively moving forward to introduce the most innovative Android mobile phone," said JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communication Division in Samsung Electronics. "With Samsung’s accumulated technology leadership in mobile phone industry and our consistent strategy to support every existing operating system, I believe that Samsung provides the better choices and benefits to our consumers" he added.

The Samsung I7500 is a cutting-edge smartphone, featuring a 3.2" AMOLED full touch screen and 7.2Mbps HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, giving users access to Google™ Mobile services and full web browsing at blazing speeds.

The Samsung I7500 offers users access to the full suite of Google services, including Google Search™, Google Maps™, Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Calendar™, and Google Talk™. The integrated GPS receiver enables the comprehensive use of Google Maps features, such as My Location, Google Latitude, Street View, local search and detailed route description. Hundreds of other applications are available in Android Market. For example, the application Wikitude, a mobile travel guide, allows consumers to access details of unknown sights via location-based Wikipedia articles.

Based on Samsung’s proven product leadership, Samsung I7500 comes with latest multimedia features. The large and vivid 3.2"AMOLED display ensures the brilliant representation of multimedia content and enjoyable full touch mobile experience. Along with supporting a 5-megapixel camera and various multimedia codec formats, the I7500 also provides a long enough battery life (1500mAh) and generous memory capacity up to 40GB (Internal memory: 8GB, External memory: Up to 32GB) to enjoy all the applications and multimedia content. The phone also boasts its slim and compact design with mere 11.9mm thickness.

The Samsung I7500 will be available in major European countries from June, 2009.

HSDPA 7.2Mbps / HSUPA 5.76Mbps (900 / 1700/ 2100MHz)

EDGE / GPRS (850/ 900/1800/1900)

OS

Android

Display

3.2" HVGA(320×480) AMOLED

Camera

5 MP Camera (Auto Focus), Power LED

Video / Audio

Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV

Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA, RA

Value Added

Features

Full Web Browser Google Search, Maps, Gmail,

YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Android Market

Connectivity

Bluetooth® 2.0, USB 2.0, WiFi, MicroUSB, 3.5mm ear jack

Memory

Internal memory: 8GB

External memory: Micro SD (Up to 32GB)

Battery

1500 mAh

Size

115 x 56 x 11.9mm

* Google, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google Talk are trademarks of Google Inc.

This post has been written by Thomas Ricker on Apr 27th 2009 at 5:49AM couresy of engadget.com.

Obviously, lots of players takes guild recruitment seriously, as they should. But how seriously do we take guild drama?

Assuming it’s not directly affecting us, most of us love guild drama and revel in other players’ dysfunction. I haven’t checked the numbers – I’m too lazy – but it really wouldn’t surprise me if Guildwatch was one of the more popular columns over on WoW Insider. I know it’s one of my favourites.

I like to think that I’m a fairly decent bloke – I try not to laugh at other people’s misfortunes, and I don’t like to rub a person’s nose in their own failings, but God help me, I can’t get enough of Guildwatch.

How far would you go to forestall the breakup of your guild? At the end of the day, if your guild leader decides to hit the big /gdisband button, it’s not like you can physically stop them, short of some questionable activities you’d find difficult explaining to the police.

This post has been written by Craig Withers on Apr 26th 2009 at 8:00PM couresy of massively.com.

jsdsWhen it comes to startups in the online personal finance sphere, most people think of Mint. But another player in the space, Wesabe, has been holding its own as well, seeing some nice growth in the past year. Which one you use is probably a matter of personal taste, but perhaps you were mesmerized by Mint’s slick iPhone app. Well, now Wesabe has one as well.

So how do the apps stack up? Well, there are two key differences: Mint’s looks nicer, but Wesabe’s is more dynamic. What I mean by that is, with Mint’s iPhone app you can only see an overview of your finances, and look at things like the budget you set up online. With Wesabe’s iPhone app, everything is editable. And that’s a nice feature because more than a few times with Mint, I have seen a transaction categorized wrong, but had to login on my computer to edit it.

One cool feature that comes out of this ability to edit and add transactions from the app is that you can use your phone’s GPS to geo-locate wherever you made a purchase. This means you won’t have to type out the name of every merchant if you really want to take a hands-on approach and enter every purchase you make manually. The app also allows you to tag items on the fly, which is core to Wesabe’s offering.

If you’re really worried about security, you’re probably not going to use either of these apps. But one nice thing Wesabe’s features is a separate security layer that allows you to set a password for accessing the app. This is great if you don’t have a password set on your iPhone and worry about losing your phone and someone seeing your finances.

Wesabe’s iPhone app gives you access to all the accounts you set up online through the service. Unfortunately, while you can sign up for a Wesabe account through the app, you cannot import any bank accounts or credit card accounts through it — you’ll have to go to a computer to do that. Wesabe CEO Marc Hedlund tells me that functionality will be available in an upcoming release of the iPhone app.

Ultimately, the choice of which app you’re going to use on the iPhone will come down to which service you use. But if you’re deciding which to sign up for and being able to edit your finances easily on a mobile device is important to you, than Wesabe may be a good choice.

Find the Wesabe app available for free in the iTunes App Store.

This post has been written by MG Siegler on April 27, 2009 couresy of techcrunch.com.

This week in gaming we had a game hit early at retail, and then get hit even harder by piracy. Chinatown Wars on the DS didn’t have the best start when it comes to sales numbers, and JAKKS Pacific shows us a great way to bring classic arcade games home. Let’s take a look at what stories people were talking about in the world of gaming.

Demigod hit by massive piracy; review scores take beating: Demigod publisher Stardock ran into a very unexpected problem when the game launched: around 100,000 more online players than expected. The number of legit connections? 18,000. Piracy can hurt review scores, as well as consumer confidence, especially when the stolen copies of the game flood servers, and there’s no easy solution to the problem. Being anti-DRM, pro-gamer may have given Stardock CEO Brad Wardell much press, but it could have lead to a disastrous launch for his company’s newest game.

DS Chinatown Wars flops badly, selling under 100,000 units: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars sold much lower than expected, failing to crack 100,000 last month. This is bad news for the game, but it could be even worse news for gamers looking forward to more grown-up fare on Nintendo’s portable.

JAKKS Pacific brings the arcade home… for under $50: JAKKS Pacific releases another product aimed at the older gamer, with a retro-themed TV Game that includes an impressive collection of classic games. Some graphical issues aside, this is more than worth the money.

Ninja Blade is silly, B-movie joy on the Xbox 360: Ninja Blade takes the combat from Ninja Gaiden, mixes it with a dead serious tone and hilariously overwrought dialog, and shakes the whole thing through action sequences that a coke-addled Michael Bay would never dream of. It’s not great, but it’s far from bad.

The Crystal Returns: hands on with Final Fantasy XIII: Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most anticipated games of the generation, and we’ve gone hands-on with the first playable version of Square-Enix’s would-be masterpiece. Find out how the Japanese giant is bringing its most prolific franchise into the current generation.

Fallout coming to Vegas in 2010, Obsidian developing: Fallout is on the move—a new entry in the post-apocalyptic RPG series has been announced, which will take place in Las Vegas. The developer? Obsidian Entertainment.

First PS2 game produced in India garners Hindu protest: The first PS2 game developed in India and marketed towards Hindus everywhere has managed to generate criticism for the way it depicts the god Hanuman.

GamerDNA wants to do for gaming what Last.fm did for music: GamerDNA watches what you play, how long you play it, and tracks what you like. This lets you meet other people, buy games you know you’ll be interested in, and the industry gets a snapshot of what gamers like and why. We interview CEO Jon Radoff about how to make money from gaming habits, and how to find women in World of Warcraft.

Microsoft confirms 360 bundle with Halo 3, Fable 2: Microsoft confirms what we already knew: there is a $400 bundle coming: an Xbox 360 Elite system, Halo 3, and Fable 2. That’s basically an Elite with two free games, but at least they picked two must-have games for the system.

Be sure to visit Opposable Thumbs for your daily gaming fix.

This post has been written by Ben Kuchera on April 25, 2009 2:30 PM couresy of arstechnica.com.

This post has been written by Collin Cunningham on Apr 26, 2009 02:00 AM couresy of makezine.com.


In an effort to … ahem … coolly persuade Canadian members of Parliament towards passing future anti-piracy legislation, the Canadian ESA hosted 10 "MPs" this past Tuesday in Ottawa. With the intention of "updating politicians on the condition of the Canadian gaming industry," the event showcased a variety of games developed in Canada and helped to educate lawmakers on the effects Canadian game development has on the country’s economy, according to Canada.com.

Danielle Parr, executive director of the ESAC, told the MPs that Canada is the, "third-largest game developer in the world, behind only the U.S. and Japan" and urged them to pass legislation banning the sale of mod chips, apparently still not illegal in the country. In hilariously stereotypical fashion, MP Mike Lake "took a break from playing the popular video game NHL 09" and spoke to the event’s cause, saying legislation should be passed "in this Parliament," which is to say by 2010. This is a decidedly different tactic than those employed in the past by the ESAC and seems to be significantly more effective, no?

[Via GamePolitics]

This post has been written by Ben Gilbert on Apr 25th 2009 at 2:00AM couresy of joystiq.com.



Hi-Rez Studios have updated their answer center for their upcoming MMO, Global Agenda, which enters beta later this year. The game, which they are describing as spy-fi, is set on a post world war three earth that is ruled by an oppressive global government and promises to feature 3rd person fast-paced combat.

Although most of the information has been previously available, the updated site does contain useful information such as reiterating that the game will be subscription based, contains PvE content as well as PvP and will rely heavily on instances in order to provide battles that will allow 10 players on each side. Perhaps most importantly, the site confirms that the game does not feature elves.

This post has been written by Jon Shute on Apr 24th 2009 at 8:00PM couresy of massively.com.

Google and many consumers and analysts had high expectations for the open source Android operating system when it launched on the T-Mobile G1 about six months ago. However, the operating system and the device got off to a shaky start and so far, there are still relatively few Android devices on the market.

Android is finally finding its footing in the market and Google predicts that this will be a big year for the operating system. T-Mobile announced this week that since the G1 launched six months ago the handset has now sold a million units. The G1 debuted in October 2008 and has had several updates to add functionality and fix bugs in the operating system.

DailyTech reported in early April 2009 that T-Mobile is planning to move more of its smartphones over to the Android OS and other reports show that T-Mobile also plans to release a home phone running the Android OS.

Android is also being eyed by some computer makers to move outside the smartphone realm and into the netbook market. HP announced in early April 2009 that it was considering using the Android operating system on netbooks. However, the computer giant also pointed out that it was considering many options and the decision had not yet been made on Androids HP future.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, "There are announcements happening between now and the end of the year that are quite significant from operators and new hardware partners in the Android space, which I won’t preannounce except to say that they really do fulfill much of the vision that we laid out more than a year ago. On the netbook side, there are a number of people who have actually taken Android and ported it over to netbook or netbook-similar devices."

This post has been written by Shane McGlaun on April 24, 2009 9:56 PM couresy of dailytech.com.

$62,000 to download a movie? That’s what happened to a caller named Alberto, who told his data roaming tale of woe on the air to HLN "money expert" Clark Howard on CNN. Alberto made the grave mistake of downloading Wall-E for his nephew while vacationing in Mexico over his data card and was slapped with a $62,000 bill from his wireless carrier when he returned home. Alberto tried to contest the charge and the carrier reduced the bill to $17,000, arguing that the five-figure charge was what it cost them to deliver the movie.

Needless to say, both Alberto and Howard were completely incredulous that a simple movie download would generate such an impressive data bill. Indeed, $62,000—or $17,000—is pretty daunting for a 98 minute animated movie about an robot. However, it’s pretty clear that Alberto made a rookie mistake after he purchased the data card for his laptop that could have been easily avoided. Instead, he inadvertently joined the legions of other mobile users who failed to pay attention to the fine print before traveling.

Stories of users receiving unexpectedly huge bills after using their phones and data cards are easy to find on the web. In fact, there’s even a class-action lawsuit brewing over an iPhone owner’s receiving a $2,000 bill after roaming in Mexico (hey, $2,000 is nothing compared to $17,000). Whether or not it’s fair for carriers to charge these outrageous fees is up for debate—the carriers insist that the roaming charges overseas are extravagant and that they are just passing along the fees to their customers.

However, all major carriers offer international roaming plans that users can set up on their accounts before they get on a plane that can apply to both voice and data use. T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint all have web pages that describe the rates, and some even offer packaged plans for regular jet setters. Making sure your account is set up for international roaming can help save you from headaches and massive bills with minimal planning ahead of time. Then again, those who get slapped with $62,000 in international data charges—and find themselves shocked—may not be the type to "plan ahead of time."

This post has been written by Jacqui Cheng on April 24, 2009 1:57 PM couresy of arstechnica.com.

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