What does it take to build a new microcontroller from scratch?

It seems to me that hand-held games (Nintendo DS, PSP, etc.) should all come with programming systems. It is a form of tyranny that these companies put all that great compute power in the hands of children, yet give them no tools for accessing the inside of the device. I’m not the only one to suffer this frustration, it has lead people to put Linux on iPod, and to relentlessly hack the PSP (no matter how hard Sony tries to close the platform).

Not long ago, it became clear that Tinkering School should start incorporating some kind of programming and electronics in the curriculum. I looked around at all the usual suspects (Parallax, microE, etc), but it seemed that none of them had all the features I thought were required and they were all too expensive for kids to use in an experimental way.

Nonetheless, I ordered some kits and started tinkering. I found that while (more…)

Tinkering School will be at the upcoming Maker Faire to host the Tinker Challenge!

In the spirit of “re-use, re-purpose, and re-build” every contestant will be given a kit containing an identical set of items that you might find around the house or in your garage (rubber-bands, coat hangers, juice bottles, duct-tape, etc.) Then, with only 30 minutes in which to build and test their designs, contestants will create the fastest dragster-boats they can. It’s the ultimate test of materials hacking.

Stop by and say “Hi” or sign up for the challenge.