Make It Last Build Series: Data logger contest winners!

Make It Last Build Series: Data logger contest winners!
A Gizmodo Theme Song, by Killabite [Video]
An Easier Way to Set Up Time Machine to Back Up to a Networked Windows Computer [Step By Step]
The Tester 2: Episode 3: &quot;Can You Hear Me Now?&quot; Liveblog: Communication Is Key [Playstation Network]
This Professor Is Surgically Implanting a Camera in the Back of His Head [Weird]
Twitter Tuesday - ex-CEO Jack Dorsey returns to Twitter
Twitter iPhone App Now Has Push and SMS Notifications For @Mentions [Twitter]
USB Is the Devil's Connection
Best Distraction-Free Writing Tool: Q10 [Hive Five Followup]
Dear Santa, I Want This Full Size Space Shuttle Replica [Big Toys]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 04:30 PM PST

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest! We enjoyed judging your entries, congratulations to everyone who got their project working! Without further ado, here are the winners:

The grand prize winner is Andrew Schamp, who built a data logging device to measure the temperature of his garden boxes over the winter. We look forward to seeing the results this spring!

The runner-up is Jim Schneider, who not only built a data logging device that can measure both temperature and light, but also wrote a nice analysis on how to reduce the power usage of the circuit even more.

We would also like to give a special mention to Kevin Timmerman, who created a ultra low power data logger that can run off of a single AAA battery.

This brings us to the conclusion of the data logger build, however we are gearing up for the next build, which starts tomorrow! We'll be putting out the first newsletter for Build #2 soon, so be sure and sign up for our contest newsletter mailing list to receive it:

As a reminder, all of the content for each of the builds in the series is available on the contest landing page.

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A Gizmodo Theme Song, by Killabite [Video]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:20 PM PST

Click here to read A Gizmodo Theme Song, by Killabite

The awesome LA-based band Killabite just recorded an unofficial theme song for Gizmodo. Listen to it now. More »

An Easier Way to Set Up Time Machine to Back Up to a Networked Windows Computer [Step By Step]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:00 PM PST

Click here to read An Easier Way to Set Up Time Machine to Back Up to a Networked Windows Computer

Last week I detailed how to set up Time Machine backups to a networked Windows computer that required a lot of somewhat complicated Terminal work. Here's a much easier shell script that'll do the trick nicely. More »

The Tester 2: Episode 3: &quot;Can You Hear Me Now?&quot; Liveblog: Communication Is Key [Playstation Network]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:00 PM PST

Click here to read The Tester 2: Episode 3: "Can You Hear Me Now?" Liveblog: Communication Is Key

Can SCEA Santa Monica Studio Producer Deborah Mars keep Big Fazeek from eating the other competitors like some sort of cereal? Let's watch The Tester 2 episode three and find out! More »

This Professor Is Surgically Implanting a Camera in the Back of His Head [Weird]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:00 PM PST

Click here to read This Professor Is Surgically Implanting a Camera in the Back of His Head

When Waffa Bilal turns around for the next year, a camera surgically embedded in the back of his head will stare back at you. More »

Twitter Tuesday - ex-CEO Jack Dorsey returns to Twitter

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:00 PM PST

Filed under: Features, Web services, Twitter

Hey, Twitter fans! Before we jump into this week's cool apps, there's a bit of gossip hanging over the Twitterverse, and I don't think I can sneak by without mentioning that the Twitter founding team of Ev, Biz and Jack is now back together after Jack Dorsey's return to Twitter.

Jack was one of the original creators of Twitter, and he served as CEO when the company launched. Later, Evan Williams took over the position, and Jack pursued other ventures (like the Square mobile card reader). As we recently reported, Ev stepped down as CEO last month, to focus on Twitter's product development, letting Twitter's top money man, Dick Costolo, take over. It was understood that Costolo would be the guy to lead Twitter into greater profits based on a viable system of advertising.

But wait a minute ... Ev is focusing on Twitter's features and keeping it cool and relevant, but that's what Jack is coming back to do. Are the two working together, or are the rumors of bad blood between the founders true? My sense is that there might be some tension there, but various tech gossip blogs are exaggerating the story. Jack and Ev are both smart guys with a history of good ideas, and their two heads will probably be better than one for Twitter's future.

Now, onward to some excellent Twitter apps ...

DEXTR is a big-screen Twitter Reader You Can See from Across the Room

If you've wanted to keep track of your Twitter feed from across the room, here's your answer. DEXTR is a Twitter reader designed for huge monitors, and it shows one tweet at a time. This 10-foot Twitter display isn't very customizable: it's got one font-color setting, and it just shows recent tweets from your timeline. Still, the default setting looks good, and it's a nice way to follow Twitter while you're across the room.

Tweets For Honor is a Turn-Based Battle Game That You Control Via Twitter (Seriously!)

New gaming applications for Twitter are being found all the time, and Tweets for Honor is one of the coolest yet. You join a battle on a mountain as Spartan warrior, and control the action via direct messages. You can attack and block your fellow players via DM or via the slick animated web interface, and watch the battle as it happens. If you miss a good moment, you can replay it. The goal is to make it to the top of the mountain and defend your spot for as long as you can.

If gameplay seems confusing, check out the instructional video and the summary on the Tweets for Honor website. They'll show you what to do.

Inline Ads Land in TweetDeck Searches

Last week we noted that in-stream ads are coming to various Twitter apps. Well, TweetDeck hasn't reached that point yet, but it does appear that ads are popping up in TweetDeck search columns. ReadWriteWeb has spotted the ads in searches for promoted trends, which is still a lot less invasive than dropping ads directly into your stream. At least the ads spotted so far have related to the trends being searched, like an ad for a Web 2.0 whitepaper in a search for a Web 2.0 conference. (Side note: Web 2.0 is a trend? Seriously? Is this 2007?)

Anyway, complaining about Twitter ads will be totally valid if they ever get in the way of reading your stream, but these TweetDeck ads seem pretty benign.

Download Squad Reviews Twitter for Windows Phone 7

If you want the skinny on Twitter for Windows Phone 7, I suggest you check out a thorough review by our own Sebastian Anthony. I'll say that Seb wasn't too thrilled with this official client, finding its responsiveness a bit lacking. For the rest of his opinions (and some screenshots), head over and read the full review.

That's all for this week's Twitter Tuesday, everybody. If you've tried out any of the apps I mentioned this week, drop me a comment and let me know what you thought of them. I'll be back with more Twitter apps and news next week!

Twitter Tuesday - ex-CEO Jack Dorsey returns to Twitter originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter iPhone App Now Has Push and SMS Notifications For @Mentions [Twitter]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:52 PM PST

The Twitter iPhone app now comes with a clever little feature: Notifications for @mentions. More »

USB Is the Devil's Connection

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:50 PM PST

Jamie handed us Satan's Data Connection. You see, sane and rational human being, the USB logo is actually in the shape of a trident, and the obvious action to Evangelical Christians in Brazil is to ban its use. Hopefully they don't mispronounce SCSI and find themselves lusting after their PCs.