UTechnology

Want to learn code? Here are a few resources:

Learning something new —especially code— can be intimidating. Here are a few online courses, software and games to get you started.

Scratch — is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

CodeAcademy — tutorials on HTML/CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PhP, Python, Ruby

W3 Schools — tutorials on everything you need to know to build a website: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PhP, etc.

LearnToMod — if you’re a fan of Minecraft, this tool will teach you how to program through Minecraft.

CodeSpells — a video game developed at UC San Diego to teach people to program. The story line is simple: you’re a wizard that uses spells (i.e. code) to navigate through the world, fight off foes, and solve problems.

Here’s a peek at CodeSpells:

Front-lighting a Gameboy Color 

I remember having to literally play gameboy games by moon light on road trips when I was kid. If only I had some cheap tech from 2017… and some basic technical know how…

If, like me, you have your gameboy color and you want to make it a little more bad ass, it’s actually not very hard to do. If you’re already decent at soldering, it will be a breeze. 

How to Modify your Gameboy Color:

Before we get too into this, I should say that I will be doing further modifications to this front-light. It’s a really nice front-light, but it’s actually a little too bright for me. Expect a follow up post within a few weeks!

You will need some basic stuff, such as solder, a soldering iron, small screwdrivers, and a dremel (or some other easy way to cut into plastic). You will also need some special items: propriety Nintendo screwdrivers (which you can find linked here), and the front-light itself (which you can find linked here).

side note: That’s only $21.00, which isn’t that bad. Especially if you’ll use that propriety screwdriver set for future projects (as I will with my SNES).

Remove the case:

This is the only time you will need those propriety screwdrivers… they use normal screws for the PCB and internal components… thanks Nintendo…

Remove the ribbon cable and PCB:

Like most ribbon cable attachments, the ribbon cable attachment can be unlocked and removed cleanly. There are also 3 normal screws that should be removed from the lower white portion of the PCB.

Remove the Dot Matrix Display:

You will have to use some force for this, but be gentle. You will have to pry the corners that are closest to the buttons out and then remove the screen out from that direction. DO NOT pull the ribbon cable or remove this with only your fingers.

Size the front-light and cut with the dremel:

Like in the picture above, you will want to place your front-light module to see where you need to cut groves for the wires. Once you know where to cut, use your dremel to make the groves. Place the front-light module under the Dot Matrix:

Replace the PCB, reconnect the ribbon cable, and solder the positive and negative wires:

Once the PCB and ribbon cable have been reconnected, you should get ready to solder the wires. As demonstrated in the image below, the positive wire is connected to the top pin on the right side, and the negative wire is connected to the bottom pin on the left side:

Rebuild the gameboy:

Once you have soldered the wires to the pins, you’re good to go! Rebuild the gameboy and enjoy the new front-light.

Fun Extras:

If you have also lost the battery back to your gameboy color, you can 3D print another one with this file, though you may have to adjust the scale: Gameboy Back Cover 3D Print File.

If you want to know LITERALLY EVERYTHING about the gameboy color, check out Nintendo’s Gameboy Programming Manual. It’s a really fun resource if you want to know more about the software and hardware!

from great heights like jim kirk

no one’s style of weird combat delights like jim kirk’s

for there’s no one as defiant of gravity

he’s perfect. a pure paragon

This thread also forgot some of his other great moves…

and my personal favorite….

Astronomy for All - Free Observation & Open Source Telescopes with NeoGalactics

Hello tumblr Astronomy fans! Wouldn’t if be cool if you could remote control your very own telescope for free online? My friends and I have started a space and astronomy company known as NeoGalactics.com with this goal in mind. Last weekend we created our first prototype telescope at a hacking competition - VTHacks - and won first prize. We made this telescope for you! You can sign up for the alpha of our free service at NeoGalactics.com and even donate to our cause - we want astronomy for all! 

We call our prototype the Elon 1.0 - Even though it is only a rough prototype, it already has some amazing features:

You can view live streams of the moon (as seen above), comets, stars, or planets from a web browser

You can take time lapse images of astronomical objects - such as nebulae or planets

The small telescope is powerful enough to image the moons of jupiter - as seen in the image above - and the rings of saturn 

the entire system is remote operational

As we begin building larger models, even more features will become available! 

It is important to note that this is our very first attempt and we built all of this in 2 nights for less than 140$ . With your help we can begin building an even better and cheaper model, if you visit our website at NeoGalactics.com you can sign up for free astronomical web-streams and even donate to our cause - We want to make astronomy easily accessible by everyone! What are you waiting for? Sign up for free astronomy at NeoGalactics.com!