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skullz writes:
"Much ado has been made about SXSW and the resurgence of hardware hacking as apposed to software. Even NPR is getting in on the action, airing a story about littleBits SXSW demo, including some videos. LittleBits are small circuit modules which snap together using magnets, much like LEGOs would if they were held together by magnets. The company pays homage to an open source mentality and hosts example projects, such as this LEGO and littleBit soundmachine, on its website, even though it seems to be missing several (or all) of the actual assembly instructions."
From their website:
littleBits (spelled lower case L, upper case B, all one word) consists of tiny circuit-boards with specific functions engineered to snap together with magnets. No soldering, no wiring, no programming, just snap together for prototyping, learning and fun. Each bit has a specific function (light, sound, sensors, buttons, thresholds, pulse, motors, etc), and modules snap to make larger circuits. Just as LEGO (TM) allows you to create complex structures with very little engineering knowledge, littleBits are small, simple, intuitive, blocks that make creating with sophisticated electronics a matter of snapping small magnets together.
If you followed SXSW, please share your favorite discoveries or insights gleaned from the conference.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday March 12 2014, @06:04AM
If it's not programmable, then it sounds as educational as a light switch.
From not reading TFA, obviously.
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(Score: 5, Interesting) by kebes on Wednesday March 12 2014, @09:21AM
The littleBits synth kit [littlebits.cc] is perhaps a better example: by providing a bunch of modules to generate tones, modulate sound (high-pass, low-pass, etc.), and so on... they provide a simple and fun way to explore how sound works generally, and how electronic sound production works specifically. If you can understand/predict the effect of all the possible combinations of modules, then you're ready to graduate to more serious electronic music platforms.
Ultimately, though, littleBits shouldn't be viewed as a way to build anything 'real', even at a hobbyist level. They are just a quick and convenient way to get someone introduced to (and hopefully excited about) electronics. I.e.: they are really a toy for kids who are not old enough or interested enough in playing with conventional electronic kits (I gave some to my nephew). If the kid ends up being legitimately enthralled by the concept, they will quickly run into the limits of littleBits and start wanting some real electronic components to play with. So littleBits are a stepping-stone in learning about electronics (an admittedly expensive stepping-stone).
(Score: 4, Insightful) by FatPhil on Wednesday March 12 2014, @09:35AM
If you don't want the mechanical aspects, just use a Spice-alike.
It's probably great as a toy. And yes, it's a zillion times more educational than most toys, I don't mean to denigrate it. But I think real learning involves more challenges.
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(Score: 5, Insightful) by MikeVDS on Wednesday March 12 2014, @10:22AM
I love these things because it's something a 5 to 10 year old can play with, especially if they have a parent willing to help them along. Some kids that young will play with breadboards but most will turn up their nose to something like that. Heck, not even just kids; I know a lot of adults in trade schools who might find these a more palatable way of starting out.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by terryk30 on Wednesday March 12 2014, @11:43AM
For beginners young or older, aren't those "100 in 1" kits with the spring contacts still a great choice for basic electronics? Example. [radioshack.com]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 13 2014, @01:50AM
No. I hated those spring terminals. They should be wiped from the face of the earth. If I'd had breadboards instead of spring terminals as a child, I might have been interested in hardware first, rather than software. The frustration in wiring things with spring terminals cannot be overstated: wires popping out, loose contacts, spaghetti-wiring... Only now, as an adult, am I revisiting electronics because a friend gave me a breadboard and a handful of components to get me started.
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Wednesday March 12 2014, @07:25PM
I gotta say, I learned a lot from creating millisecond duration sound and light shows with perfboard and a handful of components... mainly how not to fuck up like that again :)
(Score: 2) by wjwlsn on Wednesday March 12 2014, @04:17PM
How is it not programming? A single lamp & switch circuit is basically "Hello, World!" done in hardware. It just gets more complex and interesting from there. Tell a kid to add a second switch and make the circuit behave such that any switch flip causes the lamp condition to change... then sit back and watch them struggle. :)
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