Hack Things

Three people are examining a long, dark object in what appears to be a workshop or factory setting.

Made with China – The Professionalization of Make

May 21, 2013 · 10 minutes · 10 photos

About the Author: Silvia Lindtner is post-doctoral Fellow at ISTC and Fudan University. She researches and writes about DIY Maker culture in China. She is currently based in Shenzhen exploring how Chinese manufacturing comes together with IoT start-up culture.

Since January 2013,…

A close-up photo of a 3D-printed, white Lego minifigure, seemingly in motion, with other similar figures blurred in the background.

iTunes for 3D Printing

May 14, 2013 · 3 minutes

While people are paying a lot of attention to the idea of 3D printed fire arms, they are missing what will undoubtedly have a larger impact as 3D printing takes off: intellectual property rights.

But startups are emerging to address this issue.…

A small, white, spider-like robotic device with gold legs is shown against a black background. A hand reaches out to interact with a green and white wire connected to the device.

Meet Clyde: A Hackable Lamp Designed at HAXLR8R

May 13, 2013 · 1 minute · 12 photos

UPDATE: Photos of Clyde added below!

Clyde is an Adruino-compatible, expressive lamp that looks like a fun way to experiment and get creative with hacking your physical environment. Pop an XBee shield in so you can talk to Clyde remotely and have…

A vibrant orange image featuring two stylized pandas, one standing and one sitting while eating bamboo, with the brand name 'Panda' in white cursive font at the top and Chinese text at the bottom.. Text: Panda
上海烟草集团有限责任公司出品

Chinese Cigarettes are Beautiful

May 12, 2013 · 1 minute · 2 photos

Okay, this post may be just a tad off-topic but since we talked about smoking in China in yesterday’s post, $10,000 Android Phones, Smoke and Gourmet Espresso, I thought I’d share these photos I took today in a shop in the Shenzhen…

A photo of an office space with numerous employees working at their desks.  A sign on the wall displays the company's values.. Text: Regard Customer as Our God,
Regard Service as Our Life,
Regard Innovation as Our Soul!

I Needed Some RFID Tags So I Went to the Factory

May 12, 2013 · 3 minutes · 2 photos

At a Hack Things meetup a couple of months ago, Niall Smart presented his “Tactile Music Player,” a device that uses an RFID reader and a Raspberry Pi to play music by simply placing physical album covers on a stand, which are…

A person holds a small, blue, transparent electronic device with a joystick, knob, and other components.. Text: molecule
joystick
molecule
PHOTO SENSOR
EP13 N 8mV 0.15
010

DIY Maker Story: Travis Felman of Molecule Synth

May 11, 2013 · 2 minutes · 2 photos

We visited Travis Felman at HAXLR8R in Shenzhen last week. In a lot of ways, Travis is the prototypical example of the DIY / hacker / maker phenomenon. A PhD in English Literature who spent time as a professor at Lewis and…

A photo of the side of a building with a large red sign that reads "The Pacific Security & Protection Market" in English and Chinese. The building appears to be a marketplace.. Text: THE PACIFIC SECURITY & PROTECTION MARKET
太平洋保安专业市场

Explore a security marketplace in Huaqiangbei

May 09, 2013 · 3 minutes · 16 photos

Last week we wrote about our visit to the Huaqiangbei electronics market in Shenzhen with program director of HAXLR8R and former co-founder of Makerbot, Zach Hoeken Smith. On that trip Zach mentioned that there was an entire building dedicated to security products.…