Project: Preview | CardGear Duo

What's up, everyone? SHARD Labs is back with another Project Preview for you all: the CardGear Duo accessory by the SolidFirst team out of Farmingdale, NY. Many thanks to them for quickly getting us a review unit and for all the hard work they've put into this campaign. You can find more about them and the Duo on Kickstarter and their website.

-Kickstarter

-Website

Head on down below for the review!

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Review - The CardGear Duo

What is the CardGear Duo? It's a simple enough concept, and yet a unique one in the sense that no one has ever done it before SolidFirst. It's a credit-card sized piece of plastic with elastic pouches on both sides. These pockets allow you to store SD cards or slim USB sticks in it and put the card inside your pocket, wallet or wherever.

The Duo is perfect for photographers, graphic designers, or people with lots of devices that have external storage. It's very very-low profile and easy to slip into small spaces.

The review unit I received was very small and simple- small enough, in fact, to ship inside a regular envelope. This allowed to to be shipped fast and cheap. Thanks again to SolidFirst for getting it here so quickly!

My package included:

-1x CardGear Duo

The Duo arrived inside of a cute little manila-colored pouch, with a sleek design of the card on the outside. It does a good job of protecting the Duo from any tears or scratches.

And the card itself is sleek. It's a credit-card sized piece of semitransparent plastic with black elastic pockets lining the lower half. The elastic is firm,but stretchy enough that you can slide a full-sized SD card inside one of them. I put two in it as soon as I opened it up.

The card itself is also durable, but flexible enough to withstand being bent in your pocket without snapping. A quick note, though: Especially once those pockets are filled, the Duo will be much thicker than a credit card, so depending on the size of your wallet you might have a bit of a hard time fitting in it there.

Oh, and a bonus note: The plastic card does have two different styles of holes in the top so you can attach it to a clip or keychain for carrying convenience.

And that's the review! It's a simple but sweet one today. As of this writing, the CardGear Duo was 91% funded with 27 days still to go in the campaign! It's clear that there are plenty of people who want this.

Hope fully we convinced you to get one as well, and if we did, let us know in the comments below!

Until the next review,

..Carter..

Project: Preview | MAKERbuino Console

Today I've got a very exciting review of a product that just successfully finished funding: the MAKERbuino DIY game console by Albert Gajšak out of Croatia. Many thanks to him for obliging a review and for all his hard work. You can find more about him and the console on Kickstarter and their website, where you can also preorder a MAKERbuino of your own:

-Kickstarter

-Website

Stick around and I'll fill you in on this terrific piece of tech.

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Review - The MAKERbuino Console

What is MAKERbuino? In short, it's a game console for Makers who are tired of prebuilt games consoles and want the experience and joy of building, programming, and playing their very own video games. That they've created themselves.

The kit I recieved included both a preassembled and DIY version of the MAKERbuino. And boy does the console look sharp. And there's so much to do with it. It actually took a bit longer to review this console than I had expected because I wanted to make sure I covered every aspect of the device.

My package included:

-1x Preassembled MAKERbuino

-1x DIY MAKERbuino Kit

-1x Preloaded MicroSD card

It all fits inside a quite small package. Even though it's larger than its spiritual cousin, the Gamebuino, the MAKERbuino still leaves a pretty small footprint.

The Hardware:

The MAKERbuino is, first and foremost, a DIY console. Yes, you can buy a preassembled unit, but that takes half the fun out of it! There's something thrilling about putting together something like this- especially if you've never gotten the chance to solder before. Speaking of which, this DIY kit does require tools. However, if you happened to leave your soldering iron in your other suit, you can always buy the bundle from the MAKERbuino store which includes the necessary tools.

MAKERbuino is based of the Arduino development platform, a robust, popular, and open-source microcontroller system. Arduino allows you to write, compile, and run your own programs through their IDE. Written in C++, it's easy for you to pick up and start writing programs right away!

HELLO_WORLD!

There are a lot of different parts to this console, which may seem a little daunting at first. But the website offers clear, easy-to-understand assembly instructions.

Here's a list of all the hardware included in the DIY kit:

• MAKERbuino PCB
• laser CNC cut acrylic casing (has three pieces)  
• ATmega328P-PU microcontroller
• 28 pin IC socket (for the ATmega328)  
• Nokia 5110 graphic LCD breakout board
• Li-Po charger board with micro USB port (TP4056 charging circuit)
• Li-Po battery, 3.7V, 600mAh with male JST connector
• female JST battery connector  
• 128MB SD card preloaded with games (for storing, loading and streaming files and programs)  
• SD socket
• 16Mhz crystal
• 3.3v voltage regulator (MCP1702-3302E)
• 4 pin angle anti-reverse pin header (for i2c ports) x2
• 3.5mm headphone socket
• 2N2222A NPN transistor
• 100uF capacitor x3
• 100nf capacitor x2
• 22pf capacitor x2
• 100Ω resistor
• 10kΩ resistor x24.7kΩ resistor x2
• 2kΩ resistor
• 1kΩ trim-potentiometer x2
• 1N4148 diode 
• big clicky pushbutton with corresponding button cap x7
• mini slide toggle switch x2
• 8Ω, 0.5W, 28mm diameter speaker
• ISP port angle header pins
• Serial port angle header pins
• Breakout port angle header pins  
• FTDI USB to rs232 adapter board (a board for conneccting your MAKERbuino to the computer)  
• Set of screws, nuts and spacers needed for fixating the screen and the casing

It may seem like too much to keep track of, but everything's pretty easy to figure out. And the instructions are simple and straightforward.

We've mainly reviewed the presassembled model so far, but we'll update this article once we've thoroughly reviewed the DIY model as well.

Our unit came in a lovely red PCB with matching buttons. (Same PCB color for the DIY model as well) Everything was in working order, and the oversized buttons feel solid and responsive. The buttons actually have caps on them, so you can swap out the colored caps for nearly endless color combinations.

The included MicroSD card (and adapter) is only 128MB large, but that's all you'll need for this system. The .HEX files that the games are loaded from are tiny, meaning you can fit plenty of code onto that card without any worries.

The screen is the same kind used in the Nokia 5110, wwhich makes sense. This console looks like the child of a Nokia candybar phone and the Gameboy Micro. Which is actually a pretty cool thing. The screen is sharp and clear, and a dial on the bottom controls the screen's backlight.

The other dial controls the speaker volume. (There's also a switch to toggle the volume on/off) The sound is nice and loud, although like any project like this the louder you go the tinnier it sounds. But it's still pretty impressive how the different tunes and sound effect are incorporated into the games.

You also have your various ports around the edges of the console. Besides the MicroUSB for power, the MAKERbuino also includes (2) I2C ports (for multiplayer daisy-chaining), ICSP, serial port (for programming it) and extra breakout holes. The serial port will be covered more in the next section.

The battery is a 600mAh Li-Po. And it can last a long time. When we pulled it out of the box, it was already charged up and ready to go. You can definitely get quite a few hours of gameplay before you have to hook it up to a USB charger.

Like I mentioned earlier, the MAKERbuino is the sort of spiritual cousin to the smaller Arduino-based console, Gamebuino. Successfully crowdfunded on Indiegogo in 2014, Gamebuino was the creation of Aurelien Rodot and was a major inspiration for the MAKERbuino.

The Software:

One of the best parts about MAKERbuino being related to the Gamebuino is that it is fully compatible with the entire game library and programming tools that Gamebuino already has developed! This makes it a LOT easy to develop for this console, since there is already a heavily-involved community that's written tons of programs, demos, and random bits of code and guides on how to use the system.

Like I mentioned, the SD card included is preloaded with a TON of games already. Some of my favorite gems included Paqman, Super Crate Buino, and Maruino. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There is just sooo much to do with this console.

If the games written by the community isn't enough to sate your appetite, you can always write your own! MAKERbuino is fully compatible with the Arduino IDE (the development tool) and has preexisting libraries of code to make the process easier.

And it's not just games you can play on the MAKERbuino. There are also apps written that allow you to play audio files, paint on a canvas, and more. If it doesn't exist, you could be the first to write it!

Every game I tried was snappy and responsive, with no noticeable bugs. Loading the SD card game menu takes a little while, but it's understandable, considering this is all running off a single microcontroller.

The easiest way to load games onto your MAKERbuino is to copy the .HEX files onto your SD card. However, you can also use the serial port and USB adapter to program games directly to the console from your computer.

For reference, here are the tech specs for the MAKERbuino:

• CPU: ATmega328 @ 16MHz (same MCU used in Arduino UNO)
• Sound: 0.5W speaker with 4-channel audio generation, 3.5mm headphone connector, hardware volume control 
• Input: 7 pushbuttons with replaceable button caps (D-pad + ABC buttons) 
• Storage: 32kB of FLASH program memory, 2kB of RAM, up to 2GB SD card for loading and saving programs (HEX files) and data
• Communication: serial UART port, i2c, SPI

The community for these two consoles is already huge and growing every day. The Gamebuino forums are a great place to ask questions, get help with a project, and see what other programs people have created.

It's a well-polished device all around. I found no problems, both software- and hardware-wise that caused problems, and the website is very easy and helpful with all guides and FAQs.

The MAKERbuino system truly is amazing. Mad props to Albert Gajšak and the rest of the team working hard to ship out orders! There will be plenty more development as the community continues to grow and flourish.

The Kickstarter is over but you can preorder MAKERbuino at the official web site, www.makerbuino.com today.

The kits preordered in this period will ship after the rewards from the Kickstarter campaign (June 2017).

And that wraps things up! If you want to learn more, or find out when and where you preorder one of these boards up for yourself, head on over to their Kickstarter or the Website and tell 'em Carter sent you.

Until I review again...

..Carter..

Project: Preview | LumoPad

Today I've got a quick- but fun- review for y'all: the LumoPad light drawing system by Nestor Tkachenko out of New York. You can find them at their Kickstarter:

-Kickstarter

Stick around and I'll give you the inside scoop.

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Review - The LumoPad

What is LumoPad? It's simply a phosphorescent-paint board. You draw across the surface using a mini LED, which leaves streaks of light that fade after a short period of time. It's awesome. It's the perfect tool for children in a dark room, flipart-style animation,

The kit I recieved is just a prototype and and isn't as polished as the finished model will be. My version included:

-2x LumoPads

-1x superbright LED

It's simple, but effective and fun.

The Hardware:

The LumoPad is simple enough in design; It's a simple piece of foam board that's been painted on one side with phosphorescent (or Europium-based) paints. When exposed to the superbright LED, the chemical reaction leaves a trail of glowing light on the board. The finialized model will have the board enclosed inside a frame, for protection against wear and tear, but will still weight very little.

My LumoPads came in two different colors: Yellow and Blue. The yellow board was made with phosphorescent paints, which are brighter, but fade quicker. The blue is a Europium-derived paint that isn't as bright, but holds a glow longer.

The LumoPad is still in design progress and the creators have announced that they'll be continuing to upgrade and enhance the design over time. It's a fun product that's mess-free and great for children (or adults) to enjoy in a darker room, in bed, or just with a blanket over their head. 

And wraps things up! If you want to learn more, or find out when and where you pick one of these boards up for yourself, head on over to Kickstarter and tell 'em Carter sent you.

Until the next review...

..Carter..

Project: Preview | RoutaBoard

What's up, everyone? Today I'm reviewing the Routaboard, a new prototyping circuit board by KnivD out of London. Many thanks for the review units he shipped over. You can check him and his Kickstarter out here:

-Kickstarter

-Website

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Project Preview: Routaboard

What is Routaboard? It's a really cool device- a blank circuit board with unconnected traces between each of the holes. This means that instead of having to connect your electronic projects together with wires, you can simply add a tiny drop of solder in between the holes you want, thus creating an actually professional-looking prototyping package.

Routaboard also comes with free software called RoutaEdit. It's a simple program that let's you design your projects digitally and figure out where to solder the traces ahead of time.

My review unit came speedily on through, which was nice since it came from overseas. I recieved four boards, (Two standard-sized doubled-sided boards, and two standard-sized singled sided boards.)

The boards look very sleek and professional, with a black finish contrasted by the gold holes and traces. They came without a single scratch or chip, which is very nice.

The Hardware:

The boards are a unique, and yet very smart idea and design. The standard size is 24x32 holes, big enough for most Arduino-type projects. (Or an Arduino shield!)

The traces are a bit confusing at first glance, but open up the RoutaEdit software and they'll make sense. The traces extend in all four directions from each hole, but are seperated from each other by gaps in the metal. The idea behind Routaboard is that you can apply a drop of solder in the gaps in the traces, which eliminates the need for wires in your package. And because there's no need to cut wires, you can use a desoldering tool to remove these solder drops and reuse the boards again and again.

Running along the side of each board is a strip of metal. These connect to the grid of holes and work as the power, ground, and a strip for inputs. (Such as Arduino analog or digital.)

Overall, the system is very handy. It makes prototyping much more minimal and space-conserving, although soldering the traces together may take a little more time. Keep in mind that to use this product to its maximum, you need a soldering iron and at least (some) solder on hand. Although if you're buying this board to begin with, you won't go far without said items.

The Software:

The Routaboard software, RoutaEdit, is... simplistic. I haven't used it for that long, but from what I can tell there... isn't much to do.

That's not to say it isn't helpful; RoutaEdit does give you a visual representation of how the traces work on the Routaboard, and you can use it as a guide while soldering to make sure you solder the correct traces.

The software also lets you add a virtual component to the board; however, the only components available right now are "blank" 1x2 components, DIP8, 14, and 16 parts, and resistors. Nothing else exists... yet.

The software is still in its early stages. As Routaboard continues its campaign and development, more features will be added, including a processing code written specifically for RoutaEdit projects. I can't wait to see what becomes of the program.

Oh, and a quick note: As of this post, RoutaEdit is only available for Windows. So OSX (sorry) macOS users, you may have to wait a bit.

Well, that about sums up the product. Did I convince you to invest in Routaboard? If I did, let me know in the comments below. Or send me your wallet out of gratitude. Either works. And ff you want to spend even more money, consider donating to the SHARD Labs GoFundMe!

-GoFundMe

Later, skaters!

..Carter..

Project: Preview | WeKast Presentation Stick

Hey Folks! Another Project: Preview for you all! Today I'm previewing the WeKast presentation system by the WeKast team out of Tel Aviv. Many, many thanks to those folks for getting me a review unit. You can check them out at the links below:

-Kickstarter

-Website

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Project Preview: WeKast Stick

So what is WeKast? To quote the Kickstarter, it's the only mobile-based professional presentation solution that completely eliminates the awkward set-up process while increasing mobility and engagement.

...To much for ya, huh? Well, it's essentially a wireless dongle that allows you to display your slideshow, powerpoint, demonstration, etc... directly from your smart device. No cables, laptops, or even WiFi necessary. It's pretty handy for those business meeting presentations where the WiFi just happened to go out- and guess who forgot their HDMI cord?

I got a review unit extremely fast; they informed me that they had shipped the unit on March 22nd, and I recieved the unit just three days later, on the 25th. So kudos to them in the shipping department.

My review unit camed enveloped in a soft velvet bag, secured with drawstrings. Each individual part of the kit had a plastic sleeve protecting it, and the WeKast Stick itself was secured in bubble wrap. So there was no chance of the good ol' USPS busting up this shipment.

I was surprised (in a good way) at how many accessories the review unit came with. Keep in mind, however, that many of these parts will be integrated into the final product and won't actually be included as seperate attachments. But anyway, here's what I got:

-1x WeKast Stick

-1x 6000 mAh Portable Battery

-1x Female/Female HDMI Connector

-1x Female HDMI/Female VGA Adapter

-1x Micro USB Cable

-WeKast and Battery Instruction Manual

A bunch of goodies included. Again, most of this will be integrated into the final product, so you won't need to attach all the external gadgetry. But this is a review unit, so the design and asthetics are NOT final.

The Hardware:

 

 

The WeKast is a smooth-looking little stick. Wrapped in matte black plastic, it is sparse of any decoration save the sticker on either side with the WeKast logo. (Actually, there's a enterprise option on the Kickstarter to order WeKasts with your own logo.) The HDMI plug is covered by a plastic cap made of the same material.

To set up my stick, I plugged the WeKast into my TV using the provided HDMI adapter. I then plugged the power pack into the stick via the back microUSB port. As soon as the power is plugged in, the stick automatically boots on.

To me, the WeKast is a pretty well-built product. The casing doesn't feel too flimsy (although I haven't, nor would I recommend, putting a lot of pressure on it.) The need for an external battery limits its potability slightly, but again, this just a TEST model. The stick is powered by a quad-core processor, meaning that your presentation will always be snappy and quick to load.

The Software:

The WeKast software is fairly simple and easy to use. It's built upon Android 4.4, and you'll actually notice this when the Android logo appears momentarily during setup.

In order to use the WeKast, you need three pieces of software to make things happen: First, you'll need a PowerPoint Presentation creation app. (Pretty obvious that you would have one if you're purchasing this device.) Secondly, you need the WeKast add-on button for PowerPoint. This installs into the PowerPoint app, and allows you to convert and send your slides and presentation files to your phone through your phone number. I found this method of file transfer a little odd, but just think of it as texting yourself the files. Finally, you'll need the WeKast app.

The WeKast app is SUPER simple. When you first enter the app, if you don't have any files, there's literally nothing to do or click, beside refreshing the page. (Although I do love the loading screen for the app, with its little flaming-logo animation.)

Once you have some files inside the app, you're ready to hook up to the WeKast stick itself. On Android and Windows Phone, this process automatically happens. On iOS, (I was) it may or may not automatically connect. If it doesn't, you have to go into the Internet Connections setting of your phone and connect to the "WeKast" network.

And now you're ready to rumble! You can load a presentation, set it to auto-scroll through the slides, and even add notes to each slide. It's pretty amazing.

Overall, the WeKast system is an incredibly helpful tool for any business who wants an easy, fluid way to present their information. As the Kickstarter continues and hopefully suceeds, it'll be interesting to see how the WeKast evolves and is formed into an even better product.

And that's the show! Be sure to check out the Kickstarter and donate to that. If you want to spend even more money, consider donating to the SHARD Labs GoFundMe!

-GoFundMe

Otherwise, have a great rest of your April!

..Carter..

Project: Preview | RezaNinja Laser Tag

Today's review is a bit of a departure from protocol; I'm actually previewing... a laser tag system? The folks at RezaNinja were nice enough to ship me a review set across the sea (and remarkably quick, at that). 

Many thanks to those guys, who you can check out at the links below:

-RezaNinja Laser Tag

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Project Preview: RezaNinja Laser Tag

What is RezaNinja? The company's slogan is "Reza mean laser!" I'll take their word for it. But on a more serious note, this business specializes in cosplay, gaming, and laser tag. The lattermost of which I am reviewing today.

They shipped me a review set remarkably fast; it took less than a week for the shipment to make it overseas from Hong Kong to my house. So kudos to them there.

If you managed to see them at the New York Toy Fair this year, than you probably don't even need to read this review. But since you probably didn't, (I sure wasn't going) keep reading after the break!

The RezaNinja laser tag system is a pretty nice-looking set of gear. And boy, is there a lot of it.

My set included:

-2x Laser Gun/Swords

-2x Point Meter Belts

-2x Foam Shields

-2x Foam Daggers

-2x Foam Throwing Stars

-2x Sword Sheaths

-2x Arm Bands

...That's a lot of stuff. But it's all very nice. The foam accessories don't really do much for the actual game, unless you buy the impact vest which measures physical hits as well. But it's all great for cosplay!

The Hardware:

Let's get into the meat and potatoes of our pie now, however: the RezaSword and Vest. This is what you'll be using to actually play the laser tag game.

THE SWORD/GUN:

The RezaSword is a pretty nice looking piece of equipment. Some Kickstarters I review send products that are still in their prototype stages, and therefore, not as nice or streamlined, but RezaNinja has been working on their system for a while now.

It reminds me a bit of a Wii remote. The device is slightly curved, with a trigger on one side, and fits well enough in your hand to work in either sword or gun mode.

The handgrip is covered by a matte black rubber cover, also a la Wiimote. This covers the battery cover as well as the mode-changing button at one end.

On the front, you'll see a large angled piece of rubber with a hole in the middle. This is the laser part. (This is starting to sound wierd.)

The their are six LEDs on the gun, three on each side, and these blink repeatedly at you as play the game. There's also a rumble motor inside that vibrates whenever you're "hit."

This is all very nice, but it brings me to my first complaint: the sound.

When you first insert the AAA batteries into the remote (WARNING: You're gonna need 12 of these puppies to power the entire set) and hit the switch, the sound system kicks on with some jammin' rock tunes. Nice! Aim and pull the trigger, and you'll here the semi-loud "Pew!" "Pew!" as it fires on the opponent. But switch into sword mode, and you'll be greeted with the EAR-SPLITTING sound of metallic sword blades smashing into each other. And we're talking deafening here. It may be a little better outside, (I haven't tested it outdoors) but then again, your neighbors might just call the cops.

Otherwise, the RezaSword is very nice! For all of its sounds and blinkeys, the pair managed their battery life quite nicely. You'll want some rechargeable batteries for them to help ease your wallet.

THE BELT:

What fun is a laser tag game without a point system? That's what the belt accomplishes with a (somewhat) easy way of keeping track of points.

The belt isn't as nice as the gun, but still accomplished its job pretty well. It has one triangular sensor on the shoulder-region of the fabric, and a point-counter screen on the back strap. This counter goes up with each hit you receive; as opposed to most systems where it shows your points for how much damage you given.

This is where the electronics to the system get a little screwy: To "sync" the belt to your sword, you must point the gun at the belt's sensor and toggle a little plastic switch on the sensor back and forth. This (may) work, at which point the belts' embedded LEDs switch from solid blue to a pulsing green. If it fails, the screen reads: ERROR and explodes.

Okay, so it doesn't explode. But hooking the different peripherals can be quite a pain, especially if you don't have someone else helping.

Overall, the system is pretty fun. You'll want a pretty large area to play in with (preferably) some obsticals to hide behind, but it can be fun in a smaller area, too.

RezaNinja has also announced that they're working on an augumented-reality add-on to the system as well, which will allow users to "unleash secret powers" and fire digital dragons and other things at each other with the help of AR headsets. All this and more they're working on and hope to fund in their Kickstarter. Check it out below!

Well, that's all for this week. Be sure to check out the SHARD Labs GoFundMe...

-GoFundMe

...and if you like what you've read, consider donating a buck or two. (Or five hundred, if you're Bill Gates. I know you're reading this, man.)

Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled for the next review. Have a great week!

..Carter..

GoFundMe is Live Now!

Today's the day, folks! After much contemplation, and several days of getting prepared, the SHARD Labs GoFundMe is official open!

Click the logo to visit the page! We've worked long and hard on this project and hope you all appreciate the campaign. Please consider donating to help us upgrade the site, purchase extra equipment, and most importantly, bring you all more content. Plus, there are several reward levels for donators, depending on how generous you are with your money. (hee hee)

We thank GoFundMe and all our readers for helping and supporting SHARD Labs.

..Carter..

Project: Preview | Interview with Nick Popov

What's up, everybody? I'm back with SL's second interview, this one with Nick Popov.



Nick is the founder and head of VIVID Storage, a Sydney, AU-based company that makes portable SSDs (Solid State Drives) in colorful, aluminum cases. Plus, they're based on USB 3.0 technology, making them incredibly fast and resilient.

Which is nice.

I was able to reach out to Nick just before the Christmas season and get some questions answered. (Which was very generous, because he has been quite busy lately.)

Enjoy the interview!

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Carter Schaap: How long have you been working on the VIVID SSD, and at what point did you decide to create your own SSD?
Nick Popov: Basically the VIVID SSD idea was born early 2104 and I worked on the project since then. The idea was taking form in my head for a couple of months, until I decided to start researching on the portable drive components and materials and to making the initial inquiries to the factories in April 2014.  It wasn’t called VIVID back then; it was just a hypothetical SSD portable drive in a very small form factor and simplified aluminum case, featuring multiple colour combinations.

CS: Is this your full-time job now, or do you work in another field of expertise, and this is more of a side project?
NP:No, VIVID SSD is not my full time job, but lately its becoming one as it is taking more and more of my daily work routine. I run a small B2B marketing agency for Consumer IT clients in Australia and New Zealand as my main occupation and this experience helped me a lot to make VIVIVD SSD project happen. Lots of great and successful ideas and products start as a side project, but I hope VIVID SSD will grow into something bigger and more independent.

CS: When designing the SSD, were there any difficulties while creating a drive than took full use of the USB 3.0 capabilities? Same with the external casing?
NP: There were difficulties at each step of making VIVID SSD, as developing a product from scratch was a new experience for everyone involved. We aimed to create the ultimate portable drive which meant using best components when designing the PCB and sourcing the top quality flash memory. The main challenge with PCB design was fitting all of the components we needed on a relatively small board to maintain the overall small form factor of the final product. Some major vital components, like ASMedia flash controllers that we use in VIVID SSD, had to be imported from TAIWAN, which became a massive challenge in terms of keeping the project in the projected timeline. Case wise, the main challenge was to get the colors we wanted right, during the color oxidation process, which meant back and forth production samples delivery from manufacturers to Australia, until we were satisfied with colors. Getting the right grade aluminum on the small test orders wasn’t easy either as larger manufactures were not interested in our initial order volumes

CS: How many prototypes or iterations of the drive did VIVID go through to reach the current design?

NP: For the PCB part, I would say we went through at least 12-15 prototypes to make sure the sped transfer is up to our high requirements. Then, at least 10 Case design and major alterations, from improving the looks and heat spread, to adjusting the case internal design to fit the latest PCB design. CS: Finally, does VIVID have any other product ideas or models of the SSD in mind for the (distant) future?
NP: Yes, we are working on a few new VIVID products at the moment, which include VIVID PRO storage solution (double/triple MSata slots in RAID 0) and even smaller consumer drive with USB-C connectivity.

They will be available soon through the vivivdstorage.com website. 

NP: Thank you for the questions and the opportunity to be heard.

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Thanks to the entire VIVID team for helping SL accomplish the interview! Especially Stas Svamin, the Digital Marketing and Planning leader, who coordinated between Nick and I to get the questions answered.

If you're interested in the VIVID SSD and would like to help them reach their goal, (as of this publishing, they're at 96% funded! Almost there!) you can head over to Kickstarter.com and pledge $181, which'll get you a Drive of your own.

Stay tuned for more project previews... Carter out!

..Carter..

Project: Preview | Interview with Jim Smith

Hey everyone! Here's SL's first Project: Preview!

...While it's not a product review, (one coming soon, thought!) we have a great interview that we did with Jim Smith, the creator of Hologram Pyramid!



Hologram Pyramid, a holographic projector for smartphones, is currently on Kickstarter. It's 19% funded as of this article's writing, with 16 days to go. Check it out here!

Hologram Pyramid

Well, without further ado, here's the interview. Enjoy!

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Carter Schaap: Great to be here talking to you tonight. How are you?

Jim Smith: I'm doing good, thanks.

CS: So when did you think up the concept for Hologram Pyramid?

JS: I started the project about 3 months ago. I was searching around on the internet; Reddit, actually, and came upon instructions to make your own holographic projector out of a CD case. So, I went into my garage and got this built. It was a pretty rough prototype.

CS: Have you come across any other products on the market similar to what you've created here?

JS: Yeah, I think I found maybe three other models out there... But none have the suction cup feature.

CS: Is this your full time job now?

JS: No, no, this is a side project I work on in the wee hours of the night.

CS: So I'm assuming then that it's just a one-man team working here.

JS: Yeah, It's just me.

CS: What goes into the creation of these pyramids? You mentioned using injection molding in the future for mass-production... is this how the prototypes are created?

JS: Right now, the prototype is machined out of a solid piece of clear plastic. The process starts with a 3" by 3" block of plastic that's cut down into the pyramid shape.

CS: It sounded from the Kickstarter video like you taught yourself most of the science behind the project using simple online resources like YouTube.

JS: Yes, I had to teach myself all about how the physics worked.

CS: How many prototypes or iterations of the pyramid did you go through to reach the current design?

JS: This is about the third prototype.

CS: This is your first Kickstarter, I presume. Have you found it exciting? Stressful?

JS: A little bit of both!

CS: You already have a fair amount of backers pledging to the Kickstarter. I think partially the allure of your project is that's it's much more unique than some of the other crowdfunding campaigns out there.

CS: Finally, do you have any other concepts or ideas you'd like to work on in the future?

JS: I'd probably try and make it even better. I have a ton of concepts I'm always throwing around. I'd like to make a tablet version, something larger to project images off of bigger screens.

CS: It's been great having you on today. Where can readers find you besides, obviously, the Kickstarter?

JS: Sure thing! My website is www.sprybird.com. From there you can find all the links to my LinkedIn, etc.

CS: Thanks for your time!

JS: Take care, man.

---

Well, I hope ya'll enjoyed the first-ever issue of Project: Preview. If you're interested in the Hologram Pyramid, hop over to Kickstarter and donate $25, which'll get you a pyramid of your own!

And if you do, make sure and tell them Carter sent ya!

..Carter..

A New, Unique Series!

Get excited, everyone.

   SL's new series, over a month in the making, is almost here! Aptly called Project: Preview, it's a unique new series which delivers hands-on, in-depth reviews... on projects that you can't actually buy (yet).

   The Lab is partnering with various project leaders with currently-active Kickstarter projects that are still in the process of being funded. Their projects will be reviewed over a 3-5 (or more) day process, and then the results of that review will be published on the site as well as on all major social medias. =)

   Hopefully in the future, this'll expand to even more crowdfunding sites. The purpose of this project is to give the readers, and potential backers, an accurate, unbiased opinion on the product before they pledge their money, as well as providing feedback to the creators regarding any potential bugs and glitches.

   I hope you enjoy reading these articles and potentially backing the projects as much as I enjoy writing them. I can't wait to hear your feedback once they're published!

Later, skaters!

..Carter..