Month: October 2009

Ubuntu 9.10 has landed!

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Here’s a youtube video I found that shows off some of the more visual aspects of 9.10
In case you haven’t heard, the latest release of Ubuntu 9.10 is out. This outstanding Open Source Operating System continues to refine and polish itself. I’ve been using the development/beta version for about a month now and I’ve found it to run very very nicely. Anyone not sure about giving it a go, it’s free, it’s awesome and you can run it without altering your computer. It’s also as easy as installing a Windows Application.

Using it on Macs

I’ve been using Ubuntu mostly on a Mac Pro and on a Macbook – it runs fantastically on both. The Mac Pro has always run Ubuntu fantastically. However, when 9.04 was released something changed with the Intel video support that made it run terribly on my Macbook. I’m delighted to report that 9.10 seems to have resolved that issue out of the box. Also, I’m totally thrilled that I could get my two finger right-click function working on 9.10 through a simple gui tool. This tool also let me enable two finger scrolling.
Ubuntu

Polish

This version of Ubuntu seems more professional to me than previous versions. Granted previous versions have been fantastic. The polish of this version has to do with more consistent artwork, graceful user notification of system messages, mature professional wallpapers and of course the list goes on and on. I’m also happy to see several improvements with configuration tools and other areas.

Getting Curious?

If you’re getting curious, you can download Ubuntu (disk images that you have to burn) freely from their website. If you’re interested in trying it out without changing your computer at all, they have several easy means for you to do this. Check out the documentation on their website if you’re feeling like having extra support with that.

MakerBot Plastruder Crash

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While trying to print something on my MakerBot last night, I had an awesome fail where the heater barrel of the plastruder was ripped out. Upon continued reflection, I think this was the product of how I had the heater barrel interfaced with the insulator barrel and I think I know how to fix it without replacing parts. Check out the video below:

MakerBot Plastruder Modified For Slightly Enhanced Awesomeness

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Hello world, so I’ve been working very hard at getting my most awesome MakerBot working. It’s been a patience invoking venture and also extremely educational. The MakerBot employs some rather brilliant little tricks that make it simple, strong and friggin cheap. It’s a great gadget to have, though it’s definitely NOT for those who want everything now and aren’t capable of taking their time to do the job correctly.

Meet My Mod

So, in trying to get my MakerBot rockin, I’ve had to debug some stuff in my assembly. The instructions given on assembly are outstanding considering how much stuff you need to do to build one. That said, they’re not flawlessly exhaustive either – and this isn’t yet an exact science. I found myself frustrated by the positioning of the circuit board (I’ll just call it a PCB for now) positioned on the thing that outputs the plastic (Plastruder/RepRap). As you can see in my included photos, I’ve moved the PCB off to the side and flipped it behind the Plastruder.

A Before & After View of my MakerBot/RepRap Mod

Yes, it’s awesome

So as you can probably tell I love this mod because now I can quite easily see the plastic as it moves through. I can see little (or rather massive) teeth marks in the plastic due to contact with the gear on the motor that pulls it through.. So I can watch those marks move down in to the heater barrel – this has been helpful for me in trying to decide if some other printing problems I’ve been having have been due to any of a number of factors that no long include questioning if it’s actually feeding in more plastic..

Wanna see more?

You can check out more of this stuff here