Get Inspired By These Community Made PocketC.H.I.P. Hacks!

C.H.I.P.s, DIPs, and PocketC.H.I.P.s are arriving in mailboxes throughout the world, and C.H.I.P.sters and Pocketeers are sharing their first impressions.

Whether it’s taking a quick pic for twitter, writing a post on our forums, or creating a project on Imgur, we love seeing what you’re doing with your rewards!

Family Time Becomes Hacking Time with PocketC.H.I.P.

PocketC.H.I.P. might not fit in every young Pocketeer’s pocket just yet, but that doesn’t mean they’re too young to to start hacking. Use PICO-8 to teach a bit of programming, compose music with SunVox, or learn how to hack hardware and add a speaker.

Read more

Links We Like: The Prehistory of AI, An Abandoned Ferry Boat with Games, & Forgotten Hand Tools

Duck via wikimedia.org

Crossection of Jacques Vaucanson’s “Defecating Duck” automatavia wikimedia.org

This week’s Links We Like trace the mechanical prehistory of artificial intelligence, scope out an abandoned ferry boat jam-packed with arcade machines, and peruse the Museum of Old Technology in Belgium.

Thanks for all the feedback from last week’s post, especially the fun discussion about Dwarf Fortress. As always, make sure to share with us the links you’re reading. Have a great weekend! \(•◡•)/

Read more

Resources to Help You Learn PICO-8 Game Development

Kurtz and Joseph White Working on PICO-8 for PocketC.H.I.P.

Joseph White, the creator of PICO-8, Chatting with Kurtz at the NTC office

PocketC.H.I.P. comes with a free copy of PICO-8, an 8-bit game console perfect for developing your own custom video games. Unlike most game consoles, all the games for PICO-8 are free to download and open source ready to be hacked.

Of course, you’ll need to learn a bit about programming to take advantage of access to the source code. Here are a few resources to get you started programming for PICO-8.

Read more

Links We Like: Phill Tippett Monsters, Dwarf Fortress, & Emoticons

This week’s Links We Like visit Phil Tippett’s workshop, decypher the allure of Dwarf Fortress, and get emotional with Dr. Scott Fahlman, founder of the emoticon.

Thanks for all the feedback from last week’s post. I made sure that all the links this week cover things that still exist. As always, make sure to share with us the links you’re reading. Have a great weekend! \o/

Read more

Add a Speaker to PocketC.H.I.P. in Less Than 20 Minutes

Adding a speaker to PocketC.H.I.P. is a great way to start extending its hardware. Jose, one of the NTC electrical engineers, completed the hack in about 5 minutes and got everyone in the office excited about adding a speaker to their PocketC.H.I.P.s.

Modifying a new computer with custom circuitry and solder might seem intimidating or risky, but this project is accessible to everyone. Parts cost around $5.00 and should take about 30 minutes to build if you’re a beginner. If you get stuck or have questions, make sure to post them in our forums and be as detailed as possible.

Read more