Are you serious? Just like shiny things?

@blaineg They need to get with the times. It’s 63 cents a day, that’s $19 a month, and we’ll give you a t-shirt so you can show the world you waste money on all kinds of cra–I mean, so you can show your support.

@ExtraMedium
meh.

(Any attempt of a perfect streak here was dashed on day zero. I couldn’t meh click a shirt, y’know.)

@ExtraMedium @narfcake I have to click meh. I have NO money to even purchase anything.

@ExtraMedium @narfcake One of Simone’s comments on the instruction sheet is: “Be kind to yourself”.

@ExtraMedium

As if anyone cares about just clicking something daily.

Yea, that will never work.

@OnionSoup Just wait until they show up on Meh.

@OnionSoup This isn’t a $20 product, the parts alone exceed that, and the design and finish are worth something.

Is it worth $365? That’s an individual call. It’s not cheap, but it’s been worth it to me.

@blaineg @OnionSoup
You could make a functional similar one for under $20 but not the nice shiny one.
The under $20: Go with real buttons instead of touch. For for several hundreds tiny flat buttons, it is about 1c a piece, then for the LEDs ($3 for 1000) and a couple hundred diodes for the buttons ($5 for 1000), some arduino clone with enough pins (28) to charlieplex the whole contraption with some really messy code, that combines polling with driving led lights: $3-4. Now we’re at $12 or $13 with some resistors. And the price is getting tight. I need some particleboard panel to hotglue my handsoldered contraption on, cover it with a spacer that has individual holes and cover that with a plastic sheet. The whole thing will look and feel like the horrible buttons on a stove or microwave. I assume that I got enough solder and free enameled wire from that motor I found. It will be tight, but $20 could do it. And it will be nice for long winter nights to sit there and solder twenty to thirty buttons a night.

@blaineg @OnionSoup
The nice and shiny one: Assuming 16"x24" (40cmx60cm). A double sided pcb this size in larger quantities is already slightly more than $20, but once populated your project is almost done. Touch buttons add another $16. Total? At least $60 but probably under $100.

@formfeed @OnionSoup Go for it! And don’t forget to post photos.

@OnionSoup I do like the look of Simone’s product (as an art piece), but not something I would use (or build - unless I finish about 200 other things on my bucket list).

@formfeed yeah… I’m not actually going to make it either for same reason… I just feel like I would rather build one myself for that price.

@806D2701 Your project reality Fu is strong

@806D2701 @werehatrack So’s their sarcasm!

@806D2701 it really would depend on approach. I mean, if I wanted to cannibalize a touch screen from something obsolete rather than go the full button route, could 3D print a frame to go over the top to look like buttons. (ChatGPT could generate me an OpenSCAD script for a 3D model in seconds… And then I’d spend an hour fixing it’s mistakes… But still doable)… If I went that route it would be under a day to set up and free with parts I have on hand. (I’m not going to do that). The coding would be super simple.

As for cost @FormFeed gave some good cost estimates above if doing physical buttons and buying everything for the project new. It would be significantly over $20.

I would think for a company like Sharper Image to make these with the economy or scale though it could make them (perhaps with less bling) for $20 each, I’m sure.

FormFeed’s estimate was for a similar-but-rough mockup. Claiming that the coding would be super simple doesn’t mean that it actually is super simple, it’s more of a flex. Learning to use OpenCAD is not instant. Fixing AI mistakes would take more than a single hour. I estimate you could draw 365 circles on a piece of paper for $20.

@806D2701 the coding would be super simple (if you know coding… If you don’t it’s not). Certainly under an hour of work for a programmer. (If doing my touchscreen hack)… If individually buying LEDS and coding for them that would probably be a little more work (especially since more than normally channels available) I would need to probably look up how to handle that.

OpenSCAD I’m no expert and you don’t need to be with AI. I suck at 3D stuff… But it’s scripted so ChatGPT does surprisingly well at it if given clear instructions. You don’t need to know how to use it.

And you could even leave that out… Have black on touch screen around the buttons, that was just for a nice aesthetic…

@sammydog01 if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying

@earlyre
I like those

@blaineg This guy is just as excited as my cat would be over the box itself!

@Lynnerizer If you don’t remember Adam Savage, he was one of the leads on Mythbusters. He’s one of those rare people that seems to never have lost his sense of wonder.

@Lynnerizer How about Every Day’s a Fabulous Holiday?

https://www.amazon.com/Sandra-Boyntons-Fabulous-Holiday-Calendar-dp-1524890154/dp/1524890154

@blaineg Love it! Like, seriously, I love it enough to buy it!

@rockblossom No, it doesn’t crap out, you’re safe from power outages. No batteries to worry about either.

I’ve doodled on it before.

@rockblossom
@blaineg You actually have one?

@Kyeh @rockblossom Of course, I’m a sucker for shiny objects! And it actually has been very useful.

@blaineg @rockblossom Huh! Well, congratulations, I guess!

@blaineg
Is Simone the robot or the girl?

@Lynnerizer Yes.

Even if you have no interest in crappy robots or creating stuff, check out her channel. Most of the videos are pretty entertaining.

She took power tools to her Tesla, and turned it into a truck - years before the Cybertruck. It looks a lot better too!

@blaineg @Lynnerizer
Yay for her Truck-La!
…and I agree that it’s tons better than Egon Must’s Sibeher Truk

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!