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The Twittertape Machine |
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something... brown.
My paraphrasing (lamely) of the old saying for bringing good luck to
a bride aptly describes Adam Vaughan's effort in building his 'Twittertape
Machine.' Adam's machine prints out Twitter messages on a paper tape
in the manner of early stock market tickers. "This astounding device
will print a permanent copy of all Tweets yet requires no ink or computer."
So says a proclamation in vintage serif font and decorative trimmings
on the website's homepage. Indeed it does. The prototype uses two wall
wart AC/DC adapters, an Arduino-style microcontroller with an Ethernet
interface, a Bell jar, a thermal printer, and miscellaneous clock parts.
Full details of the design and operation are provided, including a video
(see below for one of them). It checks for and prints out available
Tweets every 30 seconds. Before you get upset about altering historic
relics to satisfy personal whims, Mr. Vaughn admonishes, "Fear not,
dear reader! Built to an original design, no antique stock tickers were
harmed during the making of The Twittertape Machine."
More details of the
Twittertape Machine are available on the gizmag website.
Posted August 26, 2013
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