To add my 2 cents here...
Part of the reason I'm not in the modding scene anymore is because I started getting involved in the "heavier" stuff, such as Arduino (though I initially despised the idea, because while I think the platform is great for beginners, it fails to teach some of the more basic stuff,) CNC machining, and more recently getting involved in 3d printing.
I think this is a natural path for those in the modding scene, certainly for those with a more technical bent. As these technologies have become more and more available and affordable for the general public, more and more of our own members, and the modding community in general, has gravitated in that direction.
That doesn't mean portabilizing is irrelevant, it's just been done to death, and I just think that the original crop that was interested in it has moved on to things that captivate their attention more. Why spend an entire week building a portable when I could spend the same amount of time/money and build a prototyping machine of some kind.
I would love a more community-friendly version of AVR freaks, something with an MR bent to it. AVR Freaks isn't UNfriendly, per-se, but definitely clique-ish. There are more "maker" faires opening up here and there, not just in my town but all over the country, and I would bet that a lot of those people may be looking for an online community that is more conversation-based instead of resource-based, such as Adafruit/etc.
I've certainly gotten to a point where I could be of use in this area, and I'm slowly regaining some of my time back from work (was working 80/90 hours a week for eons... thankfully that's ending.) But the other side of this coin is having a fully functioning staff that has the time, will, and want to work on restructuring things, which we are definitely short on at the moment, because most of the old guard has either moved on to other things or had RL things take over (such as myself.)
Sorry for the rant... I still check this board every day, and I love seeing what people build or tinker with, but the portabilizing thing has definitely died down in a lot of ways, and I think there are other somewhat related things we need to diversify into.
EDIT: MAH*Can'tSayThisOnTV*IN PAGE BREAK
Part of the reason I'm not in the modding scene anymore is because I started getting involved in the "heavier" stuff, such as Arduino (though I initially despised the idea, because while I think the platform is great for beginners, it fails to teach some of the more basic stuff,) CNC machining, and more recently getting involved in 3d printing.
I think this is a natural path for those in the modding scene, certainly for those with a more technical bent. As these technologies have become more and more available and affordable for the general public, more and more of our own members, and the modding community in general, has gravitated in that direction.
That doesn't mean portabilizing is irrelevant, it's just been done to death, and I just think that the original crop that was interested in it has moved on to things that captivate their attention more. Why spend an entire week building a portable when I could spend the same amount of time/money and build a prototyping machine of some kind.
I would love a more community-friendly version of AVR freaks, something with an MR bent to it. AVR Freaks isn't UNfriendly, per-se, but definitely clique-ish. There are more "maker" faires opening up here and there, not just in my town but all over the country, and I would bet that a lot of those people may be looking for an online community that is more conversation-based instead of resource-based, such as Adafruit/etc.
I've certainly gotten to a point where I could be of use in this area, and I'm slowly regaining some of my time back from work (was working 80/90 hours a week for eons... thankfully that's ending.) But the other side of this coin is having a fully functioning staff that has the time, will, and want to work on restructuring things, which we are definitely short on at the moment, because most of the old guard has either moved on to other things or had RL things take over (such as myself.)
Sorry for the rant... I still check this board every day, and I love seeing what people build or tinker with, but the portabilizing thing has definitely died down in a lot of ways, and I think there are other somewhat related things we need to diversify into.
EDIT: MAH*Can'tSayThisOnTV*IN PAGE BREAK
