Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft are collaborating on a series of new vocabularies that we can use in our websites to better mark up our pages. HTML5′s Microdata allows you to leverage these vocabularies.

Why should you care? Well, take it from the search engine providers themselves: “Search engines including Bing, Google and Yahoo! rely on this markup to improve the display of search results, making it easier for people to find the right web pages.”

Want to learn more about how Microdata may improve your search results snippets? NYCR member Alexis Goldstein will be giving a class on Microdata next Wednesday night. For more details and to RSVP, see: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1571260683

Want to learn to build websites? Have a website on wordpress, tumblr or blogger, but want to learn to customize it? This class will arm you with the skills and tools you need to do so. You will leave the class with a solid foundation in HTML/CSS AND a ready-reference card! More details and RSVP here.

Taught by NYC Resistor member Alexis Goldstein.

http://eyebeam.org/events/beyond-the-joystick-introduction-to-alternative-physical-interfaces

This workshop led by Eyebeam Fellow Kaho Abe is for artists, designers and hobbyists interested in starting to think about and explore alternative physical interfaces that can be used in games, toys or interactive art projects.

Thinking beyond the traditional screen, keyboard and mouse interface, as well as the traditional gaming controller, we will utilize tools including the Arduino development system, simple low-tech switches and sensors to create custom physical interfaces to enhance the user experience. And later on in the workshop, we will learn about combining Processing with the Arduino for a richer experience.

http://eyebeam.org/events/beyond-the-joystick-introduction-to-alternative-physical-interfaces

Come learn the basics of electronics from one of our most knowledgeable members this weekend. Come in out of the heat and enjoy our new air conditioner as you take in a wealth of knowledge about wrangling electricity to do your bidding.

This class is taught by NYC Resistor member Raphael Abrams.

Sign up here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1720898253

We’ve been honored to have John and Douglas of BrewShop teach beer making at our space. They’re growing in great ways, and can use our help.

City BrewShop is building an all-grain 30 gallon brewing system at their new beer making headquarters in New York City. 30 gallons — that’s a fish tank full of hopped goodness.

They’re less than $1,000 away from their goal of $4,000. Give $25 to help them get set up and receive a commemorative glass from which you can proudly drink your brew. There are other giving levels, too. Some include classes and VIP access to the space and events.

These two guys are amazing dedicated beer craftsmen. Let’s help them out.

Here’s a link to their Kickstarter campaign: http://kck.st/jDTiJe

* * * Please Redistribute * * *

The Open Hardware Summit (OHS) invites submissions for the second annual summit, to be held on September 15, 2011 in New York City. The Open Hardware Summit is a venue to present, discuss, and learn about open hardware of all kinds. The summit examines open hardware and its relation to other issues, such as software, design, business, and law. We are seeking submissions for talks, breakout sessions, and demos from individuals and groups working with open hardware and related areas. Submissions are due by June 24, 2011. Notification of accepted proposals will happen by August 1st.

Since the first Open Hardware Summit in 2010, we have seen the open hardware movement continue to flourish. The Open-Source Hardware Definition was announced, the OSHW logo was selected by a popular vote, an open source oil spill cleaning robot got more than $33,000 in crowd funding, Google adopted the open hardware movement’s biggest success story, Arduino, as its platform and our very own keynote speaker, Limor Fried, was featured on the front page of Wired Magazine – to name a few. Needless to say, open hardware is getting BIG.

Submission topics

Topics of interest for the summit include, but are not limited to:

• Lessons learned from past projects
• Legal and intellectual property implications of open-source hardware
• Means of supporting collaboration and community interaction
• Manufacturing
• Distributed development and its relationship to physical goods
• Digital fabrication (e.g. laser cutters and 3D printers)
• Software design tools (CAD / CAM)
• DIY technology
• Ways to share information about hardware that’s not captured in source files
• Business models
• Manufacturing on demand
• Competition and collaboration
• Sustainability of open hardware products (e.g. how to unmake things)
• Industrial design
• “open-washing” (green washing for open source)
• Open-hardware in the enterprise
• Specific product domains: e.g. science, agriculture, communications, medicine

And any other topic you think relates to openness and hardware. We want to hear all about it!

Types of submissions

You may submit proposals for one or more of the following formats:

Talk

• Expected duration for talks is between 5 and 20 minutes, depending on the number and quality of submissions.
• We expect all talks to be plenary (i.e. presented to the entire summit audience).
• Talk submissions primarily containing marketing for a product will not be accepted. However, talks that share knowledge and insight derived from work on commercial products are welcome.

Breakout session

• Depending on submissions, there may be an opportunity to organize breakout sessions with smaller groups (5-40) to discuss a particular topic
• We expect breakout sessions to occur during a single time-slot of approximately 1 to 2 hours.
• Breakout session submissions should include an overview of the content and plan for the session.
• You are encouraged to co-author breakout session submissions with other interested parties but sessions will be open to general summit attendees.

Project Demo

• This is a casual show and tell session that will take place during the end-of-day drinks.
• You are encouraged to include pictures as part of your demo submissions.
• Please include all demo requirements: amount and type of space (e.g. “one 3×3 foot table and one chair” or “a 5 × 5 section of wall with at least 10 feet in front of it”), power requirements (note: we cannot provide any power adaptors). Please keep in mind this is an informal project demo, and complex requirements/constraints (internet, light/sound conditions etc) will be difficult to accommodate.
• It will be your responsibility to carry/assemble/set up/disassemble your demo. We cannot provide any support for the receiving, storing, or shipping of demos.
• Note: If submitting a project demo, Your project MUST be working by the time of the summit.

Submission format

• Submissions should be formatted as plain text of no more than 1,000 words in length and include ALLof the following:
• The type of submission (talk, breakout session, or demo)
• A title
• A bio of the speaker(s) (That’s you!)
• What you intend to talk about, the topic for your breakout session, or a description of your demo
• An explanation the importance of your submission to the open-hardware community
• A maximum of TWO photos that help explain your topic of submission (optional)

Submissions should be emailed to proposals [AT] openhardwaresummit.org with the subject line “Open Hardware Summit submission” followed by the type of submission in parentheses (e.g. “Open Hardware Summit submission (breakout session)”). Deadline is JUNE 24th, 2011 BY 11:59pm (EST). Accepted submissions WILL BE PUBLISHED on the OHS website.

For more information

For more details about the Open Hardware Summit, see the website at openhardwaresummit.org Please direct questions about submissions to the Review Chair, David Mellis, at

mellis [AT] media.mit.edu.

Please direct other questions about the summit to General Chairs Alicia Gibb and Ayah Bdeir at

info [AT] openhardwaresummit.org

Thank you and we hope to see you in September!

This Satuday, June 4th, from 12-3 pm we’ll be having one of our periodic, super-awesome Arduino and soldering 101 classes!  You’ll learn to solder!  You’ll learn to program!  You’ll learn to use microcontrollers!  In fact, you’ll walk out the door twenty times more talented and amazing than you were when you walked in– and you’ll take a an Arduino-compatible board you assembled yourself with you.

In this four hour class you’ll:

• Solder together a Freeduino board (an Arduino Duemilanove-compatible board)
• Learn how to program it using the Arduino environment
• Wire up several circuits and load up code to read sensors and light LEDs
• Understand variables, functions, and basic Arduino functionality
• And more!

When you leave, you’ll have a micro-controller, a mini-USB cable and a few programs to play with.

You’ll need to bring a laptop with the Arduino environment installed. It’s available for all platforms at http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. (If you don’t have access to a laptop, please drop us a line at contact@nycresistor.com ahead of time and we’ll try to find a spare for the day.)

The class will be taught by NYC Resistor members Raphael Abrams and Ari Lacenski.  Sign up here!