Tag Archives: hacking

Sci-Tech

The Crappy But Amazing Toy Sampling Keyboard That Influenced Legions

Leave a comment

SPOTLIGHT: The Casio SK series keyboards, carries great nostalgia for many of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s.

My friend got one for his birthday, and after spending an entire day at his place sampling burps, coughs and farts, I knew I was destined to become an electronic musician. If this is your story too- let us know below in the comments section.

The SK line’s distinctive design and sound evoke memories of early bedroom-made electronic music and hip-hop production, making it a sought-after collector’s item. The SK sound quality is characterized by its lo-fi charm. Everything sampled into it sounds like crap, but in a good way!

There’s a thriving community of musicians and collectors who appreciate the SK-2 , SK-5, SK-8 et al for their historical significance and cultural impact.

Used prominently on my 2008 release of AUDIOCOSM by Jarrod Barker, the SK-8 was used as a sampling beat box and also one or two of its famous presets were used in a loop to create swirling matrices of sound on a number of tracks. I found this keyboard in a thrift store in 2007 buried in the children’s electronic toys. It was $2.99 CAD and even had the battery cover. This fortuitous discovery was the spark that led to the writing and recording (on a boat no less!) of AUDIOCOSM.

The rare white version of the SK-10.

At their absolute basic, the SK line are fun keyboards and a great introduction tool to lo-fi sampling. But there is much more.

After recording a short audio sample (recorded either via the built in monophonic microphone or by plugging in an audio source using the 1/8″ female jack) you can choose from various envelopes (settings that affect how the sound starts, how long it sounds and how it ends) and also select whether to reverse or loop samples. These toy synthesizers are a treat when connected via guitar effects pedals. A good outboard effect can transform these keyboards into something much more powerful and believable. If that isn’t enough you can explore the factory preset sounds some of which sound more realistic than others but all have usefulness in the correct setting.

Most SK’s have a decent enough piano, vibraphone, flute, trumpet and clarinet sounds. There are also built-in speakers that are loud enough for mobile use such as camping or beach hang outs and of course the SK’s run on batteries. They also have line out feature which bypasses the onboard speakers allowing you to record them into your favorite DAW or standalone recording machine….an analog 4 track is a great bedfellow.

The Mod community and the SK (circuit bending)

Due to it’s relative affordability (used prices have continued to rise in the past 10 years) the SK series of keyboards have been embraced by electronic musician modifiers. Their basic construction and ease of internal access makes modifying them a lot of fun. The creativity of modders seems to be endless- everything from MIDI control to individual audio outputs to real time control of sound chips using dip switches or rotary controls.

Join that thriving community by buying this one from our friend at Tone Tweakers today! For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Art

Beautiful Minecraft Coffee Table Book Features Stunning In Game Built Art

Leave a comment

Twelve years ago to the day,  back in the year 2009 – a Video game called #Minecraft was unassumingly released. The sandbox video game became the second best selling PC-based game in history and was bought by Microsoft for $2.5B usd in 2014. 

In keeping with our look back celebration, let’s check out this wonderful book for Minecraft lovers everywhere: Beautiful Minecraft ($19.95, 112 pp., 4C, hardcover).

minecraft book page example1

As they pore over the pages in this remarkable collection, Minecraft lovers of all stripes will find themselves immersed in a world of astonishing creations like floating steampunk cities, massive alien worlds, detailed classical sculptures, fantastical landscapes, and architectural marvels. The sculptures and scenes throughout the book are built from thousands to millions of blocks and represent months and even years of design work on the part of their creators.

I wanted to show how a video game can become a true artistic medium…how players can become artists.

beautiful minecraft book cover“Beautiful Minecraft is the sort of thing that fans of the game are sure to love because it brings them even closer to the game they love,” said No Starch Press founder Bill Pollock. “Since my first visit to MineCon in 2011, I’ve been inspired by the passion Minecraft fans have for something that is much more than a game. Beautiful Minecraft shows us how in game creations can be high art, and the results are nothing less than amazing.”

For the Silo, James Delaney-author, managing director of BlockWorks: a team of Minecraft artists from around the world. BlockWorks has created artwork for companies like Disney, Microsoft, Warner Brothers, and The Guardian.

Publisher: No Starch Press
Author: James Delaney
Print ISBN: 978-1-59327-765-9
Price: $19.95
Specs: 112 pp., 4C, Hardcover

You Might Also Be Interested In:

other cool books via no starch
The Game Console by Evan Amos
The Arduino Inventor’s Guide by Derek Runberg and Brian Huang
The Hardware Hacker by Andrew “bunnie” Huang

Available in fine bookstores everywhere and from http://www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or by contacting marketingdirector@thesilo.ca

About No Starch Press
No Starch Press has published the finest in geek entertainment since 1994, covering topics like LEGO, hacking, science, math, and programming for all ages. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about.

Sci-Tech

World Agencies Are Eradicating Car Hacking

Leave a comment

With Cars becoming more like smartphones nowadays, we thought we’d take a look at the growing concern of Car hacking, a phenomenon that’s sending chill up motorists’ and manufacturers’ spines across the globe, more efficiently than any air-conditioning unit could ever do.

However, perhaps even more importantly, we’ll tell you what the world’s governing agencies are doing to help eradicate car hacking and what YOU can do to prevent your car from being hacked. For the Silo, Louis S. Dixon and our friends at Select Car Leasing UK.

who discovered car hacking infographic

Sci-Tech

Current State of Cybersecurity Doesn’t Work

Leave a comment

“You pay your money, as the saying goes, and you take your chances.” says Falkowitz, CEO of Area 1 Security. “More and more these days, it seems like this ‘policy’ is the rule rather than the exception, in everything from health care insurance to the commuter parking lot. Even though you’ve paid for the product or service, no one’s really responsible for some reason when you suffer damages while consuming whatever it is you bought. Or worse yet, you somehow find that whatever you bought doesn’t really do what you bought it for. And there’s an asterisk somewhere in the fine print to explain why. Unfortunately, nowhere is this more prevalent than in today’s cybersecurity industry.”

Despite the billions spent on cybersecurity we continue to suffer the most debilitating and expensive breaches imaginable, and some that cannot be imagined under any circumstances. Yet experts predict the worst is still to come. Cybercrime has moved from data theft and website defacement to a trajectory that includes data manipulation, data loss and eventually, if something is not done to change the economics of being a bad guy on the internet, threats to the stability of society itself.

“Cybersecurity companies seem to be content to collect their millions with the caveat that they can’t really offer protection in exchange,” continues Falkowitz. “Their customers likewise collect mountains of data on their customers and are appropriately contrite when that data is stolen or misused but the apology is not accompanied by compensation. Even the government can’t protect itself, or its citizens even if they’re attacked by another nation-state.”

Phishing

The excuses and the explanations are familiar: Cybersecurity is too complicated. Hackers are too clever. Attacks are unprecedented.

“Nonsense. Every bit of it.” says Falkowitz. “Cybersecurity is no more complicated than hundreds of other things we do routinely, from sending astronauts into space or open heart surgery. Hackers are human, just more persistent about how to fool the rest of us. And attacks are based on the same tried and true methods—phishing—they’ve been using for decades.”

Oren J. Falkowitz is the co-founder and CEO of Silicon Valley’s Area 1 Security. Oren held senior positions at the NSA and United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) where he focused on Computer Network Operations & Big Data and is a predominant cybersecurity industry thought-leader committed to keeping high-level national security conversations relevant.  For the Silo, by Jennifer Vickery. 

Supplemental- What exactly is phishing?

Sci-Tech

New Book Is Inventors Guide To Open Source Arduino Microcontroller

Leave a comment

San Francisco, CA —School’s out for summer, but learning doesn’t have to stop at the classroom door. For parents and educators looking to keep their students exploring, tinkering, and creating, No Starch Press offers the latest addition to its lineup of STEM books. This time focusing on the Arduino microcontroller.

The Arduino Inventor’s Guide (No Starch Press, $29.95USD, 336 pp., June 2017) is a project-packed introduction to building and coding with the Arduino microcontroller. With each hands-on project, total beginners learn useful electronics and coding skills while building an interactive gadget.

This is No Starch Press’s second installment in its introductory-level educational series for aspiring makers. The series is a collaboration with SparkFun Electronics, the popular electronics parts retailer dedicated to making the world of electronics more accessible to the average person. Authors Brian Huang and Derek Runberg of SparkFun’s Department of Education use their teaching experience to make learning about electronics an adventure.

“We wanted to share the magic that happens when you build something interactive with electronics,” says Huang. “The goal is to teach real, valuable hardware skills, one project at a time,” adds Runberg.

Readers learn how to make their hardware move, buzz, flash, and interact with the world as they build 10 projects, including:

  • A miniature traffic light
  • A light-sensitive, color-changing night-light
  • A temperature-sensing mini greenhouse
  • A motorized, programmable robot
  • A tiny, playable electric piano

“We’ve teamed up with SparkFun to make electronics and coding skills achievable for anyone,” says No Starch Press founder Bill Pollock. “This book will take total beginners from blinking their first LED to programming their first robot.”

 

Sample pages from The Arduino Inventor’s Guide:

For the Silo, Amanda Hariri.
About the Authors

Brian Huang is the Education Engineer for SparkFun Electronics. He combines his knowledge of teaching and engineering to create professional development materials.

Derek Runberg works in the Department of Education at SparkFun Electronics, where he runs workshops about technology in classrooms and at conferences. He is the author of The SparkFun Guide to Processing.

SparkFun Electronics is an online retail store that sells electronic parts for DIY projects. It offers classes for the public as well as resources, tutorials, and professional development for educators through its Department of Education.

Arduino Inventor's Guide The Arduino Inventor’s Guide
Publisher: No Starch Press
Authors: Brian Huang and Derek Runberg
Print ISBN: 978-1-59327-652-2
Price: $29.95USD
Publication Date: June 2017
Specs: 336 pp., 4C  Available in fine bookstores everywhere, contact marketingdirector@thesilo.ca for locations near you and online ordering information.About No Starch Press
From deep in the heart of San Francisco’s start-up gulch, No Starch Press carefully crafts the finest in geek entertainment. The growing list of award-winning No Starch Press bestsellers covers topics like LEGO, hacking, STEM, programming, science, and math. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about.