From kgordon at epcanada.com Mon Nov 1 15:30:32 2010 From: kgordon at epcanada.com (Kevin Gordon) Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2010 15:30:32 -0400 Subject: [Health] $30 microscope In-Reply-To: References: , , Message-ID: <776E1CC7838381469474E5E717622CAC72A86F3F65@yyzexbe4.epcanada.com> Folks: The current microscope we have working is the Veho 20x /400x VMS004. They are available on eBay, in the range $30 through $70. From what I can deduce from the listings, there is no difference amongst them except the price. However, I prefer the listings that specifically state 1.3Mp, with 2Mp interpolated, and also say that they work on both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0. There are many USB microscopes which do NOT work, so it is important to be sure. There are interesting little issues with the USB drivers for each of the microscopes on each of the hardware platforms and builds. The school here always orders one and tests, before ordering in quantity. Kevin Olds, jump in here if there are any corrections to my dialogue, or perhaps give a more specific web link. Only once all the scopes are tested locally in Toronto, are they assigned for deployment to Kenya. Also, as of this specific moment, it only works on the 1.5's. We are continuing to work with Daniel at OLPC and our Texas volunteer, Mikus, to have a uniform set of drivers and kernels to enable a more consistent deployment environment of all of the science objects, across all of the OLPC platforms. But, out of the box, with a secure official build, it's 1.5 only, OS version 205 or above. I haven't tried it without drivers on Windows, because the vendor-provided Capture Windows software is very good, and is free with the scope. I did not have the same luck with the Mac provided proprietary software; capture actually seemed better with no installation of added drivers and/or software, in Apple's own Photobooth and iChat. Strange, but true. Also, some of the shipments came only with Windows drivers. As for software, since some the microscopes we tested seem not to be guvcvideo compliant, we have had most success in using Cheese on both the Sugar and the Gnome side, with no customizations to either the kernels or the drivers for all of builds 205, 206, and 852 - but only guaranteed with that Veho. Suffice to say, we have had more that don't work than do. We also test them on the generic Fedora 11 and Ubuntu 10.04 laptops to ensure that we aren't chasing our tails. Also, if I can be so bold, please be careful in the magnification ratings, In some cases, it's nothing more than a digital zoom and the bigger number actually gives less quality Again, we have found this Veho, with the 400x rating and a stated 1.3Mp resolution to be the best price/performance. Thanks for the info and the opportunity to share, Nick. Cheers, KG Kevin Gordon | CTO EP Canada Film Services Inc. 130 Bloor Street West, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1N5 Tel: 416.927.2218 Fax: 416.920.9134 Email: kgordon at epcanada.com Website: www.epcanada.com Confidential Information: This message and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the intended recipient(s), are confidential, and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, retransmission, conversion to hard copy, reproduction, circulation or other use of this message and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, and delete this message and any attachments from your system. Thank you. -----Original Message----- From: Nicholas Doiron [mailto:ndoiron at andrew.cmu.edu] Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 2:10 AM To: Caryl Bigenho Cc: Samuel Klein; health at lists.laptop.org; kolds at ucc.on.ca; Kevin Gordon; agordonxii at me.com Subject: Re: [Health] $30 microscope Caryl, You should get in touch with the team from Upper Canada College in Toronto (CC'd on this e-mail). At the SF summit they had hooked up their XOs to a video microscope and sensors from the science education supplier Vernier: http://www.vernier.com/probes/index.html I am not sure of the cost of their microscope, but it worked quite well. They may be interested in getting a second one for $30 if it can work with their XOs. Regards, Nick Doiron On Tue, October 26, 2010 12:48 am, Caryl Bigenho wrote: > > Hi Beth.... > Did you get one of the microscopes? How does it work? Does it work > with the XO without the software that comets with it for the PC? I > would love to get one, and will, if it works. Caryl > > >> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:31:03 +0000 >> From: sj at laptop.org >> To: cbigenho at hotmail.com >> CC: health at lists.laptop.org >> Subject: Re: [Health] $30 microscope >> >> >> What was the microscope on display during the hack session at SFSU, >> and how much was it? >> >> On Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 5:53 PM, Caryl Bigenho >> wrote: >> >>> Hi All... >>> The paramecium video sold me! I want one. Only has software for a >>> Mac and my eeePC doesn't have an optical drive to load the software. >>> What to do? Actually if someone can get this to run on the XOs it >>> would be perfect for what we are doing! Maybe I'll order one anyway >>> Caryl >>> >>> >>> ________________________________ >>> From: beth at waveplace.org >>> Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:49:27 -0500 >>> To: health at lists.laptop.org >>> Subject: [Health] $30 microscope >>> >>> >>> Interesting microscope I found via Woot! today: >>> >>> >>> http://www.suntekstore.com/1-3-mega-pixel-led-usb-digital-microscope >>> - >>> video-camera-10x__-230x-.html?&utm_source=woot&utm_medium=paid&utm_c >>> o >>> ntent=deals&utm_campaign=s0003 >>> >>> For less than a solar panel you could be sending one or more of >>> these out with every deployment... >>> >>> Beth >>> >>> >>> --- >>> Beth Santos >>> Outreach Coordinator >>> Waveplace Foundation >>> >>> >>> Tel: +1 610 797 3100 x 44 >>> Fax: +1 610 797 3199 >>> Cell: +1 603 661 1273 >>> http://www.waveplace.org >>> Waveplace on Facebook >>> Twitter: @waveplace >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ Health mailing list >>> Health at lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Health mailing list >>> Health at lists.laptop.org >>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Samuel Klein identi.ca:sj w:user:sj +1 617 >> 529 4266 >> _______________________________________________ >> Health mailing list >> Health at lists.laptop.org >> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health >> > _______________________________________________ > Health mailing list > Health at lists.laptop.org > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health > > From beth at waveplace.org Wed Nov 10 08:44:21 2010 From: beth at waveplace.org (Beth Santos) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:44:21 -0500 Subject: [Health] Fwd: [IAEP] FoodForce2 Release In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: --- *Beth Santos* Outreach Coordinator Waveplace Foundation Tel: +1 610 797 3100 x 44 Fax: +1 610 797 3199 Cell: +1 603 661 1273 http://www.waveplace.org Waveplace on Facebook Twitter: @waveplace ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: FoodForce2 Date: Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 4:58 AM Subject: [IAEP] FoodForce2 Release To: iaep at lists.sugarlabs.org Cc: grivan.ozone at gmail.com, mohitgenii at gmail.com, deepankgupta at gmail.com Hi All, After the tremendous response to the previous version of Foodforce with over 200 thousand downloads and lots of feedback, here we are again, with a brand new version available at http://www.foodforce2.com/downloads.php or at the Activity page: http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4206. This version incorporates feature requests, numerous bug fixes and a lot more! Some major highlights with this release are: - New missions with a brand new story revolving around Haiti earthquake. We can now support custom stories as well. - Better soundtracks and improved game-play! - A localised version for Spanish. We hope that you give this game a twirl and if you like it, also use it as an educational tool for telling stories and analytical learning. Please send us your comments, criticisms, feedback, translation requests, and ideas for more stories by replying to this email. Cheers, The FoodForce2 Team _______________________________________________ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/health/attachments/20101110/1200e6d6/attachment.htm From curiouslee at gmail.com Thu Nov 18 23:14:03 2010 From: curiouslee at gmail.com (Mike Lee) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:14:03 -0500 Subject: [Health] $30 microscope In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi all, I ordered this Digimicro 1.3mp USB microscope and it arrived from China today. I was able to pretty easily get it running on an XO-1.5 in Gnome. Photos and details here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/5188951606/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/5188951710/in/photostream/ Here's the reference I used for the installation: http://www.stealthcopter.com/blog/2010/03/digimicro-200x-zooming-usb-digital-microscope-in-ubuntu-linux/ Mike On Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 10:49 AM, Beth Santos wrote: > Interesting microscope I found via Woot! today: > > http://www.suntekstore.com/1-3-mega-pixel-led-usb-digital-microscope-video-camera-10x__-230x-.html?&utm_source=woot&utm_medium=paid&utm_content=deals&utm_campaign=s0003 > > For less than a solar panel you could be sending one or more of these out > with every deployment... > > Beth > > --- > Beth Santos > Outreach Coordinator > Waveplace Foundation > > Tel: +1 610 797 3100 x 44 > Fax: +1 610 797 3199 > Cell: +1 603 661 1273 > http://www.waveplace.org > Waveplace on Facebook > Twitter: @waveplace > > _______________________________________________ > Health mailing list > Health at lists.laptop.org > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health > > From cbigenho at hotmail.com Fri Nov 19 00:37:05 2010 From: cbigenho at hotmail.com (Caryl Bigenho) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:37:05 -0800 Subject: [Health] $30 microscope In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: Hi Mike, What is the range of powers of magnification and what were you using for the image shown in the photo? Caryl > Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:14:03 -0500 > From: curiouslee at gmail.com > To: beth at waveplace.org > CC: health at lists.laptop.org > Subject: Re: [Health] $30 microscope > > Hi all, > > I ordered this Digimicro 1.3mp USB microscope and it arrived from > China today. I was able to pretty easily get it running on an XO-1.5 > in Gnome. Photos and details here: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/5188951606/in/photostream/ > http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/5188951710/in/photostream/ > > Here's the reference I used for the installation: > http://www.stealthcopter.com/blog/2010/03/digimicro-200x-zooming-usb-digital-microscope-in-ubuntu-linux/ > > Mike > > > > On Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 10:49 AM, Beth Santos wrote: > > Interesting microscope I found via Woot! today: > > > > http://www.suntekstore.com/1-3-mega-pixel-led-usb-digital-microscope-video-camera-10x__-230x-.html?&utm_source=woot&utm_medium=paid&utm_content=deals&utm_campaign=s0003 > > > > For less than a solar panel you could be sending one or more of these out > > with every deployment... > > > > Beth > > > > --- > > Beth Santos > > Outreach Coordinator > > Waveplace Foundation > > > > Tel: +1 610 797 3100 x 44 > > Fax: +1 610 797 3199 > > Cell: +1 603 661 1273 > > http://www.waveplace.org > > Waveplace on Facebook > > Twitter: @waveplace > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Health mailing list > > Health at lists.laptop.org > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Health mailing list > Health at lists.laptop.org > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/health/attachments/20101118/ff9de19d/attachment.htm From curiouslee at gmail.com Fri Nov 19 00:43:34 2010 From: curiouslee at gmail.com (Mike Lee) Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:43:34 +0000 Subject: [Health] $30 microscope In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The packaging claims 200x. The photo of the eagle head from a quarter is with the scope touching the coin. The photos were taken with the Cheese utility and then individually saved out to the Documents folder in Gnome. From there I emailed them to myself in Gmail. Info on Cheese http://projects.gnome.org/cheese/ Microscope came from DealExtreme http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11743~r.27613104 Mike On Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 5:37 AM, Caryl Bigenho wrote: > Hi Mike, > What is the range of powers of magnification and what were you using for the > image shown in the photo? > Caryl > >> Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:14:03 -0500 >> From: curiouslee at gmail.com >> To: beth at waveplace.org >> CC: health at lists.laptop.org >> Subject: Re: [Health] $30 microscope >> >> Hi all, >> >> I ordered this Digimicro 1.3mp USB microscope and it arrived from >> China today. I was able to pretty easily get it running on an XO-1.5 >> in Gnome. Photos and details here: >> >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/5188951606/in/photostream/ >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/5188951710/in/photostream/ >> >> Here's the reference I used for the installation: >> >> http://www.stealthcopter.com/blog/2010/03/digimicro-200x-zooming-usb-digital-microscope-in-ubuntu-linux/ >> >> Mike >> >> >> >> On Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 10:49 AM, Beth Santos wrote: >> > Interesting microscope I found via Woot! today: >> > >> > >> > http://www.suntekstore.com/1-3-mega-pixel-led-usb-digital-microscope-video-camera-10x__-230x-.html?&utm_source=woot&utm_medium=paid&utm_content=deals&utm_campaign=s0003 >> > >> > For less than a solar panel you could be sending one or more of these >> > out >> > with every deployment... >> > >> > Beth >> > >> > --- >> > Beth Santos >> > Outreach Coordinator >> > Waveplace Foundation >> > >> > Tel: +1 610 797 3100 x 44 >> > Fax: +1 610 797 3199 >> > Cell: +1 603 661 1273 >> > http://www.waveplace.org >> > Waveplace on Facebook >> > Twitter: @waveplace >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Health mailing list >> > Health at lists.laptop.org >> > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> Health mailing list >> Health at lists.laptop.org >> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health >