Nerd Stalker

We follow a lot of the chip companies as they position for chunks and pieces of the IoT landscape. The players are the chip gorillas - Intel, Samsung and some are part of the ARM consortium. The chips or ICs lay the foundation for creativity in the IoT space and low power is the key. Some brands do it through education and some through engaging the IoT startup community and others both. Atmel seems to have a handle in the "both" category. We catch up with Atmel's Bob Martin and he takes us through some highlighted IoT Atmel-using startups at a recent Maker Faire.

At the last Maker Faire Bay Area, Sprout by HP showed off some of its highlighted apps. One of them,  Origami Apprentice by Ideum  , was not necessarily an app that will make you an origami expert but showed off the concept that Sprout is bringing to the maker table - physical to beautiful to digital. The Sprout hardware / App combination shows off what is possible for learning in a Sprout world which has a projector, touch surface and a 3D scanner. We catch up with Sheau-Lan Reed, Head of Ecosystem at Sprout, to talk about Origami Apprentice. 

We caught up with Sheau-Lan Reed , Head of Ecosystem at Sprout, to talk about Sprout and some of their apps. When HP announced it will split into two companies, Sprout is a genesis of what  Dion Weisler, former Executive Vice President of HP’s Printing and Personal Systems business, and now CEO of HP Inc. said " HP Inc.  will be extremely well positioned to deliver that innovation across our traditional markets as well as extend our leadership into new markets like 3-D printing and new computing experiences – inventing technology that empowers people to create, interact and inspire like never before. ”

The evolving IoT space continues to evolve as chip makers gear-up for more powerful yet lower power devices. Enter Cypress Semiconductor, who has spent years on the programmable  System-on-a Chip (SOC) technology which has enabled consumer items like your Sonicare toothbrush and the old but not forgotten selection wheel on an iPod . Cypress is trying to carve out a space in the IoT market with Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE) technology married to their PSoC devices. Too technical? This means your BLE device can be smarter and can control more complex things.  We caught up with Gagan Luthra of Cypress Semiconductor at the last Maker Faire Bay Area to discuss their latest BLE offering. Check it out!

Dremel's move from a pure subtractive tool manufacturer to an additive tool manufacturer changed last year with their introduction of their first 3D printer - Idea Builder . They will have some big looks with a below $1k price tag and big box reach. We were very lucky to see the Idea Builder up front with some comments by Dremel's president John Kavanagh and 3D Product Manager - Daniel Blythe. An important announcement at the 2015 Maker Faire Bay Area was their partnership with HP Sprout. This partnership brings a full cycle solution for DIY and makers. Give it a look.

When you think of Dremel , you think high speed rotary tools, right? I have modified and made things with their high-speed rotary tools but never thought about them in the digital arena. Things are changing at Dremel. Recently, we found Dremel's president, John Kavanagh at the 2015 Maker Faire Bay Area and talked with him about how Dremel is attracting the new generation of maker. He shares his thoughts on the Maker Faire from Dremel's point of view. Give it a view.

At this year's Game Developer's Conference, the noticeable uncertainty was the future of console vs. mobile vs. cloud gaming and which one will eventually win out. Forward to the 2015 Maker Faire, we caught up with Roblox , the biggest player in the cloud/online MMO gaming arena. Our, Greg Viloria (aka Social Greg), interviews Rick Silvestrini of Roblox on the current status of the game platform. Notably, what makes them a big player amongst young game developers and leader in the online gaming arena is the 5M active users and an active developers platform sporting $2M in payouts to date. Check out our interview!