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Topic: Hardware

Sophisticated, Open Source iCufflinks by Adafruit Industries

Summary: Adafruit Industries has released their first in a line of original, open-source jewelry: iCufflinks.

Violet Blue

By for Pulp Tech |

Adafruit Industries is not only a hardware hacker's candy store, the woman-run empire based on fun, slightly subversive and truly innovative DIY hardware kits has released their first in a line of original, open-source jewelry: iCufflinks.

Gallery: Open source iCufflinks

These are definitely the gift to get your Mac Daddy. iCufflinks have a bit of Apple flavor, a touch of Mad Men style, and a lot more going on under the hood than your ordinary cufflinks.

Die hard open-source hardheads might think that actually calling a pair of cufflinks open-source would be to trivialize both the concept and the philosophy.

Think again.

Adafruit's Phillip Torrone tells me,

Open source electronic cufflinks that pulsate like Apple Macs - a very last minute ultimate geek gift for Father's day. I co-designed these little cufflinks that subtlety pulsated like a Mac. I wanted something that was futuristic but still classy enough to wear for special events when I need to get dressed up. There will be a necklace version too, of course.

Gorgeous, they're machined in Air-matching aluminum and "pulse" much like your MacBook - the default pattern is reverse engineered from the Apple "breathing" LED on Macs, MacBooks, iMacs, etc. - with a brilliant open-source exception.

The source code, circuit board files, schematics and CAD files are posted on GitHub. Adafruit invites anyone and everyone to modify, reprogram and hack the iCufflinks into any pattern, with potential for so much more in music-fueled environments.

Even if you don't require hackable cufflinks for your next fancy event, VC meetup or launch party, they're smartly made to power up right out of the box: the included battery snaps in, then screw on each link's backing and the iCufflinks softly "breathe" for up to 24 hours.

The iCufflinks are a departure for a company known for its Arduino-heavy focus. But as we've seen with the unstoppable Limor Fried - AKA Lady Ada - who set up the infamous open call to hack the Kinect XBox 360 for a $3,000 bounty (and ruffled feathers at Microsoft), anything's possible.

Why not look slick when you're stirring things up a little?

Adafruit Industries' new iCufflinks are available now for $128.

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Topics: Hardware, Open Source, Security

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  • General Shirts

    These aren't just open source cufflinks. They are GNU cufflinks. Which means that as soon as you put them on, you have to give everyone the shirt off your back.
    Robert Hahn
    Reply Vote

  • Not at all open source

    Oooh, reprogrammable flashing lights! What a hugely new concept! My furnace came with schematics - does that make it open source?
    aep528
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Sophisticated, Open Source iCufflinks by Adafruit Industries

      @aep528
      Don't be a dick
      fluxtatic
      Reply Vote

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