Boo-hoo! I have to miss 360|Flex Milan

Unfortunately (for me, at least), I've had to pull out of my Cowbell Hero session @ 360|Flex Milan. I can't make the conference any longer, and I'm feeling very, very sheepish (as opposed my usual "moose-ish") for canceling so close the conference.

Tom and John have been great about it. They really have the coolest conference going these days.

But just because I can't go, it doesn't mean you shouldn't (my absence might even be *more* of a reason to go!). You simply will not find a better value for your 360 Euros than in Milan, April 7-9.

Cheers,
Doug

PS: Cowbell Hero is still a go, and I'll be posting details on this blog as development progresses.

Come see Cowbell Hero @ 360|Flex Europe!

I'm excited to be presenting at 360|Flex Europe in Milan, Apr 7-9.

When I first talked with Tom & John about the Milan gig last August, I said that I had wanted to present something that integrates hardware and physical interaction with the Flash platform.

So over the past year I've been working on a number of home projects centered around the Arduino, a low-cost open source hardware platform, which fittingly was designed in Italy.

The Arduino is a 16 Mhz Atmel microcontroller with a USB interface and a number of digital I/Os and analog inputs. You can purchase a fully assembled Arduino controller for less than $40. And open source IDE is available for Mac/Windows/Linux.

So $40 plus a few spare LEDs and simple components can yield some interesting stuff.

Cowbell Hero with an Arduino

This Christmas my son got an Xbox 360, and I got Guitar Hero. Now my son (15) and daughter (11) routinely kick my butt at this game (but at least they unlocked Trogdor! for me).

When I was planning for 360 Milan, I was trying to think of a fun way to engage the audience, and I thought it would be fun to create game in AIR. Natuarally, this game had to be Cowbell Hero.

We'll be hooking up my Mac to the projector, the Arduino, and the sound system, and rocking out like Bruce Dickinson would want.


So sign up now for 360 Flex Europe, and I'll see you in Milan!