Intro to Hardware Hacking for Software Developers w/Eric Lee

Step out of your cozy software cocoon into the messy and wonderful world of hardware hacking! This is the golden age of the Maker - it’s never been easier to design and build your own custom gadgets from scratch. Whether you’re interested in robotics, home automation, or amateur science, the field of electronics is easy to get into and there are a wide variety of products and educational resources available to help you get started. How can a software developer make the leap to hardware hacking? Fortunately there are a variety of platforms to choose, operating at various levels of abstraction, so you can work in a manner most comfortable to you. From tiny but fully-functional Linux computers all the way down to discrete electronics components with no programmable logic in them at all, there’s something for everyone who wants to make something. We’ll conduct a broad survey of the options and resources that are available to the hardware-curious software developer. What hardware platform should you choose? What tools do you need? Where do you buy stuff? Once you have all of your supplies, what kinds of things can you build? We won’t go very deep on any particular topic but you’ll leave equipped with the roadmap you need to pursue your own interests. Bio:
Eric Lee didn’t particularly enjoy his hardware classes in college but after 20 years as a software developer he’s found electronics to be a refreshing and educational new hobby. He has extensive software experience in games and cloud computing, and only about six months of self-taught experience in hardware. He aspires to become a mad-genius scientist when he grows up.