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EA Sports covers nearly all the big sports: football, soccer, golf, basketball, hockey, etc. But will it ever tackle a more niche interest? Its president, Peter Moore, certainly sees that as a possibility -- just not on the current HD consoles.

Obviously, the main obstacle in the path of these smaller sports is development cost. "It would be very difficult for us to justify putting a full-blown next-gen team on with all the associated costs," Moore explained to Edge. However, he does see an alternative. "Can we do a browser based version? So I think the answer's yes, but we're not there yet ... Digitize that content and provide experience for - and I don't want to call them lesser sports - but regional sports that find it difficult to scale."

EA is already dabbling in a number of browser-based experiences, including FIFA Online and Tiger Woods Online. With its continued expansion in the area (see: the recent acquisition of Playfish), the future certainly holds a lot of possibilities. Who knows -- the lower barrier of entry may one day enable EA Sports to make that lacrosse game we've been dreaming up.

EA Sports' Moore envisions browser-based games for smaller sports originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Automata guru and MAKE pal Dug North says:

For a limited time, Cabaret Mechanical Theatre is offering a free download of an eighteen page booklet by famed automata-maker Paul Spooner. This is a great resource for the mechanically-curious and must have for automata-makers.

The PDF is free to download until September 30.

[Thanks, Dug!]

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And we're back with our thirteenth installment of Your Comments. Here are our favorites from the past week, from Make: Online, our Facebook page, and Twitter.

Over on Facebook, many people were pining for a kit version of the Elegant POV clock. Gregory Wild-Smith summed it up well:

I want... nay NEED a kit for this. Right now.

Also on Facebook, Lisa Roselinsky Weller had a good observation about the flamethrower trombone:

Ha. Another reason to have the trombones march in the front rank!

Namban liked the style of the antique clocks turned into speaker cases, but was concerned about their construction:

Elegant...
BUT BLASPHEMY!
Those look like very old ormolu clocks. I really, really hope the movements were missing from those, or at the least, not working, and set aside.
This is one of those cases where I really hope he used modern cheap clocks that were made to look old- but those look original.
eyes in pain...

however db3ll, the creator of the project, set them straight:

Hi.
I'm the guy who did this, and no clocks were harmed; yes, they are old spelter clocks, but they have damage to them that prevents them from being worth much. Clock cases like these are usually available on ebay, or antique clock repair places will sell them to you also. They're pretty common.
I have the movements (not in good shape); if I wanted to change them back to non-working clocks it'd be about a half hour job.

Eric Hunting enjoyed the playable mini drumset:

This video was more than awesome...
...It was the Bees Knees!

Oddity explains the concept of 'geek life' for the Geek Dad book giveaway:

I don't know that we have geek projects so much as "geek life". So far this summer we've caught a meteor shower and explored Yellowstone (both from a beauty and science perspective). I taught my oldest to use a compass then explained how the magnifying glass on the compass could be used to start a fire. I taught my wife to solder and explained how the switch works on the trimmer so that next time it breaks, she can fix it. I hacked my sump pump outlet to provide a "hose" near the house to water the yard/gardens, which amazed my youngest (4) and prompted a whole discussion on "hacking" things to make them better. He is getting ready to start the hydroponics setup with me again (fresh lettuce, and this time we're going to try tomatoes and peppers). I'm currently looking for a couple of battlebot kits for the family to put together for Christmas, though looking at Ken's demolition car with Lego video, that might be just as much fun. I suppose the only "project" I want to do with the kids is build a fly a sky lantern, as I remember doing this in school (but for some reason they won't let them launch them in the gym anymore :-D) I suppose if I paid more attention, wrote things down, actually had a "plan" sometimes these would be "projects". Really we're just having fun.

Wilson provides a good example of how to give constructive criticism about the Spray bike makeover project:

Carefully considering the "be nice" comment policy, I have to say the paint colors they chose are pretty.
But doesn't a bike that has sat outside gathering weeds deserves more TLC than a quick respray? It's pretty easy to strip a single-speed bike like that fully - the headset and bottom bracket are easy, and a chain breaker is relatively cheap. You could even repack the front hub easily, but the rear coaster-brake is trickier to pull apart and reassemble.

There was a good discussion about the One-Way Ticket article in the latest issue of MAKE. Commenter gtoal was able to get theirs working:

Success! Great project, was easy to build once I found the parts. I did google for tips on how to apply the cement, and I would add to your description that it's worth attaching the plunger end first, so you can lean heavily on the other end to help push it all the way on, without worrying about pushing too hard on the newly cemented valve :-/
By the way, 'insinkerator' is a brand of garbage disposal unit that you have in your kitchen sink - not a type of incinerator, which would be way too daring a project for a toilet add-on!
Actually I looked for them after suggesting that and in fact they do exist - there's a custom unit called a 'toilet macerator' that does the same job, though I suspect a kitchen one would be cheaper!
Thanks again for a cool project. Although I'm not looking forward all that much to the first live field test!

Like these comments? Be sure to sound off in the comments! You could be in next week's column.

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Like OpenSCAD, but want to be able to use it from any device? You might soon be in luck. Tony Busier is working on CloudSCAD, a web-enabled version of the open source cad modeling software. This could come in handy when you need to model something quickly and don't have the software installed, or when you don't have a traditional desktop nearby. [thanks, Marty!]

More:

• Make: Projects - Simple 3D models with OpenSCAD
• FreeCAD open source design software
• How-To: Model a skull-badge in OpenSCAD

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And we're back with our twelfth installment of Your Comments. Here are our favorites from the past week, from Make: Online, our Facebook page, and Twitter.

Skull artist Noah noticed when the Silver Skull Spoons article was re-posted on Craft:

I love Tom's skull spoons! You might be interested to know that he was inspired by my own "skoon" that I created as part of the Skull-A-Day project!

In response to Gareth's Lost Knowledge column on knots, Ed Oshinski, from Austin, Texas, emailed us:

Thanks for the great post on knots. One of my all time favorite books is The Ashley Book of Knots by Clifford Ashley, first published in 1944, and still readily available. I bought my copy with my first paycheck after graduating from college.
The book illustrates 3,900+ knots, and includes 7,000+ drawings. The subtitle is, appropriately, "Every practical knot - what it looks like, who uses it, where it comes from, and how to tie it." For example, one of the 41 chapters is on occupational knots including those used by the archer, the angler, the baker, the bookbinder, the butcher, the canoeist, the carpenter, the circus man, the cowboy, the farmer, the fireman, the fisherman, the mountain climber, the net maker, the parachutist, the prospector, the sailmaker, the surgeon, the weaver, and many more.
The book is an encyclopedia of knowledge on knots, a masterpiece of the subject. I have owned it for 30 years, and find something new every time I pick it up. It is endlessly fascinating. I recommend it to anyone interested in knots.

We had to agree with ricklon's assessment of the How-To: Build a soldering iron stand from a coathanger project:

This is way better than my beer can soldering stand,

however commenter Brick Moon's conclusion was spot on:

Rick, you have to send that to thereifixedit.com.

Peter had some helpful suggestions to add to the Repair and maintenance tips from Laura's dad:

A couple more tips: - ALWAYS remove the spark plug wire before turning the mower over (no way it can start with no spark) - After sharpening, suspend the blade from a dowel through the center hole to make sure it's balanced. Remove additional metal from the low side until the blade balances horizontal. Sharp tools are safer!

and jason_scope had one as well:

Longer screws! Pre-hung doors come with screws only long enough to secure the hinges to the jamb. If tightening the screws doesn't help, replace a hinge screw with a 3" wood screw. You can probably find one to match the finish on the hinge. If the door swings open, shim the lower hinge. If the door swings closed, shim the upper hinge. Pizza boxes & such make good shim material. Easily cut to the shape of the hinge, and 2 layers will fit into the hinge mortise. Don't forget you can shim the door-side, as well as the jamb-side.

Over on Facebook, Bill Bourn was, erm, confused about How-to install a penny countertop:

I'm having trouble making heads or tails of this post. So my thoughts aren't worth your penny.

Prompted by the DIY penny pusher, mikegreenhalgh explained how the commercial ones work:

I used to work with these machines, at either side of the 'bed' with the coins on is a hole which leads down to the machine's cashbox. At the front of the bed is an adjustable lip, as the coins get pushed forward they encounter this lip and start bunching up, coins from behind meeting this mass get pushed sideways causing some to drop down the holes at the side of the bed. The machines profit percentage is adjusted by adjusting the size of the side holes (via sliding plates that make the holes bigger or smaller) and by moving the lip up or down. At the place where I used to work we would empty the machines every few days and would generally take >£100 out from the cashboxes under the machine(but it was very busy).

DeadlyDad found a better deal on the Camera lens coffee cup:

You can get it with insides made of plastic ($15.80) or stainless steel at DealExtreme.com.

Like these comments? Be sure to sound off in the comments! You could be in next week's column.

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