The other one...US Postal Service.

The speed isn't great and there isn't much tracking, but First Class International Package is a popular shipping option for the customers on my store. To Canada most packages are under $3.00. Overseas, usually between $6.00 and $9.00. The prices are calculated by the ounce.

If you want faster service and better tracking, don't forget the USPS Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box. It's a bit larger than a video cassette, you can fit a lot of electronics in it. Shipping anywhere is about $13.

Once you need to send anything much over a pound, USPS starts getting expensive again. But most small electronics are pretty light.

I use the downloadable USPS shipping application and print out my own First Class International Package labels+customs info, then take them down to the post office near lunchtime and pay for them. You might have to train the employees a little bit, they don't see a lot of this. The important thing to get across is that you haven't yet paid for the postage.

For in-States Priority shipping I pay and print online, then drop at the post office. For in-States First Class shipping I print out an address label and take it down to the post office to weigh and ship on the Automated Postal Center machine after hours.

If you're not in the USA, there are analogs for other countries' postal services. China, especially, has really really cheap outbound shipping for small packages.

You'd doing this in the schematic, right?

Did you change the grid? Don't.

Not everyone agrees that people's hard work should be free, if they don't want to give it away.

Maybe I don't agree with some of the tactics and punishments used against software and music piracy, but I also believe it's morally wrong to take things against the wishes of their creators.

Support Free, open-source software.

Right....plus we only have to endure it, what, three more months until school's running again?

How about an Arduino-specific captcha that requires you to write a small function to perform a task?

If it's true, they need to go back to the drawing board.

Two posts? Three posts?

Maybe you could ask your friend where a person might purchase these mythical "super mini linux comps".

Volume might not be accurate enough for this application, if you want repeatable results. What you need to do is weigh the beans. Think of making a speed controlled auger feeder that dumps beans into a weighing pan. You should be able to get it within a few beans of the desired mass. Now you just have to find a weight sensor

The kid's 11 years old. Give him a break.

Be glad he's playing with an Arduino instead of trying to steal cigarettes and let the air out of your tires.

You may be interested in the PCB Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/pcb/

The software and storage benefits of using a desktop computer as a CNC controller have always been significant enough for me to never consider using a microcontroller instead. I use Mach 3. A computer works really well for driving graphics displays too.

jeffonfire: Have you maxed out your Arduino memory yet?

It's probably not a good idea to do things like fill out a form using a fake company name. While unlikely that anyone would press charges, receiving products in the mail as a result of giving false information could be fraudulent. Just be honest, and if they still give you the parts then they're being cool, buy stuff from them in the future if you get the chance!

With the current climate of the world economy, we'll continue to see growth in businesses that provide lower cost or DIY-enabling items. Often this means a small business that has very low overhead. There's a renaissance in garage industries, and in larger companies throwing a little thought at a problem rather than just money. At least in California, the odds are 1 in 10 that you'll be laid off, but if you have a skill you may be able to keep yourself off the street.