This newsletter was released on December 7th, 2009.

Hi! This is the eighth edition of the NerdKits Newsletter which we publish ~monthly to keep you and the world up to date with everything going on at NerdKits.

In this issue:

1. Customer LED Array Projects
2. $20 Holiday Gift Bonus
3. New NerdKits TV Commercial
4. NerdKits review in Make Magazine
5. Community Thanks to a Helpful Forum User

CUSTOMER LED ARRAY PROJECTS

We want to quickly highlight how some customers have taken the LED Array project and adapted it for their own uses. Check out these videos and links for more:

FWSquatch built his own LED array and then connected it to Google Voice, letting him call in messages from his phone and having them transcribed onto the LED display:

http://thedavisblog.com/blog/?p=691

His project has been featured on Slashdot, Hackaday, Hacked Gadgets, and other blogs, with the video reaching about 25,000 plays on YouTube, all in the last month! (If you have a breakthrough NerdKits-based project, be sure to let us know, because we're happy to help you spread the word about it.)

Rick_S produced an awesome LED array with blue LEDs in a wood enclosure, and took great photos describing his build process along the way. Check out these threads on our forums:

http://www.nerdkits.com/forum/thread/305/
http://www.nerdkits.com/forum/thread/316/

Plus he added a few YouTube videos of his display in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBd0uTJ9Ro8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0yCrmI5D1E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GDMhi3ob7w

In the last video, Rick shows off the advanced animations he's added to the source code.

Haprog has posted some photos of his build process, in which he's keeping all wires hidden on the backside of the array board:

http://haprog.1g.fi/kuvat/NerdKit/

If you want to get started with your own LED array project, take a look at our LED-related video tutorials:

http://www.nerdkits.com/videos/ledheart/
http://www.nerdkits.com/videos/ledarray2/

As well as our LED Array extension kit, launched last month:

http://www.nerdkits.com/store/NKLEDARRAY001/

Keep those projects coming!

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NERDKITS HOLIDAY GIFT BONUS (DOUBLED!) AND SHIPPING TIMES

Last month, we told you that we'd give you a $10 NerdKits credit if you bought a USB NerdKit as a gift during the month of November. For December, we've decided to double it to $20 of NerdKits store credit, and we're retroactively doubling it for everyone who took advantage in November too!

Do you know a friend or family member who might really like to get started in electronics and programming? Buy a USB NerdKit as a gift this month (December) and we'll give you a gift for yourself!

If you're logged-in to your NerdKits account while you check out from our store, we'll give you a store credit of $20 for every USB NerdKit you buy this month. You can then use this credit to buy extra parts for yourself, such as our LED Array Kit or extra microcontrollers.

For full details, please see:

http://www.nerdkits.com/accounts/storecredit/

Due to the heavy volume of shipments during the holiday season, please be aware that delivery times may be longer than normal. We will still ship all orders the next business day after receiving cleared payment, however we do recommend that you place any US orders on 12/17 or earlier if you wish to be sure that they will be delivered by 12/24. International orders vary in transit time too much for us to give a recommended holiday cut-off date, but we can also ship via USPS Express Mail International upon request -- just e-mail us before ordering.

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NEW NERDKITS TV COMMERCIAL

We just finished producing our second 30-second TV commercial, and it has started running. You might catch it on several shows on the Discovery and Science channels. You can also watch it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTM2AVeyEMg

Please let us know what you think, and let us know if you happen to see it on television!

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NERDKITS REVIEW IN MAKE MAGAZINE

In the recently-released issue of Make Magazine, we found a "Kid Review" of the USB NerdKit by one of our customers, dylanjkj19. You can see it through these links:

http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol20/?pg=160
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwWculWS168

Congratulations on getting published, Dylan!

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COMMUNITY THANK YOU TO A HELPFUL FORUM USER

We're glad to see the NerdKits Forums becoming a more and more helpful place, both for beginners with basic questions as well as more advanced users looking to expand their capabilities and show off their work. While we have lots and lots of helpful users, this month we especially want to recognize a new user who has been particularly active and helpful in sharing his knowledge. Rick_S, welcome to the community, and thanks for being such a helpful contributor to the forums!

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THANKS!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for being such great customers. Make sure you tell your friends and neighbors about NerdKits so we can keep the world's DIY spirit alive (now with NerdKits in 43 countries)!

Best wishes,

Humberto & Mike
NerdKits, L.L.C.
http://www.nerdkits.com/

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