There are three things that make us huge fans of Austin, Texas here at Bug Labs: the growing tech scene, the endless BBQs, and South by Southwest (or SXSW, as the kids call it). And thanks to everyone in the BUGcommunity, you helped us go to our very first SXSW last year, where we presented a session on hardware mashups and the now-legendary “Pizza Tail.”

So we thought we’d have a go at it again. For this year’s SXSW 2010 Interactive Festival, we submitted the proposal “You Developed the Content. Now Build the Hardware,” where we plan to present actual cases of entrepreneurs and enterprises using open source hardware to create the next batch of game-changing devices. With Amazon’s Kindle, TechCrunch’s upcoming Crunchpad, and a growing list of software and content developers jumping into the world of consumer electronics, we plan to show you (yes, you) how to build and sell your own hardware devices cheaper, quicker and better than the big companies.

But we need your vote to make this session happen. So:

1. Register on SXSW’s PanelPicker
2. Vote for our session and help spread the word
3. Party with the BUG team in Austin next March
4. ????
5. Profit

It’s a win-win situation all around, and you can help make it happen. Voting ends September 4, but it’ll take you less than a minute to get your vote and spread the word. Looking forward to seeing you in Austin!

Lots of activity buzzing over here at BUG HQ over the next few weeks, as we continue our summer of workshops in the Test Kitchen. We’ll continue throughout August, with several classes aimed at beginner and intermediate-type folks interested in learning about open source, Linux, DIY, hackerism, and much much more. Each event takes place at Bug Labs’ SoHo office (598 Broadway @ Houston – near the 6, B, D, F, V, R and W), so you can also scope all the cool BUG stuff we’re working on behind the scenes.

Below’s a glimpse of what’s going on for the next two weeks. Check out each event page for more details:

Soft Circuits Class – July 22nd (tomorrow)
Learn soft circuits with conductive thread! We’ll be stitching up electrical designs in fabric. This class will be a beginner course, the core concepts of a circuit will be covered. No previous experience required.

Urban Farming Workshop – July 26th (Sunday)
Lee Mandell from Boswyck Farms will be teaching an inexpensive method for growing fruits and vegetables hydroponicallly indoors. This class will include a quick history of hydroponics along with an overview of some of the many hydroponic methods, and it’s appropriateness for different crops. Then Lee will lead the class in constructing their own water reservoirs and associated parts to maintain their own gardens at home.

Linux InstallFest – August 1st (Saturday)
Put Linux on your laptop! We will have a few distros of Linux to choose from. Be prepared by bringing your backed-up laptop. We will also have Ubuntu on a USB stick specially for your netbook. There will also be a demonstration of Poky Linux on a BUG from Bug Labs.

Hope to see you here!

Over the past few weeks, we here at Bug Labs have been preparing for JavaOne 2009, the world’s annual gathering of Java developers taking place this week in San Francisco. JavaOne makes for a perfect venue to showcase BUG – a modular device development platform that anyone with Java chops can use to bring their ideas to life. And with over 6.5 million Java developers worldwide, that’s a lot of possibilities.

We have a series of announcements lined up for the show which will shine some light on what we’ve been up to. But you can track all the updates via this blog and our Twitter stream. And if you’re in San Francisco this week, stop by the Bug Labs booth (#708) or the Java Utopia area to say hey, or attend our Birds of a Feather session on Thursday at 8:30 in the Esplanade, rooms 307-310. Just look for anyone in the red or white BUG shirts.

In a few hours, I’ll be heading to Aarhus, Denmark to speak at the Nordic Exceptional Trendshop, aka NEXT. Hosted by Innovation Lab, this year’s NEXT is the 6th annual showcase of emerging technologies from technology incubators and research houses around the world.

Ken and I had a great time at FOSDEM in February, and I’m excited to return to Europe and present BUG in the company of a distinguished roster of visionaries and thought-leaders. If you’re attending NEXT this year, I’ll be presenting the potential of customizable hardware in my MAKE YOUR OWN! talk on Friday at 1:40pm local time.

Expect a blog post or two from me at the show, in addition to a few tweets and photos throughout. And if there are any Danish fans of BUG that want to sync up, let me know by e-mailing peter [a] buglabs [d] net!

This weekend, Ken, myself and Matt (aka HaveAHennessey on #buglabs) will be in Los Angeles for SCALE 7x, marking the second year Bug Labs attends the SoCal Linux Expo. After a great turnout for Ken and Angel’s session at SCaLE 6x, we’re looking forward updating the crowd in Building open source gadgets with Linux, OSGI and Web Services, taking place on Sunday between 1:30pm and 2:30pm in Concourse A.

If you’re at the show, you can also have a chance to walk away with one of two free BUGbundles! Just look for any of us (we’re wearing BUG shirts) and we’ll give you more information. UPDATE: The Win-a-BUGbundle at SCALE 7x survey is up!

See you there!

In a few hours, Bug Labs’ very own Peter and Ken will cross the Atlantic as they head to Brussels for FOSDEM ‘09, the Free and Open Source Software Development European Meeting. This is our first time at the event, but by no means does that mean we’ll be sitting back and drinking glass after glass of tasty Belgian beer all weekend. Ken is scheduled to give not just one, but two, presentations: one, a lightning talk on “An Introduction to BUG,” and the other, an hour-long session on “Hacking with Modular Hardware.”

So if you’re in Brussels, swing by the BUG sessions to say ‘hey,’ and you’ll have a chance to take home one of several BUGbundles we’re giving away at the event. And stop by the Delirium Cafe on Friday to tip a few jars with the guys during Beer Distribution 3.1. Hope to see you there!

This was yet another great year for Bug Labs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, as the Bug crew (Alicia, Angel, Brian B, Jeremy, Kevin, Matt I, Matt P, Maurizio, Peter and myself) headed to the world’s largest technology trade show to exhibit BUG in front of over 110,000 attendees. Though the general sentiment on the show floor was a bit subdued compared to previous shows, the BUG booth was well received and well attended.

At CES 2008, where we debuted the BUGbase and first four BUGmodules, we didn’t expect much but a few press hits and the occasional BUG enthusiast stopping by to chat. We ended up winning the CNET Best of CES award, filming a bunch of b-roll and holding interviews for several hours at the booth. So the bar was pretty high going into this show. I’m happy to say CES 2009 didn’t let us down. We got some great coverage and met a ton of great people. Most importantly we debuted five new BUGmodules that will greatly expand what you can now do with a BUG.

Relevant to those BUGmodules, we received some great mentions in blogs and publication such as MAKE, Create Digital Music, Gizmodo, Engadget, CNN Money, DVICE, and Barron’s just to name a few. Check out our press section for more.

CES was just the first of many exciting events slated for Bug Labs in 2009. Keep visiting this blog or subscribe to our newsletter for updates as they happen.

(UPDATE: CES 2009 is now over! Thanks for the great time in Las Vegas, and look for an update here on BugBlogger.com very soon!)

After a great first day at CES, with hundreds of enthusiasts and press (including Engadget, MSN, Barrons, Gadgetell and more) stopping by the Bug Labs booth, the BUGcrew is gearing up for its second day on the showfloor. For those of you who can’t join us in Vegas, you can check us out online any number of ways.

IRC – #buglabs on irc.freenode.net (handle: CEStallions)
AOL IM: bugplus
Twitter: twitter.com/buglabs

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2009 marks Bug Labs’ second year at the Consumer Electronics Show (Jan 8-11, 2009), and while we’re still trying to find a way to top our debut at CES 2008, we can guarantee it’s going to be a fun time in Vegas next week.  This year, we’re bringing more than double the BUG staffers, more than double the BUGmodules (stay tuned for that announcement next week!), and more than double the excitement of last year.

We’re located in the Innovations Pavilion, at booth #IP204 in the Sands Expo Center inside the Venetian Hotel (here’s a map).  Just walk toward the tower of black smoke look for the BUG folks in the white lab coats, and we’ll show you what’s cooking in our Test Kitchen.

For members of the media attending ShowStoppers, finding us is a snap.  Just look to your immediate left upon entering the ballroom and we’re there.

For those who won’t be attending, you can follow us via Twitter, watch us live on UStream, or even chat with us (AOL IM: bugplus) while we’re building BUGs on the show floor.

And again, sign up for our newsletter or stay tuned to Bug Blogger next Wednesday as we announce some exciting news.

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