As outlined in the article Programming ATMEL microprocessors on a Mac, installing the AVR toolchain on the Mac can be a long and tedious procedure. Downloading, compiling and installing all the stuff can take up to 6 hours!

For a workshop I gave recently we tried to simply copy over all the binaries in /usr/local/avr/ and it worked.
Now I wrapped the whole thing into a nice installer package, see below.

Installation time: < 5min.
And the best part: you don't even need the Apple Developer Tools anymore (1.85 Gig !)
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Probably the smallest USB-DMX Interface in the worldThe uDMX is built around an inexpensive Atmel Atmega8 Microprocessor, using only very few external parts, thanks to the excellent firmware-only USB driver from obdev.at.We managed to cram it all into a Neutrik XLR Connector. [ >>> ]

Just in time for our appearance at the “Homemade Festival” in Glarus, I finished the first version of my new “virtual video mixing console”. Version 1.0 had just some buttons, 8 rotary encoders and 8 faders. It was getting of age and I didn’t like to perform with it anymore. So, months of work and about 2000 solder points later, a dream comes true…
USB Interface, 35 Potentiometers with 35 Ledrings, 8 Faders, 6 Microprocessors, expandable…
Read on for the photos:
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Probably the smallest USB-DMX Interface in the world

The uDMX is built around an inexpensive Atmel Atmega8 Microprocessor, using only very few external parts, thanks to the excellent firmware-only USB driver from obdev.at.
We managed to cram it all into a Neutrik XLR Connector.

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How we finally managed to get the AVR toolchain working on the Macintosh…
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Have you ever touched those gummy buttons on an old Sony Betacam recorder? Ever admired this warm glow beneath the play-button? Ever wanted to add some of these to your own do-it-yourself projects, only to find you can’t buy them nowhere?

well here’s a cheap and easy way I found to make them on my own…

UPDATE: You can find a better technique here: http://www.anyma.ch/2008/research/illuminated-buttons-revisited/)

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