Hi Chris,

I really loved your computer controlled cat feeder as described
in your article. I love the spirit of getting the computer to do
something that extends beyond the confines of keyboard and screen.

I would like to bring to your attention the products made by my
company, makingthings, in case you or your readers might prefer a
slightly more "cooked" hardware interface system than the Basic Stamp.
Our modules will allow you to easily build a system such as you describe without having to design and implement the hardware portion of the project. The interface is via USB, on top of which we've
written a series of layers to make it easy to use.

Being modular and extensible, our system can easily be reused and
retasked for larger or smaller projects, with different types and numbers of inputs and outputs.

Of course, we do not wish to discourage readers interested in
implementing this part of the system for themselves. Rather, we
exist in order to enable those who either can't or don't wish to
do so.

I don't want to turn this into an advertisement so I'll stop here.
If you or your readers are interested I invite you to either visit
our website (www.makingthings.com) or email me directly.

Sincerely,
Michael Shiloh