Gizmodo: makers

Under $20 MAKE Electronics Gift Guide Good For Frugal Holiday Season

Kit Eaton — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:15:41 EST

Times may be hard economically, but you don't need to give your electronics-DIY enthusiast friend a naff present, thanks to MAKE's sub-$20 Electronics Gift Guide. In fact, some of the items listed are so neat I'm tempted to gift a couple to myself right now... There's a DIY battery-powered USB charger kit good for iPhones, a tiny persistence-of-vision LED display, solar-powered theremin and more. My personal fave is the Drawdio music-making pencil. There're a few LED decoration projects there too: I think my Christmas tree may end up glittering with some DIY LED goodness this year. [Makezine]

Drowned iPhone 3G Reincarnated as Beautiful Fishing Lure

John Mahoney — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:40:00 EDT

It's the circle of life, really: man drops iPhone in river while fishing, iPhone dies, iPhone is torn apart, iPhone becomes fishing lure, iPhone catches dinner. Life goes on.

"Seeing it was the river that took it from me, it's gonna at least catch me some fish," says Maker Captain Ahab (perfection in a handle). He used the screen polishing cloth for the body, the USB logicboard connector for the legs, touchscreen inreface wires for the head and wings, and various other harvested components to craft this beauty. Now the next step is finding a pond full of fanboy fish. [Fly Addict Forums via MAKE]

Upcoming Prototype This! TV Show Sounds Like Modders, Maker's Geekfest

Kit Eaton — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:07:00 EDT

Hackaday has a piece about an upcoming Discovery Channel show called "Prototype this!" It's due in October, and since it's about making and modding robots and other gizmos, it sounds like a Mythbusters-meets-Makerfaire geeky heaven. [Hackaday]

New Arduino Nano: DIY Electronics in Gum-Sized Board

Kit Eaton — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:10:00 EDT

We've shown you lots of weird and wonderful gizmos that DIY electronics fans have made using the powerful Arduino board, and now there's a new option: the Nano. It's not very much bigger than a stick of gum, and comes with full USB support and almost the same functionality as the bigger Diecimila board: immediately I start to think of the potential uses that makers will put this to. Its diminutive size means it'll fit in more pocketable devices, I suspect. Available in June for $44.95. [Makezine via Crunchgear]

Maker Faire Bay Area - This Saturday and Sunday

Jason Chen — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:59:38 EDT

Maker Faire and its ridiculously dangerous projects are going to be in San Mateo this weekend. If you're in town, drop by and say hello, since Brian's going to be there covering the crazy robots and trying to keep his eyebrows from burning off. If you're going to be running an awesome booth at Maker, drop him a note as well so he knows to stop by. See you tomorrow! [Maker Faire]