Make it or break it

Make it or break it, “They retool everyday items to build a better gadget” by Meredith Goldstein @ The Boston Globe… A profile of the Willoughby & Baltic hacker spaces (and a nice MAKE mention in there!)…

SOMERVILLE – In the apartment space above the Subway sandwich shop on Elm Street, 15 hackers sat around a table Thursday night tinkering with their gadgets. They weren’t the kind of hackers who illegally break into computer systems. The term “hacker,” in their case, refers to someone who likes to play around with tools and make things.

Ian Katz brought his reconstructed computer mouse, which he made by wiring a regular mouse to a metal wheel that once held tape inside of a VCR. He says the wheel gives the spin of his mouse better momentum.

Nearby, Brett Beauregard used a laptop and the hot plate from an iron to design an apparatus that controls temperature more accurately than the average stove. He has also created a cup holder out of a coat hanger that’s designed for seats at Fenway Park.

Across from Beauregard, Jimmie Rodgers connected a toy guitar to a toy megaphone to make weird feedback. He likes to play with noise.