Keith Moloney writes “I have successfully modified a 2.0 Megapixel camera (Polaroid PDC2010) to take infrared pictures using similar methods to the tutorial listed in the previous entry. The main difference is that the Lens assembly was sealed, so the infrared filter required more than a little persuasion with a brutish whack from a needlenosed pliers, and the sound of shattering glass“. Wow, Hi-Res IR photos! Link.
exogenous writes “A full-size working harpsichord made from Lego”. With the exception of the wire strings, this instrument is entirely constructed out of LEGO parts–the keyboard, jacks, jack rack, jack rail, plectra, soundboard, bridge, hitch pins, tuning pins, wrestplank, nut, case, legs, lid, lid stick, and music stand are all built out of interlocking ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) plastic bricks and related pieces. There’s even a MP3 of it playing. Link.
Caya sent this in- “This is a lovely old book I found online today. It outlines how to make all the old amusements kids used to enjoy- how to make many kinds of kites, how to catch frogs, and many, many other fun things. It is very low-tech (late 19th century in fact) but it is very “how to” perhaps your team would enjoy reading it, or maybe Make readers would enjoy it also“. Link.
Standard PC components mounted to a $20 rack-mount shelf. This is a project from about 3 years ago, when anything “Rackmount” was even more expensive than it is today (not that Rack PC’s are all that cheap now…). With a system board that has on-board Ethernet, and 1U power supply from ebay, this could easily be a $20 or $50 1U setup as well. Thanks Brian! Link.
Peter Kirn has a great overview of how Chris O’Shea is going open source with his experiments in building tangible interfaces — interactive tables on which moving physical objects (like blocks) create visuals and sound. One obstacle in this technology has been people haven’t been able to refine the techniques; they just create bare-bones proof-of-concept but haven’t been able to build on others’ work. This is really encouraging. Link.
Tom’s Hardware takes a look at the build-it-yourseld laptop systems. If you like building your own PC, this might appeal to you. It seems like it will always be a little more expensive, but you’ll get exactly what you want. The cool part is in the end you get to put it all together yourself, the article also includes a video. Thanks Spyder. Link.
Karl writes “I have a bunch of super 8 movies that I inherited from my father and would like to put them on DVD using some kind of compression (is mpg). Do have any suggestions? I have tried the projector with mirrors and a 8mm camcorder approach and was not satisfied with the quality“. Suggestions for Karl? I found this here, but not sure if that’s the best way. Post up in the comments!
