MIDISpeak: Speak & Spell MIDI Kit
Not a bad deal for $49. “MIDISpeak Module – Version 2, The Talking Toy MIDI RetrofitAdds a standard MIDI IN port to your Speak & Spell, Speak & Read, or Speak & Math. Non-English versions also supported. Trigger thousands of sounds–words, word fragments, garbled speech, percussion and bizarre sound effects.” Link. In MAKE 04 we also show you how to build music toys like this. Modify a Casio keyboard (or other electronic audio stuff) and start playing some of the strangest sounds you’ve ever heard.
William on GoRobotics writes “The popular educational and hobbiest company, Parallax is finally 
Matt writes “This stuff looks pretty incredible. To me the finished product looks a bit like an adobe building. It should greatly increase affordable housing in areas where it would have previously been too expensive.” Grancrete is a spray-on structural cement and here’s an overview of the Grancrete rapid construction process…” 
Griffin has a nice new product hack, they tapped the USB on the iPod Shuffle and it’s now both the lanyard and headphones in one – nice work “TuneBuds keep both the earbuds and shuffle handy around the wearer’s neck. Just snap TuneBuds onto the shuffle’s USB connector, and you’re up and running (or dancing). TuneBuds’ audio cable, integrated into the lanyard, keeps you free of excess cords and tangled lines.” 
These Stanley wristwatches from Japan have different tools built in each watch – flashlight, hex wrench, screwdriver, measuring tape, telescoping rule and a mini-vice. I’m not sure I’d wear most of these, but the one with the measuring tape looks really handy. I wonder if it could store height / width and depth quickly via some memory function. 
In MAKE 04 we featured some great kit gift ideas in the magazine, “Kits for the Holidays”. But we didn’t have room for all the kits we found, so here’s another round for elves with makers on their list. MAKE subscribers can log in and view the full article 
