62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer: And Other Discarded Electronics - Softcover

Randy Sarafan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761152431 ISBN 13: 9780761152439

Publisher: Workman Publishing, 2010

Synopsis

Computer hacking takes on a whole new meaning when you're going at it with a screwdriver and hammer: announcing the most wildly inventive, eco-friendly craft book on repurposing everyday objects since Generation T. Except in this case the raw material isn't a T-shirt, but the stuff we all have lying around and have no idea what to do with, or even how to get rid of properly - your old cell phone, a broken printer, irredeemable iPod, busted digital camera, mysterious thatches of cables and wires, orphaned keyboards, and of course, those dead PCs and laptops. Created by a Parsons design graduate who's obsessed with navigating the intersection of art and technology, here are 62 ingenious projects that are irresistibly geek-chic. An iMac Terrarium - how cool is that? A laptop Digital Photo Frame. The impressively green Scanner Compost Bin. Plus a power strip Bird Feeder, Walkman Soap Dish, My First Squiggle Bot, Qwerty Hair Tie, Flat-screen Ant Farm. Each project has complete, step-by-step instructions, is rated by difficulty - in a thorough first chapter the author covers all the tools and skills needed to take apart electronics safely - and is arranged by use, from stuff for the house, to fashion, toys, arts and crafts, items for pets, and more.

About this title

About the Author

Randy Sarafan is a new-media artist who is currently a Virtual Fellow with the cutting-edge F.A.T. (Free Art and Technology) Lab; is a top project contributor and community manager at Instructables.com, the leading user-generated how-to website; has contributed to Make magazine; and creates projects with a unique style and an eye for fun (a breathalyzer microphone, water-gun alarm clock, USB-enabled fruit). He graduated with honors in the Design Technology program at Parsons School of Design and lives in San Francisco.

From the Back Cover

Don't trash it -- Transform it!

It's irresistible geek chic: 62 projects with step-by-step instructions for repurposing old computers, cell phones, scanners, mp3 players—even that nest of useless cables and drawerful of meaningless remotes. There are fashion projects: RAM Money Clip, Capacitor Earrings. Arts and crafts projects: Mouse Pencil Sharpener. Gadget goodness: USB Destop Fan, Postindustrial Nightlight. And great toys, like My First Squiggle Bot and Mr. Resistor Man. Includes the basic tools and techniques for working with electronics and a full-color insert that shows the finished projects.

Edition details

• Publisher: Workman Publishing
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761152431
• ISBN 13: 9780761152439
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288