62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer

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.

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.