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

Sarafan, Randy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761152431 ISBN 13: 9780761152439

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company, 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 Company
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761152431
• ISBN 13: 9780761152439
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 252