Open Source Hardware Gift Guide 58
ptorrone writes "Looking to give gifts this year that are open source? Here's MAKE Magazines "Open Source Hardware" gift guide. Open source 3D printers, TV-turn-off devices, iPod chargers, music players, Wi-Fi companions, educational electronic kits and more. Each of the kits, projects and open source hardware gifts in this guide represents more than just a holiday gift, it's a change to support this nascent open hardware movement."
Re:3D Printer option: chocolate? (Score:5, Informative)
As for using chocolate, I don't know of anyone dabbling in that. But, I suppose there's no reason you couldn't build a fused deposition modeler [wikipedia.org] that uses chocolate chips in a hopper as the raw material. What would you use for support structure?
Re:3D Printer option: chocolate? (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-chocolate-printer-made-from-LEGO/ [instructables.com]
The RepRap guys have played around with the IDEA (and lots of other material ideas)
http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/MaterialsScience [reprap.org]
And Fab@Home has been used with chocolate - shame it's the most expensive by far.
http://3dprinterusers.blogspot.com/2007/05/more-than-chocolate-cornells-fabhome.html [blogspot.com]
Re:Airport? (Score:3, Informative)
Well, not from that list though. I'm giving way real open source hardware gifts in bulk and I'm flying from Taipei to LAX on Thursday via Malaysian airlines. I got a box filled with capacitors from 1uf to 4,000uf, resistors of all sorts of Ohmic variations, a stack of breadboards, dozens of transformers of various voltages, an entire box of assorted small motors, LEDs of all colors, 555 ICs, relays, 4040 counters, partially pre-assembled audio amp kits, speakers of various shapes and sizes all kinds of stuff. The box weighs like eighty pounds and it is filled to the brim with discreet devices and circuits. The airport is free to go through it and if they don't like any of it, I'll leave it but I see no reason why they will be concerned.
In fact, I've done this before. My nieces and nephews dread my "gifts". They're more like homework assignments. But the airport doesn't freak. They do want to go through it after the X-Ray machine shows them this bizarre collection of stuff they can't identify but what they do is take you to the side and ask you what it all is and see if you get agitated. They're mainly focusing on your attitude rather than what's really in the box. If you calmly explain what it is, even if they don't understand the details they'll still let you go ahead and pack it because the explosives machine doesn't detect explosives because there are none. It all gets checked in and none of it is, in fact, dangrous.
That kid from MIT with the breadboard on her shirt was a special case. It was wired up in a half-ass circuit with a blinking light looking like a movie version of a bomb which does freak out people who don't do tech. All freaky like that is how this stuff will end up after Christmas if all goes well, but I'm not going to take it to the airport wired up with blinky lights and hidden under my shirt.
Of course if I was flying domestically in the States, who knows. But I'm boarding here in Taiwan and people are less scared of electronics here than they are in the States. I don't think that was true just a few years ago, but I think perhaps it is now. That's partly why I'm bringing this stuff home so that some of the younger kids can get exposed to the basics and realize that technology is something they can control and even create instead of just being "the consumer". America needs to stop being the world's cow and start actually doing innovative stuff again. Thus, I go forth packed to the gills with components.