Making Stuff Out Of Broken Computer Equipment? 594
Class Act Dynamo writes "Recently, my keyboard stopped working, so I bought a new one (nice cordless number, really excellent). I was about to throw the old keyboard out when I thought it would be interesting to take all the keys out of it and turn them into refrigerator magnets in order to have a simple 'megnetic poetry' type of thing going. As the fumes from the industrial strength glue went to my head during this project, I began to wonder what other types of craft-type projects people had undertaken with their unusable old perpherals and such. Then I began to wonder why there was a purple octopus on my couch. I decided to ask slashdot readers the first of these questions."
"...ask /. readers the first of these questions" (Score:5, Insightful)
Not all computer equipment is safe for this (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:My cousin (Score:1, Insightful)
If your honest and you didn't steal this idea, have you thought about selling it to somewhere like thinkgeek?
I know they wouldn't give much for it, but its worth a try? (Looks good on any reference).
Re:Question (Score:3, Insightful)
Okay... (Score:4, Insightful)
I actually took an optical encoder from an inkjet printer and used it in my thesis work. (you see, it pays better to buy 2 printers and take them apart to remove the encoders than to purchase one such encoder from a distributor...) - same about sliding axis of the CD-rom head (try to order a REALLY hard 3mm diameter axis somewhere! Good luck!)
Diodes from the power supply work well somewhere in the car electronics.
Floppies... Really nice plastic! So many uses!
But usually I take things apart and use them in other computer related stuff. You know, 486 can be really quiet if you detach the original cooler and radiator and attach an athlon radiator -without- any cooler instead...
Re:Not all computer equipment is safe for this (Score:5, Insightful)
The amount of lead you are exposed to from electronic components is negligible unless you grind them up and eat them - a lot of them! You do realize that toothpaste, up until about 20 years ago, was packaged in lead tubes, don't you. And it was something that people put into their mouths everyday. The practice was discontinued not because of any lead poisoning to people using the toothpaste, but because of lead contamination to groundwater from dumps filled with the stuff.
Find something real to worry about.
Re:On irregular English plurals. (long) (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:My cousin (Score:1, Insightful)
However with the PCBs covered by glass even I, who otherwise fear toxic chemicals, would eat of it
Re:Hmmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:HD Magnets (Score:2, Insightful)
Now, in my opinion, American coins kick the crap out of European coins, and are better than Canadian by a small margin. Whats the point of coins that don't make a 'ting' noise, and instead remind you more of loose sheet metal than something of value?
Re:Where are my mod points when I need them? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Why is there a purple octopus on your couch? (Score:2, Insightful)
English is made from several different langauges. The plurals come from the languages we stole the word from. Considering their are CELTIC, GERMANIC, FRENCH, LATIN, GREEK and numerous other languges chucked into creating English, it is no wonder that our gramma is screwed. After all
As for the Octopuses and Octopii thing, as I recall, the English teachers used to correct people who used Octopuses. So becareful what you correct, unless you accidentaly sit on some cactuses and cactii while shearing some sheeps and sheep.
Next time you have a beef [old French for Cow], don't have a cow [Ancient CEltic from the word Coe
Ciao
Nani-mo hoshii mono-ga nai