Open Source Hardware Gift Guide

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."

I can predict an era

[wikinerd]

I can predict an era where 3D printers will be popular and inexpensive and people will be sharing definition files on the Internet for building their own 3D toys, and then at some point a Nigerian will come out seeking copyright infringement damages for the most popular 3D toys.

Re:

[moderatorrater]

Is he the same one that asks you if you can print out some of his money for him and you can keep 15%?

Good starter gifts

[faloi]

Look pretty good to give out as a beginning electronics kit for kids or people just getting into it. Somehow building my own phone back in the day doesn't seem quite as impressive.

AX84: Great (mostly tube) electronics site

[Roadkills-R-Us]

The AX84 BBS- the forum that goes along with the AX84 website- is a great place to learn about analog electronics. It's primarily tube amp oriented, but is starting to branch out more. And it boasts one of the best (if not the best) communities on the net, anywhere. From beginners to experts, everyone learns, evryone contributes, everyone has fun-- and a lot of very cool amps get built.

Re:MP3 Player

[morgan_greywolf]

It's open source, right? You have the source to the MP3 player, you have the source for the Ogg/Vorbis, make your own firmware that supports Ogg.

Re:

[josath]

Luckily, the company that makes the MP3 IC also makes an OggVorbis IC, that is about the same cost. Of course I don't think it uses exactly the same connections, so you may need to update the schematic of the board a bit as well. But still perfectly doable, if you have the time / knowledge.

Here's a link to the chip:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8300 [sparkfun.com]

I like the digg thing

[Martian_Kyo]

it should be made thinner and integrated into shirts....so when you go out, and someone diggs you, they just..uhhmmm..click your shirt.
To prevent spamming it would be based on fingerprints (the biological IP address), a fingerprint can digg you only once in 24 hours.

"So how was it last night"
"I got digged 300 times"
"idiot it's dugg, not digged"
"it's a different word from dig, different rules apply"
"I am not so sure, let's ask the slashdotters"

So is it digged or dugg?

Re:

[morgan_greywolf]

Easy. It's dig dug [wikipedia.org]. As in, I got dig dugged. Err...wait...that doesn't sound right.

Re:

[darkrowan]

it should be made thinner and integrated into shirts....so when you go out, and someone diggs you, they just..uhhmmm..click your shirt.

Already Done [instructables.com]

Re:

[Martian_Kyo]

holy shits!
I am glad someone's actually done it.

as bonus it also answers my digged dugg question.

Life is great!

Re:

[Pollardito]

if you place the Digg button a little lower you could make Pillsbury Doughboy noises to give feedback. if you place it a little lower still, well...

Re:

[morgan_greywolf]

Oh, wow! Gee, thanks Linus! My very own copy of Linux Kernel v2.6.24! Just what I've always wanted! How did you know?

Re:

[ozmanjusri]

It could be worse [bash.org]...

Re:

[SiriusStarr]

I'm sorry, but that is the most entertaining thing I've read in weeks... I have family members who would seriously do that... I don't think I'd ever talk to them again. :D

Re:

[phobos13013]

You laugh, but that what this article is about! [linuxdevices.com]

Ok, well maybe not everything on there is source available, but it at least runs Linux... close second

Why nerds can't have girlfriends

[Anonymous Coward]

because you give them crappy "open source" gifts

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

But an "open source" gift is definitely better than an "open sores" gift

Tired of your wife?

[tbg58]

Just make sure all her gifts are from this list and you have a decent chance of changing marital status.

TV-turn-off devices

[Bob54321]

You mean a finglonger?

Re:

[MancunianMaskMan]

a brick [turnoffyourtv.com] will do. Source code to brick-making has been in the public domain for thousands of years.

Re:

[je ne sais quoi]

Actually, I was thinking that would be perfect for turning those televisions off in public areas where they have removed the power button (because people keep turning them off) or ones that are behind glass or too high to reach. I work at a university and some "saavy" media company has discovered that if they donate a television to the university and broadcast some helpful student messages for about 30 seconds out of every five minutes, they can spend the rest of the time doing product placement and advert

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Actually, I was thinking that would be perfect for turning those televisions off in public areas where they have removed the power button (because people keep turning them off) or ones that are behind glass or too high to reach.

Imagine doing it at your local Circuit City, Best Buy, Future Shop, or other electronics superstore - oh all the chaos. Especially if the signal is strong enough to bounce off of walls, so you get TVs pointed away from you as well!

Or, for more fun, do so to the TVs in bars (especial

3D Printer option: chocolate?

[dada21]

I have a long history with stereolithographic devices (I used to consult with CNC companies as a teenager and young adult), and my dream was to have a SL device that made custom chocolate bars and pieces. While proper chocolate has to be poured at the right temperature into the mold, I've always wondered if there is a future to make a machine like an SL 3D printer that can print in chocolate.

I've done some basic searching, but found no one even talking about it. Yes, it's corny, but I'd love to know if anyone has played with candy/sugar/chocolate as the substrate for a 3D printer.

Re:3D Printer option: chocolate?

[necro81]

The current issue of Make magazine [makezine.com] has a short article on a rapid prototyper some guys built that does selective sintering [wikipedia.org] of powdered sugar! Instead of a laser or electron beam to do the sintering, they created a jet of hot air to carmelize the powder. They've turned it open-source and called it the CandyFab project [candyfab.org].

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:

[EMeta]

This is why I come to slashdot: people talk geek about absolutely anything. I've seen chemistry foodies before, but a MechE-type foodie is a first. Necro81, I salute you.

Re:

[lastchance_000]

Which leads inevitably to Rule 34 [urbandictionary.com]. Don't say you weren't warned.

Re:

[wall0159]

Your post made me shake my head, smile, and think "that's soo cool"

I join EMeta in doffing my hat to you. :-)

Re:

[onsblu]

At one point I tried to print onto tempered chocolate, by using chocolate bloom. It didn't work, but I suspect that it might've if I had a stronger light source that could either trace a path or flash an image quickly enough so that only the outer layer would heat up. When you heat up tempered chocolate above ~92 deg F the beta-crystals break up and form weaker bonds (most likely alpha crystals). This is called chocolate bloom, and occurs naturally in chocolate if left alone for a month or so; although at r

Re:

[morgan_greywolf]

Well, they have cake printers [icingimages.com] for doing 2D images on cakes, so I imagine that 3D printers for doing chocolate or other candy is possible. A little Google search revealed some instructions for making your own 3D chocolate printer [instructables.com]. Merry Christmas, Dada!

Re:

[dada21]

Thanks, that's sweet!

(mod -1/pun intended)

Re:

[smellsofbikes]

Saul Griffith [saulgriffith.com] built one for his masters' thesis, "towards personal fabricators" at MIT. It's available on the net in pdf format, but in a quick search I haven't found it -- I have a copy on my home computer, though, if you want. It's built out of LEGO bricks with an aluminum nozzle (and a LEGO worm gear) that's heated using a PID controller and a resistive heater, to melt and extrude the chocolate.
I'm building a significantly larger version, again out of LEGO bricks. I don't know if I'll manage 0,5mm acc

Re:3D Printer option: chocolate?

[Dr_Barnowl]

I think this one counts as "playing around"
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:

[Samster33]

I agree it would be quite fun to "print" your own chocolate bar. As already mentioned chocolate is quite a popular material. Check it out: http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Materials:Chocolate [fabathome.org]

Note to /.ers

[Silver Sloth]

Leave this article where wives/girlfriends/parents can see it so that they can give them to you. Attempts to use these gift suggestions the other way round may be hazardous to the holiday spirit.

Virtual machine

[tsa]

A colleague of mine will give his wife a virtual machine with Linux running on it!

Octopus cable surge protectors

[Luyseyal]

Just send me five or six of those octopus surge protector dealies [thinkgeek.com] and I'll be happy.

-l

3 MOVs?

[Futurepower(R)]

"Just send me five or six of those octopus surge protector dealies [thinkgeek.com] and I'll be happy."

Bad sign. It doesn't say anything about having 3 MOVs [wikipedia.org]. That means it probably has one, and you aren't completely protected.

Closed source alternatives..

[TommyMc]

pfft..Open source can never compete with the innovativeness of Microsoft [microsoft.com], you commies..

Aww darling, you got me a powerpoint template..

One for the Ron Paul fans

[Lurker McLurker]

The digg button kit would be a good present for the Ron Paul fan in your life. That way they could practice their obsessive digging when they don't have access to a computer.

is open source a good idea here

[cinnamon colbert]

just 5 seconds on google turned up this http://www.desktopfactory.com/contact_us/ [desktopfactory.com]
twice the price, but looks like 5x the perfomance

Airport?

[FunkyELF]

Good luck trying to get on an airplane with any one of those things.

Re:

[ahfoo]

You're on baby.
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 o

love my last xmas present: iAudio G3 ogg player!

[bball99]

- dunno if there are others on the market? i love this player because:

1. it supports ogg vorbis

2. it uses a single AA battery, so no complicated charger or proprietary battery!

3. it is lightweight, compact, and works great!

- too bad they're not for sale anymore? :-(