Awesome materials and tools to hack the physical world. The store sells “materials that designers, artists, and inventors use to develop new products and push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
hacks
Email Etiquette for the Super-Busy
html5shiv
I didn't realize Google hosts the HTML 5 Shiv in addition to the other JavaScript frameworks that it's kind enough to provide the community. Nice!
If you want to use HTML 5, the shiv is pretty well a requirement as Internet Explorer (up to and including IE 8) doesn't support the new elements in the spec. Plus it's easy to implement and will only be downloaded by the browsers that need it.
The Urban Cup Holder
The Urban Cup Holder by Up to You is an amazing idea that transforms your environment on the go. In a large metropolis, it could shift the usual travel patterns, hopefully slowing life down by encouraging people to use the space around them and communicate. Or, as one commenter noted, it could be a nice way to extend the footprint of a cafe, something that could prove important to smokers as more and more cities enact non-smoking ordinances.
I think it will get the most usage (at least here in Austin), as a beer holder. Whether you need a spot for your brew when you’re on a party barge, or on the patio at one of your favorite night spots, the Urban Cup Holder would be pretty damned useful. The built-in hook would be handy for jackets or grocery bags, though I’m not sure how much weight it could hold.
I can’t find a product page, nor any photos beyond the one I snagged from swissmiss, so I have no idea if this is anything more than a concept. I’m going to contact Up to You in order to learn more, as I’d love to see these in use.
Via swissmiss (where I snagged the photo), via Ben Hammersley
Se the comments for an update.
Replacing an iPod Hard Drive
Josh Highland provides a great step-by-step tutorial demonstrating how to replace the drive of an iPod. Following the steps proved little trouble, allowing me to fix my mother-in-law’s hard drive after the iPod started misbehaving. As the new hard drive is much cheaper than the cost of a new iPod, and as Apple would have only given her $25 to trade it in, the choice was easily made. 30 minutes and a bit over a hundred bucks later, Linda has a working iPod.
Holy walking coat hanger Batman!
“In this project, we’ll build a little critter out of surprisingly simple, minimal parts. We’ll even make use of one of those coat hangers that seem to breed in the bedroom closet.” Check out the The Coat Hanger Walker for a fun little technical project.