Synopses & Reviews
TAKE THIS BOOK AND HACK IT!
Transform common household items into really cool stuff You don't need to be an electronics genius to get started turning everyday items into high-performing wonders. With how-to guru Dave Prochnow's step-by-step directions and fully illustrated plans, even beginners can hack their way to a high-tech home, cooler toys, and less yard work.
MORE THAN 30 FASCINATING, FUN-TO-BUILD PROJECTS
Transform a vacuum cleaner into a home security system-or a toy. Hack an electric line trimmer that will mow your lawn for you. Computerize colored lights for seasonal decorations that make your neighbors' jaws drop. These are but a few of the more than 30 inventive and imaginative projects inside.
BUILD SKILLS AND CREATIVITY
Certain to fire your imagination-and start you plotting new, original, and even more creative wonders you can make from ordinary household items-Take This Stuff and Hack It! is the perfect gift for your inner inventor.
HACK THIS
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Apple iPod
- Bicycle
- Digital and film cameras
- Discarded cell phones, PDAs, etc.
- Electric power from the sun
- Furniture
- Lawn mower
- Robosapien
- Roomba
- Sony PSP
- VW Beetle
- And much more!
About the Author
Dave Prochnow is an award-winning professional writer, editor, and contributor to numerous technical publications and is the Contributing Editor for Nuts and Volts and SERVO Magazine. He is the author of 27 nonfiction books, including the bestselling books The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide and PSP Hacks, Mods, and Expansions, both published by McGraw-Hill. In 2001, Dave won the Maggie Award for writing the best how-to article in a consumer magazine. To learn more about Dave's books and other projects, visit his web site: www.pco2go.com.
Table of Contents
Foreword by iRobot Corp. Co-Chairman Helen GreinerIntro -- Today's digital lifestyle and how to make it your own.Section I. The Fine Art of Hacks, Mods, and ExpansionsCh 1. Catch the hacking bug by modding your car, truck, or SUV.Ch 2. Mod your bike into a speed demon. Ch 3. Run on free, hack a solar powered generator. Ch 4. Hack your home into being a secure abode. Ch 5. Hack your digital camera.Ch 6. Mod your yard into a cookout dream kitchen. Ch 7. Hack a heart rate monitor. Ch 8. Learn how to find a stud in any wall. Ch 9. Hack your wireless world into cordless bliss. Ch 10. Hack your string cutter into a robotic mowing slave. Ch 11. Expand a Pixel Chix dollhouse Ch 12. Mod your old electronics into new goodies. PDA, PhoneCh 13. Expand your hat into a new head statement with LEDs, sounds, and digital processor. Ch 14. Hack your search engine.Ch 15. Hack a robot into a digital plaything for Fido while you’re at work all day. Ch 16. Get FREE hardware, hack a UNIX computer. Ch 17. Expand a common drum into digital drum kit. Ch 18. Mod your home digital design with Chinese astrology. Ch 19. Mod your TV. Ch 20. Mod exterior decorations into a Holiday Hell-o. Ch 21. Mod a bird feeder fer yer feathered friends. Ch 22. Perk Me Up. Hack that coffee maker into working for you. Keurig Coffee MakerCh 23. Hack your phone and know who’s calling you before they do. Ch 24. Mod your furniture for your new digital lifestyle. Ch 25. Hack a telephone solicitor ZAPper and make phone spammers hang up on you! Ch 26. Add RFID to your life and monitor everything. Parallax RFIDSection II. Case StudiesCase Study 1. Apple Computer Case Study 2. iRobot Roomba Case Study 3. WowWee Robotics Robosapien & Robosapien V2 Case Study 4. Apple Computer iPod Case Study 5. Sony PSP Case Study 6. Celestron SkyScout Case Study 7. Garmin GPSMap Epilogue. Hacking Now for Your Future