Last-Minute Gift Idea For Handy Geek Dads

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62 projects

Still haven’t gotten that geeky dad of yours anything for Father’s Day? Here’s a late last-minute suggestion: Run out to your local bookshop and grab a copy of 62 Projects To Make With A Dead Computer. It’s a sort of $15 Maker Faire for dummies that’ll keep him busy for months, get rid of some of that junk lying around and maybe save him a little moolah in the process.

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Great ideas for giving old tech junk new life and saving a little money in the process.
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Model: 62 Projects To Make With A Dead Computer, by Randy Sarafan
Company: Workman Publishing
List Price: $14.95
Buy Now:62 Projects To Make With A Dead Computer by Randy Sarafan is available from Amazon for $10.17.

Included in the 62 projects are ideas for recycling Apple-junk, like making a terrarium from one of those ancient, TV-shaped iMacs or transforming a dead iPod into a container for a mini survival kit (charmingly dubbed the “Don’t Die Pod”).  The coolest ideas, though — like making a belt buckle our of an old Nintendo controller or making speakers out of cheap bud-style earphones and some funnels — requires stuff that’s not nesccessarily Apple-specific, but still easy enough to find.

The book isn’t overly ambitious, and keep things simple; I have firefighter friends who get nervous when I make toast, but the projects in this book are easy enough for even me to tackle without requiring a major uppage of my renter’s insurance. Lots of illustrations and Sarafan’s easy-to-read, funny style keep things flowing nicely.

And hey, if anyone happens to complete one of the Apple-type projects, shoot us the photos and we might throw them up on the site.

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