Lenovo wanted to prove that their Laptops are very tough. The laptops feature full metal frame, shockproof hard drive protection and a spillproof keyboard. What better way of proving how durable they are then to install them on busses that are on their way to a Lenovo event. These seats are actually functional however they are obviously not just normal laptops bolted to the wall. The keyboard is the same keyboard from the laptop allowing you to have a seat or surf the web!

Via: Gizmodo

"On the occasion of ‘Lenovo Live 2008′ they turned existing folding seats in those busses and trams into notebooks with a real key- and touchpad. Thus the product promise could be experienced with all senses before arriving at the event."

Thanks to t0n10 from Poland for sending in this cool project tip. Often bigger isn’t better, but when it comes to binary clocks. Bigger is definitely better! Have a look at the massive binary clock that the guys at Wroclaws Technology University made. 

(more…)

If your holiday festivities are lacking some flashing LEDs then you have to look at the latest project that our friend Ian from Dangerous Prototypes has made. It’s a circuit board LED Christmas tree Ornament!

"Holiday cards that blink and beep have always fascinated us. This is our hackable DIY version, made with an ATtiny13A and a few LEDs. Push the button to play a short light show in the tree. We’re sending these to friends and family this year. It’s a handmade, hackable gift, and it was a ton of fun to build."

Keith Chester is going to be putting on a AVR Micro Controller Class on December 12, 2009. If you are in the area (see below) and want to learn a bit, check it out!

"FUBAR Labs and Hive 76 – a New Jersey and Philadelphia hackerspace, respectively, are teaming up to provide an introduction to AVR micro controllers class. Both groups are non profit and ALL proceeds go to both groups.

The class comes with all the hardware you need to begin developing your own micro controller projects and several sensors, allowing you to make real-world interactive projects immediately after the course is done!

The class will last three hours.

Included in the kit:

• Atmega88
• USBtinyISP (Assembled)
• Power Supply
• Breadboard
• Temperature Sensor
• Piezo
• IR Range Finder
• Tiltball Switch
• LED’s

So, you’ll be going home with roughly $60 in parts.. all yours for the hacking."

Manekinen from Poland send in some of his interesting projects. If you are wanting to play a great computer prank on someone this Automatic Caps Lock Circuit is sure to fit the bill. It automatically "presses" the caps lock button ever now and then! I can just imagine the frustration it would cause in your typical office. I probably hit the caps lock button 3 or 4 times a day by accident, I would think the user would just think they are having an exceptionally bad day for hitting the button. It is based on this circuit by Macetech which has an English description.

When you work in an office there is usually a board up front that indicated who is in and out. At home there is no such convenience, but even if there was where are the your other family members? That problem has been solved by The Magic Clock, it uses Twitter and some electronics to physically display where everyone is. The old clock case and great looking face detail make this at home in any house.

"Here’s the general logic it uses.

1. My final design uses a script to fetch four twitter feeds every couple minutes.
2. The script then parses out the first words and searches for a matching ‘status’.
3. If no match is found, it sets the status to ‘Read Me’
4. The script outputs a string with the hand number followed by a separator character, and then a letter from a-l for the status like  ’1>d2>b3>g4>a’.  This would set the 1 hand to ‘school’ the 2 hand to ‘Church’, the 3 hand to ‘Home’ and the 4 hand to ‘Mortal Peril’.
5. The string is passed to the arduino which checks if the hand location is known.  If it is and hasn’t changed, it does nothing.  If it’s unknown or changed, it drives the corresponding servo to the new location and stores the current location."

I can’t imagine loosing my hand but now there are some interesting options. You could get a hook for the good old pirate look or get this Robot Hand the can Feel!

Via: Servo Magazine Blog

"A team of scientists from Italy and Sweden has developed what is believed to be the first artificial hand that has feeling. It has been attached to the arm of a 22-year-old man who lost his own hand through cancer. Researchers say it works by connecting human nerve endings with tiny electronic sensors."