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Making Stuff Out Of Broken Computer Equipment?

Posted by timothy on from the counts-more-if-you-broke-it dept.

Class Act Dynamo writes "Recently, my keyboard stopped working, so I bought a new one (nice cordless number, really excellent). I was about to throw the old keyboard out when I thought it would be interesting to take all the keys out of it and turn them into refrigerator magnets in order to have a simple 'megnetic poetry' type of thing going. As the fumes from the industrial strength glue went to my head during this project, I began to wonder what other types of craft-type projects people had undertaken with their unusable old perpherals and such. Then I began to wonder why there was a purple octopus on my couch. I decided to ask slashdot readers the first of these questions."

4 of 594 comments (clear)

  1. "...ask /. readers the first of these questions" by mrchaotica · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And yet half of the answers will be to the second!

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  2. Not all computer equipment is safe for this by banz23 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think many people neglect to realize that the computer components were designed to operate in a closed box and to have very little direct contact with people. There is plenty of lead and other nasties in these components that I certainly wouldn't want to handle them frequently or for that matter my kids. Now things like keyboard key are obviously safe, but motherboards are another thing.

    1. Re:Not all computer equipment is safe for this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is just damned silly!

      The amount of lead you are exposed to from electronic components is negligible unless you grind them up and eat them - a lot of them! You do realize that toothpaste, up until about 20 years ago, was packaged in lead tubes, don't you. And it was something that people put into their mouths everyday. The practice was discontinued not because of any lead poisoning to people using the toothpaste, but because of lead contamination to groundwater from dumps filled with the stuff.

      Find something real to worry about.

  3. Re:Hmmm by discogravy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I use old intell PII's as goatee combs -- just long enough to get it neat looking and not really useful for anything else.

    --
    FreeBSD for the impatient.