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Hardware Reuse Contest Entries Revealed

teqo writes "The outstanding German computer magazine c't had a contest in which they challenged readers to submit their coolest recycling projects for obsolete hardware, and the entries have been revealed to the public now. There is an artsy and a practical category, and although it is in German, the pics make lots of submissions intuitively grokkable." (On the right hand side of the page, click the links beneath "Kunst" -- artistic -- and "Funktion" -- functional.) My favorite is the laptop with a solar-powered backlight.

39 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. To find the pictures by b00m3rang · · Score: 3, Informative

    Follow the links under 'Kunst' and 'Funktion' on the right side bar.

  2. My german isn't so good by odano · · Score: 4, Funny

    The only german I know is "Die Bart, Die", and it isn't on the site.

    I'm lost!

    1. Re:My german isn't so good by Wwolmack · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Nobody who speaks german could be an evil man"

  3. Hubble by mr+i+want+to+go+home · · Score: 4, Funny
    I see they didn't give a prize to my idea of reusing Hubble as a.....wait for it....

    TELESCOPE!

  4. Babelfish translation.. by cmacmanus · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. Re:Babelfish translation.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Mach quickly the scrap iron! Ja baby!
      Who wrote this translation engine? The German nihilist-nazis from 'Big Lebowski'? ;)

  5. Super Bowl Ad by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My first thought was the Super Bowl Ad close to the end of the game (maybe even right after) in which the kid builds the robot in the garage. Its a Nationwide ad and is hilarious. If you have not yet seen it, watch for it!

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  6. First a DDOS, now a Slashdotting by moonbender · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Poor heise online servers, they just survived days of SYNflooding and now they're being slashdotted.

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    Switch back to Slashdot's D1 system.
    1. Re:First a DDOS, now a Slashdotting by wertarbyte · · Score: 2, Funny

      So, a slashdotted Server who cannot output a clear page anymore is "heiser" ("croaky")?

      --
      Life is just nature's way of keeping meat fresh.
  7. Recycling Ram by Sepper · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I see that someone else had the same idea... http://www.heise.de/ct/machflott/projekte/55850

    I've been doing this since I had a broken piece... years ago...

    I still have about 15 30pins Simms (Goldstar) left... Anyone want a keychain?

    --
    I live in Soviet Canuckistan you insensitive clod!
  8. Re:nice one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    well if you americans hadn't gotten involved in WW2 you'd all be speaking german now..

  9. Re:nice one by JanneM · · Score: 5, Funny

    Would be easier if the site was actually readable to someone in the United States.

    Not to the intended readership, no. Much easier to read German than English if you are German, you know.

    --
    Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
  10. Hardware Obsolescence by Captoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do they have a precise definition of what constitutes "obsolete hardware?" If they're talking about functional obsolescence, then a calculator may not be obsolete for decades. A CD-R becomes obsolete the moment that someone copies an AOL CD. A Pentium 4 becomes obsolete the moment that it belongs to my grandmother.

  11. Pretty Cool by DrKyle · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I haven't really had the time to browse all of the ideas here, but this one really stands out to me

    RFID and Barcode Beer Fridge
    If looks aren't decieving, you can use this baby to check your beer supply, and maybe even let you check from work to see what you need to pick up on the way home for the weekend.

    1. Re:Pretty Cool by Tr0mBoNe- · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I enjoy the Gameboy universal remote. My meger-translationability does not help much.

      And the Amiga Guitar one is pretty messed. This makes me want to go off and make my old 8086's into more useful fish tanks or laptops.

      --
      while(1) { fork(); };
    2. Re:Pretty Cool by k4_pacific · · Score: 3, Interesting

      My uncle did something similar to this back in the '70s. His roommates and him shared a keg, and they needed a way to decide hoe much each's share was. He put a switch on the tap handle and connected it to a panel with three keyswitches and three hour-meters like you see on forklifts. Each roommate had a key, which connected the appropriate meter to the tap switch. If someone tried to fill a glass without inserting and turning their key, an alarm would go off. Whenever they'd buy a keg, they would note how far each meter changed since last time and divy up the cost accordingly.

      --
      Unknown host pong.
  12. Article Text in case of Slashdotting: by brilinux · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mach flott den Schrott
    Ihre Meinung ist gefragt: Bewerten Sie die Einsendungen des Recycling-Wettbewerbs

    Mit der Ausgabe 25/04 startete c't Ende November 2004 den Recycling-Wettbewerb Mach flott den Schrott, der die originellsten, schönsten und nützlichsten Konstruktionen aus High-Tech-Schrott belohnen soll. Die wesentliche Teile der Objekte sollen aus gebrauchten Computern oder ausgemusterter Peripherie stammen und sie sollen anders genutzt werden, als der Hersteller sich das ursprünglich gedacht hat.

    Der Wettbewerb hat zwei Kategorien: "Funktion" und "Kunst". In der ersten sollen Werke antreten, die im weitesten Sinne eine technische Funktion erfüllen. Dazu gehören beispielsweise Roboter, Messgeräte, Uhren und Lampen. In die zweite Kategorie fallen alle Werke, bei denen allein der künstlerische oder ästhetische Wert im Vordergrund steht.

    Auf diesen Seiten präsentieren wir die Wettbewerbsbeiträge. Sehen Sie sich um, staunen Sie, lassen Sie sich zum Nachbauen anregen und diskutieren Sie in den Foren mit, die es zu allen Projekten gibt.

    Außerdem bitten wir um Ihre Mitwirkung an der Online-Nominierung der Endrundenteilnehmer. Bewerten Sie jedes Projekt bis zum 18. Februar nach vier Aspekten mit Schulnoten. Dazu finden Sie unter den Objektbeschreibungen jeweils einen Link.

    Die besten Konstruktionen nehmen dann an der Endrunde auf der CeBIT 2005 teil, wo wir sie auch auf dem Stand des Heise Zeitschriften Verlages (Halle 5, Stand E38) ausstellen. (je)

    ---
    I hope that that was immensly helpful to all of you!

  13. Achtung Alles Lootensteepers! by glanois · · Score: 2, Funny

    Vast ist dis? Neiner blinkenlights?

  14. My PC recycling thing by Simonetta · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I cut the DIN 5 connector (old style keyboard) and the PS2 mouse connector (MiniDIN 6) off very old obsolete motherboards.
    Then I combine them with a 40 cent microcontroller (AVR Tiny11) to make MIDI tone module controllers from standard PS2 keyboards.
    It works really well. Press the keys, notes go on, release keys, notes off. Just like a piano keyboard but smaller and much cheaper. There are, however, certain key combinations that don't play full chords. I'm not sure if it's the internal keyboard matrix decoding or the microcontroller's firmware.

    1. Re:My PC recycling thing by arminw · · Score: 2, Interesting

      We were still using a Mac SE30 (from 1989) as an answering/fax machine but "upgraded" it a year ago to the present Color Classic (made in 1993) running System 7.5.1 so we could access it over the local network. The Classic running 24/7 is also used to allow an old Apple Laserwriter (which still works just fine) with only an Appletalk interface to be accessible via ethernet. The answering/fax function is provided by a DoveFaxPlus 2400baud modem. I wonder if this setup would qualify for a prize?

      --
      All theory is gray
  15. Server by MisterTeabag · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is there a plan to recycle their webserver?

  16. Nice one by imsabbel · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.heise.de/ct/machflott/projekte/56016
    Thats a nice hard disc bike :)

    --
    HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
  17. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ich kann nicht Deutschen lesen Sie unempfindlicher Klumpen!

  18. Re:nice one by MidnightBrewer · · Score: 2, Funny

    Actually, if you live in the United States and can read German, then technically it fulfills your requirements. As it is, I'm an American in Japan and I can read it just fine. Maybe it's just a question of geography? ;) (Doesn't hurt to speak German, though.)

    --
    "Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day; set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life
  19. ACHTUNG! by ArticleI · · Score: 2, Funny

    Alles touristen und non-technischen peepers!

    Das machine control is nicht fur gerfinger-poken und mittengrabben. Oderwise is easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowen fuse, und poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Der machine is diggen by experten only. Is nicht fur geverken by das dummkopfen. Das rubbernecken sightseenen keepen das cotten picken hands in das pockets, so relaxen und watchen das blinkenlights.

  20. Reflective/Transflective laptop displays by raygundan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Instead of trying to do a solar-powered backlight, I wish more manufacturers would offer the option of a reflective or transflective LCD screen. This is like the screen used in the Gameboy Advance-- in bright sunlight, it looks fantastic. Indoors, they're not quite as nice as backlit, as they are typically sidelit to bounce the light off the rear reflector. It's a tradeoff. But you could use your laptop with no backlight power as long as there was good ambient light.

    There was at least one laptop made with one of these-- If I remember right, it had a Transmeta CPU, but it's been a while. NEC Versa Daylite, or something close to that, and I think some of the Panasonic Toughbooks designed for outdoor use have them as well.

  21. skirt star need a guitar! by buttahead · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since skirt star need a guitar, no meal remained for me: ... Amiga 500 + guitar neck.

    Coworker: Andre Pluemer and friends, those from time to time parts of the Sperrm?


    Rock on... berzerker!

  22. I believe that's a keyboard limitation by Mustang+Matt · · Score: 2, Informative

    It seems like most newer keyboards don't have the problem of recognizing too many keys at once. I remember playing mortal kombat on my old 386 with two people on the keyboard and the trick wasn't skill, but to press enough buttons to keep your opponent's key presses from being recognized.

    --
    The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
  23. Re:Good for them! by EGSonikku · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't see why this was modded funny. I have several German friends who are quite sensitive to the subject of WWII. They hate Hitler and Nazi's just as much as anyone else. To jest that they would invade Poland out of boredom or ressurect the 3rd reich isn't just in bad taste, it's plain wrong.

    Perhaps if we ('we' in my particualr case being the US) didn't have slashdot we would be incarerating Japanese born US citizens, or hosing down black civil rights protesters! Funny, no? Didn't think so.

    --
    - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
  24. Re:nice one by forkazoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, you are suggesting that the company should redo their website because somebody posted an article about them... In an age when machine translation is perfectly understandable with a little effort, and the article is mostly pictures, and a significant amount of slashdot's readership doesn't have english as a first language? Twit.

  25. Open Source Hardware by Caseyscrib · · Score: 2, Interesting
    A company really needs to step in and make open-source hardware. Think about how much money and waste we could save if every year instead of buying a new cell phone we could just download new software onto it. The same goes for a car CD player. Don't like the interface? Want MP3/Ogg/MP4? Want strong encryption for your cell phone? Just download an update.

    The best feature of this is that you will extend the life of your product by a long time. PDAs, Cell Phones, MP3 Players, video game systems, Digital Cameras... they would all benefit. Sure, the initial hardware cost might be a little bit more, but in the end I think the cost would be worth it.

  26. Favorite by SpeedBump0619 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    While the solar backlight might be interesting I just can't ignore these

    they're just so darn cute.

  27. I'm a big fan of my token (key)ring by Brightest+Light · · Score: 2, Funny

    I made a key fob out of an old IBM Token Ring PCMCIA card. My keys are impossible to lose :)

  28. Re:Good for them! by R.Caley · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Perhaps if we ('we' in my particualr case being the US) didn't have slashdot we would be incarerating Japanese born US citizens, or hosing down black civil rights protesters!

    Or locking people up on an army base in Cuba to sidestep your constitution?

    --
    _O_
    .|<
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  29. Lights made from CDs by MatthewNewberg · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Those light shades made from a thousand CDs are pretty cool looking. I want one for myself, but it seems pretty hard to do in the post AOL cd error. I guess I need to start collecting. Here is the link http://www.heise.de/ct/machflott/projekte/55857

  30. Re:"I have several German friends who are..." by DarkDust · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know quite a few Germans myself, and they don't agree with your German friends at all.

    So don't think your German friends represent a clear majority opinion, in Germany.

    I know quite a few Germans as well... which is because I'm German ;-) I can tell you the vast majority of Germans nowadays really do hate Nazis and racism.

    Yes, there are still some idiots that didn't learn a thing, but luckily those are mostly dumb people that don't even know that Hitler was an Austrian and are generally very uninformed about history. And yes, in East Germany some right-winged parties have managed to get a noticable amount of votes. But that doesn't make those people the majority.

    It seems you didn't notice the anti-Nazi demonstrations that every demonstration of right-winged parties (NPD, DSU) face. And you didn't notice what happened a few weeks ago when some right-winged politicians from the NPD boycotted a minute's silence for the holocaust victims and later on said stupid things the we Germans were the real victims in the war instead of the Jews. These caused an outrage in Germany and re-started a discussion to forbid the NPD for being anticonstitutional.

    There are laws in Germany which make it risky to express your true feelings in public, and so many people would not admit that the Germans still feel quite some pride when they think about the days of the Third Reich.

    As for those laws : you can't legislate the true sentiments of a people.

    I have no idea where you've got that from, but it's just plain wrong. There are laws that forbid to lie about Nazi crimes, e.g. it's forbidden to say "The Nazis never killed any Jews", but it's not forbidden to say the truth or what you feel.

    And yes, we are proud of some things we managed to do during WWII, namely building V2 rockets and developing jet planes as well as parachutes and other technological advances. But we know all too well that many thousands of innocent people lost their lifes to develop these things, and nobody is proud about that.

    In conclusion, I really think you either know very twisted Germans and mistake them for being the majority or should listen more carefully what they say.

  31. Re:"I have several German friends who are..." by dunkelfalke · · Score: 2, Insightful

    can only second it.

    dunkelfalke

    --
    Conservatism: The fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is your inferior is being treated as your equal.
  32. Re:nice one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative


    Speaking...
    ...four languages - is an interpreter
    ...three languages - is an interested
    ...two languages - is usual
    ...one language - is american

  33. categories translated by Living+WTF · · Score: 4, Informative

    artistic
    - objective sculptures
    - shape, light and sound objects
    - symbolic stuff
    - flat objects
    - environment
    - jewelry
    - fancy stuff

    functional
    - computer equipment
    - furniture
    - home and garden
    - kitchen equipment
    - light engineering
    - measurement engineering
    - robots and models
    - sports and toys
    - sound and picture
    - clocks
    - miscellaneous

    --
    I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.