Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

I bought this book for one reason: How to hack a furby (and other talking toys). The book is very thorough and I am very satisfied with the explanation. The rest are probably fun but who wants to build an aquarium inside a Mac :-) This is a very interesting book, though. Other topics of interest are How to Hack 80.11b Antennas, Build a PC water-Cooling system, Build an Internet Toaster, Build a Home arcade machine, build a remote Object tacker, build a wearable computer (hmm), build an internet coffeemaker and much, much more. And don't forget to look at Scott Fullam's photo at the back of the book. One look and I could tell its his kind of book. Smile. Cold Eyes

Short review: If you actually know who Forrest Mims is, then you (and/or one of your geeky friends) will absolutely love this book.Slightly longer review: This is a fun and easy-to-read book for electronics enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels, geeky or otherwise. From classic projects like the Mac-quarium and the refurbished Furby to more practical hacks like building a backup laptop power supply, you're likely to find at least one or two projects that you'll enjoy reading about... and actually doing! Highly recommended, like most other O'Reilly books.

It's easy to get a sense of what the book is aboutby looking through the online table of contents, orby reading through a sample chapter. I was lucky enough to be asked to read the book prior torelease, and my initial impression was "WOW!". If Iwere teaching any high school technology class, this would be my text book. It not only teaches you abouteach project, but provides the tools and insight tohelp unleash your own creativity, or that of your studentsor children.Tim O'Reilly should send some sample copies to schools and see what they think. It might prove to be theirforay into the textbook market.

Are you an electronic enthusiastic with a lot of spare time and some extra cash laying around? Well, turn those resources of time and money into awe-inspiring hacker projects. Scott Fullam's latest book is the tool you need for that transformation. Inside you'll discover plans for your own cubicle intrusion detection system - cube warriors of the world unite! See what's causing the traffic jams with your homemade video periscope for your car. Go all out and build a gigantic (building-sized) low-resolution display, perfect for declaring your love for your girlfriend, or for mad games of pong. The book is nicely laid out like a textbook and crammed full of illustrations and tables and schematics and photos. Page 270 (describing wearable computers) inspired me to hack my old camcorder's viewfinder for a handy head-mount display. Perhaps you'll be motivated to build your own home arcade machine (page 213) or customized TiVo from scratch. Whatever your hacking fancy, you'll find related projects within these pages. A must read for the experienced or up-and-coming hacker

ContentsThis is a fun guide to hardware hacking projects from beginners to gurus.The book is divided into three parts: Part 1 - Basic Hacks, Tools, And Techniques - How To Build A Portable Laptop Power Supply; How To Build An Aquarium Inside A Macintosh; How To Hack 802.11b Antennas; How To Build A PC Water-Cooling System; How To Hack A Furby (And Other Talking Toys); How To Hack A Video Periscope For Your CarPart 2 - Advanced Hacks, Tools, And Techniques - How To Build A Digital Video Recorder; How To Hack A Building-Size Display; How To Build A Cubicle Intrusion Detection System; How To Build An Internet Toaster; How To Build A Home Arcade Machine; How To Build A Remote Object Tracker; How To Make RC Cars Play Laser Tag; How To Build A Wearable Computer; How To Build An Internet CoffeemakerPart 3 - Appendixes - Schematic Capture Software; Communication; Easy-to-Use Microcontroller Boards; Power Sources; Resources; IndexReviewI'm a software guy, not a hardware nut. To me, plug and play has been a godsend. But every once in awhile, I wish I had the chance to play around with wires and such. I'd like to be able to hack together something cool just to say I could do it. And with this book, I now have the chance.Scott Fullam has put together a fun volume of projects that span the range from rank beginners to people who read schematics on a daily basis. Each project is rated for cost, time requirements, and difficulty. Based on that, you can figure out whether or not the project is one you can reasonably expect to complete based on your skill level. There are some basic instructions on tools and reading schematics, but I think that you'd be better off if you come into the project with at least a little background knowledge beforehand. You could probably figure out the easier ones, but the advanced projects will be out of your reach. Where applicable, each project also lists a bill of material and schematic drawing that will make it easy for you to get the items you need to build your dream device. There are numerous illustrations and photos to keep you on track, so if you're a visual learner you're in luck.What do I see myself doing from this book? The portable laptop power supply is a definite possibility, along with the hack for the 802.11b. I've got to imagine it's a geeky status symbol to have a soup can antenna attached to your laptop when you're sitting at the local Starbucks. I could also see the monitor aquarium being a fun project with the kids. I'm sure they can teach me something... JConclusionIf you're a true hardware hacker, you'll love this book. If you're a hardware hacker wannabe (like me), you'll still find projects you can do while being entertained by the possibilities.