Here’s an interesting idea for a pair of old iPods: Replace the scroll wheels with speakers to turn them into a portable stereo system.
According to Jordan, the maker of the speakers:
I was looking through a bunch of old stuff when I came across my original iPod. I had long ago scavenged it for parts, so I came up with another use for it. Although I already had the iPod speaker “shell”, I wanted to make two speakers so that it could be stereo sound. My iPod speaker shell was barely recognizable with too many scratches to count, so I ordered two front panels and two back panels.
The total cost ended up around 100 USD for everything. It was mostly the shipping prices that made it so expensive. If I had spent some more time finding cheaper prices, or finding the parts locally, the cost would have been about 60 USD.
[Voiding Warranties - iPod Speakers]
[Via: MAKE: Blog]
This year, gift cards go beyond just plastic as companies add features to lure you into buying the profit-filled gifts.
New card ideas include Target, which has added a small digital camera to their card, and Best Buy, which chose to go with a speaker that can connect to any MP3 player and play music through the included mini headphone jack.
While the Target card makes sense, because you can use it to capture holiday memories, send thank you pics to the gift giver, and even use it as a camera stand-in on your way to buying a real digital camera of your choice, the Best Buy one seems a little strange, since I can’t imagine the tiny speaker sounding any good as it attempts to keep up with the enthusiastic gift recipient.
Either way though, it’s an interesting idea, and it will be interesting to see what gets attached to a gift card next.
[Target Gift Card, Best Buy Gift Card]
Apparently, automakers that dabble in carbon fiber also have a penchant for high-end stereo equipment, because they seem to enjoy lending their name to pieces of audio art.
This Pagani system features an aluminum and carbon fiber turntables, CD player, and speaker pair that’s designed to mimic the Zonda’s sound system controls with additional details like the Zonda exhaust themed ports tying the two together.
I guess if you an afford a Zonda, then they assume you can afford something like this; because I don’t imagine shock absorbing carbon fiber turntables are a cheap addition to any home.
[Pagani]
[Via: NOTCOT]
