Life Hackery

Computers can get outdated in a matter of years or even just a few months. If you are the type of person who has that “upgrade itch” inside you, then you probably have a lot of old computer hardware lying around your house.

Getting rid of your computer gadgets can be troublesome and difficult because most of these old hardware may harm the environment if not properly disposed. Good news! You don’t have to dispose most of them since you can reuse them into something useful.

Scratches on CDs and DVDs can be a problem. In some cases, even a small shallow scratch can render the disc useless. If you are wondering if there is still a use for your pile of scratched CDs of your favorite music albums, computer and console games, then you’re in luck.

Of course there are many commercial products available on the market; however, you don’t have to spend tons of money just to be able to listen to your favorite Radiohead album again or open that college thesis you burned to a CD years ago. You can easily make them work again by simply using the exisiting items you have in your home.

If you’re a gamer geek, the chances are that you have at least one Nintendo zapper sitting around the house. Remember those flimsy plastic guns that, in their day, shot down thousands of pixelly ducks on your TV screen? While time (and technology) marched on, these awesome little accessories were just biding their time in your basement, waiting to be brought out and used in some serious duck slaughtering once again.

Well, dust off those zappers and get out your soldering iron: we’ve gathered some mods that will breathe new life into your old guns.

The first mod is a very simple one: combine a mouse and a zapper to make a gun that can play Duck Hunt on your PC.

This one is a bit trickier and requires some soldering. It involves the unholy union of an NES zapper and a Wiimote to make a gun that’s far easier to use than frantically pointing the Wiimote at the TV. Check out photos and the whole process here.

Finally, add a laser sight to your zapper. It’s totally unsportsmanlike and not really fair to the poor ducks, but come on - you’ve got to shut that annoying dog up, right?

How many DIY USB drive mods are out there? Being the realistic and completely unsarcastic type, we’d say about forty million. They are an easy project and they can make this otherwise boring bit of technology sparkle with personality. While we would never claim to be an authority on such things and thus able to judge the “best” mods, we can show you a few weird and interesting mods that have caught our eyes recently.

The Floppy Disk USB Drive: taking an obsolete piece of technology and combining it with a newer piece of technology to make something useful? Excellent.

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The Cassette Tape USB Drive: along the same lines as the floppy disk, this mod is a nice juxtaposition of old and new. Plus it looks pretty cool when it’s plugged in.

The Zippo USB Drive: Do you love the iconic look of the Zippo, but you’ve given up that nasty smoking habit? Find another use for your favorite Zippo case by mounting a USB drive inside.

The growing number of gadgets and accessories that adorn our computer desks is constantly increasing. Where the hardware needed on any well-equipped home office desk was once minimal, we now have a staggering array of devices to organize. If you find yourself constantly getting tangled in cords and knocking devices off of the desk because there’s just no room for them, maybe it’s time to come up with a better solution.

What about moving your devices downstairs? Van Mardian at Decluttered.com came up with an ingenious method of attaching your numerous devices to the underside of your desk. You’ll free up valuable space on your desktop and improve the overall mojo of your home office.