Diy Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

OWC releases kit that allows for dual hard drives in 2011 Mac mini

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (May 2nd, 2012)

For those keen on expanding the number of hard drives in the 2011 Mac minis, OWC has released a kit that enables users to add a second 9.5 mm or 2.5" SATA hard drive or a solid-state drive to their machines. The US$49.99 kit includes a 5-piece mini toolkit, a tool for removing the logic board, ...

Creating a DIY AppMates toy car

by Erica Sadun (Apr 19th, 2012)

Our Dave Caolo likes the idea behind Disney's AppMates cars but felt the cost ($20 street price) was a bit steep for what is, essentially, a cheap car with a few capacitive pads. He challenged me to see if I could turn a basic Matchbox unit into an AppMate-compatible iPad accessory. I created an ...

DIY external MacBook battery

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 3rd, 2012)

Evan Rodgers took a CCTV battery, a third party MacBook car charger, and some soldering tools to create a do-it-yourself external MacBook battery. As he points out in his post on The Verge, a little elbow grease and electronics know-how will save you from having to buy a costly commercial ...

Build your own iPhone 4, 4S macro lens

by Steven Sande (Mar 12th, 2012)

Many iPhoneographers have been looking for a macro lens that will work with the iPhone 4 and 4S to take awesome closeup images. Unfortunately, a lot of those lenses cost a few bucks -- the Olloclip (which also includes a fisheye and wide-angle lens) runs $69.99, and while the magnetic macro lens ...

DIY iPhone boombox built with a ShopBot

by Mike Schramm (Feb 22nd, 2012)

The ShopBot is a sort of an electronic saw, a special setup designed to do some computer-aided cutting and carving work on big planks of board. It's quite useful for woodworking or making things like skateboards or surfboards. Odds are that you don't have one, but nevertheless, just such a device ...

iPhone and mirror turned into DIY monkeycam

by Mike Schramm (Feb 15th, 2012)

YouTube user Mark Rober, last seen making a gruesome Halloween costume with a couple of iPad 2s, has posted another video on YouTube featuring another relatively unconventional use for Apple's mobile devices. Rober found that during a trip to the zoo, he could use the iPhone's front camera and ...

RC car modded with Arduino, controlled by iPad

by Mike Schramm (Jan 3rd, 2012)

This is great -- developer Wannes Vermeulen has hacked a toy remote control car with an Arduino board and hooked it up to an iPad to drive it around. You can see video of the project in action over on Vimeo right now. It's not anything too special these days, as you can buy lots of RC vehicles ...

iTat tattoos up the back of your iPhone

by Mike Schramm (Oct 28th, 2011)

"iTat" is a questionable name for a product, but the actual effect of these "iPhone tattoos" looks pretty good. iTat is a system for etching on the back glass panel of the iPhone, which, on the black iPhone, looks like a sort of tattoo. The whole process is being offered by a company called ...

Capacitive touch brush stylus made from conductive thread

by Mike Schramm (Sep 29th, 2011)

Artist Margarita Benitez really wanted a Nomad Brush for her iPad but didn't have the cash for the actual thing, so she did the next best: she made one herself. Using an old brush handle and some conductive thread, she was able to assemble a working brush, and says it works better than ...

iPhone case has cross-stitched back

by Mike Schramm (Jul 14th, 2011)

A confession: For a short time as a kid, I was actually into cross stitching. Not that far into it, but I did enjoy the routine that turned into art, the pattern-following that, when combined with the right thread or yarn and the correct stitches, turned into a nice piece of handmade art. ...

Make your Mac, iPhone or iPad 2 transparent

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jul 11th, 2011)

Photojojo details an easy set of instructions that will let you create eye-catching photo-in-photo transparent images like the one shown above. You don't need a fancy camera or expensive software. All you need is a few extra gadgets, some creativity and a helper to snap the photos. The ...

DIY breakout dock looks to get professional sound out of iPad 2

by Mike Schramm (May 31st, 2011)

The iPad is an excellent device for creating and editing sound, but sometimes, just using that headphone port isn't enough. For that, DIY musician Qubais "Reed" Ghazala built this custom-made iPad dock, which plugs the iPad into a whole row of various sound-related ins and outs, from a line ...

How to make a custom wooden 'antique' iPad case

by Chris Rawson (Apr 6th, 2011)

Gary Katz, the same DIY guy behind this cool iPhone shoebox theater, has crafted a delightfully retro-looking case for his iPad 2 out of "about $20 worth of materials." Calling it "An iPad Case from 1945," Katz used a bill of materials that just about anyone might find in their garage or ...

Cool custom-made iOS device stand

by Chris Ward (Mar 19th, 2011)

Design student Andrew Kim has produced the very cool Polyply to avoid having all his iOS devices strewn around his desktop like so many expensive paperweights. Made from acrylate polymer (acrylic plastic), birch plywood and birch, it has cutouts for his iPad, iPod touch Classic, iPhone and ...

Video: Replicate Smart Cover sleep mode with a simple magnet

by Erica Sadun (Mar 14th, 2011)

If you're looking for that awesome Smart Cover functionality but don't want to spend forty bucks on a case for your new iPad, it's really simple to add a low-power magnet that will trigger the Smart Cover functionality. All you need is a small strip of flexible craft magnet, available at any ...