diy

Nothing says "I love you" like a DIY gift for your tech-loving partner.

Valentine's Day is on the horizon, and if your partner could be classed as the type who downloads too many apps, chooses social networking over face-to-face contact, and says things like "Duh" when you mention a new gadget, look no further than here.

While the rest of America is purchasing bouquets of roses and See's candies, take a stab at these easy, one-hour (or less) projects that any technology-loving guy or gal would appreciate.

Take it from a geek girl: these gifts will likely make your partner geek the heck out.… Read more

With Instagram, any boring photo is only a crop, filter, and tilt-shift away from becoming a piece of art.

Some might argue that such laziness through filtering discourages true photographic creativity, but there's no denying the Internet's obsession with the photo social network. If anything, it's a satisfying break from Facebook.

Even though it's only available on the iPhone (for now), many businesses have cropped up to provide services that augment what Instagram offers. From Stitchtagram pillowcases to photo magnets, there's no shortage of Instagram paraphernalia.

As a person who appreciates the printed photograph, here'… Read more

Remember kicking back in the 1890s? There was nothing better than relaxing with the latest Sherlock Holmes adventure in The Strand magazine and a Gilbert and Sullivan cylinder on the phonograph.

Now you can relive those glory days with your iPad and this classy steampunk audio system by Michael Greensmith.

We've seen plenty of passive speaker systems for the iPhone, including the organic iBamboo and the funky Horn Bike. The iPhonograph is a powered, steampunk-style audio system for the iPad that Greensmith put together with a little elbow grease and several odd parts from recycling shops. … Read more

The DJ plays a critical and often misunderstood role in any wedding ceremony. If you can afford a professional, by no means should you use the following tutorial to skimp out. You'll save yourself loads of hassle and be able to enjoy your day with one less concern floating around in your head.

Also be aware that the term "professional" does not apply to your estranged pothead cousin who owns a bunch of DJ gear and could really use some extra cash. In fact, that scenario is potentially more stressful and prone to failure than doing things yourself. Really, if you can afford an experienced wedding DJ, it is worth every penny.

That said, not everyone can afford a DJ for their wedding. I sure wasn't able to when I got married years ago. My wife and I sunk our budget into the venue and catering. For the rest, we either tried to do it ourselves, or got it on the cheap. We figured that with enough good food and wine in a beautiful setting, the wedding would be a success, even if the place settings weren't up to Martha Stewart standards.

One thing I did have was access to a great PA system and enough time on my hands to assemble a handful of useful iTunes playlists. The results, while not fairytale-perfect, worked well enough to steer a beautiful ceremony into a fun party with a full dance floor.… Read more

Why build a Gingrichian lunar colony, which would cost billions, when you can send a man nearly into space for only $400?

That's what Canadians Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad did with an albeit plastic man from Lego and a modified weather balloon.

The 17-year-olds from Toronto bought an $85 weather balloon online and rigged it to a Styrofoam box equipped with three point-and-shoot cameras and a wide-angle video camera.

They threw in $160 worth of helium from a party supply store, a dash of superglue, and voila, a Legonaut was born.

The toy ascended 80,000 feet over Ontario, recording the awesome footage in the video below, before floating back to Earth some 97 minutes later on a homemade nylon parachute. … Read more

What do you get when you mix a bunch of creative kids with copper wire, glue guns, and dead toy parts? Roller-skating bears and a Two-Hump Wump, to name just a few things.

More than 500 families registered for yesterday's Open Make at San Francisco's hands-on Exploratorium science museum. The event, a collaboration between the Exploratorium, Make magazine, and Pixar Animation Studios, was aimed at giving young makers a forum for learning new skills, collaborating with peers, and showing off their talents.

Open Make will take place once a month through April. Yesterday's theme was toys, with young tinkerers building scribbling machines and kinetic contraptions from wire, perfecting tricky tops, and creating cool-looking art with kaleidoscopes. Click on the gallery below to see the next generation of makers at work. … Read more

There's an Easter Egg in Hyundai's color codes, what's the point of all of this advanced engine tech anyway, and where do we go for our DIY car maintenance needs? We get to the bottom of these questions and more on on this week's episode of CNET Roadside Assistance.

There's no telling where you might encounter the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Since 1966 it's been on a many-year mission to explore strange new worlds of the pop psyche, to seek out new life as a pizza cutter or a Halloween costume for a dog, to boldly go where no spacecraft--fictional or otherwise--has gone before.

So while in LA recently, exploring the beachside neighborhood of Venice and its canals (vestiges of the Italianate fantasy the area had been in the early 20th century), we weren't exactly surprised to round a corner and run into our beloved starship.

The Enterprise as a gondola? Why not?… Read more

Move over Clapper. There's a new way to control your lights, and it's way cooler (not to mention quieter).

The Luminch One is an interactive lamp that you can turn on and off simply by waving your hand. Created by Francisco Castro, the lamp features an Arduino (an open-source electronics platform) connected to infrared distance sensors that track your hand.

Waving your hand above the Luminch One will turn it on or off, while hovering your palm over the lamp and then moving it up and down will adjust the brightness of the bulb. … Read more