Grasshopper New Media Presents...

Woo-hoo - we finally made it to the first edition of the Carnival of Gadget Hacks, and I’m happy to say that there was more than one submission! But not too many to overwhelm me, as I’m also hosting the Festival of Family Flair at GNMParents this week as well (gah!).

Corey at myopiniononeverything.com submitted a post that wasn’t technically a gadget “hack” - using a product for other than its intended purposes. But I think that Corey submitted it because this is one of those multipurpose gadgets, which I greatly appreciate, for the most part. And even though I’m a bit outside of the 18-24 age range to which the Mylo is marketed, I could see this being a useful little gadget for parents. I’m gonna have to look more into it (and the Sidekick Corey mentioned as well ).

Michelle, who writes at Scribbit (and has very creative ways to deal with life - in Alaska, no less), had a great idea for something to do with those broken small home appliances when you know they can’t be repaired (or you’d rather update anyway). I have my own personal “junk bin”, as Michelle called it, as I believe many homeschoolers do, but I never would have thought to do this at a Cub Scout meeting. That’s an idea I’ll have to remember when my son rejoins the scouts.

This next contribution had me realizing that I should either give up this carnival or focus it more intently. Alan, at Hacked Gadgets (now if that’s not a site that should be hosting this carnival, what is? ), presents Making a Hard Drive Laser Oscilloscope. Um, this one was WAY over my head but I really enjoyed that he showed pictures of the project step-by-step. Wondering what use one would make of a hard drive laser oscilloscope, I followed the link to his post about the Top 5 Uses for a Dead Hard Drive and watched one in a video make lines “dance” to some music. Interested in what you can use an oscilloscope for? Check out How Stuff Works.

Unfortunately for us, I was not able to read my last submission. Chris at WiseBread.com submitted a post that, from the title, sounds as though it doesn’t belong in this carnival. However, the site was down each time I went to check on it, so I wasn’t able to tell. If you’d like to see for yourself whether this submission belongs at the carnival, see if you can find the post up at iPhone: Should you buy it? … and let me know what you think.

Well, that brings this first edition of the Carnival of Gadget Hacks to a close. Be sure to leave a comment at the sites listed above and let them know you came via the carnival.

And leave me a comment below to share your thoughts: should I have a second edition or should I give the carnival over to someone else? :oops:

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