A home-made Wall-E… (Image: Mike Peckham) …and Cookie Monster (Image: DJ Sures)
OH, THE heady days of 2007! The economy was booming, we were living it up on credit and grabbing the latest gadgets. What a difference a year makes. With the credit crunch biting, jobs vanishing and recession looming worldwide, this Christmas is looking a rather bleak affair.
Consumers said they would be spending 7 per cent less on presents this year, according to a survey at the end of October by business consultants Deloitte. That doesn’t mean you have to act like Ebeneezer Scrooge, though. Why not put your technology skills to good use and build some home-made versions of the presents you want to give but can no longer afford?
It’s easier than you might think. The web has a swarm of sites that show you how to make this year’s must-have gadgets from heaps of electronic components and old junk. So there is no excuse not to give your mum that digital photo frame she wants or your nephew a dancing teddy. Not only might you save money and keep tech junk from the dump, your friends and family are more likely to cherish a home-made present than something acquired with a wave of a bank card. At least, so says Eric Wilhelm, who has created Instructables.com, a website forum for people to share their home-made projects.
While studying for a PhD in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wilhelm took up kite surfing. It was an expensive hobby, though, and Wilhelm couldn’t afford to buy his own gear. So he began designing his…
