Help a Luddite DIY a sweet Christmas present for a tech geek
November 6, 2014 9:27 AM   Subscribe

This year, I'm trying to make as many of my Christmas gifts as I can. I picked my 21-year-old tech geek brother in the family's Secret Santa drawing, and I need to find a cool, useful gift to make him...

I was scheming a DIY of a LED word clock like this: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-build-your-own-diy-word-97025

Unfortunately, said little brother is my go-to guy for tech help, and I'm more than a little intimidated by the Arduino as someone who thinks the iPhone runs on magic. Help me find an easier, equally awesome Christmas present to make him!

Budget: around 100 dollars or less
His interests: Entrepreneurship, well-made gadgets, anything from Apple, chill music like Alt-J, etc.
posted by sparringnarwhal to Technology (6 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
What about making something with Lego bricks and Sugru?
posted by radioamy at 9:46 AM on November 6, 2014 [3 favorites]


I got my hubby this useless box from Think Geek (which is a great place to find things techy). Believe it or not, techy people love it. Because yep, that's all it does (what's in the picture) and they do have to put it together. My hubs loves it. Make sure your brother has a soldering kit though, if not, they have those too and both will be under your $100 limit.
posted by patheral at 9:59 AM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


A simple desk or wall caddy for storing USB cables, thumb drives, stylus, etc. could be awesome. Some mostly-vertical square or cylindrical chambers that are open on top should do the trick. You can make it out of wood blocks or whatever you want.
posted by amtho at 10:07 AM on November 6, 2014


Here's a no solder version of the Useless Box.
posted by bitterpants at 10:09 AM on November 6, 2014


Whoops, wrong link. Here's the correct one.
posted by bitterpants at 10:48 AM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


Make a non-cardboard version of Google Cardboard. You can get parts from Unofficialcardboard. Plastic, wood, foam etc are possibilities, and you can decorate the outside to make it personal. If you are really ambitious you can make it look like a Star Wars binoculars. There's a community of people hacking on the concept.
posted by Sophont at 11:04 AM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]


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