DIY

LEDs, or "light-emitting diodes," have come a long way since they were introduced as red, green, and blue computer indicator lights.

These days, LEDs are available in endless shapes and sizes, a wide variety of colors and neutrals, and offer many benefits over traditional incandescent lights.

For starters, LEDs can potentially cut energy usage by 25% in the U.S. How? Here's the science, made simple: incandescent bulbs convert most electricity to heat, whereas LED lights convert most of the energy into light. That's why LEDs don't give off heat the way traditional … Read more

Remember on the first day of grade school when your teachers would ask you to come up to the front of the room and tell your classmates what you did during your summer vacation? Inevitably, there would be tales of frolicking at the beach, camping at national parks, and other cool activities, but we think 9-year-old Caine Monroy just might have the greatest story of all.

A big fan of arcades, Monroy spent his summer creating his own arcade (called Caine's Arcade, naturally) at his dad's auto parts store in east Los Angeles. Using cardboard boxes and the … Read more

The other day I was in a museum dedicated to environmental conservation and it had one of those old black rotary dial phones from way back when, surrounded by dozens of junked cell phones. It was trying to make the point that before manufacturers inflicted planned obsolescence on us, they made goods that would last.

Filmmaker Jason Bognacki's recent experiments with vintage cameras make that point very effectively. In case you missed it, shutterbugs have been drooling over his hybrid camera, a masterful blending of analog and digital technologies.

Bognacki took a battered old Piccolette camera from the 1920s that he bought on eBay years ago. He decided to unite it with his Canon EOS 5D Mark II by having the Piccolette act as a lens for the Canon. … Read more

With smartphones boasting excellent lenses and good point-and-shoot cameras becoming more affordable, photography has become a greater part of everyone's life. Just look at some of the most popular apps and Web sites, like Instagram, Flickr, and even Facebook Photos: they've exploded in activity as people discover a previously untapped passion for capturing moments and quickly sharing them with the world.

As a fellow everyday photographer, I scoured blogs, Pinterest, and (unashamedly) previous How To posts to dig up the tips, tricks, and tutorials that take this newfound passion for photography to greater heights.

Whether your smartphone is … Read more

For their final episode, the Crave team does... well, exactly what they always do. Donald goes nuts for a free toy adapter that can create an unholy union between Legos and Tinker Toys. Bonnie recounts her dramatic day of technology detox. And in Geek News, Eric gives his 2 cents on "The Hunger Games" movie.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video … Read more

Robert Howsare, a student from Ohio University, has built a rudimentary yet interesting drawing machine out of two old turntables and some wooden planks.

The home project, which cost a mere $50 to put together, is simply known as the "drawing apparatus." The drawings produced by the machine are surprisingly attractive, with random asymmetrical lines and patterns as shown in the below video. In fact, I personally found watching the rotating turntables and planks entertaining, and even therapeutic to some extent.

So before you throw out any outdated but still functional hi-fi components, you may want to consider the ways they could be repurposed first. … Read more

As an avid gym-goer and outdoor person who's dependent on her music and fitness apps, my phone has become my best workout buddy. (After all, it never flakes on me.)

I'm not alone, and for me and the many others who rely on their phones for fitness, storing our phones while breaking a sweat isn't always a simple task. Sure, you can shove it in your sports bra, stick it in your waistband, or just hold it in your hand, but come on -- that's gross.

Web sites like Amazon are chock-full of workout armbands for … Read more

As part of Crave's ongoing effort to direct the inexhaustible creative energies of our readers into positive channels (and thus prevent said readers from becoming evil geniuses and vaporizing the planet with giant, home-made, 3D-printed death-ray cannons), we present to you, dear inexhaustibly creative reader, our latest proposal for a lazy weekend's worth of DIY fun.

Last time, you'll recall, we had you bang out a few simple drawings with a staple gun. Not only fun but also therapeutic. Today's project should be similarly rewarding. And like that last assignment, it involves relatively simple tools and shouldn't tax your mind or body too much.… Read more

Legos are cool. Tinker Toys are cool. Zoob is cool. But you know what's really cool? Building a hybrid gizmo out of all of the above (and other construction toys as well).

That's possible now--without tape, glue, chewing gum, or earwax--using the Free Universal Construction Kit, a set of adapters that let you snap together parts from 10 popular building toys. Brought to you by the F.A.T. (Free Art and Technology) Lab and Sy-Lab, the kit can be downloaded for free as a collection of models in STL format that can be printed with 3D printers such as the Makerbot.… Read more