How not to do an instructable

Do not use this as inpiration, or maybe use it as inspiration as on how not to be lazy and forgetful and miss the chance to win a laser cutter.

Now I take on a lot of hobby projects, mainly to keep busy because when I'm bored I can be a little mischevious ;) The problem is I get most of the way done through what I originally planned to do, and usually just stop where the project is usuable for just me (i.e. homemade PVR, home network, PDA cradle/charger/usb hub, ...) and unfortunately for my significant other I don't complete them to a point where they are easy for her to use.

In this instructable I'll outline how I intended to document my PDA cradle/charger/usb hub but haven't and also haven't finished the project for months.

Step 1 Get mats together!

Ok, Get your materials togetther, and forget to write down specs, take pictures of what they originally looked like, and where you got them. For my project I planned on building in a usb bluetooth dongle, with a powered usb hub as my pda can act as host but has poor power output, and have a couple of Li-ion battery packs to power the usb hub and recharge my PDA during heavy usage.

Unfortunately I didn't write down specifics of what I used, where I got them or even what brand they were (but I think the usb hub was a Nexxtech, bah who knows). Here are some pics I gleamed from the Wibble Web.

http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FS1/A7VU/F8OQ9BAO/FS1A7VUF8OQ9BAO.MEDIUM.jpg
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FS1/A7VU/F8OQ9BAO/FS1A7VUF8OQ9BAO.MEDIUM.jpgOne of 2 small Li-ion battery packs
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FMT/Z6XV/F8OQ9BAN/FMTZ6XVF8OQ9BAN.MEDIUM.jpg
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FMT/Z6XV/F8OQ9BAN/FMTZ6XVF8OQ9BAN.MEDIUM.jpgPowered USB Hub
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FJG/EWWI/F8OQ9BAQ/FJGEWWIF8OQ9BAQ.MEDIUM.gif
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FJG/EWWI/F8OQ9BAQ/FJGEWWIF8OQ9BAQ.MEDIUM.gifBluetooth Dongle

Comments

[roofm]

cool laptop?

[ac1D]

http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FS1/A7VU/F8OQ9BAO/FS1A7VUF8OQ9BAO.MEDIUM.jpg
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FS1/A7VU/F8OQ9BAO/FS1A7VUF8OQ9BAO.MEDIUM.jpgOne of 2 small Li-ion battery packs
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FMT/Z6XV/F8OQ9BAN/FMTZ6XVF8OQ9BAN.MEDIUM.jpg
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FMT/Z6XV/F8OQ9BAN/FMTZ6XVF8OQ9BAN.MEDIUM.jpgPowered USB Hub
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FJG/EWWI/F8OQ9BAQ/FJGEWWIF8OQ9BAQ.MEDIUM.gif
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FJG/EWWI/F8OQ9BAQ/FJGEWWIF8OQ9BAQ.MEDIUM.gifBluetooth Dongle

how not do a instructable..

[peach_fart]

lol it says dongle...hehehehe...dongle...HEHEHE...BUY A ROUTER!!!!

[ac1D]

you are 1 year late!

[peach_fart]

=O

[boardboyd]

Exactly how not to do an Instructable ;)

[crazycommanche=US=]

what exactly did u make the laptop if so its pretty cool

[sharkstun97]

you might add how to make a pen bb gun people stop making those god d**m "bb guns".

[osgeld]

i want your zaurus

[boardboyd]

It's gone to another user, still kinda wished I had it though.

[DuctTapeRules!]

You've forgotten; sp3k l33ts lolz LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dchall8]

If you are going to take pictures anyway, be sure to use your oldest cell phone camera (0.64 megapixels), wipe the camera lens with cake frosting, and hold it right up next to the project (actually to the side of what you want to illustrate). Oh, and be sure to tell us how your camera sucks.

[ll.13]

Hahaha! comment:5/5

[boardboyd]

Nope, I think a hi-res MSPaint rendering is a better option, or have your dog draw with crayons and describe what it had illustrated with poorly written descriptions.

[XaiofDren]

Or, "ppl, this is liek my 1st intrucable plz don't flame me" and poor l33t sp3k.

[boardboyd]

w00tz1!! 4 sho |3r0!!!

[Mepain]

You forgot the magic words in the beginning. "this is my first instructable, so be nice"

[boardboyd]

Nah. It then wouldn't fit in with 'How not to do an instructable' theme.

[TabLeft]

To truly be bad it needs to involve Knex, or at the very least be about ninja stars or blow dart guns.

[boardboyd]

does a picture of a naked ipod count?

[!Andrew_Modder!]

thank you. lol :-) knex 1s are the WORST!!!

[CameronSS]

Not necessarily. I'm not going to go find specific examples right now, but I have seen some Instructables using K'nex that were decent. Yes, the vast majority feature webcam images (or no images), poor grammar, poor spelling, poor instruction, and poor design, but K'nex does not make an Instructable "bad." A poor writer who just wants to feel special without any effort makes an Instructable "bad."

[bleachworthy]

hey, you didn't finish not finishing, what a rip-off!

[boardboyd]

Uhmm I'll do part 2 in like a year or so to finish it up.

[Doctor What]

there's a group about terrible instructables, its called: Worst. Instructables. Ever.

[ll.13]

Well it wouldn't be a group without content, we can at least thank him for some more content.

[boardboyd]

Hey, I'll keep pumping them out if it needs filler ;)

[Pif]

How not to do an instructable -> http://www.instructables.com/id/My-Fave-Strawberry-Panic-Characters/

[boardboyd]

Yup. I agree, but there was no narative, so it's not really a howto, more of an example of what not to do.

[Patrik]

Ooh - finally an Instructable that makes me feel "Hey, I could do this!" :D

[boardboyd]

Good, that's what I hoped for. I don't think anyones will be as bad as this. If someone can do 'better' I dare them to try.

[dentsinger]

It's all "double speak" with contempt for those who can follow through. The hidden agenda is following through! Great instructable!

[marc92]

Terrible Instructable ;-)

[rerat]

So..you're disguising a terrible instructable with an instructable about terrible instructables? Sneaky. * head explodes*

[GreenDay]

Umm...?