Simple Mac Prank Using Arduino (Update 22/03/10)

Hi,
I'm going to show you how you can annoy a mac user using only a couple simple parts.

Macs have a built in IR sensor that allows you to control them using an apple remote, this makes them an easy target for this prank. We will be using an arduino with the apple remote library to randomly "press buttons."

The arduino will act like an apple remote and at a random interval it will "press" a random button, this will either be back, forward or menu, this can easily be changed in the sketch though.

Update (22/03/10) I have added a sketch that will first wait 5 minutes, to give you time to hide the arduino and will then randomly "press" any button every 0.5 seconds, this is sure to drive your target crazy!

Step 1: The IR Sensor.

You may wonder where the IR sensor is,the sensor is found on both the imac and the macbook, it is however not found on the mac pro or the mac mini.
On the imac the sensor is hiding behind the black edge around the screen, right above the apple logo.
On the macbook pro it is on the right side of the front on the bottom half, it looks like a black line.
On the macbook it is in the same location, but here it's a black dot.

Step 2: Parts.

For this prank you will need:
- an arduino
- a couple IR LEDs
- some wire
- header pins (optional)

Step 3: Building the IR Emitter.

Place your IR LEDs onto your perfboard and solder them together in parallel, I used two LEDs but you can use as many as you like.

Solder the header pins to the wires for an easy connection with your arduino.

When you are done, cut the part out of your perfboard.

Step 4: The Code.

Connect the emitter to your arduino, connect the positive wire is connected to digital pin 13 and the negative to ground.

Install the attached library and upload one of the sketches to your arduino.
Note: for Arduino 1.0, use AppleRemoteLibraryV1.zip, for older versions user AppleRemoteLibrary.zip

The different sketches:
Annoyamac:

The arduino will pick a random time between 2 and 5 minutes and then "press" a random button, back, forward or menu.  You can modify the code to change the interval or add more buttons.

The other buttons:

- volume up:  ars.up()
- volume down:  ars.down()
- play/pause:  ars.play()

Crazymac:

The arduino will first wait 5 minutes to allow you to hide it somewhere in the room, then it will randomly "press" any of the remote buttons every 0.5 seconds. This is sure to drive you target crazy!

These are my first arduino programs so they should be easy enough to understand and to modify to your likings. I do however ask that if you use this anywhere else that you refer to me. Also, never mind the comments, it was to amuse myself while writing  the code :)

Step 5: Finished!

When the code has finished uploading, connect a battery to your arduino and hide it somewhere, close to the target mac. Make sure the IR emitter is positioned at the mac and not obstructed by anything.

This will however not work if the mac is paired with a remote, this can be turned off easily in the settings but you will need physical acces to the mac.

To make hiding it easier you can also construct an enclosure to disguise it as something else, what I did can be seen in the next few steps.

Step 6: The Enclosure: Parts.

I decided to disguise my mac prank as a dvd spindle.

To build this you will need:
- a dvd or cd spindle.
- an obsolete disc.
- the paper label they put around these spindles. (not pictured)

Step 7: The Enclosure: Construction

Start by cutting off the plastic "stem" in the middle of the spindle.
With some spindles you can just twist this part to detach it from the bottom, you may need to shorten it a bit for it to fit later on.

Glue the IR emitter to the "stem".

Cut a small strip out from the label and tape it back together around the spindle, this is where the IR LEDs will shine through.

Step 8: The Enclosure: Construction Continued

Put the plastic cover back on the bottom and mark the position of the slot.

Take the cover off again and glue the "stem" with the emitter where you marked the slot, making sure that you can still put the cover back on.

To make it less obvious that there aren't any discs in this spindle, glue the obsolete disc to the top of the clear plastic cover and tape a small piece of black paper over the center hole.

Step 9: The Enclosure: Finished!

Now all that is left to do is to put the arduino and the battery back in the spindle and put the cover back on! Make sure the IR LEDs are behind the slot.

Now just hide the spindle somewhere and point the slot to the mac, since this used very little power you could leave this running for a long time, annoying the hell out of the person using the mac.

This was my instructable, I hope you liked it!