I've got a project I'm working on for an upcoming film where I'd like to be able to control the individual LEDs in a group of LED arrays via a usb hook up to an iBook. As I see it, this should be ridiculously difficult and time consuming. But if anyone knows a simple way to do it or some product that already exists, I'd love to find out. Thanks!

Hey guys, I haven't been posting alot lately, but I remember whenever I would post you guys would have the nicest and thoughtful replies out of any forum I've posted on.... So I was kinda wanting to hear everyone's thoughts on college, careers, etc... I'm 20, currently in community college, have been since I was 18, should have my associates....but no, I don't. Honestly, I haven't taken school seriously at first, haven't applied myself, just done whatever I wanted, and I'm just now getting serious, and the last two semesters, GREATLY improved my GPA and definitely taking school more serious. At the moment I just keep taking general courses since I don't know what to do. I've wanted to do things from fashion design, to web design, personal training, massage therapy, but mainly what I want to do is have my own business eventually. The best case scenario, would be for me to have my own t-shirt line that later turns into a full fledge fashion design. Problem is, telling the parents I want to make t-shirts for a living doesn't always go over well....as well as most business entrepreneurship programs I've researched require calculus...andddd, I'm having trouble passing college algebra..you know? And then part of me is in love with the idea of being a musician...I love to write lyrics, and I've fooled around with recording at home and etc....I'd love to travel, even if I didn't make millions, that's fine....just even able to make enough to survive...I'd be fine if I could pursue that... And thennn, there's all of you! I read books and magazines about DIY and sites like this, and they always have stories about a bunch of young people turning in a empty building into a super awesome music venue, or some other artistic place... Or people that have started new unique businesses and ideas. I mean what the heck! I don't know what to do...I'm about to turn 21 this summer, and have no idea what I want of life, all I know is that I want to have fun doing whatever job I choose, and be able to live comfortably...even if it takes me awhile... And I have no idea how to do that :(

Hallo Everyone Looking to make my first Instructable, and I thought I'd do a collection of useful things on how to be a successful student, aimed at first-years in British Universities. My aim is maybe to publish some of these in our Uni's magazine eventually. So in the name of writing a quality Instructable I thought I'd ask for any hints you guys might have for everything to do with Uni: work, lifestyle, finances, anything you can think of. Thanks for your help guys! Mister Tumbles

At school we were asked to find the possible solutions of making a quiz buzzer and soon we will be asked to make it.

Raleigh, N.C. — Raleigh police arrested a North Carolina State University student last week who was accused of creating a "monster" out of construction barrels and placing it on the side of the road.Authorities charged Joseph Carnevale with larceny for taking materials from a construction site at a roundabout project to create the monster.Story

Hey Instructables! I'm working this summer at Instructables on how we can better connect with and serve educators - this could be anyone from a homeschool instructor to a middle school teacher to a scout leader to a parent looking for an educational activity with their kid.  I'm curious - has anyone had success using Instructables as a learning tool with their students, particularly on having kids write their own Instructables in order to document projects they completed?  On the flipside, what's hard about using Instructables with young people?  Would love to hear any thoughts. MikeCicc

Hello I received this subject and instructable for a cheap printer 3D, but now this page its not here. Somebody may help me in this search. Thank you so much. $60 Hi-Res DLP 3D Printer This was constructed with an old pc  Regards

I am preparing a project on the topic "necessity is the mother of invention".i am a mechanical engineering student.can anybody give any ideas about what could be done on this topic. i am supposed to register the project unitl 12th april.so plz u ppl hurry ?

I recently found a cool little program on source forge that has turned out to be a life safer when it comes to writing papers for college. It is a really simple program that makes the web style pre writing maps like they teach in elementary school. The program even has sticker icons to help you further organize your ideas. This program really helps me because i am a really visual thinker. anyways its called free mind and here is the link:Free Mind

As a college sophomore i have entirely too much time on my hands. I would like to get a new hobby and suggestions would be most helpful. If it is any help, please note that I enjoy hiking trips, being outside in general, building things and creating mischief. I am pretty much computer illiterate as well. Thanks All.

I am trying to eliminate chemicals in my house. Does anyone have a whole-house cleaning regimen that will do this? Right now I like to spray everything with bleach, let it sit, wipe it down.? I'm also trying to change a habit of letting everything collect until I clean it all a month later. I also have a kitty.

Hi, my name's Chaitra and i'm a 17 year old product design student in the UK, doing A level product design.As part of our coursework, we are required to find and interact with an "expert", a person with a good level of understanding of product development and technology.As you might expect, it's quite hard to find someone like this at random, which i why I've come here to see if anyone is willing to collaborate with me :)My coursework will be based on air conditioning, specifically regulating and purifying air conditions during sleep, so it will involve a good amount of electronics and physical design. As the "expert" of my project, we might exchange ideas and offer suggestions to improve the project, and even maybe advice on the best ways to manufacture the final prototype for assessment. You can be as involved as you want to be honest, I appreciate that everyone is busy so you won't be able to commit a huge amount of time to this, but maybe exchanging emails around once a month? I might send over some sketches / cad files over email for you to evaluate and suggest some improvements or ideas on, nothing more than that.If you're willing to help, please answer this topic so we can work something out! Thanks a lot :)PS. this is my first time using instructables, if I've submitted in this wrong place or something, please let me know

Some of my GCSE students need online feedback on the theme of "storage". Each link is a separate student's survey, and not all surveys are applicable to all demographic groups. I would consider it a favour if members here could respond to whichever surveys they can, preferably within the next few days, and add any (constructive) feedback in the comments here for me to pass on to them. I may be adding further survey links, if more students get the surveys written by the deadline. Student TH: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C55FHJK Student CL: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=questionnaire_36 Student OM: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CHWP3LL Many thanks. >K<

Hi Guys and Girls, first time posting like this so i hope this is in the right place, and if it is i can get some help. I'm currently studying Applied Archaeology, in the Institute of Technology Sligo, in Ireland, I'm in my fourth and final year and as part of this I have to research and write a thesis. The topic I am planning on doing involves 3D scanning, and if everything goes to plan, it will turn out great, and is something no one has done before in Irish archaeology, Ok so here’s the thing. It is still early days, I haven’t even decided on the title or gotten a chance to experiment with the scanner, and I am relatively new to 3D imaging and all that it involves. But as part of the overall concept of my thesis I would like to haves some of these scans print using as many of the various different methods of 3D printing as I can. This is so I can compare and analysis there suitability. This is where I hit a wall and I hope someone can help. There aren’t many companies that do 3D printing in Ireland and those that do usually deal with medium to large company’s and thus are way out of my price range. Edit: 21.09.2011 Ok after a doing a boat load more reserch I have been able to pick three methods of 3D printing I would like to use: 1. Fused Deposition Modeling using the, RepRap and MakerBot. 2. Laminated Object Manufacturing. 3. Stereolithography. If any of you out there have an interest in Archaeology and can offer advice on 3D scanning, image editing, has access to a 3D printer or are lucky enough to own one of these machines, and are willing to help me out I would be extremely grateful. I am more than willing to contribute what I can to the cost of raw material, cover the postage to Ireland and of course give massive amounts of praise and acknowledgement to all those that have helped, when I’m writing my thesis. Many Thanks Michael Michaelfeeney01@gmail.com  

I want to build a large odometer with a hand crank to help my students understand place value, does anyone have any ideas on how i can build a mechanical odometer? of course i am not using it to measure any given distance, i just want numbers that turn.

My student loans got screwed up! It should be fixed now, but won't know for ten days (at the most, they said), scary, what with bills and tuition to pay too. Add to that two exams (Kinematics and ceramic materials) and a presentation and a senior design report all in that time period. And my wife's so upset about the loans she's refusing to speak to me. School sucks kids! Okay, only some of the time, the rest of the time it freaking rocks. Spent the evening hiding out at a friends watching Hot Fuzz. Just wanted to unload.

I want any project ideas from automobiles for final year project,...

Hi all, I have launched my indiegogo page today (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-tech-elective ) to start a program that will focus on teaching k-12 students how to design, build and program micro-controller related projects. All support and suggestions are welcomed. Check it out, hope you like it. Best

Two students from Rice University, Lauren Theis and Lila Kerr, have transformed an everyday salad spinner into an electricity-free centrifuge that can help diagnose diseases for cheap. It was made with a few other scrap materials and a glue gun. Now the next step is to go testing which will be happening in Ecuador, Swaziland, and Malawi. Great going! Students Transform Salad Spinner Into Life-Saving Centrifuge

What is a good experiment i can perform for a school assignment, it can be on anything except plants, it also needs to be fairly cheap

As part of our effort to print awesome things for awesome people, we printed out 8 models designed by students at Oakland Technical High School. The models were designed by kids during their spare time to assist younger students in the program to visualize shapes in three dimensions. “It’s amazing, but it’s all on the screen,” shared junior Zoey S. when I asked her about the main challenge facing students in the program. “It’s one thing to see it [the model] on the computer, but another to see all the aspects and angles in real life. It’s nice to have a physical representation in order to see all sides.” Students in the Oakland Tech engineering program begin by modeling basic shapes and slowly develop their 3D modeling chops by manipulating geometric shapes. By senior year, students create an architectural design that incorporates everything they’ve learned about 3D modeling (and calculus and trigonometry and environmental design). The high school juniors designed their models to help sophomores who are just beginning to create objects in three dimensions. The prints were mostly cylinders and boxes with various cut-outs and indentations that present a real challenge to neophyte 3D designers. High school students are not the only people who can receive free 3D prints of their models. With a small army 3D printers, we're printing our favorite 3D models from the gallery at 123Dapp.com. Just submit a design to the 123D gallery to be considered for fabrication. For free. We'll send it to you. Even if you're not in a high school that we can easily drive to. And be sure to submit any designs to the Make it Real Contest (by the end of May) for the chance to win a $50,000 3D printer of your very own.

Young chimpanzee can recall number placement better than people can.http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071203/full/news.2007.317.htmlA particularly cunning seven-year-old chimp named Ayumu has bested university students at a game of memory. He and two other young chimps recalled the placement of numbers flashed onto a computer screen faster and more accurately than humans."It's a very simple fact: chimpanzees are better than us -- at this task," says Tetsuro Matsuzawa, a primatologist at Kyoto University in Japan who led the study.The work doesn't mean that chimps are 'smarter' than humans, but rather they seem to be better at memorizing a snapshot view of their surroundings -- whether that be numbers on a screen or ripe figs dangling from a tree. Humans may have lost this capacity in exchange for gaining the brainpower to understand language and complex symbols, says Matsuzawa.

This custom moped runs on compressed air to get you across town with no pollution and no noise. Just make sure you're not going too far as the range is only 7 miles and top speed is 18 mph.Still, a cool idea to work from. Link

I have just started a Facebook group for people living in small spaces, by small I don't mean downsizing from 3000 to 2500 square feet i mean genuine small spaces of one room or a small studio flat, the idea is to cater to people living in tens rather than thousands or even hundreds of square feet. I will be actively promoting Instructables within this group and will with the publishers permission post links to anything I think will be of interest to members . If you have published or know of an 'ible that would suit the group please let me know particularly if it involves recycling or reusing in any manner. Thanks in advance for your input. NG. https://www.facebook.com/groups/766528456823361/

I'm just a student who wants no.. NEEDS a proxy site where you can go on social networking sites with javascript turned on  

I don't know if this is against the rules, if it is, Im really sorry! Anyways, I am searching for good sould to help me out with my high school project! I am a Mechanic and a filmmaker, so i wanna connect the two things and make a professional video about my motorcycle, and all the repairs. But, to do that i need some equipment, and as I am a student (students and ex-students will feel me) I don't have enough money to buy it. So im kindly asking any of you Instructablers, if ANY of you could give me ANY ammount of money, and Im talking like $1, $2,or any ammount you wish, I would be the happiest guy ever! Thanks if you help me, or if you took your time to read this!

Hello. Im a young filmmaker and DIY guy with no money because of my college. I Have a project in mind that involves my GoPro and a quadcopter. Only problem is that i don't have a quadcopter, neither money to buy one. I searched on ebay for a cheap one, but I find only small ones and at a pretty expensive price for what you get($40). Does someone have any quadcopter or a KIT quadcopter, or a wrecked quadcopter thats easy to repair, or maybe a good soul that would give one away for cheap to a dreamer student?  I would pay the shipping too, but I would need it to be shipped to croatia... Anyone like that? Please help me..

Hello there, my name is Elisabeth, I'm 22, and I'm a student from Belgium, Europe. I study 'New Media & Society' (Communication Sciences) and I'm writing my thesis about product development and marketing. For my thesis I am looking for people who develop products themselves, and share what they make with others, and I'd like to ask them a few questions. I was wondering if a few people could help me by answering some questions? It would mean a lot to me :-) If you would be so kind to help with this, please PM me and I'll send you my questions. Thank you so much in advance! All the best!  Elisabeth

It says that the grand prize is 2 million dollars!

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if there is a discount offered for college students or a discount if you have an Autodesk subscription?

Just wondering if adults can enter the contest or if this site is just for students k - university?

I am a special ed teacher and I want to make a sensory device for one of my students.  What I'm hoping to do is put LEDs around a hula hoop (or something similar), then I need a way to make the lights go on in sequence, so that my student can follow the lights go around in a circle.  I'm rather new to making my own stuff, so I really don't know where to look for how to do this. Any advice is much appreciated!

I'm off to college this fall, and I have 1,500 USD for a good laptop. I was thinking of a gaming laptop since they are made to run intense programs such as CAD. Any suggestions or tips? Also, not into Apple computers, I've got one and it's OK, but the students from my school have advised against Mac's.

Students at Cal Poly have made a car that gets 2752.3 mpg. It has three wheels and moves one person along at just 30 mph, but it can drive most of the way across the U.S. on one gallon of gas. "The 96 pound car has three wheels, a drag coefficient of 0.12, a top speed of 30 MPH, and a modified 3 horsepower Honda 50cc four-stroke engine. It originally clocked in at 861 MPG and has been continuously tweaked to achieve the mileage we see today." Link

Please somebody help me constructing a simple but an interesting tech for my up coming thesis in my college life. i need to have an idea to pass my course thx...

The capacitors inside disposable cameras pack a pretty big wallop and it's recommended that you act very carefully around them. If you don't you'll get zapped. And if you set it up so that someone else could get zapped you might even get arrested like this 14-year-old kid from Connecticut. linkvia boingboing

Hey! I was wondering if there's any clever people out there who can help me with my ambitious project. I'm doing some creative direction for an event and aim to create a telephone network within the venue. I want to put phones on tables and use the table numbers as the phone numbers... I also would like a way of recording everything thats said over the course of the night through the telephones? I have a very basic understanding of how these things work, I've made circuits before- but i am an artist, not an electrician so please be kind and explain to me like you would a child! I've got my hands on a load of old phones, so I just need to rewire them I guess? Thanks!

I am trying to teach to my design students the power of collaboration and crowdsourcing in design. To this, I am thinking to create a contest to these students create and share their ideas to the public and discuss. Is there any possibility to create a contest, or a group, to my students submit the ideas? Thanks!

Hello Instructables! I currently run a small business in which company teachers travel to local elementary schools and teach project based engineering. For us, it's second nature. But I recently learned that it's not always so easy to implement project-based learning in the home or at school. What are you challenges in this arena? Is it getting the right materials? Finding good instruction? Making something scalable to a 30-student classroom? Let me know so I can learn how to better help the community :) Lance

This cardboard tower built by students for an exhibition in Paris is 33 feet tall and held together only by screws. It's made up of 96 pieces of cardboard and only took 9 hours to assemble. Even better, no scaffolding was needed as the staircase around it provided all the access the students needed. Cardboard Tower via treehugger

Chinese students built this awesome robot sculpture for their graduation project. Almost all of the parts come from an old truck and the total budget was 300,000 yuan. The final robot is almost 32 feet tall and weighs over 8,800 lbs. Giant robot via TechEBlog

And a neodymium magnet.  Can I overlap the coil??  Meaning if I start at the left of the tube and coil to the right (clockwise), when I get to the end can I go right to left?  A few of my students are done already and their chargers aren't even lighting an LED.  Can anyone guess why?  Thank you so much! Patti

I've been searching everywhere for an Awesome science fair experiment to do on instructables but sadly can't find any. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Well, a 14 year old boy in Connecticuit was arrest for modifing a disposable camera into a tazer, making it into a weapon. Well you may have noticed that instuctables shows multiply how to's on this very weapon. My question is, should dangerous and illegal instructables be tollerated on this site? I think anything that dangerous, or illegal should be taken off the site even though they are just for "informational purposes". I'm not saying that it is instructables or any authors of those instructions fault, but i think that there have to be more guild lines for what is acceptable.link to article: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080403/technology/technology_shocking_camera

Hello,   I am a final year Fashion Promotion student at UCLan and for my final campaign I am looking into upcycled furniture. To back up my idea I need to gather primary research and I would really appreciate it if you could take 5 minutes to answer a few questions for me. Here are the questions: 1. Are you male or female? 2. What is your age? 3. What is your occupation? 4. What type of accommodation do you live in? Rented flat Owned flat Rented house Owned house Other (please state) 5. Who do you live with? (please state their relationship to you) 6. How often do you decorate your accommodation? Once every 3 months Once every 6 months Once a year Once every 2-5 years Once every 10 years Other (please state) 7. When you decorate do you tend to do one room at a time or the whole house/flat at once? 8. When you decorate a room do you completely re-do the whole room's decor or just replace accessories and furniture to give the room a new lease of life? 9. How would you describe your decorating style? (tick all that apply) Modern Classic Kitch Bohemian Shabby Chic Industrial Other (please state) 10. Which brands do you buy furniture from? (state all that apply) 11. Which brands do you buy paint, DIY tools and materials from? (state all that apply) 12. Do you prefer to buy new homeware when decorating or use old furniture or accessories to create something new for your home? 13. On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 is not important and 10 is very important) how important is having unique and personalised features and accessories in your home to you? 14. Would you be interested in the idea of somewhere to take your old furniture that would provide materials and workshops to help you upcycle it into something new and original? Any answers you provide would really help and will be used only for research purposes. If you would prefer to email me your answers my email address is althexton@uclan.ac.uk. Thank you in advance! Amy

I am looking for ideas about recepies, decorations, etcetera, for celebrating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, on the 22nd of July, 2009. Ideas which could fit in a small room in student accomadation would be good... Let's party... Here's a start, ummm....moonwalk everywhere...?

Im currently conducting research for my final year thesis which the aim is to identify insights gathered from this survey to understand the workflow and collaboration of the online and local maker communityMy aim at the end of this is to identify what could be beneficial for the maker community, whether it be in the form of a physical or online tool or even a set of guidelines to act as stepping stones during conceptualisation and prototyping for a user. You can answer the survey herehttps://goo.gl/forms/f2zjFwxyefxrKRpO2 This will be great help to get some participants and I hope my research and resources gathered will be a benefit to the online and local maker community.