Mods

The folks behind this Steampunk Home and the Organ Computer desk we covered earlier are organizing a Steampunk design competition along with several other Steampunk notables.

Bruce writes:

Sponsored by, Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, ModVic, LLC, Steampuffin and Brute Force Studios,  Steampuffin’s 1st Annual Steampunk Form & Function Design Competition brings together outstanding Steampunk design innovations, details the design process and promotes the role of the Steampunk designer/craftsman. Along with recycled items, all Steampunk design solutions are primarily built using authentic Victorian (1850s to early 1900s) objects, salvage items, clothing and antiques that incorporate modern technology and have specific functions for modern day, practical uses.

Click through to Steampuffin.com for more details.

Get a glimpse of Datamancer's latest "OMG, I squeed my pants!" casemod: The Clacker on German TV on Doc's own blog.

Doug writes:

I thought I'd pass on a project I've been working on for a couple weeks. I am a Steampunk fan, to be sure...but also a fan of old horror films.  I thought it would be fun to take both and combine them for a "MAME" arcade cabinet. You probably know what that is, but put simply it's an application that allows you to play arcade games (pac-man, donkey kong, etc) on a pc.  By building a cabinet, you can get some of the feel and fun of the old days of playing video games at the local arcade.  My cabinet combines some of the victorian elements found in steampunk with electrical mad-scientist designs from the man behind Karloff's Frankenstein lab(Strickfaden).  I'm finishing up the Marquee (the machine name plate usually found at the top of a cabinet) and will post pictures of that soon....

What an amazing creation! The details are stellar! In particular the CNC carved lithopane side panels!  Click through for a gallery of images or check out Doug's own blog.

Also be sure to read what he says about finding time - so true!

Dan writes:

This whole thing started when I dropped my graphire3 wacom tablet.  Everything worked just fine, but the case cracked and would not stay together.  After some soul searching I decided that since I couldn't use the thing in its current condition I might as well try and improve it.

Here's a project of mine from a few years ago, it's an LG mobile 'embedded' into an old Western Electric model 500 handset.

The Bell Model 500 desk phone manufactured for decades by Western Electric is an icon of Twentieth Century product design.  The evolution of the Model 500's receiver begun with the first telephones produced in the late 19th Century and it's longevity has taken it into the 21st.  I have always found it to be ergonomically designed and comfortably to use,  It is the embodiment of "form follows function".

I am thinking about making a follow up version for my iPhone 3 GS but have yet to find a suitable handset to embed it in.

The full build log is here . . .