DIY

Laptops of yesteryear were never the easiest things to upgrade or repair yourself, but today's machines are even less so. The Framework Laptop is very much designed for user tweaking, and has now been upgraded to 12th Gen Intel Core processors.

Design studio Autonomous has created an assemble yourself building kit designed to easily pop up in the backyard. The Pod can be used as an outdoor office space, games room, gym, art studio or guest room and can be assembled in just one day.

Back in 2015, the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched a $5 project board called the Pi Zero for entry-level tinkerers. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities were added in 2017 for an extra five bucks, and now the Zero W has entered its second generation.

Earlier this year we featured a refreshing idea to make a 13.5-inch laptop that's designed to be easily customized, upgraded and repaired by users. Ahead of its launch, Framework has now revealed more details.

Thanks to a steady rise in vinyl sales of late, turntables are returning to the living room hi-fi setup. But if you're a maker looking for something a bit different, Frame Theory 3D has just launched a 3D-printable turntable kit on Kickstarter.

Californian startup Framework says that it was founded to provide quality products that can be customized, upgraded and repaired with ease. The company has today launched a 13.5-inch laptop aimed at ticking all of those boxes.

The current pandemic has seen an uptick in online video chats. You can use smartphones and laptops, but those who prefer quality webcams may find them out of stock. Jeff Geerling built his own using a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a HQ camera module.

While handy types can build an A-frame cabin themselves, the less DIY inclined who would rather follow a plan and have the materials supplied can do so with the Den Cabin Kit. Costing $21,000, it's claimed very easy to build even by amateurs.

If the smart specs already on the market aren't enough to get you excited, why not make your own? That's exactly what electrical engineer and product designer Sam March has done, with the help of a CNC router and some app coding.

Mere days after launching a 100-year anniversary tribute to the almost magical hands-off wonder created by Leon Theremin, Moog Music is back with a limited re-issue of an all-analog synthesizer you put together yourself.

Useful as they are, telepresence robots can be prohibitively expensive. The Smartipresence cuts the price of entry into the telepresence world right down by making use of the ubiquitous smartphone and cardboard.

Laptops have been getting thinner, more powerful and increasingly difficult to customize. The Reform from Berlin's MNT Research dares to be different with open software and open hardware that invites modders to get under the hood and go wild.