Modern flat-panel displays might bear a strong resemblance to a classic toy, the Etch A Sketch, but one person has actually modified a computer monitor into one.
Martin Rainsford of NorthHACKton devised the project for the Maker Faire UK. He used bottled water caps for the two knobs and parts of an old mouse (you know, the kind with a ball and rollers that you would have to periodically clean lint off of with a Q-tip soaked in rubbing alcohol. This was back in the Paleolithic Era.) along with the trademark Etch-A-Sketch red frame over an LCD monitor.
The knobs control the vertical and horizontal movement of the mouse pointer, just like you remember from when you were a kid. Pressing the knobs also activates the mouse buttons. The left-click is on the left knob and the right-click is on the right knob, of course.
This is a very cool design, and the implementation is incredibly simple. It’s nice that Rainsford found a use for an allegedly obsolete technology: an old mechanical mouse. Everyone would want one of these on their desks as long as they could keep their co-workers from erasing their works by shaking the monitor.
If you liked the Etch A Sketch DIY monitor, you’ll also probably enjoy the World’s Largest Etch A Sketch and the Etch A Sketch iPhone case.
Via: Hacked Gadgets
