Laser beam detection with a serial port…
Great how to on detecting a laser pointer “break” using a serial port – Chard writes “Ever wanted to make your own laser beam security system. You know the kind they have in the movies, with dozens of lasers and the thief has to limbo through them. Well, I just made a simple laser beam break detector. My computer can now tell when the beam is broken. The parts I used are: 5.6k resistor, photo diode, Digikey part #PDB-V107-ND, serial port from my PC…” Link.
CMPalmer writes “This may be old hat to most, but I’ve posted an example of using GPS tracklogs and Google Earth to virtually recreate vacation trips. I uploaded the GPS tracks into Google Earth so I could visualize them. One of the coolest tricks that Google Earth does is to let you “fly” along the tracks at any speed and altitude that you wish, so I can virtually recreate each drive over 3D scenery overlayed with satellite photos. This would have been great to do real time while I was there, because I was extremely frustrated to find that I had missed wonderful things that I drove right by or were just a few blocks away from.” 
One of my predictions for 2006 was going to be that Apple embraces the Mac mini modder community in an interesting way, and now they crossed that one off my list before the new year! – check out their new section showcasing many of the cool mini projects (we’ve featured some of these on MAKE, but it’s awesome to see them on Apple). “Mac mini packs so much power and versatility into its tiny case that it’s no wonder people all over the world are finding fun new ways to use it. Here we highlight some of our favorites.” 
Rob sent in this great LED Menorah with a USB interface, the Maker J. Schrier writes – “It can correctly calculate the dates of Hannukah for at least the next few thousand years (or any historical date back to 2 B.C.E.). As well as “lighting” the candles based on when the sunsets (I set the default geography for San Francisco/Berkeley, but you can enter any latitude/longitude and (assuming you don’t live too close to the arctic circle) it will be correct to within a few minutes. Furthermore, the shamas (candle you use to light the other candles) can blink out any morse-code message you want It will convert the words to morse code for you!” 
Ok, we think most of the logistics have been solved with our AOL Instant Message bot, the MAKEbot. The MAKEbot delivers the best of MAKEZine.com, Flickr, Instructables and del.icio.us all via your buddy list. 
Ravi has a good round up on why Ubuntu Linux is a good way to get started with Linux, I usually hand out the live CD version to friends who want to tinker or install on an old computer, he writes “Ubuntu is fast on its way to becoming a peoples OS. I have always wondered what is it that makes people embrace Ubuntu over other Linux distributions. After some pondering, it struck me that the USP (Unique Selling Point) of Ubuntu is its user friendliness. Ubuntu is a distribution targeted at the non-techie crowd – those that want to get their job done and not spend time tinkering with the OS.” 
Brian writes in with the best and only resource I’ve seen that has most of the Head Mounted Displays / VR-Helmets in the market – “No instructions on how to make your own, but if you were going to make your own, you’d probably want to start here…” 