Customer Reviews

PC Toys: 14 Cool Projects for Home, Office, and Entertainment

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was immediately disappointed after I received this book and first browsed through it. The authors' idea of a "project" is buying some off the shelf gadget and plugging it into your PC. I don't need a book to explain THAT.

Oh, and if you don't know what an MP3 file is, HERE ARE ALL THE DETAILS. What rubbish. Of the 14 "projects" maybe 3 or 4 are easier with this book, but the chances of you're being interested in one of those seems poor.

If you get the chance to look this thing over before buying you'll quickly know if it's for you. If you have any experience interfacing PC's at all, just skip this book.

It does give you step by step on how to complete these projects; but it will cost you. Example telescope tracker parts list runs about $900, then you can connect it to a PC. Build a PVR uses a P3933 with 512MB ram. I don't have one of those sitting on a shelf. This cook book shows you what software to buy, cables and plug and play modules, but does not teach anything. I guess I wanted to solder something. Please try to find a copy and flip through it before you buy it.

This is a good introduction to what you can do with your PC - it's rather elementary, which is good, and is suitable for even the most novice PC user. This would make an excellent gift for a 14-year-old who wants to know, for example, how to network PCs together to have a LAN party. There's even a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, which is a cute touch.

A number of the "projects" are really just good descriptions of accessories you can buy for you PC. If you didn't know that you can record television on your PC, this book gives you very specific directions for one inexpensive card you can buy, and is an excellent introduction to MPEG-2.

I would give the book 5 stars except that for some reason they intentionally printed a banner at the top of each page in a faded fashion that is I guess supposed to look cool but just makes each page look like the printer pressed his thumbs into the ink. If I hadn't seen other copies of the book I would have thought I had purchased a defective copy. It might be the worst art layout I have ever seen in a book produced by a major publisher.

I already bought Linux Toys, and had no idea that ExtremeTech would be doing one on PCs (Windows) as well, so I was very excited when I ordered this.

When it arrived, I was not disappointed. It has some very cool projects, and is written is a very easy going style. Step by step instructions are very important in a book like this, and it certainly delivers.

My only complaint is that some projects are a little "more cool" than others, but that may just be my own preferences. I thought the weather station project, for instance, could have gone a bit further, but I loved the Jukebox project. I guess with 14 different projects, everyone is bound to find something they like.

If you like tinkering, and you have an extra Windows box, pick this little gem up. You will have a blast.

This is a good introduction to what you can do with your PC - it's rather elementary, which is good, and is suitable for even the most novice PC user. This would make an excellent gift for a 14-year-old who wants to know, for example, how to network PCs together to have a LAN party. There's even a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, which is a cute touch.

A number of the "projects" are really just good descriptions of accessories you can buy for your PC. If you didn't know that you can record television on your PC, this book gives you very specific directions for one inexpensive card you can buy, and is an excellent introduction to MPEG-2.

I would give the book 5 stars except that for some reason they intentionally printed a banner at the top of each page in a faded fashion that is I guess supposed to look cool but just makes each page look like the printer pressed his thumbs into the ink. If I hadn't seen other copies of the book I would have thought I had purchased a defective copy. It might be the worst art layout I have ever seen in a book produced by a major publisher.

Ever wonder what fun things you could do with your PC, aside from playing games? Barry and Marcia Press offer some suggestions. These involve integrating your PC in some ingenious fashion to your surroundings. Quite distinct from running games or surfing the web.

Actually, while they deal with the latest PCs, there is a definite retro flavour to this book. You see, before the web arose, most PCs were standalone, or perhaps connected to a LAN if the PCs were in a workplace. But home PCs were usually on their own lonesome selves. Plus, the games of that era lacked the intensive graphics and complexity of logic of today's offerings. So quite often, PCs were used by hobbyists who were hardware buffs. This goes all the way back to the Homebrew Computer Club of San Francisco in the 1970s.

So if you try some of the book's projects, like monitoring your fish tank or your fridge or freezer, or making a control centre for model trains, you are actually indulging in an "old school" ethos.

I've been building computers (soldering parts on circuit boards - not just plugging in a couple of cards and a power supply like people who say they "build" computers these days), but I thought some of the ideas mentioned in the description of this book sounded cool. Alas, as another reviewer pointed out, it basically directs you to go out and buy a bunch of pre-made stuff, plug it together, and turn it on. Expensive, inflexible, and not very educational. I mean... "Telescope Tracking Station": first, buy an expensive Meade telescope. Then, buy an expensive telescope tracking controller from the same company. Finally, plug it in and turn it on. Please. And the author seems to be hung up on Microsoft products and/or commercial software. There are _lots_ of pieces of free software available on the Internet that will let you do the things he talks about in the book - without spending a bundle with Microsoft or some other big company. And you'll learn something in the process. Skip this book, unless you've got lots of money and know little to nothing about PCs and software.

This is just a repackaging of info freely available on the web.

I already bought Linux Toys, and had no idea that ExtremeTech would be doing one on PCs (Windows) as well, so I was very excited when I ordered this.

When it arrived, I was not disappointed. It has some very cool projects, and is written is a very easy going style. Step by step instructions are very important in a book like this, and it certainly delivers.

My only complaint is that some projects are a little "more cool" than others, but that may just be my own preferences. I thought the weather station project, for instance, could have gone a bit further, but I loved the Jukebox project. I guess with 14 different projects, everyone is bound to find something they like.

If you like tinkering, and you have an extra Windows box, pick this little gem up. You will have a blast.

I first heard about this book when the author was on the Computer America radio show, and he was discussing the build your own TiVo-type PVR project. This is something I have been thinking about for quite a while, so I got the book.

Its actually full of projects like that - all very cool, and with do it yourself instructions for each one.

Some of the projects dont seem to go as far as I would like, but they are great to get you going and provide some very solid foundation for your own modifications and tweaks.

The writing style is easy to understand, and not at all over your head like some computer books.

By the way, I discovered that this is actually a series of books that Extremetech.com is doing, and it sounds like they are doing more.

All in all, I rate this 5 stars - mostly for the fun factor that makes this book, and these projects very interesting.