Mod of the Month - September 2008

Webside Table

by steveo_mcg
Worklog

Right off the bat, I know that there will be some people who just don't really understand why this project would land here. It's not that steveo_mcg has done lacklustre work by any stretch - but the idea seems so...odd, and it's still fairly early in its progress.

But Mod of the Month is about good ideas and execution, and sometimes those fun and off-base projects are just what the doctor ordered when trolling through cases packed with triple-A hardware and a bevy of high-end tools. And some of these end up being the best little projects because they inspire us to think creatively about our own little junk piles.

Steveo_mcg's project does exactly that. He's created a "webside table" - a nightstand that is modified to hold a fully functional web browsing computer. It's not fancy, it's not high-end hardware - it's just good, old fashioned modding and giving something with some form an added function.

Oh, and it's a gutted laptop - just to add to the fun!

Mr. IKEA bedroom nightstand, we'd like to introduce you to Mr. jigsaw. We promise, it won't hurt - see? We didn't feel a thing!

The table top will be finished off with a sheet of clear acrylic, with black vinyl sandwiched in between. This creates a gloss not unlike a screen, which almost disappears when off now. It's stealthed!

Don't be looking for any real high-powered system under here - it's an ages old Toshiba laptop that is capable of running the Internet (and that's about it). To quiet down, lower power consumption and save space, steveo_mcg has given the HDD the boot, and opted for a 1GB CF card instead.

The ripped up notebook will find its home directly below the disembodied screen. Steveo_mcg has put some thought into his retention methods here, as the full-on "drawer" approach was not really going to work for what he wanted.

In order to enhance visibility and viewing angle, steveo_mcg has had to tilt the display slightly. After all, it's not like you will be sitting in front of your bedstand with a chair - it needs to be a comfortable angle right from your bedside!

The project is indeed very young, and steveo_mcg is more than willing to entertain suggestions and aid on the planning of his fun little project. But no matter how it turns out, there should be a soft spot in the hearts of modders everywhere for a fun use of old hardware! So if you really love the good old roots of modding, you owe it to yourself to take a trip over to his worklog and check it out!

In the meantime, if the "good old days" of modding make you smile, make sure you swing by and vote for Webside Table by steveo_mcg as Mod of the Month!