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Still need a last minute gift for a maker but don’t want to pay for next day or overnight shipping? Why not give them a .PDF of one of my favorite books, Making Things Talk from the Maker Shed! It’s perfect for people that love integrating computers and microcontrollers with the physical world. Author Tom Igoe covers everything from using Arduinos and Xbees to setting up web servers and building “Cat-Cams” in this amazingly informative and fun to read book. With over 33 projects spanning 496 pages, it’s a gift that will keep them busy all winter!

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CheerLights is a project whereby lights the world over respond to social media like Twitter hash tags, linking the real world to the online world. Pete Prodoehl created his own CheerLight with a ShiftBrite module and Seeduino.

You’ll someday look back and think of how quaint it was to start your car with a key. With this clever hack, Will O’Brien shows us his working prototype for a remote automotive ignition controlled by an iPhone, an Arduino, and SMS text messaging. Source code and schematic are available on his site. [Thanks, Will!]