As modern video games continue to break out of their mold and become a new medium for immersive storytelling, so too does the need for more accessible—and considered—hardware designs for a growing population of gamers. While we’ve seen a number of brilliant one-off solutions from hardware modders including Ben Heck, whose various one-handed PS4 and XBox mods can accommodate single-handed use, little has been done to solve these problems on a mass level by a major console manufacturer—until now. https://youtu.be/9fcK19CAjWM With their $99.99 Xbox Adaptive Controller, Microsoft is opening a new portal for gamers with disabilities by allowing them (or their gamer buddies) to program two large buttons and input…

No, I didn’t make a mistake with the product’s spelling. Created by the father-son design team at Onehundred, Brdis are foldable bird feeders designed specifically for birds. So while humans have Ikea furniture to decipher and build, birds have Brdis (except humans have to make these for them as well). Crafted from .025” (6mm) foldable aluminum, these bird feeders—like Ikea furniture—arrive flat and require some elbow grease before you can fill them with nuts, seeds, or even Trail Mix. Before arriving at the final design, creators Dave and Calvin Laituri made the unfortunate mistake of crafting the initial prototype out of cardboard. Since birds tend to be finicky creatures and…

When it comes to mechanical pencils, not all are created equal. And with rOtring, this couldn’t be truer. Ideal for sketching, writing, and drawing, the iconic rOtring 800 Mechanical Pencil features an ergonomically enhanced full metal body, with centered weight balance and a comfortable non-slip knurled grip for long work periods without discomfort or fatigue. Featuring a “Twist and Click” retractable mechanism of the entire sleeve and lead, the rOtring 800 Mechanical Pencil can easily go from pocket to sketch without worrying about damage or lead breakage. Quite frankly, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better mechanical pencil for this price. The rOtring 800 Retractable Mechanical Pencil — $34.29 Features:…

These days, you can get just about any computer rig designed to your exact specifications. Whether you’re a RAM-hogging SolidWorks user, or simply just want a powerful workstation, there’s something for everybody. But no standardized hardware mod will ever replace the satisfaction of building your own rig from scratch. If you’ve ever wanted to create your own custom-built PC but didn’t know where to start, boy do we have great news for you. The How to Build a Computer Bundle consolidates five intensive online courses (a total of 126 individual lessons) ranging from how to create a blueprint for your desired desktop or laptop setup to how to overclock CPU…

There are a lot of reasons you might want to mouth-grapple bark lumps to climb up a tree–jowl toning, neck muscle fortitude, the look of horror and genuine concern on your gardener’s face–but there’s little doubt you could save some lip skin and dentist visits by using climbing holds instead. I know, you’ve been climbing trees and office buildings since you realized you had toes on your feet, but imagine making your own climbing holds? And wouldn’t you know it? Devin Montes is at it again, modeling up some unique rock climbing holds–an idea we’ve been interested in making ourselves–and we can’t wait to get our hands on ’em… BAH!…

You may take it for granted nowadays, but the simplified nature of current metro maps can be attributed to a single person: Henry Charles Beck. In a recent piece by Eugen Esanu for UX Planet, he talks about how Beck – an engineering draftsman – worked on creating the London Underground Tube Map in the 1920s. Though he never stayed with the company past the decade, his contributions to cleaning up eight different railway systems which eventually became the London Underground cannot be understated. Before Beck came along, maps depicting the Underground were complex and nearly un-navigable — at least, by modern UX standards. While they accurately portrayed every river, park,…