Posts Tagged ‘diy’

shanzhai | wifi internet connection ::

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

:: while white collar workers in China’s cities take the Internet for granted, it’s not quite the same in the countryside.

After Lu Hui (卢慧) finished her studies, she went back to being a rabbit farmer in a remote village in Sichuan. She had the benefits of Internet during computer studies at secondary school, but unfortunately her home village was too remote to get a connection.

She first tried wireless Internet (GPRS) at her house in 2005, but it was too expensive. After a few years of self study, Lu Hui and her boyfriend came up with an ingenious solution.

They re-purposed 2 satellite dishes, off the shelf TP-Link wifi routers, and buckets (for rainproofing!) with a 3km line of site connection going from her boyfriend’s place in town to her home in the countryside. They managed to get the connection working in September of last year (2008), and it’s been running successfully ever since.

The “rabbit beauty lady” (as she’s known as on the IT forum ZOL) posted details of her DIY Internet connection two months later in the ZOL forums and almost immediately rocketed to unanimous acclaim. Her ingenuity has led to two TV interviews, as well as a number of media appearances. Link here for more on the technical details of Lu Hui’s Internet connection. Link here for Lu Hui’s QQ blog. Link here to learn more about a DIY microphone project in China.  // XD

neocha.com | d.i.y. bags & accessories ::

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

:: a slideshow of DIY bags and accessories created by Neocha.com-user Daydreamerido.  // AjS

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a partner at Neocha.com]

things done well | i hate you ::

Monday, April 13th, 2009

:: for those that don’t know, TaoBao.com is the eBay of China. As with eBay, it’s chock full of listings of more of the same. Sometimes though, something shines through the dross and catches your eye.

An indie design “shop” in Beijing called I Hate You, has done some wonderful work in making their products interesting.

For each product, they do full-on DIY advertisements and actually write some decent copy. The result is much more compelling than the typical, stale product shots on sellers’ coffee tables. I’ve gone ahead and shared some of the ads below. Check out I Hate You’s Taobao shop here. Bravo, well done.  // XD

i hate you logo

i hate you sitting on sideboard

the dreamers no time

i hate you season 2

the dreamers

i hate you (mag cover)

i hate you white line

[Xiao Du (小杜) is a guest contributor on 56minus1]

neocha.com | huluwa’s d.i.y dolls ::

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

:: a slideshow presentation of original DIY dolls created by Neocha.com-user Huluwa, who, in addition to doll making, apparently loves Metallica, Korn, and 左小诅咒 (a favorite of mine). Eclectic taste. Also, does anyone else notice the green bottle of 55-percent-by-volume baijiu to the right of the dolls. Perfect. // AjS

For those into DIY / handmade dolls, link to this early post 56minus1 had on Lili Chen’s sock dolls.

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a partner at Neocha.com]