Instructables has a nice USB LED lantern DIY project.  I think the most important part about this project is getting a cool enough looking lantern.  Make sure it’s 50s-60s style with some wear on ti.

For the full instructions go to the Instructables page.

Looking to for a simple DIY project for a school report or class event, this USB charger is it!  Or if you’re just looking to try your hand with some simple electronic wiring to see if you have what it takes.

Well, using some off-the-shelf times, a battery and the simple schematics below you can have a great USB charge for just about any USB product.

The full tutorial is at Instructables, and I’ve also seen a couple good comments in their thread, like:

These days it’s popular to take just about any house hold item, a USB flash drive, and mill out a space to make a USB mod case.  Today’s post is no exception.  Using just two dice and a mini USB, in four easy steps you can make a USB dice key-chain.

Step 1:  Get your items.  Dice, USB, Dremel, blue or epoxy and a file.

Step 2:  After some measurements, mill out the hold where the USB will be inserted.

Step 3:  Repeat step 2 for the second die as this will be your cap.  You also need to drill a hole on a dice side for the lanyard which will attached to your key-chain

Step 4:  Epoxy the USB drive into the base die, and attached the lanyard to the cap die.  Now you’ve got a USB dice key-chain.

You might want to take things a step further and

Found this today, little kid project for turning a USB drive into a Shuriken.  Not familiar with the term, then check this out.

As for the tutorial and link, it’s after the jump.

Apple has made waves in the news with their stellar 2nd Quarter results, increased stock price, new MacBook Air and Mac Mini’s computers, no wonder many are talking about them.  In addition, Apple released another OS update, the OS X Lion.  Lion is available immediately via download off the app store.  Some may not want to download a new 4GB OS update.  For that, Apple will release their Lion on USB.

First off, lets get some pricing out of the way.  The download update is retail at $30.  The USB stick is set to be at $70.  Not bad, but seems like their math doesn’t add up.  Granted you get an 8GB stick, but lets take a look…$30 for update + $15 for an 8GB stick, the retail should around $45.  Oh, and the Apple logo, that’s another $25.  Okay, now my math is correct.  I apologize.

However, if you have an extra 4GB or 8GB stick you can create your own USB OS X Lion stick.  The USB tutorial isn’t that long and only involves three steps.  For the tutorial, I’m going to redirect you to

Who didn’t love the movie thriller “The Da Vinci Code?”  Not only that, who didn’t dream about having a cool Cryptex gadget to store all your valuable secrets?  Come one, you know it would be phenomenally great to have such a device.  Well, it might not be that far off.

A Russian engineer has posted his version of a USB Cryptex case which includes detailed drawings, CAD files and component assembly.

You can’t help but to want one. [more photo's after the break]

Not everyone keeps their flash drive on a key-chain or in their pocket.  For many, using a ultra slim USB flashdrive and sticking it into your wallet is your form of portability.  For those who do this, read on for a good DIY to insure the stick doesn’t get lost.

First off, if you are using something like the Kingmax Super Stick, the drive is so small you’re more likely to lose it pulling keys out of your pocket then forgetting in the computer USB port.  For this reason, the USB wallet is a DIY project to stitch the drive into your wallet.

You’ll need:

• wallet
• tiny USB flash drive
• piece of Velcro
• thread, needle and a thimble

In addition, this method of storing your drive will provide extra protection from the slim stick getting damaged.

In short, you’re going to use the lanyard loop of the stick and some thread to stitch it a piece of Velcro which is then put into the wallet.  This design allows the drive to be some-what permanent, yet you can pull it out completely when needed.