SlashGear

Taking inspiration from the Availabot and embracing the “You like that?  So make it yourself!” hacking spirit, Pierre-Philippe Coupard made his own physical IM status figure out of a cheap wooden toy and a chubby little servo.  The concept is straightforward: rather than rely on boring iconography, sounds or pop-ups to alert you to when a particular friend comes online, you can simply glance at your status figure and see right away whether they’re around for a chat.

Pierre-Philippe is generous enough to release both the build-instructions and software so you can make one of your own if you a) run Linux and b) have the necessary skill.  I’d do it myself but I lack both of those.  Damn.

Build Log [via Hack A Day]