Most netbooks have a handful of status LEDs that let you know when the computer is charging, when the hard drive is active, or when the WiFi or Bluetooth are turned on. But honestly, how often do you need those indicators? Wouldn’t it be more useful if you had an LED that lit up when you received a new email or instant message?
That’s exactly what netbook hacker Justblair decided he wanted, so he added an extra LED to the top left corner of his Eee PC 901 and wired it to light up when he receives incoming messages. The project uses an AtMel AtTiny45 microprocessor, a 5mm red, green, and blue LED, and a few other electronics components including diodes and resisters that should make it clear this hack is not for beginners.
For details and background on the project, make sure to check out Justblair’s blog.