Desktop email notification bell - Hack a Day

Instructables <a href="http://www.cheapbearsjersey.com/products/NFL-Jerseys-18/NFL-Customized-Jersey-448/"><strong>Cheap NFL Customized Jerseys 2011</strong></a> user [meseta] wanted an audible notification whenever he received an email, but must have thought that his computer's built-in sounds were lacking in some regard. To get the perfect sound that he desired, he built himself a USB-powered notification bell. Using an off the shelf "front desk bell" and a hand made electromagnet, he constructed a bell that could be triggered whenever a message showed up in his desktop email client. The electromagnet can be triggered by a quick pulse from a microcontroller, <a href="http://www.neworleanssaintsnfljersey.com/products/NFL-Jerseys-18/NFL-Customized-Jersey-448/"><strong>Cheap NFL Customized Jerseys 2011</strong></a> and in [meseta's] case, he used a Forebrain dev board. He created a filter in his email client that runs an executable each time a message is received. This executable in turn sends a message to his microcontroller via USB, triggering the bell. While we think that the notifier could <a href="http://www.washingtonredskinsnfljersey.com/products/NFL-Jerseys-18/Pittsburgh-Steelers-440/"><strong>Cheap Steelers Jerseys 2011</strong></a> have been put together using <a href="http://www.dabeat.org/bin/cpg/displayimage.php?pos=-327"><strong>Blog — timberland shoes — Schminktipps mit Videos | Community ...</strong></a> a far less powerful microcontroller, it's a neat idea regardless. People seem to love alternative notification systems, so we're pretty sure this bell will appeal to many in that crowd. Keep reading to see a short video demonstration of his email notifier in action.