Some of you have built your own computer. Well, you have assembled the pre-made parts, but before the PC all the parts had to be soldered together. This article shows how an eight bit machine could be made today.

I have never assembled a complete computer this way, however, I have used pic microcontrolers to make some projects. Tutorials like this one can be found using Google.

If it all feels a bit like hard work then there are a range of small cheap hobbyist PCs like the pogoplug which have a large on-line community to help you get started. Remember computers are not all about games and the Internet, take the subject of control for example, which leads you on to home automation.