The Phidget Interface Kit is a cool package of various sensors which you can attach to the nearest handy computer USB port and do stuff. The sensors include a motion sensor, temperature, vibration, light and magnetic sensors and some other cool stuff which gives your computer more finely tuned external senses than a cat. Great hobbyist toy or even for serious hacker, inventor types. CAD$250.00.
Phidgets are the most user-friendly system available for controlling and sensing the environment from your computer. People with absolutely no hardware knowledge or experience can include things like switches, sensors, and low-powered output devices such as LEDs into their projects. It is just a matter of plugging our off the shelf devices into the Interface Kit, which in turn is plugged into the USB port on your computer.
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If you want a cheaper ($50) open source, programmable interface that works with Phidgets sensors, check out the CREATE USB Interface: http://www.create.ucsb.edu/~dano/CUI/