Wireless presentation controllers prove juicy targets for hackers
By Tim Stevens 
posted July 6th 2010 7:38AM
posted July 6th 2010 7:38AM
posted July 6th 2010 7:38AM
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That's a high-tech looking clothes peg there.
@AaronX
It's a clip to easily and quickly interface with IC chips while prototyping.
(Sorry to be so anal, but my inner nerd managed to claw to the surface.)
@FNi I figured that out, it's a great idea! I thought breadboards were the only way to go.
@FNi
Hello, BGA.
But I love wandering the room and gesticulating authoritatively with my ego-boosting gadget in hand...
@FNi : That's what she said!
@One Love If she said that you might want to consider that she is a he...
@FNi
No but a certain Mr Jobs would while describing some amazing magical product at which point some front-row lurker could bring up a browser behind him to show the new iTubG*rl, now with more magic coming out of her than you thought possible.
I can already imagine what Gizmodo is going to do at the next CES.
@Zalgo Shouldn't be hard to use this technique to make a wireless version of this:
http://www.switched.com/2009/10/13/usb-computer-prankster-will-make-everyone-in-the-office-hate-you/
I can already imagine what Gizmodo is planning for the next CES.
@Zalgo
The hell? The comment section needs an overhaul badly.
@Zalgo It has for many years. I can't even change my DP from my cat hitting on Paris.
@mrmckeb More importantly, why would you want to?
@Zalgo
try "I can already imagine what Gizmodo is going to do at the next Apple Keynote"
@qbgabe12
I would imagine that the security there has pictures of all the giz employees. And they will be asked very unkindly to leave when caught.
Reminds me of many years ago, I used to have one of those remote control watches - at school, whenever we were subjected to a boring geography video, I used to muck about with the volume and change channel occasionally. Teacher didn't have a clue!
@Cactusweasel My tv-b-gone works on every remote control LCD projector I've tried it in (~8-10) during boring presentations...
Just sayin'.
Speaking of hacks.
Can someone point me to a dummy friendly hack site? I want to convert a vanilla qwerty pc keyboard into a portable synth music keyboard by pluging it's chord into a tiny casio style synth keyboard or one of the sound hubs from those rubber roll up keyboards but have not idea how to go about the splicing job.
@Poita
A little off topic but...
Not sure if this is what your looking for, but there are a bunch of "virtual" midi keyboard programs out there. They allow you to use your qwerty keyboard as a midi kyboard. Search google for: virtual midi keyboard or vmk...
I've used this one, pretty decent: http://www.granucon.com/vmk.html
@Poita Are you talking about making your keyboard have a MIDI out?
You're going to need to do a little bit more than just splicing some cables. IMO your best bet would be programming a microcontroller to read the PS/2 keyboard signals and then sending out appropriate MIDI packets. Then hide that inside the keyboard and replace the PS/2 cable with a MIDI cable.
USB keyboards could be modded by shoving a USB-to-PS/2 adapter inside the keyboard.
Libraries for handling PS/2 and MIDI interfaces are available for most microcontrollers in many programming languages, so you wouldn't have to code everything from scratch, but it'd still require some work.
You could probably use an Arduino. It's relatively easy and fun to program and I think it should have the libraries available. Might be a little bit too hard project for a first timer, though.
@MacAnkka
No what I'm looking for is to make a qwerty keyboard that is detached from the PC and not by being wireless.
I want to take one of those roll up piano keyboards or a small casio style piano and fuse it with a qwerty so as to have a qwerty keyboard that will function like a portalbe electric (physical) piano keyboard. Don't ask why, it's just a kind of arty farty project i'm working on.
So i need to actually physically hack the plastic qwerty and splice the cable that usualy goes into the usb/ps2 port with the cable that goes into the little sound module that is attacked to the rubber roll piano keyboard/or the qwerty keyboard sized electric synth.
somebody let me know if they found the "Powerpoint' tag helpful in any way.
I'm secure if I use i-Clickr for my iPod Touch, right?
This HAS to be done at an Apple keynote.
Could you imagine the look on Steve Jobs face??
@mikemondo He would probably instinctively stomp his foot in frustration and yell out "WOZZZZZZ!".
Sounds like something out of an episode of Alias.