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Spy satellites become reluctant space celebs, get their own paparazzi
Not only do American military satellites have to put up with the constant threat of ultrasonic space droppings, now they must also suffer the prying lenses of a couple of Frenchmen. Thierry Legault and Emmanuel Rietsch have spent the past two years turning consumer-grade components into a system that can keep up with the zippy and supposedly secret movements of craft like the X-37B space plane and the NROL-49 low-Earth orbit spy sat. Hit the source link and you'll see videos of the International Space Station, which they also managed to capture with steady-ish focus as it hurtled through space-time. Looks like nothing will thwart these guys, except maybe nano-satellites.
Dutchman integrates a 4.5GHz water-cooled rig into his d3sk
Cooler Master's 2011 Case Mod Competition looks to be the gift that keeps on giving. After serving up a Tron lightcycle and an architectural marvel, it's now playing host to a mod that redefines the idea of an all-in-one PC. Peter from the Netherlands has managed to fit a pretty bombastic set of components -- 4.5GHz Core i7-980X, two ASUS GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards in SLI, over 12TB of storage with an SSD boot disk, and two PSUs providing 1,500W of power in total -- together with a water-cooling setup and the inevitable glowing lights inside one enclosure, which just so happens to also serve as his desk. The three-piece monitor setup is also a custom arrangement, with a 27-inch U2711 IPS panel being flanked by two 17-inchers. Admittedly, this isn't the first water-cooled and over-powered desk we've laid eyes on, but that shouldn't prevent you from giving the links below a bash and checking out the amazingly neat design of Peter's l3p d3sk.
Portal turret replica has real laser, insatiable bloodlust
You might not remember Ryan Palser by name, but you'll surely recall the good gent's homemade Fallout 3 plasma rifle. He has since stepped his game up to bigger and badder video game weapon replicas, and has just completed the construction of the first of his forthcoming army of Portal laser turrets. Thankfully, Ryan has been sporting enough to build the older version of these human eviscerators (not the upgraded Portal 2 turrets, phew!), giving us at least a small chance of survival -- provided we have the right gear, of course. See the laser-equipped, GLaDOS-approved, 38-inch tall turret next to its maker after the break, or hit up the source link for some gorgeous photos of its construction.
Portable N64 features controller port, tiny split-screens
We've seen plenty of homemade portable versions of the Nintendo 64, but nothing quite so bold as this. The D64 not only lets its wielder play any of the console's titles on-the-go -- it lets a second wielder get in on the split-screen action using another standalone controller!
Defend your home with a motion-activated Minecraft Creeper
Tired of alarm companies failing you, and of man's best friend running away? So was Chris, creator of the motion-activated "Attack Creeper." Pulled from the wild world of Minecraft, the real-life version of the game's Creeper is far less terrifying. He won't, for instance, murder you in a clandestine mine. Combining a "cheap RC car," a PIR sensor, several cardboard boxes, and a melange of other electronic bits (not to mention a good amount of ingenuity), Chris' Creeper not only defends his house, but also terrorizes his neighbors. As seen above, Chris likes to place the Creeper in very appropriate locations. Head past the break to see a video of the monster in action.
Sneaker speakers kick out the jams
We've seen homemade speakers crafted from all sorts of unusual objects, but these new sneaker speakers built for a design competition by professional sneaker customizer Nashmoney might just be the new king in town. As you can see, they started out as a regular pair of Nike Air Force 1s, and all of the speaker components are built right into the sneakers, including the amplifier and the controls. Of course, they're also one of a kind, but you can find some pictures and details of the build process at the link below if you have an old pair of kicks you'd like to try to retrofit yourself.
iPhone meets Arduino, tilt joystick for mobile games results (video)
Even though games like Infinity Blade can be great fun on the iPhone, there's no getting around the fact that touchscreen-centric, buttonless devices don't offer the best gaming ergonomics. A modding project gone horribly right, however, might just fix that right up for all of us. Shane Wighton set out to build a robot to try and beat his favorite iPhone game, replete with a webcam and an Arduino setup, but in the process of doing so he "just realized that [he'd] made a mechanism to play tilt based phone games with a joystick." Yes indeedy, one of the most awesome DIY gaming accessories was built by fluke as much as design. See it revolutionizing mobile gaming just after the break.
Beer cooler built in the shape of Google's Android... just because (video)
The bounds of Android fandom, will we ever know them? The latest exhibition of one man's love for his mobile OS is this here beverage (we know it's only going to house beer, let's be honest) cooler, which has been lovingly recreated in the form and proportions of the Android logo. Standing somewhere over four feet tall, it's really a fantastically well executed DIY project, and its maker has taken the time to document it on video for us as well. You'll probably find the unfinished droid a little disturbing to see, what with its unpolished skin and rough edges, but maybe that's a fitting metaphor for the constantly evolving operating system anyway. All we know is that the end result is at least as sweet as Gingerbread, if not more so. See it all just past the break. [Thanks, Tony]
TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: Crafts with the kids
Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We've sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier. The best holiday helpers are often the ones you already have right at home. Here are some ideas for last minute creations that are fun to put together with your kids. Whether they involve putting together an iPad Moose costume (made out of felt, popsicle sticks, and rubber bands) or building a holder for iAccessories, child-made gifts don't have to be perfect or usable in the long term. They just have to be made with love. Here's a gallery to give you some ideas as a jumping-off point. But don't feel limited by what you see here. Macaroni, glitter glue, pipe cleaners and felt offer a range of expression unlimited except by imagination. %Gallery-111882%
1TB hard drive thrown into a toy TARDIS, gives us a proper Time Machine
It's common knowledge that the Doctor's time- and space-bending TARDIS is a lot roomier on the inside than its external dimensions let on, and now we can put a definite number to just how much space there is in there: a terabyte. Yup, that's how much storage Max Shanly managed to cram inside his "toy" TARDIS. It took a bit of elbow grease (plus a screwdriver) to get it all to fit, but most of the credit here is for sheer ingenuity -- who doesn't want to back up his data onto a freaking Time Lord's intertemporal transportation device? Max is currently working on hooking up the flashing light up top to represent hard drive activity and we're calling up our favorite KIRF suppliers to get them cranking these out. [Thanks, Max]%Gallery-101940%
Nokia celebrates its users' inventiveness in latest N8 ad (video)
There might be a tiny bit of upheaval up at the peaks of Nokia management today, but that doesn't mean we all need to stand around looking serious and forecasting who'll leverage what synergies in order to actuate the requisite paradigmatic shift in the company's device portfolio. No, we're much more inclined to go check out a new ad video that show off the mods and hacks Nokia users have put together with their handsets. It's quite the breathless run-through, this ad, but if you're careful you'll spot a few of your old favorites used in quirky new ways. March past the break for a gander.
Lego Android is 15 inches tall, eats apples for breakfast
Say it with us now, awww. The adorable green bot family scene above is highlighted, rather conspicuously, by a 15-inch tall dude in the middle. He (it?) was built by one Grayson Wendell, who went to the trouble of coding up a program for designing Lego domes mathematically, before spending an entire week putting his own lime-green droid together. Between this and the Android tattoo girl, Google really seems to have cornered the market on fanmade art, while we also appreciate the classy touch of including an iPhone in the shot -- hacked with an Android installation, of course. [Thanks, Grayson]%Gallery-101859%
NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video)
Perhaps the worst, and least repairable, shortcoming of touchscreens is their failure to act as viable game controllers. Keyboard-equipped smartphones alleviate that pain a little (particularly if you pair them with a Game Gripper), but ultimately we'd all prefer real controllers for our real games. Such was clearly the thinking behind the homebrewed setup here, which combines an HTC EVO 4G -- with Android and an NES emulator inside -- with an Arduino board, a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module, and a classic NES control pad. The result might look like a mess of wires, but who cares when you can rock Super Mario 3 the way Nintendo surely intended?
Xbox 360 slimster made over in white, just for the hell of it
Missing your oldie Xbox 360's bright and airy white finish? Well, Microsoft's still not willing to sell you a slimmified 360 in any color other than black (excepting the limited edition Halo gear), but at least you can gaze upon the singular example of what a white one may look like above. This seemingly repainted Xbox 360 250GB (to give it its official, and ridiculous, name) has been lovingly put together over in China and really makes us wonder why Microsoft is depriving us of such snowy good looks. Perhaps it wanted to draw a clear line between the old and the new? Either way, hit the source for the cheapest way to peek an all-white slim 360 without giving the Colorware crew a call. [Thanks, Anthony] Update: We've tracked down the talented modder to one Craig Manders, or Mandark, and have linked his Photobucket profile below for more imagery of the blanched Xbox 360.
Mass Effect's M8 Avenger rifle brought to exquisitely detailed life
Harrison Krix understands if you don't remember his name. After all, your mind can't be expected to retain information when you've just seen the spectacular Portal gun and Daft Punk helmet the man has already authored. Latest on his hitlist is an homage to the awesomeness that is Mass Effect. Employing mostly leftover bits from previous projects and $28's worth of new materials, Harrison set about the task of recreating Commander Shepard's trusty assault rifle. The source will delight your eyeballs with a litany of pictures and build details, though our major question remains unanswered -- does it use armor-piercing, incendiary, or shredder rounds?
Homemade Fallout 3 plasma rifle makes our post-apocalyptic future seem less bleak
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Homemade_Fallout_3_Plasma_Rifle'; The A3-21 Plasma Rifle is quite the little devastator in Fallout 3 and it doesn't look half bad in the so-called real world either. Lovingly pieced together by one Ryan Palser, this homebrewed replica (the lower of the two in the image above) took five months to complete and involved the enrollment of his wife's painting skills for the weathering job. The final result is enough to convince us that Fallout would be well served by a movie adaptation, if only so we can see more of these retro-futuristic rifles get their shot at corporeality. You can scope out one more image showing off the lights inside the rifle after the break, but only if you promise to hit up Ryan's Flickr account for the full set.
Dell Streak procures a hacked-up mini USB adapter, gets friendly with your dusty cables
Even if you can look beyond the SIM lock and the aging Android 1.6 OS on the Dell Streak, there's still one irksome problem: the lack of a mini or micro-USB port (Dell clearly missed the USB party last summer). Dissatisfied with this state of affairs, John from Linux Slate decided to build an adapter for his tabletphone's dock connector, which he confirmed to be PDMI instead of a proprietary design. The procedure was simple: John cut up his Streak's cable plug, soldered a mini USB socket onto the board, and housed the new assembly within the Streak's cable clip. Voilà! Until third-party USB-to-PDMI cables start to show up in the stores, it's either this mod or cough up $20 for a spare cable from Dell. See the adapter in action after the break.
Low-tech, homebrew Cappuccino synth oscillates wildly (with apologies to Moz)
If you're the type that eschews traditional instrumentation, the Cappuccino synth may be right up your alley. Instead of the oscillator of your analog synthesizer, our man Gijs simply built a pickup out of a rare earth magnet and 33mH inductor and places it next to things that are... you know, oscillating. Wildly, even. Simple, no? Could be just the thing to get your creative juices flowing the next time you engage in a little Saturday afternoon sound design. To hear what various metallic things sound like as they spin in place, hit up the video after the break.
Freekade, the iPad arcade cabinet, goes up for auction (video)
What's the date today, middle of August? Great, so we can now say with scientific certainty that it takes four and a half months to bring an excellent April Fools' idea to market. That's the total gap in time between the unveiling of the jokey iCade by the writers at ThinkGeek and the "for auction" sign going up on the Freekade arcade cabinet. This nostalgia-infused iPad accessory has now added a veneer of style to its retro control scheme, with "walnut effect" sides and a matte black finish. It interfaces with your slate via Bluetooth and (provided you've danced the jailbreaking jig) will play along with NES, SNES and PSX emulators obtainable from the Cydia store. You'll find its latest demo video after the break and can track the auction's progress at the source link below.
Token multitouch screen shows us the future of DJing, today (video)
Think you know multitouch surfaces? Think again. We've just come across a video demo of the Token multitouch, erm, pedestal, which seems to have come straight from the future. A clear sheet of glass that beams out video from your computer and accepts touch inputs in return, the Token concept has been designed by a chap named Rodrigo hailing out of Chile. We know it uses a rear projector for its video, but other construction details are scarce at this point; what's really special here, however, is the way he combines it with a Traktor Pro controller titled Emulator, turning a few intelligent finger swipes into a kickass light-and-sound show. See it on video after the break.
