innards
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How to: Get your 1984 Mac running Snow Leopard
Because of that, his instructions get a little technical (he actually replaced the innards rather than just trying to fit a Mac mini in there or something similarly easy). So this isn't a very good project for a first-timer for sure. But if you've got a little DIY experience, or just want to see what it looks like to take apart an old Mac and refill it with modern PC parts (he went Hackintosh on the OS), you should definitely check out his writeup. I wouldn't use the computer as a workstation any more -- because, come on now, who can really do any serious computing on a 9-inch screen? -- but as a music server or just a conversation piece, it's great.
HeartLander caterpillar robot crawls on heart, administers treatment
We get a little more creeped out each week or so, as a new form of minimally overtly invasive robotic creature somehow comes to life and sets its sights on perusing our innards. The newest species hails from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was designed to "crawl across the surface of the heart to deliver treatment." The eerily-dubbed "robotic caterpillar" measures just a few centimeters in length and can scoot about at a blistering 18-centimeters per minute via "push and pull" control wires that reside outside of the body. The lead doctor on the project suggests that the critter could "allow procedures to be carried out without having to stop the heart, reducing the risk of illness linked to heart bypass surgeries," and moreover, insinuated that patients would spend less time recovering in the hospital after he / she was all sewn up. Apparently, the HeartLander could be available for human practice "within three to four years," but according to a director at the British Heart Foundation, "a lot more research is needed to determine whether something delivered to the outside surface of the heart can modify activity on the inside."[Via BBC]
Magnetic beads could peruse your innards
We've got a sneaking suspicion that the whole idea of "minimally invasive" procedures will soon become a matter of perspective, as Canadian researchers are dreaming up yet another method of perusing parts of your innards you never thought possible. If the brilliant minds at École Polytechnique Montréal have their way, microscopic medical beads could eventually be used to inspect, pass medicines, and take a joyride through even the smallest tubes in your body. Already being tested on live pig (and showing outstanding results, too), the idea is to utilize MRI machines to magnetically push objects through the bloodstream, which could reach locales that modern day surgeries can't. Interestingly enough, this procedure has far exceeded the brainstorming stage, and if you're one of those strong-stomached type, be sure to hit the read link for a couple of live action videos of the process.
EaglePicher claims "world's smallest" implantable battery
We've just about had our fill of "world's smallest" gizmos this week, but when it comes to a new development in the battery realm, we certainly won't complain with delivering power in a less burdensome manner. Vancouver's own EaglePicher Medical Power has recently announced plans to unveil the "industry's smallest implantable-grade medical battery," which comes in at a mere .26-inches long and .09-inches in diameter. Unsurprisingly, the primary application is to handle tasks inside your body, such as deploying it via a "minimally-invasive catheter procedure" rather than implanting it through surgery. The aptly-named Micro Battery is based around a proprietary cell construction designed by the company, and while we're always weary of such lofty claims to a product that hasn't hit commercialization yet, it can purportedly provide power for "more than 15 years." Just make sure you pencil in a changeout date about a decade from now if this thing ends up connected to your future pacemaker, cool? [Warning: PDF read link][Via MedGadget]
Apple TV gets a full blown specification list, sort of
Whether you've dropped your hard-earned $299 for Apple's forthcoming Apple TV, or you're just waiting to find out a bit more details on the thing before pulling the trigger, AppleInsider reportedly has the dirt we geeks adore. According to Apple's website, the device sports an elusive "Intel processor" and a 40GB hard drive, but we all know there's a lot more to this 7.7- x 7.7-inch box than what Steve is letting us know; thankfully, some folks in the know have supposedly dug up just what's under the silver lid, and it seems that you're paying three hundred bones for some rather antiquated components. Getting us started is a 1GHz Pentium-M-based chip, codenamed "Crofton," which has been underclocked to run on a 350MHz bus, and it's purportedly based on Intel's Dothan core, which includes 2MB of L2 cache. Additionally, an NVIDIA G72M with 64MB of DDR2 RAM is included for video purposes, and a quarter gigabyte of 400MHz DDR2 system RAM is soldered to the logic board. Also of note is its inability to function as its own wireless router / extender, despite the built-in 802.11n antenna, and while you'll find a USB port flanking the rear, it's presumably only there for "services and diagnostics purposes." So, in the end the Apple TV should still have plenty of horsepower to handle its well established duties, but it's certainly not packing a great lot of pizazz beneath the hood -- according to this report, anyway.
Microsoft's Zune gets cracked open for the world to see
It's no surprise that we take pleasure in seeing our favorite toys get completely dismembered and taken apart, and it didn't take too terribly long for someone to decide their Zune was better off laying in pieces. If you're still undecided on picking up Microsoft's new PMP, maybe seeing the gory innards will sway you one way or another, and if the bevy of high resolution shots (including a potentially explosive Li-ion cell's mugshot) doesn't faze you, be sure to watch us unwrap the freshly-released social mediator and make your call.[Via Hack A Day, thanks William V]
MacBook Pro Complete Disassembly guide
Have you received your MacBook Pro? Are you saddened by OWC's lack of instructions on how to rip apart said new machine? Don't be sad, rejoice, for iFixit (the site formerly known as PBFixit) has released a screw-by-screw guide to Performing Complete Disassembly of a MacBook Pro. Each page of this guide to MacBook Pro destruction has pithy commentary on hardware you may find inside your new lappy using only iFixit's guide, a #0 Phillips screwdriver, a T6 Torx screwdriver and um, a Spudger. If this bare-circuit-board guide doesn't knock your mad scientist socks off, frankly, I really don't know what will. [via Slashdot] [pictured to the right is the MacBook Pro's nekid logic board via iFixit's guide]
