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'Secret Knock' Door Lock defends home from rhythmically-impaired perps (video)
The Arduino board has been the engine of many wild and wacky projects over the years, from bakery tweeting to various musical instruments. For its next trick, our man Steve Hoefer has taken his microcontroller and, along with a piezoelectric speaker, a gear reduction motor, and some PVC pipe, programmed it to listen for a preset sequence of knocks -- a secret knock, if you will -- and unlock the deadbolt upon hearing the right combination. Although this might not be the security system you want to put in place for your home, this definitely looks like a fun weekend project. Check out the read link for instructions and schematics, but not before you see the video of the thing in action. It's after the break.
T-Mobile posts Sidekick contact recovery instructions
That Microsoft / T-Mobile tag team has been doing a pretty decent job of cleaning up the disaster area left by the Sidekick data loss, and now the first item on the recovery menu is ready for collection. Sidekick users can hit up the My T-Mobile webpage to download their contacts and then restore them either to their Sidekick or whatever device they've replaced it with. Extensive how-to instructions are available at the read link, which also furnishes us with the reassurance that "Microsoft/Danger continues its efforts to recover pictures, calendar entries and to-do lists, which may be available in the future."[Thanks, Abe G.]
Video: Pre virtual keyboard developing rapidly, gets easy install method
We know you just can't wait to get typing on the Pre's lush touchscreen, and the folks at WebOS Internals must feel the same way as they've been hard at work making their on-screen keyboard a functional reality. Installation has been made a breeze thanks to the Preware app, and usability seems to have improved markedly since the pre-alpha version, but a few kinks remain that need to be ironed out. Still, if you're willing to put up with some buggy behavior and the potential for your Pre to melt into a puddle of fiery lava, then slide past the break to get educated on the how, what and where to download.
Arduino-based 'sigh collector' is clever, pointless
Of all the things we are inclined to take for granted, the weary exhalation of air that is commonly referred to as a "sigh" easily tops our list (other things that we take for granted: our mother's love and Laser Pink Floyd at the planetarium on Saturday nights). But not Instructables member mkontop, however: this guy is clearly fascinated by the theory, practice, and ramifications of sighing, even going so far as to build a device that not only monitors his breathing and measures his sighing, but then goes on to store the corresponding amount of exhaled air in a box nearby. To what end, you ask? Perhaps you can ask Marcel Duchamp next time he's in town. Hit that read link to build one for yourself, but not before peeping that video after the break.
D.I.Y. wireless power project unleashes your inner mad scientist
Before he was the patron saint of electric cars and GPUs, Nikola Tesla invented the AC motor, the Tesla coil (or, as he called it, the "coil"), and demonstrated that power could be transferred wirelessly. A hundred-plus years later, companies like Solaren Corp are angling to beam electricity down to earth from outer space -- quite possibly solving our energy crisis with science fiction means that would even make ol' Nicky T. look twice. But why should the big companies have all the fun? You too can experiment with wireless power, albeit on a significantly smaller scale, with merely a square wave generator, some coiled wire, a 60 watt bulb, and a few other low priced thingamabobs. Don't believe us? Hit that read link and see for yourself.[Via Make]
R2D2 casemod is affordable, convincing evidence of our continued love for old sci-fi epic
We'll let you in on a little secret: we find the constant stream of Star Wars-inspired you-name-it to be a little, shall we say... played? That said, this R2D2 casemod is totally, impressively rad. Made from a grabage can, it's obviously a labor of love, and the results are insanely "real" looking -- yup, that's Artoo-Deetoo, hanging out in that guy's humble abode. This droid's got a webcam, speakers, LEDs -- all the good stuff you'd expect from a highly detailed piece of nerdery, and if you're action-oriented, you can make one of your very own for roughly $150. Hit the read link for tons of photos and detailed instructions. One more shot of the little dude after the break.
Samsung NC10 netbook touchscreen hack caught on film
Of all the DIY touchscreen projects we've come across lately, this is certainly one of them. The kids over at Netbook Mag have got their hands on the stately Samsung NC10 and were kind enough to put together a full blown, step-by-step guide to replacing its tired, non-touch responsive display with an exciting, new fashioned touchscreen. And if that weren't enough, there's a video of the software drivers being installed -- with a cool, vintage 1994 Euro-rave soundtrack. How great is that? Check it after the break.
Philosony: Gamers - natural born learners
Bear with me as I'm about to list all of the games I played for the first time in the past two weeks: Team Fortress 2, Puzzle Quest, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Linger in Shadows, Lego Batman, Warhawk, Supersonic Acrobatic Overly Superlative Adjective Cars, and Motor Storm: Pacific Rift. The last four of these are demos, but as inconstant readers of this column may remember I have a bit of a "thing" when it comes to demos, so I spent a fair bit of time with them. This list only includes PS3 and PSP games - there have also been a good half dozen little browser-based games vying for my attention. Why am I spilling out the sordid details of games I recently deflowered myself on to you? Because in learning how to play all of these games I made an interesting if obscenely obvious discovery - I learned how to play no less than 12 games in a mere 14 days! While that may not sound strange for an avid gamer it sounds odd put in other contexts: learning to play 12 musical instruments in two weeks, learning 12 new sports, learning the ins and outs of a baker's dozen worth of operating systems. Such feats are certainly doable, but rarely does anyone have the drive to add that many new wrinkles to their brain. What is it about games that makes us so willing to learn entirely new systems of play on a regular basis?
DS Daily: Needing instructions
We have to admit -- sometimes we'll play and complete games without even looking at the instruction manual once. When we do check out the handy booklets, though, they're usually very helpful, and even have impressive artwork at times.How often do you look at instruction manuals? Always? Never? Or, perhaps only sometimes, depending on the game? And, have you ever come across one for a DS game that included noteworthy art?
Wii Warm Up: Manual? We don't need no stinkin' manual!
We admit it. Sometimes we just jump right in to a game without busting out the manual first. We figure, hey, we're professionals here. We've been doing this gaming thing for years. We've progressed far beyond reading the manual before getting into the game.Of course, we're also often wrong, and we retreat, tails between our legs, and start flipping through the little booklet, grumbling all the while. The thing of it is, we remember way back in the way back, in the days when we were smaller than we are now, reading the manual was one of the best parts of getting a new game! The useless character profiles that we pored over, the descriptions of monsters, the control schemes ... it was all part of preparation. Maybe we've just grown impatient in our old age. What approach do you take? Do you read the manual before you start a new game? If not, did you ever, or have you always been a risk-taker?
Typo: vibration function cited in PS3's NBA 2K7 booklet
Keen eyes have spotted this careless passage published in the PlayStation 3 version of the NBA 2K7 instruction booklet: "Once you start feeling your heart rate pumping (via controller vibration), you'll be ready to begin! Shooting free throws in 24/7: NEXT is just like shooting free throws in a normal quick game" (page 15). The rumble citation is an amusing relic of pre-Sixaxis days when the manual's authors must have assumed (or were told) the final PS3 controller would feature a standard vibration function. Guess 2K Games didn't bother to hire a knowledgeable copy editor.Please, let's not assume this means PS3 games have 'hidden' vibration features. A typo's a typo. And PS3 launch titles won't be a'rumblin.[Thanks, Xenokai]
What is next-gen? CliffyB asks, Joystiq answers
[Click image to enlarge]What is next-gen, Cliff Bleszinski ponders in his developer's note, a preface to the Gears of War instruction manual. Well CliffyB, we think you are.This little personalized note sets a new precedent for the industry, where next-generation isn't just about hardware upgrades and "soul," as Bleszinski puts it. It's about celebrity. In this next generation we will begin to see the rise of popular interest in the off-the-job undertakings of the game world's celebs; a new gaming culture that builds up these personalities. We're not far from a time when, for lack of blockbuster franchises, rising development costs will prompt publishers to sell their games using these freshly sculpted celebrities' names -- the games' concepts being just footnotes. And then, wrought with betrayal and jealousy, we will strike down these primmed and pampered figures from their pedestals, greedily hastening their downfalls; and the industry with them.So, if you find yourself in the line at the EBGames at Universal Citywalk this evening (4pm, PT), waiting to get Mr. Bleszinski's signature emblazoned across your brand-new copy of Gears, just think: man, I'm so 'next-gen' right about now.
How To: Run other OSes on your Mac with Parallels Workstation
Parallels has been creating a lot of buzz with their Workstation software that allows Intel Mac users to run almost any version of Windows, Linux and many other OSs right inside of Mac OS X, without the need for shutting down what you're doing in Mac OS X to reboot into the other OS. This 'virtualization' ability of the new Intel chips is a pretty big deal, and from my experience with running Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux on my MacBook Pro, I can understand why.However, all this stuff about 'virtual machines' and using Parallels Workstation to install another OS inside Mac OS X can be a little daunting, so I thought I would put together a basic how-to for anyone interested in this software and what's possible with it. I'll try to explain some terminology to help clear up any confusion, and I will cover using Parallels Workstation to install both Windows XP and Ubuntu, one of the more popular 'consumer friendly' versions of Linux, or so I'm told (disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about Linux aside from the 'most of it's free' convention and the few headlines that come across digg, so go easy on me if you have Ubuntu questions).Click ahead for my five steps to running multiple OSs with Parallels Workstation in Mac OS X.
