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How-To: Design your own iPod super dock (Part 1)
Look for resident hackers Will O'Brien and Eliot Phillips (plus many other crazy projects) April 22-23 at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA!This one goes out to everyone that has an iPod or two laying about and an itchy soldering iron and thinks that the standard USB or Firewire dock just isn't quite good enough. The tiny thirty pin dock connector on the bottom of later model iPods contains quite a few connections and we want to take advantage of all of them: audio, video, serial, USB and Firewire. Today, we're bringing you part one of a How-To series on designing and building your own iPod super dock.
Silicon Valley Homebrew Mobile Phone Club formed
Generally we're not the type to engage in wild and baseless speculation, but we imagine that if the just-formed Silicon Valley Homebrew Mobile Phone Club produces even a fraction of the wealth-producing talent of its namesake, the area's venture capitalists would be wise to show up to a few meetings and press some flesh. This new club, an homage to the Homebrew Computer Club that included Apple founders Steve and Steve, was organized by Matthew Hamrick and Larry Cohen as a first step in turning cellphones into the configurable platforms that PCs have become. Hamrick and Cohen envision hackers and modders worldwide (but no cloners, thank you) sharing information on their disparate wireless tinkering, meeting both virtually on the 'net and face-to-face at regular gatherings, with the goal of creating more feature-filled, individually-tailored convergence devices. Our first request for the members? We want a Motorola MPX-styled handset running Vista for Tablet PC on a 1.xGHz dual core processor with 4GB of RAM, 30GB hard drive, SLI-enabled graphics (good luck with that!), eight megapixel camera, and of course, 802.11a/b/g/n, WiMax, Bluetooth 2.0, and, just for fun, both HSDPA and EV-DO Rev. B.
HGTV-HD is in the building
High definition may not have Oprah yet, but Scripps Networks thinks they are launching the high definition "killer app" for women, with the just launched HGTV-HD. We've been telling you about the coming HGTV-HD shows and Food Network HD for a little while now, and at least a few of you might be lucky enough to catch it. It will be interesting to see how quickly these channels get added to cable and satellite lineups, we still don't have MHD in my area.Stunning sports pictures and blockbuster movies have attracted mostly men so far, so do you think this is the channel that will get your wife/girlfriend/sister/mother interested in HD?Thanks Scott K. for the tip!
DIY Xbox 360 arcade joystick
Don't care for Hori's Dead or Alive 4 arcade joystick, but don't know what else to use when you need good, old-fashioned arcade precision on the 360? Enter purbeast's tutorial for taking a wired Xbox 360 controller, an arcade controller of your choice (Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Joystick pictured here), and some basic soldering skills to roll your own arcade controller. When Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting drops on XBLA (apparently not in late February) there's gonna be one more big reason to give this hack a shot. [Via Engadget]
The Peltier Beer personal beverage cooler
Once in a while a homemade device comes along that is so darn handy that it's destined for mass market distribution. The Peltier Beer personal beverage cooler is one such device. Basically a drink holder attached to a cooling plate, a thermometer, and some batteries, this contraption cradles a pint glass and keeps your refreshment of choice chilly even in the hot sun. For now you'll still have to build your own (unless someone knows of a commercial product that does this), though luckily Per Oyvind Arnesen takes you through the build step-by-step if you follow the link. We're excited about this product, but we'll wait around for one that is USB-powered, you know, just cause so we get bragging rights while we drink at work. [Via Cnet]
