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Your Portal gun isn't as cool as Hack-a-Day's Portal gun (which actually levitates a companion cube)
There you were, thinking your NECA-produced Portal gun replica was super neat all on its own. Well, okay -- it is -- but wouldn't it be even cooler if you could use it to make a baby companion cube levitate in mid-air with it? That question is exactly what lead to Hack a Day's creation of just such a device, as seen in the video below the break. By reappropriating a magnetic floating globe's parts and attaching said parts to both the gun and a homemade companion cube, Hack a Day were able to recreate at least part of the magic Chell experiences in her Aperture Science adventures. Of course, if you move the gun too much, the companion cube will fall out. Just think what that does to its psyche! You monster. [Image credit: Caleb Kraft, Hack a Day]
Bug-zapping lightsaber built in minutes, ready to fry pests
Simulated Jedi training not passing muster? Something more firmly grounded in reality might fit the bill. Hack a Day's bug zapping lightsaber, for instance, is suitably real -- and what it lacks in actual lasers it makes up for in insect annihilation. As the amalgamation of a Star Wars toy and an electrified bug racket, the zapper saber isn't exactly a looker -- two layers of metal mesh wrap awkwardly around the toy's telescoping blade, secured only by electrical tape and the sheer will of the force. All told, the contraption was constructed in roughly 20 minutes and Hack a Day reckons that more elaborate ones can be crafted with a tad more time and materials. Head past the break to catch the build process in motion.
Arduino-powered modder recreates 'first PC'
Before the Altair 8800, before the SCElBI, there was the Kenbak-1 -- considered to be the first personal computer by the Computer History Museum. Designed in 1970, it used Transistor-Transistor logic instead of a microprocessor -- which is one of the reasons only 40 of the units were ever sold, of which 14 are known to still exist today. That's what prompted modder funnypolynomial to produce his own using an Arduino. It may look a little more functional than the gloriously retro hexagonal design of the original, but it wouldn't take much to copy that look, too. What are you waiting for? Get ordering your blinkenlights!
Hack your RPTV to double the screen size
Although we seldom find anything relative to HD on Hack A Day, we love to read about all the cool projects. But today is different as someone has devised a way to take a rear projection HDTV and buy a bigger screen for it. Although we question if this is any better/cheaper than just buying a projector, this might me a good way to go if you want to reuse your old HDTV. But aside from the questionable practicality, and possible loss in brightness from this hack, it's pretty cool -- and well documented.[Via Hack A Day]
Create your own Mac tablet
Many Mac users have wanted a tablet for years, but Apple has definitely failed to deliver such a device. But if you think that the ModBook is too expensive, or if you're the DIY type, then why not build your own Mac tablet? Hack-A-Day has posted a gallery of images showing some of the various types of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Mac tablets. If you are too scared to start ripping apart a Mac notebook and blindly build your own tablet Mac, then why not take a peek at this Instructables project. If you have built your own Mac tablet before, be sure to tell us about it in the comments. Thanks, Victor!
Don't like your pre-amp? Build your own!
If you're big into do-it-yourself electronics, and feeling like your existing off-the-shelf pre-amplifier just isn't cutting it, Hack a day has the plans for you, with schematics and photos of a 7.1-channel pre-amp design sporting RCA, SPDIF, XLR, and USB inputs, and a VFD display to show you what's going on. The design is very professional-looking, and despite the glaring lack of analog tubes, it's sure to please any soldering audiophiles.
Xbox 360 firmware hack boots copied discs
Remember back in February when some clever hackers figured out how to embed code into the firmware of the original Xbox's DVD drive, allowing it to bypass the security measures and boot copied discs without checking the veracity of that disc? Well, at the tail end of the console's life span, the impact wasn't nearly as devastating as it could have been; unfortunately, a nearly identical hack has been performed on the Xbox 360, as long as it uses the Toshiba-Samsung TS-H943 DVD drive.The hack allows your 360 to boot both Xbox and Xbox 360 "backups" while retaining the ability to boot original games. It also allows the drive to be run under Windows, streamlining the ripping process. As Eliot reminds us, the success of this bootlegging effort will take much of the steam out of the homebrew pursuit to run executable code on the console. Will Microsoft be able to remedy this remotely, or is a hardware change in order?[Via hack a day]
Hack-a-Day's Xbox 360 ATX power supply
Reader Ran Mokady at Hack-a-Day submitted his How-To for a DIY Xbox 360 powersupply. He writes, "I have been running my console off a 250W computer PSU for a week now with no problems." The steps include: cutting the power supply cable; splicing the two cables together; rigging the ATX PSU to start up; and lastly, plugging it into the 360. While most of us would follow the Major's instructions and send our unit back in, Ran purchased a Japanese 360 (probably because he could get one), so the turnaround time for repair would have been prohibitive. Something to keep in mind if your power supply goes to hell and you couldn't endure the turnaround time.[See also: Eliot from Hack-a-Day's guide on hacking an iPod dock to your 360, pt. 1 & 2]
