homebrew
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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%
DSi firmware 1.4.1U update blocks certain flash carts
Nintendo has released a new firmware update for the DSi -- the first update in over a year. The update does not add any new functionality to the device, but instead provides "behind-the-scenes improvements to system performance." Translation: Several DSi flash cartridges, which enable the use of homebrew or pirated software, have been blocked. According to GBAtemp.net, the affected carts include (but aren't necessarily limited to) the Acekard 2i, Supercard DSTwo, M3i Zero, iPlayer and DSTTi. A handful of carts are reportedly unaffected by the update, including the EZ-Flash Vi, iSmart DS and Hyper R4i. And thus the cycle begins anew, with hackers diligently hacking away at Nintendo's new anti-piracy efforts (which didn't take too long last time). Joystiq does not condone piracy, but flash cartridges also have plenty of legal, entertaining uses. For example, did you know the DS makes a handy SCUMM emulator?
PS3 jailbreak adapted to Nokia N900, Palm Pre in wake of Australian ban (video)
Two weeks ago you'd have to pay an Australian importer for a specialized USB key. Four days ago open-source software let you roll your own. Today, there's no need for any of that -- you can hack your PS3 with a tethered smartphone. Working closely with the PSGroove team, hacker Kakaroto adapted the same jailbreak to the Nokia N900, and the open-source community lost no time porting it to the Palm Pre as well. If the videos after the break are any indication, both versions work just as well as the original, and you too can get your game on with downloads and detailed instructions at the source links below. Sadly, the aforementioned Australian importer OzModChips is a casualty of this little story, with all its shipments of the PS Jailbreak dongle seized (and the item subject to injunction) by an Australian court, but we suppose knowing its product has enabled the hardware hacking community thus might somewhat soften the blow. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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?
PS3 homebrew jailbreak released into the wilds
Poor, poor Sony. First PSJailbreak splayed wide the PS3's security model, now PSGroove has arrived calling itself the "open source PSjailbreak." The code must first be downloaded and installed onto a $30ish AT90USBkey or a $25ish Teensy++ USB development board. After that, homebrew enthusiasts can then execute unsigned third-party apps and games on their PS3. At the moment, the ability to boot ISO files (read: pirated or "backup" games) is temporarily disabled. But we're sure that some of the internet's more nefarious types will find their way around that. Cat, welcome to the world outside of the bag. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Homebrew Cray-1A emulates the iconic supercomputer, to no useful purpose
The Cray-1A first made the scene in 1976, weighing 5.5 tons (including the refrigeration system) and running at 80MHz -- with a whopping 8MB RAM. Who wouldn't want to own one -- or a miniature version of one, for that matter? Chris Fenton would, apparently. Yes, it's that Chris Fenton -- the electrical engineer who once made a $50 laptop out of a PICAXE 18X Microcontroller and 96 bytes of RAM (and some wood). And he's back with a 1/10-scale Cray-1A. And unlike a similar project we've seen in the past, this bad boy runs a custom Cray emulator (too bad there doesn't seem to be any Cray software floating around). Wild, huh? Get the whole scoop (and some pointers if you want to roll your own) after the break.
Flashboy Plus breathes life into Virtual Boy (yes, you red that right)
We apologize that we can't deliver this post to you in glorious red monochrome 3D. Unfortunately, that technology hasn't been invented yet and hopefully never will be. So here in boring old 2D, we bring you news that Nintendo's unloved offspring, the Virtual Boy, is back. Well, sorta. It's back in the sense that someone has actually made a new flash cart that allows for homebrew devs to make games for it. (Or -- and this is never going to happen -- unscrupulous individuals to play pirated ROMS on it.) That "someone" is Richard Hutchinson and the something he's built is the Flashboy Plus. Hutchinson introduced the original Flashboy back in 2007; the Plus model, costing $130 and already sold out until late this year, can store one game and has battery backup for a single save slot. (Swap games and that save state gets wiped, too.) We know it's a long shot, but perhaps this device will lead to fan ports of 3DS games to the superior Virtual Boy. Mark our words: Glasses-free 3D is a fad; nothing is more immersive than pressing your face into a sweaty eye hood for hours at a time.
Flashboy Plus revives Nintendo's Virtual Boy, literally one game at a time
When a beloved console like the Sega Dreamcast rises from the ashes it's not a huge surprise, but we never thought we'd see the day when the homebrew community would unearth Nintendo's Virtual Boy. Behold: the Flashboy Plus, the second of two flash carts developed specifically to spur development for Nintendo's original stereoscopic system, featuring a new backup battery (unlike the 2007 original) and a full 16Mbit of memory, reportedly enough to fit any one of the system's 22 commercially released games. Since the battery only keeps one save state stored at a time and there's no way to read the battery-backed memory, you'll still have to finish one game before you start another, but at least this way you don't lose your progress every time you shut the system off. Believe it or not, the first batch of 50 units has already been spoken for, but you haven't necessarily missed out yet; €90 (about $113) is your ticket to an elite (read: tiny) virtual utopia of piracy and homebrew when the second set ships at year's end.
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.
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.
UK bans R4 cards, makes Nintendo DS pirating 'double illegal'
While us Yankees are celebrating the one small victory for all that's right and good represented by the recent DMCA jailbreak exception, things are looking a little bleaker for UK gadget-heads this afternoon. London's High Court has ruled that R4 cards, which are used by homebrewers and the occasional no-goodnik game pirate to circumvent security on the Nintendo DS, cannot be sold, advertised, or imported into the UK. According to Joystiq, Nintendo claims they've seized over 100,000 R4 devices in the country since 2009. When asked for a comment, the Queen was all like, "What?"
Transformable Wall-E gets recreated with some love, Lego and DIY skills (video)
Sure, you'll have seen Lego-based Wall-E imitators before, but few recreate both the cuteness and the basic functionality of the drone quite like this one here. Programmed using Lego Mindstorms, this adorable little creation can transform itself into a box (like the real Wall-E!), pick up and carry objects, look up and down, and even produce and respond to sounds. It can be controlled remotely or left to do things by itself. Follow the break to see it on video.
iPhone 4 gets a $1 alternative to pricey Bumpers
If you ask us, Apple should be giving away free bumpers, lollipops, and anything else it can think of to keep its otherwise loyal followers from revolting. But the Great Bitten One isn't doing any one of those things, and most of us are stuck either having to pony up $30 for the official salvation from self-inflicted signal harm or looking out to the grey markets. Entering this morose situation with a bit of ingenuity is Oliver Nelson, who alerts us to the fact that rubber wristbands of the sort your favorite cyclist wears are apparently an almost perfect fit when stretched around the 4's antennae. He advises that a 1.125-inch long by 0.125-inch wide incision (into the unstretched band) is necessary to keep the 30-pin port and speakers open, but otherwise it seems like a pretty effortless and dirt cheap way to avoid all this drama.
iPad arcade cabinet brings April Fools' joke to life (video)
Nope, this isn't the first iPad mod you'll have seen, but it's likely to be the biggest crowd pleaser yet. Inspired by the iCade cabinet -- an April Fools' joke that had most of us asking where we could buy one -- this really real arcade cabinet integrates Apple's slate, hooks it up to a set of old school controls, and lets users go to town with such old timer classics as Mr. Do! It's still in prototype form, hence the boxy exterior, but the action on screen is looking as good as you'd expect. See it on video after the break.
Droid made to work with iPod docks using unholy homemade adapter
What, our ultra-special Droid dock's not enough for you? There's now another way to avoid buying Motorola's official accessories, though this one's a bit more blasphemous. Thijs Bosschert over in the Netherlands has put together a fully fledged adapter for his Milestone (aka Droid European Edition), which allows it to interface with docks designed for iPods and iPhones. He's done it using mostly parts he had lying around -- and a well-placed magnet, of course -- though he had to resort to using the 3.5mm headphone jack to extract audio from the device. The result might not look like a million bucks, but then it didn't cost that much either. See more pictures and Thijs' full how-to guide at the source.
Homebrew MIDI controller takes performance to a new, flashier level (video)
While programs like Ableton Live have truly democratized electronic music making, most hardware interfaces can't hold a candle style-wise to traditional instruments (or even the MIDI gear of the Awesome 80s). Rather than merely bemoan this depressing fact, however, a musician from Zurich named Zander Ander has built his own controller -- and it's truly a thing of beauty. Based on the uCApps.de MIDI hardware platform, this thing employs custom acrylic knobs, colored LEDs, and a whole bunch of buttons to bring his DAW controls into the real world -- while kicking the ass of controllers like AKAI's APC40 in the process. But don't take our word for it! Check it out for yourself after the break.
iPad wall mounts take a turn for the crazier (video)
Wall mounts have been around since forever and a day, but let's be honest, they've never had something quite like an iPad to cling on to. And now a couple of enthusiastic tablet users have gone and concocted their own homemade articulating display stands, showing how easily it can be done. Al forwards the gallery of pics below, telling us he only had to buy a standard VESA TV mount and an iPad case (costing around $40 in total), screw the two together, and boom, his son had an iPad "bed mount." Alternatively, if you're after a more sophisticated solution, you'll want to see dim3m's video after the break, showing how he put together the above speaker-enriched platform. Go ahead, there's a banging soundtrack too. [Thanks, Al and dim3m]%Gallery-93772%
