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Student-made Xbox 360 laptop channels the Heck out of... well, you know
Few can build 'em like Benjamin Heckendorn. Fewer still bother to try. Two college kids managed to do a bang-up job anyhow building this fully loaded, Jasper-juiced Xbox 360 laptop. With a built-in 17-inch Gateway monitor, keyboard, functioning Xbox Live camera and Wireless Network Adapter, this brick hits all the right notes -- yet remains remarkably stylish for a learn-as-you-go student project. If you agree, you can read a remarkably detailed account of how they built it at the source link, see a proof-of-completion video after the break, or even further their education by purchasing the mean machine on eBay for your very own.
University of Oregon shows off engraved MacBook Pros
I've always been jealous of the folks who get free laptops from their work or school (back when I was in school, I used a paper notebook and a pen and liked it!), but I'm especially jealous of the folks from the University of Oregon's Center for Student Athletes, who not only get some sweet MacBook Pros to use courtesy of Apple and Nike, but have each one laser engraved with the school's symbolic O. The engraving isn't just aesthetic; it's useful, too. In addition to the school branding, each laptop has a specific number engraved on the bottom of it, which helps prevent theft and helps the school track down wayward laptops. Cult of Mac has a great little interview with the engraver, with some fun insider info about how this is all done (he's even engraved fingernails, which sounds a little gross). We've seen some cool engraving projects before, but I like this one; functional and good-looking.
Nanoscope, the DIY ipod nano fatty A/V dock
You've got to hand it to modder Mark Irwin, who did his fellow tinkerers proud by assembling a bunch of found objects into a very handy audio / video dock for the squat new iPod nano. The project is brilliant in its simplicity: Irwin just carved a nano-sized slot in an old slide magnifier, embedded some discarded speakers, and ended up with a super-handy viewing station on the cheap. Check out the video after the break for inspiration on how you, too, can help put an end to this national Made for iPod nightmare perpetrated by Griffin, Belkin, Monster, and their evil cohorts.
How-to build your own wireless, autonomous hovercraft
So to be clear right off the bat, this is not the type of hovercraft that you might commute to work or class in, but rather a small RC version more suitable for transporting babies or adorable pets. That being said, Instructables user bradpowers has posted step-by-step guide for the ambitious modder to build his or her very own remotely-controlled or autonomous 'craft, from constructing the frame to assembling the lift and propulsion systems to setting up the onboard PIC. Definitely not a project for the easily distracted, however, a successful build will surely make you the delight of neighborhood children for blocks in every direction. Check out a video of the little guy in action after the break.
The Mindstorms NXT gramophone, or, If Edison played with LEGOs
Lying somewhere between the roboflusher and LEGO car-producing LEGO factory on the practicality scale, José Pino's Mindstorms NXT gramophone brings together all the fun and tinny sound of this antiquated music system with today's modern DIY sensibilities. Using little more than an off-the-shelf NXT kit running at 25% power, and, um, a fast food beverage cup, Pino was able rig together a very basic platform for spinning his vinyl, although scratching is probably not recommended on this rather delicate setup. Keep reading for a quick video walkthrough accompanied by those old-timey tunes so popular among today's seniors.[Via Hacked Gadgets]
iGTD 1.4.4 update brings, uh, way too many new features
Something tells me the crew who writes iGTD (fortunately) never really grasped how application version systems work (for the record: I say this with the warmest of intentions; iGTD is the first GTD-based app that I really 'get' and use). Typically, a company releases a 1.0, follows up with a few 1.x.x updates to fix bugs and quirks, and maybe a few 1.x releases that add a new feature or two. But as anyone who has been following the last few minor updates can tell, the new features brought with each 1.x.x release are really worthy of major 2.x and 3.x releases. This morning I woke to just such an update (v1.4.4) that brings a landslide of new and handy feature updates, including: F-key integration with Journler, endo RSS news reader, VoodooPad Pro, EagleFiler and WebnoteHappy exporting smart folders added ('To complete' tab) Don't forget! feature - use the Tasks menu option to display a sticky reminder about a task... click it to jump to the task Send to stickies feature - use the Tasks menu option to display selected tasks as Apple Sticky note E-mail feature - use the Tasks menu option to e-mail selected tasks via Apple Mail MailTags 2.0. enhancement: flagged e-mails are imported as flagged tasks MailTags 2.0. enhancement: a prefs setting to use the MT e-mail notes as a name for task in iGTD last selected smart folder is saved and restored between launches integration with Services menu (logout/login required): select a text in any app, go to app menu / Services submenu and use the 'iGTD/Put into iGTD inbox option' new mode for search panel: 'Search by project name or note' and much, much more This update also includes a large batch of bug fixes, as well as enhancements to adding new items to lists that are sorted by various methods. Amazingly, iGTD is still donationware, and this new version should be available by choosing Check for Updates from the application menu, or simply by heading over to the iGTD site.
MailTags and iGTD unite features in the name of productivity and discounts
A recent update to iGTD brought some significant enhancements, one of which is very, very rich integration with Scott Morrison's MailTags 2.0. With v1.4.3, iGTD can process most of the MailTags 2 information attached to an Apple Mail message. For example: keywords in MailTags prefixed with @ will get translated into contexts, while your other tags will simply become regular tags in iGTD. Same with projects, deadlines, priorities and even notes added to Apple Mail messages with MailTags: they'll all effortlessly transfer over into iGTD when importing messages with an F-key. If this is all getting your productivity and GTD gears turning but you haven't purchased MailTags yet, Scott Morrison and Bartlomiej Bargiel (iGTD's developer) have just offered a partner promotion that should do the trick: for a limited time, when users donate to iGTD, they can contact the author and receive a $5 coupon off the $29.95 retail price of MailTags 2.0. I say 'limited time' because, as of this writing, they have 35 coupons left, though Scott said he's definitely willing to whip up more coupons depending on how much interest spawns from this promotion (I know, I know: I warned them about the TUAW effect, so we'll see). As an extremely happy and paid user of MailTags and a budding GTD user for whom iGTD finally made sense, this sounds like a great deal for anyone looking to get more productive with their email. MailTags and iGTD: two great tastes that taste great together.
Suda 51 & Kojima's 'Project S' based on Snatcher, radio drama announced
According to Famitsu, Suda 51 has declassified 'Project S,' a not-so-mysterious collaboration with Hideo Kojima. As suspected, "S" is for "Snatcher," Kojima's 1988 cyberpunk adventure, which was eventually translated and released for Sega CD in 1994. During this past weekend's 'Snake vs Zombie Vol. 2' event, Suda confessed that Snatcher was his favorite Kojima effort, prompting a few snickers between the No More Heroes creator and Kojima, who joined Suda on stage. While the pair alluded to Project S's presumed connection to Snatcher, it wasn't until this week's article that the link was openly confirmed.Project S is apparently a series of works based on the Snatcher property. The first, a radio drama (yeah, you read that right, radio drama), will be written by Suda 51, who will also star as one of the voice actors. "I think I will call it 'Snatchers.' I can't talk about the details of the story at this point," he told Famitsu. Any chance it'll make it to satellite?
DIY wireless Sega controller for Wii Virtual Console
It's literally been ages since we've held a piece of Sega hardware in our hands -- even our trusty old GameGear finally made the trip to gadget heaven -- but we'll never forger the first time we picked up a Genesis controller and were floored by the future of gaming. Its name? Altered Beast. Well as we all know, Sega ended up getting lost in the shuffle during the 20th century console wars, and all that's left today is a steady stream of new games and some classics that have found their way onto the Virtual Console. Isn't it appropriate, then, to get into the Sega spirit by playing these retro titles with genuine Sega controllers? Well you ain't gonna find them on shelves anymore, but if you've got an old gamepad lying around like Daniel Hearn did, its not all that difficult to roll your own wireless pad. All the parts you need -- save for the controller body itself -- can be found at the Sparkfuns and and RadioShacks of the world, and the linked guide gives you all the programming / construction resources you'll need. Big ups to the first reader who combines this project with the Mega Drive controller MP3 mod, creating a DAP whose functionality even the iPod can't touch.[Via Wii Fanboy]
NES controller cell phone mod
We've already got NES controller belt buckles, Nintendo underwear, and loads of other useless stuff, why not an NES-themed cell phone? DIYHappy took apart a Nokia 3200 and stuffed it inside a gutted NES controller. The result is an ordinary NES controller on one side, cell phone screen and keys on the other. Practical? No. Retro cool? Yes. Too bad it isn't a real NES cell phone. We'd love to send text messages with just the A and B buttons. Check out the video after the jump.[Thanks, Metal_Link]
'E-paper' drawbot uses old school analog data recorder
It's no secret that we're big fans of completely impractical mods; sure we like the ones that look good or do something useful, but at the end of the day, all we really want to do is watch a cool video that doesn't make us think too hard. Take "Evil Mad Scientist" and atomic physicist Windell Oskay's DIY "e-paper" drawbot, basically an Allen Plotomatic 715 analog X-Y data recorder directed by an off-the-shelf microcontroller to sketch letters and shapes on a stripped-down Fischer Price Doodle Pro. The video below describes this build much better than we ever could, although the lack of specific programming instructions makes this less of a how-to and more of a mini-documentary. Oskay refers to his creation as e-paper, and though it is based on magnetics and not electronics, he points out that it does indeed share many of the same qualities as the Sony Readers and iRex iLiads of the world: high-contrast, daylight-readability, flexibility, and the ability to erase images or maintain them without electricity. Still, even though this rig is hundreds of dollars cheaper than commercial e-books, we'd rather spend the extra loot in exchange for pages that render in under five minutes.
Ben Heckendorn's Xbox 360 laptop: best mod ever?
Every so often a mod comes along that's so intricate, so amazing, so over the top, that words simply don't do it justice (but we'll try anyway). Ben Heckendorn's Xbox 360 laptop is one such mod. Having garnered no small amount of fame from previous portable projects like the nPod, PPS2, and N64p, Ben was commissioned by a generous benefactor to somehow make a 360 "good to go" a la the Crunchwrap Supreme -- and since this is the great Mr. Heckendorn we're talking about, slapping a hinged LCD onto an out-of-the-box console simply wouldn't do. Instead, Ben spent three months designing and building the so-called Xbox 360p, machining a custom aluminum laptop enclosure by hand into which he stuffed a keyboard, 1,280 x 720 Westinghouse LCD, and get this -- even a custom-built water cooling system to replace the 360's stock, bulky heat sinks. The end result is a polished, professional looking (albeit heavy -- this machine weighs in at about 14 pounds) laptop complete with WiFi, USB ports, obligatory glowing green ring, and converged power supply so that the monitor and gaming system only require a single cable snaking out the back. Well done, Ben, well done; but as you yourself note, there's no such thing as resting on one's laurels, so we can't wait to see what you have in store for the PS3 and, most especially, the swing-your-arms-like-a-maniac Nintendo Wii. Hit the jump to check out the 360p's guts, and then head over the Ben's site for a ton of photos and one of the more thorough build walkthroughs that we've come across...[Thanks, Jeffler and kade]
DIY "adapter" for Memory Stick PRO Duo cards
The problem with all of these newfangled, fingernail-size memory card formats is that most require an adapter for use in standard card readers -- an adapter that many people lose within seconds of tearing open the packaging. Well luckily for you PSP owners out there, Wikihow has a quick and easy tutorial on building your own "adapter" for Memory Stick PRO Duo cards, and like many of the best mods we've seen, this one is super cheap. All you need to get your Duo card to work in a regular Memory Stick card reader is a paper clip and a strip of scotch tape -- a five cent project, at most -- and as the above picture should indicate, you're really just taping the clip to the card as a de facto handle. The perils here, of course, are that using too much tape could cause the contraption to get jammed up inside the reader, while not enough of the sticky stuff may leave you with a lost card. As usual, we take no responsibility for any broken cards or readers that may result from this modification; we just report the news, it's up to you to gauge your own handiness and perform the standard risk-reward analysis.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Nokia handset doubles as a Bluetooth mouse
Even casual readers of this publication know that we're always seeking out ways to add more functionality to our existing gadgets, so when we heard about an innovative modder who was able to turn his Nokia cellphone into a fully-functioning Bluetooth mouse, well, we knew that we were approaching convergence heaven. Inspired by Jani 'Japala' Pönkkö's LogiNoki hack (in which Jani embedded a Nokia LCD into a Logitech G3 mouse), "Pyrofer" decided to forgo the hardware modifications and instead write a Java code and corresponding Windows driver that would allow him to use his 6230i as an impromptu optical input device for when laptop trackpads and control nubbins just don't cut it. Since it's still in development, Pyrofer has yet to release his code to the public, and the Nokiamouse does indeed have some serious drawbacks; most notably, he has to hold the handset a fraction of a millimeter above the mousing surface -- which must contain distinct patterns, so no direct desktop operation -- in order for the camera's CCD to pick up enough usable light. Still, once he develops a proper Bluetooth HID for the phone to work on any BT-enabled notebook (there's also talk of a GPRS connection) -- as well as an interface for mirroring the PC's screen on the Nokia's display -- this sounds like it'll be one sweet project that could see some serious widespread adoption.[Thanks, Mike]
Make your own touch-screen barcode scanner
For all you obsessive-compulsive types out there who need to keep track of every single box of paper clips and old Popular Mechanics magazines crammed into your overstuffed desk drawers, Max's App Note Blog has posted an easy way to categorize your useless swag with a do-it-yourself touch-screen barcode scanner. Little more than a standard commercial touch-screen attached to a Metrologic Voyager scanner with a RS232 null-modem cable (instructions for building your own are included), this project has all sorts of practical applications, from making sure the nano you just bought isn't some cheap knockoff to giving your kids a head start on the technology they'll need to master in order to become successful grocery store cashiers. And if for some reason you fall upon hard times and are forced to sell off most of your possessions, the touch-screen barcode scanner will make your fire sale look that much more professional to the folks snatching up your treasured gear at insultingly low prices.[Via Make]
Control your iPod with an umbrella
Apple may think that future of iPod control lies in a virtual, on-screen scroll wheel, but we know better. As it turns out, the best way to change tracks, adjust the volume, etc. is by attaching your DAP to an...umbrella? Well, it may not actually be the perfect input method (or even in the top 10), but the homemade iBrella (in white, of course) certainly takes Apple's suggestion to "think different" to a whole new level. The makers of this strange device crammed a two-axis accelerometer, Hall-effect sensors, and a gyroscope into the handle of a standard umbrella, and using a PIC microcontroller programmed with the so-called iPod Mini Protocol, were able to translate the sensors' motions into commands that the 'Pod can understand. So, opening and closing the iBrella will play / pause the current track, while rotating the handle could either tweak the volume or change songs, depending on what mode it's in (mode changes are achieved by stabbing the umbrella skyward). There are obviously a thousand reasons why this device is completely impractical -- especially if you happen to be using it in the rain -- but we prefer to concentrate on the innovative design rather than the lack of real-world applications; after all, it's the seemingly useless projects that often inspire folks to go out and build stuff that really will make a difference.[Via Make]
LogiNoki: the LCD mouse mod
In much the same way that moving to a dual-monitor setup only makes you want to add a third and maybe even a fourth display, mod king Jani 'Japala' Pönkkö decided that if his Logitech G15 gaming keyboard sported an LCD screen, why, his mouse needed one too. Far from practical (after all, your hand is covering the tiny display whenever you're using the mouse), this is one of those projects you undertake purely for the love of the game -- and maybe to impress your handful of friends who actually think pimped-out computer peripherals are the epitome of cool. The build itself doesn't sound as difficult as some of the other mods we've featured here: Pönkkö simply hooked up a salvaged Nokia 6610 LCD to a standard controller, attached the wiring and and a parallel port connector to his Logitech G5's existing USB cable, and stuffed the components right inside the modified mouse. Obviously the screen is too small to to fit web pages or even an IM window, and it's too slow to properly display video, but you could still employ it for photo slideshows or visual alerts of some kind. Before you blow this concept off completely, keep in mind that a certain software giant is also trying to cram auxiliary displays into places they've never been; who knows, maybe Microsoft's got a commercial version of this mouse waiting in the wings.[Via Hack-A-Day]
How-to overclock your Nintendo DS
If you've gotten just a little too good at your Nintendo DS games and are looking for more of a challenge -- and also looking to void your warranty -- now there's a way to hack your console for making everything run almost twice as fast. A Japanese modder has just posted step-by-step directions (in Japanese, unfortunately) for re-wiring a DS Lite to perform at a claimed 1.7x speed, complete with a toggle switch in case you decide that turbo mode isn't appropriate for all occasions. It looks like you have to be pretty handy with a soldering iron to tackle this particular project, so if you've got the skillz and about four hours to waste on tinkering around with your DS's sensitive circuitry, then accelerated performance -- and funny-sounding audio -- will be your reward.[Via Maxconsole]
BuildFactory - automation for developers
I'm no developer, but I can call a good dev tool when I see one. BuildFactory from Bleep Software sounds like 'Automator for developers', with features like automated builds, building refreshed sources from Subversion, using your own external editor for errors and warnings, and building multiple projects with one click. A healthy dose of other features are offered in this handy tool, so why not check them out for yourself or watch some tutorials to see BuildFactory in action. The author has even posted a poll on the main product page to find out what features developers would most like to see added. At least you can't say BuildFactory's dev doesn't care about feedback.A demo of BuildFactory is available, while single licenses sell for $35, with a 5-pack for $150.
Advice for wannabe game developers
The days of the bedroom coder are mostly behind us, though casual games and mini-games still provide the opportunity for a single coder to make it big -- not to mention one-man projects like Rag Doll Kung Fu which don't quite fit into the above categories. If you're interested in running your own game development project, Download Squad has some business advice for you. Covering engines, team-building, documentation, project management, testing, marketing and the all-important "making money", this article is a useful starting point and gives a good idea of what's actually involved in a small-scale game development project. Of course, you'll want to do further research before embarking on such a project yourself.
