N64 Book Casemod: The Nintendomicon

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Unless the book’s cover has the logo of the Nintendo 64 on it, along with a power switch and a cartridge slot. Also when the book wasn’t actually a book to begin with. I therefore judge the Nintendomicon to be guilty of third degree awesomeness.

nintendomicon by johnsouthwood

The Nintendomicon was made by Redditor JHood_. He carved holes out of a wood and leather box that looks like a book. He intends to give it to his brother as a classy yet geeky send off gift. The Nintendomicon is JHood_’s first mod, so understandably it’s far from perfect. For one, it has no air vent, although it does have a fan. He also bungled its name, calling it “Nintendomnicrom” when he actually meant to spell “Nintendonomicon.” In the end he accepted the renaming suggestion of a fellow Redditor.

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The missing reset button though? That was intentional. JHood_ said he hates the button.

[via Imgur & Reddit via Obvious Winner]

This Kindergarten is a Giant Cat

Kindergarten is all about having fun while learning things like your ABCs and numbers. And what could be more fun than going to school inside of a giant cat?
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Die Katze in Wolfartsweier near Karlsruhe, Germany is just such a children’s school. The building is designed to look like a giant, white cat. It was designed by artist Tomi Ungerer and architect Ayla-Suzan Yöndel. The building looks like it is ready to pounce at any moment.
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The circular windows at the front are the eyes and the tail in the back is actually a slide, for recess time. What kid wouldn’t love to go to school here? Inside this school has all of the usual amenities like classrooms, coatrooms, a kitchen, dining room, and a main hall.

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This is definitely one way to make kids want to go to school.

[via Like Cool]

Portraits “Drawn” with LEGO: Brick Sketches

We’ve seen a LEGO creation that can draw, but I was pleasantly surprised to realize that you can also use LEGO to draw. That’s what Chris McVeigh is doing with his Brick Sketches series. He makes 12″ x 16″ portraits of geeky characters not with ink or paint but with LEGO.

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Speaking with My Modern Met, Chris said he was inspired by his artist friends, who were creating miniature sketches. You might think that using LEGO would be easier than using ink, but it has its own challenges as well. Chris said that “it can be a real challenge to find just the right combination of plates to represent a specific character. Adding to the complexity is that not all parts are available in all colors, and worse yet, I may not have all the parts on hand. “ He’s done a great job so far though!

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Head to Chris’ Flickr page to see high res images of his Brick Sketches. You can also keep an eye out for them on Chris’ blog or on his Facebook page.

[via My Modern Met]

TREWGrip Keyboard & Mouse Has Its Keys at the Back: Tush Typing

The computer keyboard has been a staple tool for both work and play for decades now, but it’s still one of the most uncomfortable devices to use. Its descendant, the touchscreen keyboard, is even worse. An unusual invention called TREWGrip wants to solve both the problem of ergonomics in desktop computing and the efficiency of typing in mobile devices. How? By putting the keys at the back.

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The TREWGrip is a Bluetooth keyboard and air mouse. Inventor Mark Parker split the traditional keyboard arrangement into two halves and then arranged it horizontally at the rear of the device. Ideally this setup – along with its wireless capability – provides a more comfortable typing position because your arms remain close to your body. Because it’s also a mouse, you can lean back and maintain proper posture.

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The familiar layout of the keys and the visual cues in front should help with the learning curve of using the TREWGrip. The suction pad in the middle holds mobile devices up to 5.3″ wide.

So how fast can you type on the TREWGrip? Parker and his company held a typing competition where seasoned touch typists were required to use the TREWGrip. The winner, Robert Price, typed 115 words per minute to win the contest. I dare you to type that fast on your touchscreen.

Pledge at least $249 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a TREWGrip as a reward. They’ll need to rally a lot of backers within a few days though; as of this writing they’ve only raised $15,794 of their $100,000 target. I don’t know how hard it is to learn how to type on the TREWGrip, but other than that I would love to use such a device on my desk. But on the go? I think it needs to be more portable – thinner and perhaps foldable – especially since it was meant to be used with smartphones and small tablets.

Black Milk Mass Effect Clothing: The Sexiest Clothes in the Citadel

Black Milk Clothing’s combination of body hugging fit and geeky coating has been a winning formula so far. A lot of people love (being seen) wearing them. Even more people love looking at their product shots. The shop’s officially licensed Mass Effect line is no different.

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The leggings, dresses and swimsuits are available in a variety of designs, including the N7 insignia, a drawing of Tali and pages taken from what I assume to be the official Mass Effect comics.

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Stop calibrating and head to Black Milk’s online shop to order. They cost between about $76 to $89 (USD) each.

[via InventorSpot]

Sony NEX-5T Proves NFC is a Neat Feature in Cameras

More and more cameras are being released with Wi-Fi built-in so users can share photos and videos online straight from their camera. Sony tries to stay ahead of the curve with the NEX-5T,the first interchangeable lens camera to have NFC connectivity. File transfer doesn’t get more idiotproof than this.

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As of now, the NEX-5T’s NFC connectivity will only work with Android 4.0+ devices that also have NFC. If you do have such a device, just tap it to the camera to get your photos and videos. You can also use your NFC-enabled mobile device as a remote viewfinder and shutter control for the camera.

But don’t worry if your phone or tablet doesn’t have NFC. You can also share media from the NEX-5T through Wi-Fi, you just have to use Sony’s PlayMemories app. Another convenient technology in the NEX-5T is its 3″ touchscreen. The screen can tilt up to 180º upwards – and its image flips over at that point, making it easier to take selfies. Your bathroom mirror will miss you.

The NEX-5T has a 16.1mp APS-C CMOS sensor, the Bionz image processor, light sensitivity of up to ISO25600 and is compatible with Sony E-mount lenses. It will also be compatible with Minolta A-mount lenses through an adapter.

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Tap your browser to Amazon or Sony’s online store to pre-order the Alpha NEX-5T. It costs $550 (USD) without a lens and $700 with an E-mount 16-50mm lens included.

Pixy Open Source Camera Recognizes Objects by Color: Smart Sight

Computers and sensors are quickly decreasing in cost and size, making it easier than ever before to build smart gadgets or robots. From accelerometers to thermal sensors, electronics nowadays can detect and record a variety of events and objects in their surroundings. Here’s one more sensor to add to your robot overlord-in-training. It’s called Pixy, a camera that identifies objects through color.

pixy camera vision sensor by charmed labs and cmu

Pixy was made by Charmed Labs and embedded systems experts from Carnegie Mellon University. It’s actually the team’s fifth version of a smart and low-cost vision sensor, which they previously called the CMUcam. What separates the Pixy from other image sensors is that it only sends a small amount of data and it has its own microprocessor. These traits make it possible to integrate the Pixy even to microcontrollers like the Arduino.

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Pixy identifies objects using “a hue-based color filtering algorithm”, which supposedly makes it consistent under different lighting conditions. It can also identify hundreds of objects at once. The image below is a screenshot of PixyMon, an open source debugging program for Pixy.

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As you’ll see in the video below, Pixy can also track moving objects. That’s because it updates once every 20ms, fast enough to keep up with an object moving at 30mph. You can then gather Pixy’s data through UART serial, SPI, I2C, digital out, or analog out.

Pixy can be taught to “remember” up to seven different objects, but you can expand its memory by using color codes. Color codes are simply stickers or strips of paper with two or more different colors. Color codes increase Pixy’s color-coded encyclopedia from seven to several thousands.

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Pledge at least $59 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Pixy and an Arduino cable as a reward.

What will you build with Pixy? A security camera that texts you when your cat goes out? A color-seeking water bomb? A clown-loving machine? A drone that follows you around? A box of crayons that can tell you what color you picked? A weapon that works only on people wearing red? A LEGO sorter that can tell you which pieces are missing from your collection? A camera that automatically takes pictures of the sunset? A wearable assistant for colorblind people? A ticker that counts which Premier League referee hands out the most yellow cards? A useless machine that won’t turn itself off if you’re wearing the right color? Are the things I’m saying even possible?

Pavlov Poke Electrocutes or Prank Calls Online Slackers: Farcical Conditioning

Robert Morris and Daniel McDuff are currently studying for their doctorate degrees at MIT. But even geniuses get addicted to Facebook. Robert and Dan confessed that they collectively spend about 50 hours a week on the social networking site. To get rid of their bad habit, they decided to undergo a literal shock treatment.

pavlov poke by robert morris and daniel mcduff

Named after the famous physiologist Ivan Pavlov, the Pavlov Poke is an Arduino-based system that connects to a computer via USB. It works with a program on the computer that monitors application usage; Robert and Dan used the UI Inspector in OS X. If it detects that you’re visiting a specified site or sites – in this case it’s Facebook – too frequently, it will flash an alert on screen and send a current to a couple of conducting strips that are stuck on a keyboard rest.

If being electrocuted won’t be enough to stop you from checking your feed, you can try the outsourced equivalent of Pavlov Poke. It still uses an application monitor, but this time it uses a Python script that asks people on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to call you whenever you’re slacking off.

I think the second one’s more effective. Not only is it more annoying, the cost for the calls alone may be enough to reform you. Head to Robert’s website to learn more about Pavlov Poke, but only if you’re done working.

[via C|NET]

Attack on Titan Tea Strainer & Mug Will Eat Your Tea Bags

Japanese hobby shop ACG will be releasing this hilarious tea strainer and mug combo featuring the Colossal Titan from the popular manga and animé series Shingeki no Kyojin aka Attack on Titan aka the Game of Thrones of cartoons. Because when you’re in Attack on Titan, you die or you die.

attack on titan colossal titan tea strainer and mug by acg

I’m not sure how the tea strainer works. Does the tiny Colossal Titan have a compartment for tea bags or tea leaves? Or are you just going to tie the bag around it? All I know is that we should be grateful that it’s not the Armored Titan in there, because the mug isn’t going to last long against that bad dude.

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You can pre-order the Attack on Titan Colossal Titan Tea Strainer and Mug from AmiAmi for ¥1,780 (~$18 USD). Tiny face towel not included.

[via Crunchyroll]

Emulator Cabinet Works with 75 Controllers, 30+ Consoles and 2 Happy Players

These days you can run dozens of classic games on a PC using emulators. If you’re good with modding hardware, you may be able to connect the right controller for the console you’re emulating. But if you’re Patrice Daubaire, you take it one step further. Patrice hacked 75 controllers to make them compatible with over 110 gaming systems.

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Patrice calls his ingenious mod the Multi Video Game System 2 or MVGS 2. He managed to universalize 75 controllers – from an Atari 2600 joystick to aPlayStation controller – so that they’ll work with different gaming systems via a custom VGA adapter. Patrice claims his system has zero input lag and that the controllers weigh more or less the same as unmodified ones. Patrice was also able to add additional functions like a quick save button on some of the controllers.

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To present his invention, Patrice built the MVGS 2 Dream Station, a PC with over 30 gaming system emulators. It has a nice cabinet with a built-in monitor and lets up to two players geek out. He also setup a rotating display stand for the controllers.

Pick your jaw up from the floor and head to the MVGS 2 website for more information.

[via Hack A Day]