Hasta La Gadget!

There are many programs that track the speed and health of your Internet connection; many routers even have this functionality integrated in their admin page. But Zak Kemble wanted a way to check those stats at a glance without logging on anywhere or opening an application, so he made a small network monitor.

Zak used an ATmega328P microprocessor, a 1.8″ LCD, a Bluetooth module and a paper display holder to make the device. It gets its information from a Netgear DG834Gv3 router running OpenWRT. The router runs a shell script that obtains the data – which include upload and download speeds, ping, packet loss and even a clock and an email notifier – and sends it to a serial port. Finally a Bluetooth module attached to the serial port sends the date to the monitor. The monitor also has two display modes – the one pictured above and a simpler graphical display.

Another day, another tinkerer with an awesomely complex solution to a simple problem. Head to Zak’s website for his build guide.

[via Lifehacker]

So now that you’ve finally memorized all of the patterns to beat Pac-Man, what are you going to do with all of that spare time on your hands? Well, you could move on to Ms. Pac-Man, I suppose, or you could try this game, which starts out looking like Pac-Man, but then quickly degrades into insanity.

Created by the appropriately-named Stabyourself.net, Not Pac-Man is just that. NOT Pac-Man. On the surface it looks like the classic arcade game, but as soon as you start playing it you realize something is amiss. Instead of you moving Pac-Man, you move the maze with your mouse or keyboard, causing the ghosts and Pac-Man to go tumbling through the spinning maze. The objectives are the same as the original, but the gameplay is completely different. It’s sort of like one of those labyrinth games, but with Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde instead of ball bearings. Confused? Here, this should set you straight:

It’s definitely wacky, but infinitely more playable than Zero-G Pac-Man at least. So if you’re ready to try out Not Pac-Man for yourself, head on over to Stabyourself.net and download it now – where it’s available for not just Windows, but for Mac and Linux too. Wocka! Wocka! Wocka!

If you work in an office that uses the popular CiscoUnified IP Phone 7900 Series, prepare to feel violated. A couple of security researchers have published details on a security vulnerability that allows a nefarious hacker to turn the phones into eavesdropping devices. The hack allows people to listen in on private phone calls as well as to nearby conversations.

The hack is executed with a small piece of hardware plugged into the local serial port of the Cisco phone. Once the device is connected to the phone, the hacker is able to execute code allowing them to remotely monitor phone calls and turn on the phone’s speaker allowing them listen in on conversations. Cisco has confirmed this vulnerability and has promised a fix.

Cisco has already offered a temporary software patch that blocks the hack from being executed over a network. Cisco also promises a patch to plug the hole when the hacking device is connected directly to the phone. Ultimately, Cisco promises to completely rewrite the base firmware eliminating the possibility of his hack being used. But in the mean time, if your company uses these phones, you might want to watch what you say in front of your phone – or just unplug it from the phone jack.

[via Ars Technica]

Best. External. Hard drive. Enclosure. Ever. Shadow of the Colossus is a little long in the tooth, sure. But anyone who has played it has a lot of love for the title. Packing in amazing gameplay and a great story, fans are passionate about it. And Redditor foxfoxwaltz loved it enough to create this amazing external hard drive.

Yes. Even though this looks like an amazing limited edition sculpture, it is actually an external hard drive based on one of the colossi. You know your data is safe with a beast like this protecting it. Surprisingly, this massive creature only stores 500GB. Shouldn’t a colossus store 4TB or so?

You can hit the link above to see more pictures of the build. A ton of work went into it and it is absolutely beautiful.

[Reddit via Gamefreaks via Nerd Approved]

I’ve seen images of a hotel made up of shipping containers, and modern architects using them, but this is the first time I’ve seen one used as a sauna. There are plenty of these old containers around and I bet that you can have them for cheap, if you want to use one of these as a basis for some construction.

The Canadian design studio Castor Canadensis have developed the Sauna Box, which re-envisions a common shipping container. Their sauna design is quite luxurious, and it was created as a traditional wood-burning steam. It’s water-tight, and can moved to any location as it needs little site preparation. It’s powered by wood fire and some solar panels.

Each $41,000 unit is custom-built with an outer skin fabricated from COR-TEN steel. The Sauna Box comes with an iPod dock and speakers, a guitar hook up, stools, magnetic truck lights, and for some reason, a set of bronze antlers. I wonder how much cheaper it would be without the antlers.

[via designboom]