Hasta La Gadget!

Walt Mosspuppet is more than just a foul-mouthed, frequently inebriated puppet and technology’s greatest professional journalist. He’s also, apparently, quite the do it yourselfer–and a big fan of Power Bars. Rarely, I imagine, do these passions cross. Even more rarely do they involve his beloved Apple iPad.

Mosspuppet’s shockingly human-like hands (he’s clearly got a little Swedish chef in his blood) show you how to create a low-cost stylus for your iPad using only a Power Bar wrapper, some basic office supplies, and few semi-safe-for-work fleeting expletives.

Fake Steve Jobs isn’t going to like this.

Palm OS on the iPhone? Check. Android on the iPhone? Quasi-check. Newton OS on the iPhone? As of today, that’s a trio of affirmations. Developer Matthias Melcher has wisely used a good bit of his free time to port one of the world’s forgotten-but-not-forgotten operating systems onto Apple’s iOS platform, and while things are understandably sluggish right now, he’s currently working on performance optimizations that’ll hopefully have it running like a clock before long. He’s also made the source code available to anyone willing to tinker with the emulator, and somehow or another, he’s even managed to bring over the much-hyped handwriting recognition aspect. Don’t believe us? Hop on past the break and hit play.

Continue reading Einstein brings Newton OS to the iPhone, handwriting recognition and all

Einstein brings Newton OS to the iPhone, handwriting recognition and all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 01:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Admit it: When you saw the puny touchscreen iPod Nano you thought, “That could make a cool watch.” Accessory makers thought so, too, and a handful of them are already selling fancy straps to turn your iPod Nano into a watch. The truth is you don’t really need to waste money on any of them, because you can do it yourself in two steps.

Really all you need is any fabric strap. The iPod Nano has a built-in clip on the back so you can just clip it on to the center of any thin strap. It’s a sturdy clip, too, so unless you go skydiving or regularly get in bar fights, it shouldn’t wiggle around much.

Check out our photos below to see how I converted my military watch (with a NATO watch band, which you can get for about $10) into an “iWatch” in two easy steps.

Now the question is, when will we get FaceTime on a Nano? Then we’d really have that dream Dick Tracy or Jetsons watch.

See Also:

• $100 DIY Shelter Could Help Homeless Haitians
• The $20 DIY Book Scanner
• Why Wristwatches Are Still Worth Watching
• Rock Out With Your Clock Out: We Test Atomic Watches
• Tiny Clip-On Timepieces Turn Anything Into a Watch

Photos: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com

For less than a third of the price of the cheapest iPad, you can buy Barnes and Noble’s adorably-named, but often ignored e-reader: The Nook. One aspect of The Nook that is often overlooked is the fact that the little sucker is Android-powered. That’s open-source Android-powered. Which, if you think about it, kind of makes The Nook the very first Android-based tablets (or tablet-like gizmos) that the nerdosphere has been buzz–buzzing about.

Of course, The Nook’s scope is a far cry from heavy-duty tablet territory–it’s designed for basic e-reading first and foremost. However, with a few slight “adjustments” you can pimp your Nook with additional functionality such as a Pandora and Twitter app. For free.

Hackers had previously developed a method to RoboCop-up the humble e-reader that required performing some open-Nook surgery. However this newest non-invasive technique can all be accomplished with a spare microSD card and some simple software fanoogling. All under a half hour.

Note: this will definitely void your B&N warranty. However if you’re looking for a simple e-reader that will perform basic web functions without being forced to sacrifice food, rent, inoculations, etc. this may be a handy alternative.

Directions over at NookDevs.

hat tip to popsci

There might be a tiny bit of upheaval up at the peaks of Nokia management today, but that doesn’t mean we all need to stand around looking serious and forecasting who’ll leverage what synergies in order to actuate the requisite paradigmatic shift in the company’s device portfolio. No, we’re much more inclined to go check out a new ad video that show off the mods and hacks Nokia users have put together with their handsets. It’s quite the breathless run-through, this ad, but if you’re careful you’ll spot a few of your old favorites used in quirky new ways. March past the break for a gander.

Continue reading Nokia celebrates its users’ inventiveness in latest N8 ad (video)

Nokia celebrates its users’ inventiveness in latest N8 ad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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