Ubuntu joins Android on Nexus One, apocalyptic repercussions nowhere to be found

Ever wondered what would happen if you threw another mobile OS onto your Nexus One? Without removing Android? Contrary to popular belief, the world will in fact not end, and in many cases, lives could very well be improved. One particular modder over at Nexus One Hacks has managed to put together a video how-to demonstrating the installation of Ubuntu as a secondary OS on his rooted N1, and while you’ll obviously find yourself dealing with a few incompatibilities should you follow suit, it’s not like you really have anything better to do tonight than tinker. Right? Right. Jump on past the break and mash play to get going.

Continue reading Ubuntu joins Android on Nexus One, apocalyptic repercussions nowhere to be found

Ubuntu joins Android on Nexus One, apocalyptic repercussions nowhere to be found originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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125cc motorcycle + DIY fiberglass fairing = 214mpg, super cool looks

125cc Honda motorcycle + DIY fiberglass fairing = 214mpg, supercool looks

While the quest for alternate fuels goes on, so too other peoples’ search for the ultimate in economy while running on good ‘ol petrol. Allert Jacobs DIY creation reaches near the pinnacle of two-wheeled efficiency, almost doubling the stock Honda Innova 125i’s 114mpg rating. He hand-crafted the fiberglass shell above, which slides forward to allow easy egress and looks rather close to the dustbin fairings post-WWII race bikes used to achieve incredible speeds — before they were banned in 1958 due to crosswind instability. No word on what Jacobs’ creation is like to ride in a stiff gale, but we must say his bike looks rather more badass than the stock model.

[Photo credit: Hans Pieterse]

125cc motorcycle + DIY fiberglass fairing = 214mpg, super cool looks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How-to: Install Flash on your jailbroken iPad (for real)

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We just saw Flash 10.1 ported to the iPad demonstrated in video form by Comex, and now you can get in on the action too, as long as your iPad is jailbroken. It’s called Frash, and while the plugin is still pretty early and doesn’t do video playback yet, you can definitely play games and other animations right now, and we’re told video support is forthcoming. Okay, so let’s try this out, shall we? It’s not point-and-click simple, but it’s not that hard, either. Full instructions after the break.

Continue reading How-to: Install Flash on your jailbroken iPad (for real)

How-to: Install Flash on your jailbroken iPad (for real) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY Lego foosball table advances to Nerd Cup semi-finals (video)

Expert Lego builder Sariel managed to impress us a few months ago with his fully-articulated robotic arm, and he’s now back with a particularly well-timed project: a foosball table built entirely out of Lego. While it’s not fully automated (and therefore ineligible for the Robo Cup), it does use some WeDo motion sensors to automatically keep track of the score and announce goals on a laptop connected to the table (not to mention on some sliding Lego bricks above each goal), and it even packs a built-in ball return mechanism to help speed up play. Head on past the break to check it out in action.

Continue reading DIY Lego foosball table advances to Nerd Cup semi-finals (video)

DIY Lego foosball table advances to Nerd Cup semi-finals (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Jul 2010 06:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pixel Qi dual-mode displays sell out, in a good way

Unless you’re in the music biz, selling out is generally considered a good thing just as long as you can restock, pronto like, to meet consumer demand. So we’re sure Mary Lou Jepsen is roiling in her jollies knowing that the first batch of $275 dual-mode Pixel Qi displays have sold out after less than 24 hours of retail availability. You can pre-order now for a second shipment of the 10.1-inch reflective LCDs expected to arrive on MakerShed by the middle of next week. Until then, we patiently wait for the first-hand DIY experiences to begin trickling in.

Pixel Qi dual-mode displays sell out, in a good way originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seeeduino Film is just the thing for all your flexible Arduino needs

The Arduino microcontroller: fuel for so many delightfully geeky projects. Your wacky instruments and DIY ‘less lethal’ weapons will be getting a lot ‘looser’ soon, thanks to Seeed Studio and it’s Arduino compatible flexible printed circuit (FPC) board. Unlike most circuit boards, the insulating material in an FPC is — wait for it — flexible (hence the name). Featuring a fully functional Atmega 168 / 328 breakout, USB-Serial interface, a built-in charger circuit, and more, the Seeeduino Film only exists in prototype form at the moment. That said, the company said that it is making several units available “for community inspiration.” Hop on over to the source link to get in on the ground floor.

Continue reading Seeeduino Film is just the thing for all your flexible Arduino needs

Seeeduino Film is just the thing for all your flexible Arduino needs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

iPhone 4 gets a $1 alternative to pricey Bumpers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pixel Qi Hybrid E-Ink LCD Screens for Your Own Netbook

Got a netbook? Specifically, got a Samsung N130 or a Lenovo S10-2? Even more specifically, do you use it in and outdoors, but find it hard to read in the sun? We have good news! The Maker Shed will sell you one of Pixel Qi’s dual-mode displays as a straight swap-in for your existing LCD-panel.

The 10.1-inch screen runs in one of two modes. When indoors, or watching video, you use the regular LCD display, which will look pretty much the same as the one you already have. When you’re in to mood for some reading, or you are outside in bright sunlight, or you’re just running low on battery power, you can switch to the e-ink mode.

This disables the backlight and shows you hi-res, grayscale pixels, much like you’d see on the screen of the Amazon Kindle. Because it only uses power when updating the screen, it sips power.

There is also a hybrid mode, which lets the sun reflect off the back of the display assembly and back out through the color LCD. This both saves battery power and lets you view a normal color display outdoors.

The panel will cost you $275, which puts it out of the “merely curious” bracket but is still cheap enough for people who do a lot of outdoor computing. The Maker Shed store page also says that the panel will likely work in any netbook: the Lenovo and the Samsung are just the only ones so far tested and guaranteed.

And according to the Pixel Qi blog, which first described the plan to sell these panels separately from the company’s own notebooks, the swap-operation (swaperation?) is easy:

It’s only slightly more difficult than changing a lightbulb: it’s basically 6 screws, pulling off a bezel, unconnecting [sic] the old screen and plugging this one in. That’s it. It’s a 5 minute operation.

Available now.

Pixel Qi display [Maker Shed]

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Fix iPhone 4 Reception Troubles for $1

With its weird reception troubles that seem to be triggered just by touching it, the iPhone 4 is like Cameron’s dad’s Ferrari in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “It could get wrecked, stolen, scratched, breathed on wrong… a pigeon could shit on it! Who knows?”

The best solution so far seems to be Apple’s Bumper case, a $30 strip of rubber that wraps around the steel antenna band and stops your clammy hands from sucking out the signal. But it’s $30. Because of this, Oliver Nelson decided to make his own Bumper from one of those cheap rubber bracelets found pretty much everywhere, or by donating to a charity.

The case is as simple as it could be. Just find yourself a bracelet (look for one measuring “about 1.125-inches long and about 0.125-inches wide”) and stretch it around the outside of the phone. Oliver also made a few cut-outs so he could reach the headphone jack, the dock connector and the mute-button. Done, and you just saved yourself around $29.

In fact, Oliver saved himself the full $30: his bracelet came free, bundled, somewhat ironically, with an iPad charger. Still, even if you pay full-price, its likely that the money will be going to a good cause, and not into Apple’s pockets.

DIY: Ghetto iPhone 4 case from a 99c bracelet? [The iPhone Guru]

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White iPhone 4: early DIY edition, with a touch of black

Sorry, we couldn’t wait — having spent 11 hours on the streets waiting for the iPhone 4, it’s only natural to give our precious new toy some extra special care. With the help of iFixit’s teardown guide, we decided to take the plunge with our steaming hot Chinese delivery — a white front cover (with a shiny proximity sensor area above the earpiece), a white back cover (with “XXXXX” marked as the model number, ergo a prototype), and a Retina Display unit. Alas, there weren’t any white buttons in stock at the time, but let’s pretend this black-and-white combo is the new cool. Read on to find out how the surgery went.

P.S. — We’ve had many readers asking where we got the parts, but the link’s already in the post. Knowing some Chinese helps, too.

Continue reading White iPhone 4: early DIY edition, with a touch of black

White iPhone 4: early DIY edition, with a touch of black originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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