Quickdev16 SNES developers cart: now you too can make games no one will ever play

If homebrew SNES development was an obscure affair in the days that the platform reigned supreme, undertaking such a project almost two decades later can be nothing left than a labor of true geek love. But if you’ve always dreamed of writing the next great first-person shooter for a retired game platform you’re in luck: the Quickdev 16 is a cartridge that includes everything necessary for bringing your creations to the Super Nintendo, including the Atmel AVR ATmega644 with boot loader, USB connection for placing your code on the cart, 16 megabits of SRAM, and an RS232 converter for a debugging terminal. Works with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems as long as you know your way around a command line (and if you’ve read this far, you just might). Available now for $120 including shipping.

[Via Hack-A-Day]

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Quickdev16 SNES developers cart: now you too can make games no one will ever play originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Psystar releases Rebel EFI installer, further enrages Apple

When not flying the Hackintosh banner, filing lawsuits, or generally positioning themselves as the gadfly on the ass of Apple, the kids at Psystar have been hard at work developing the software meant to free us all from the iron grip of Cupertino-approved hardware. And now, a mere two weeks since the company announced that it will be licensing its Darwin Universal Boot Loader to third parties, we submit for your approval a little something called Rebel EFI. Available to you — the consumer — right this very moment, the app will function as a universal installer for any modern OS — provided your machine sports an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i7 or Xeon Nehalem processor. And of course, “any modern OS” includes Snow Leopard. What are you waiting for? Download the trial version for free (limited functionality, runtime of two hours) or download the full deal for the introductory price of $50 (full retail is $90).

[Via iHackintosh]

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Psystar releases Rebel EFI installer, further enrages Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man Designs and Builds Machine To Fight His Own Cancer

For the last sixteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds I’ve been watching this video in absolute awe. It’s the story of John Kanzius who designed, built, and tested a machine (on himself), all in hopes of curing his leukemia.

Good God, I’m happy that this story is finally coming out, but it’s so heart wrenching to see Kanzius’ struggle, desperation, and utter drive to find a way to zap leukemia despite doctors’ cautions to the very end. [CBS via Make]

Homemade GPS puzzle box puts a modern spin on treasure hunts

We’ll readily admit that most Arduino mods tend to be exercises in creativity (and eccentricity) with little real world utility, which is why this one piqued our interest. A wedding present conceived of and built by Mikal Hart, the box you see above is set to only open in one particular geographic location, and the puzzle of it is to find out where that might be. You’re allowed 50 attempts at opening the box by hitting the button next to the LCD screen, which in turn gives you a distance from, but not direction to, your destination. What tickles us about this idea, aside from its ingenuity, is the potential to use it without the helpful hints in securing your own valuables. Check out the read link for a full shopping list of ingredients and the amusing reaction to the quirky gift.

[Via Slippery Brick]

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Homemade GPS puzzle box puts a modern spin on treasure hunts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 1.6 retrofitted onto Samsung Q1 UMPC (video)

Too busy to bother with buying an Android-powered Archos 5? Then you’re probably way too busy to bother with this here hack. But just in case you’ve got a morning you can wipe clean and a few afternoons where you can scoot out early, it’s apparently possible to load up an Android 1.6 port onto one’s Samsung Q1 UMPC. Kevin at jkOnTheRun did just that over a relaxing weekend, and while he’s still struggling to get the touchscreen to act right, most everything else seems to be humming along sans issue. Eager to see if it’s something you’d be into? Hop on past the break and mash play — it’s twelve minutes in heaven, ladies.

Continue reading Android 1.6 retrofitted onto Samsung Q1 UMPC (video)

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Android 1.6 retrofitted onto Samsung Q1 UMPC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SNES / Sega Genesis USB cartridge adapter now available for pre-order

Looks like our old friend, Matthias — the developer of the USB SNES cart reader — is back on the scene, and this time he’s going commercial. His newest project, Snega2USB, adds Sega Genesis, read and write for battery-backed SNES games, open source firmware, and up to four gamepads to the homebrew fave of classic gaming fanatics world o’er. This is a work-in-progress, but all the pieces are in place to have all orders met on the December, 2009 street date. Pre-orders will be taken until October 31 for $90 in the United States or €75 in Europe. Video after the break.

[Via Gadgetoid]

Continue reading SNES / Sega Genesis USB cartridge adapter now available for pre-order

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SNES / Sega Genesis USB cartridge adapter now available for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Homemade pink Xbox 360 controller makes the ladies say ‘heyyy!’

Not that we haven’t seen pink Xbox 360 controllers before (including one from Microsoft itself), but this one just oozes class. Constructed by Flickr user 4apples for the lovely lady (ladies?) in his life, he took all the time one would expect a handsome young bloke to take by dissembling it, painting each piece in varying shades of pink and slapping it all back together. Have a look at the read link for the finished project, and naw, we won’t tell your special someone if you decide to follow suit and call it an original.

[Via technabob]

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Homemade pink Xbox 360 controller makes the ladies say ‘heyyy!’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Robotic ‘mood tail’ is everything you hope it to be, and more


Why hang on to your emotions when you can wag them proudly with a robotic mood tail? Sure, you may never have asked that question yourself, but intrepid DIYer Wei-Chieh Tseng seemingly has, and he’s done something about it. Apparently, the tail makes use of the ever dependable Arduino and an RFID reader to detect different emotion cards that set off varying degrees of tail-wagging, or you can simply control the tail yourself using a Wii nunchuck — because, why not? Did we mention there’s a video? Check it out after the break.

Continue reading Robotic ‘mood tail’ is everything you hope it to be, and more

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Robotic ‘mood tail’ is everything you hope it to be, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How-to guide details PS/2 keyboard-to-iPhone mod, just for you

Oh sure, we’ve seen hacker after hacker brag about their success in connecting some sort of keyboard to Apple’s iPhone, but have any of them bothered to take the time to explain the process behind the magic? Exactly. The man behind AwghBlog, however, is a kinder, gentler soul, and he’s found the time to detail in quite specific terms how he connected a legacy PS/2 keyboard (you know, the one you’re not using any longer) to Apple’s cash-cow of a smartphone. Best of all, the guide actually explains how to build a PS/2 keyboard-to-iPhone converter, so you’re not necessarily tied to a certain board. Hit the read link if you’re down for a weekend project.

[Via MAKE]

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How-to guide details PS/2 keyboard-to-iPhone mod, just for you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Mini 9 modded into an internet tablet

MyDellMini forum member Rob928, take a bow. This honorable gentleman has only gone and transformed an aging 9-inch netbook into a new-fashioned internet tablet. it might still be a chubby little thing, but there’s no denying the usefulness of using the entire screen to navigate instead of the usually cramped netbook touchpad. With a 16GB SSD upgrade alongside the venerable Atom N270 and 1GB of RAM, this device will even boot faster into Windows than your run-of-the-mill netbook. The read link will reveal all, including more shots of the hardware laid bare.

[Via SlashGear]

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Dell Mini 9 modded into an internet tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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