At Last! Hackers Add CableCard Tuners to DIY PCs

CableCard PCI Card.jpgIt’s easy to get HD content on your home theater PC, but as soon as the content becomes encrypted–which increasingly more and more of it is–you’ll need a CableCard-based PC. And CableCards only come in new PCs. In other words, to get HBO on your PC you’ll need to buy a new PC. Thank god for DanITMan, who’s devised a way to hack the BIOS on your PC to make it CableCard-compliant, letting you add one of the tuners to your current PC. The technique ain’t easy, however, so we point you to EngadgetHD’s Ben Drawbaugh. Drawbaugh, who also wrote pretty much the definitive guide to downloading and importing HD into Windows Media Center, just posted a great story on how to install a CableCARD tuner in your DIY Media Center.

Drawbaugh notes, “This doesn’t really require any hacking, or anything illegal for that matter–we’re not lawyers–but it isn’t cheap. The internal version of the ATI Digital Cable Tuner pictured above can be found new on eBay for about $195, or new from PC vendors like Cannon PC for just under $300.” In my eyes, replacing your PC’s BIOS with something else to add a verboten feature is the definition of hacking, but I’m not one to quibble. If you have an HTPC and you feel up to the challenge, follow his step by step guide and let us know whether you’re successful.

DIY semi-funtional keyboard pants destined for the geek catwalk

Did you ever spot a really boss concept and think, “Hey! I could totally cobble this into reality”? No? Well, Zach did. He saw a concept pair of pants with a functioning keyboard, and proceeded to make his very own. Essentially, he chopped a keyboard in half, then used a laser cutter and some good old fashioned sewing to get the keys into the trousers. Because the board had been cut in half, only the left side of it still functions, but, as you’ll see from the video after the break, that’s good enough for a game of Tetris. Hit the read link for more detailed instructions if you want to make your own.

[Via Hack-a-Day]

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DIY semi-funtional keyboard pants destined for the geek catwalk originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 02:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY coilgun gives clever hobbyists the risk of permanent injury

What’s not to love about coilguns? They bring together electromagnetics and DIY-ing for what may be our favorite juvenile pastime: shooting things. The bad boy pictured above was put together by a Mr. Daniel Eindhoven for €100 (that’s about $133). A semiautomatic single stage gun that boasts a 14 shot capacity, the weapon’s capable of firing a 42 gram projectile at speeds up to 110km/h, with a charge time of 8 seconds when plugged into mains power (or if you’re on the go, the internal batteries will light up in about 90 seconds). It also sports a digital voltage display and a laser pointer. Just as we predicted when we saw the Nerf chain gun, the inter-office arms race is definitely on. Be careful! One more pic after the break.

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DIY coilgun gives clever hobbyists the risk of permanent injury originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY Solar Flyer motorcycle tearing around Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix area resident and motorcycle enthusiast Richard Gryzch got tired of gassing up his bike all the time, and he decided to do something about it. Rather than getting a fancy electric motorcycle, he modded one for himself — making an electric bike that is seemingly covered in solar panels. The motorcycle uses no gas, goes up to about 90 miles per hour and has a range of around 50 miles. There are very few details about the inner workings of the bike, so we’re loathe to say it’s 100 percent solar, but Richard does plan on extending his bike’s range of 300 miles. Hit the read link to watch an extremely tiny video of Richard and his bike.

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DIY Solar Flyer motorcycle tearing around Phoenix, Arizona originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 May 2009 19:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: DIY Wolverine Claws Are Good for Shredding Boxes

Whether you loved or hated the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, you’ll laugh your ass off at this video (above) of a DIY geek beating up boxes with his homemade Wolverine-like claws. Mind you, they’re constructed of steel and metal tubing rather than indestructible adamantium.

The creator of the claws claims he’s perfectly sane, but we don’t believe him for a second.

Metacafe (Thanks, Steven!)


PSP mod adds mouse, a touch of class to Sony’s beloved handheld

Not all input devices are created equal. Some of us long for that old coin-op console joystick every time we bring up GalagaREMIX on the iPhone, while others can’t imagine engaging in a first person shooter without the aid of his or her trusty mouse. To that end, PSP hacker TokyoDrift (not his / her real name) has wired an old PS2 mouse into his portable’s serial port, by way of an ATMEL ATmega8 chip-sporting breadboard. The various PSP buttons can be mapped to the mouse’s buttons or scroll wheel, and scaling and sample rates are adjustable. We know there are plenty of you out there that can’t wait to try this one out for yourself — so hit the read link, peruse the forums, and get inspired.

[Via SlashGear]

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PSP mod adds mouse, a touch of class to Sony’s beloved handheld originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 May 2009 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fake Wooden Mac Netbook Causes Blog Cat-Fight

macbook_small_1jpg1

Snap! MacRumors got burned by this “9.5” Mac Netbook” when it didn’t bother reading the small print, and then came back with a rather bitchy retort.

First, the truth. This is not a Mac Netbook. It’s not even a real computer. It is in fact a handmade, carved wood MacBook, complete with pencil details drawn onto the screen and shell, lovingly crafted by Kyle Buckner. It is quite fantastic, and clearly real-looking enough to fool the Mac Rumors folks, despite the rather tongue in cheek teaser posted by the Cult of Mac. Under the headline “Is THIS the New Apple Netbook???”, Lonnie Lazar wrote the following:

Cult of Mac received this image tonight from a trusted contributor – and we just had to share.

We have more images that will take time to process and details about the provenance of this device we must parse, so bear with us until all can be revealed.

Mac Rumors then picked it up and responded thusly:

The explanation may be as innocent as a Chinese knock-off, but it seemed interesting enough to discuss (and pick apart). Hopefully, we’ll hear more details of the photo soon.

Apple has been rumored to be working on a miniaturized “netbook”. Rumors have pegged it at 10” (diagonally) and with the possibility of a touch screen.

Then, when Cult of Mac posted the full gallery and explanation after having a little fun, Mac Rumors got all bent out of shape:

Update: Turns out it’s a Pencil drawn, wooden model, and Cult of Mac’s sources are perhaps not to be trusted.

Mee-oow! Despite the cat fight, we’re sure everyone has made up now. As for the model itself? Gorgeous. In fact, I’d love a custom OS X pencil-drawn theme to run on my Wind Hackintosh.

Possible Photo of 9.5” Mac Netbook? [Mac Rumors]

Is THIS the New Apple Netbook??? [Cult of Mac]

MacBook Art Project is a Labor of Love [Cult of Mac]


Video: DIY Wolverine could totally take the Star Wars Kid

Maybe it’s just us, timid bloggers sent recoiling at the mere touch of particles from what you call the Sun. But we’re finding it hard to watch the video of this Wolverine fan without feeling a bit awkward, dangerously awkward. No doubt, the craftsmanship of his Wolverine claws is superb; a flex of the bicep releases the claws with the satisfying metallic shink of Adamantium blades locking into battle mode. Nevertheless, we hope this guy won’t be sitting anywhere near us in the theater this weekend. See what we mean after the break.

Update: Er, the video has been pulled. Perhaps the cardboard finally won?

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Video: DIY Wolverine could totally take the Star Wars Kid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 May 2009 04:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY ShiftBrite coffeetable a beautiful, headache-inducing conversation piece

Searching for the perfect coffeetable is a struggle we know well. DIYer macetech has sidestepped the whole “boring” furniture problem by installing 81 ShiftBrite LED modules into a 2×2 foot IKEA table which run a sine plasma into HSV/RGB conversion by way of an Arduino. Sure, it’s probably not something your grandmother would want in her living room — but your friends would undoubtedly be pretty jealous to see this thing hanging out in your place. Watch out for seizures, though. Video of the table in action after the break.

[Via Make]

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DIY ShiftBrite coffeetable a beautiful, headache-inducing conversation piece originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: YBox2 DIY widget box grows a VGA port

It’s been far, far too long since we’ve heard anything on the YBox front, so it’s with great pleasure we pass along the first major YBox2 mod that we’ve come across. The modders over at adafruit industries have discovered that adding a VGA output to the DIY set-top-box (not to mention adding stereo audio support) is relatively simple, and there’s even a video to prove it. If you’ve been itching to get your hands dirty with an Altoids box, you owe it to yourself to hop on past the break and mash play.

[Via MAKE]

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Video: YBox2 DIY widget box grows a VGA port originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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