Hasta La Gadget!

Oh, look — it’s Pixar’s iconic lamp brought to real-world Frankenlife. Okay, not really, but the automated, voice-enabled mod is as close to the movie studio’s icon as a hacking kit and five euros in a Swedish furniture store can get you. The prototype, lovingly named “The annoying IKEA lamp” or SM-1, is ArduinoArts’ finalist entry for SeeedStudio’s Grove Toy Kit contest. Headed by industrial engineer Javier Lander, the project weds two servos (one in the base and one in the lamp), sensors for motion and sound, a three axis accelerometer, LED light and audio board to an Arduino shield, springing the modjob to programmed states of alarm and irritation. We commend Javier for eschewing the cutesy road well-traveled, and giving the mundane desktop light a grumpy, old man makeover. Click on past the break to see this curmudgeonly office accessory in action.

[Thanks, Javier]

Continue reading Arduino hack imitates Pixar’s living lamp, disses IKEA in the process (video)

Arduino hack imitates Pixar’s living lamp, disses IKEA in the process (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TouchPad mania has been in full effect since the slate went on blue-light special a few weeks ago. Yet, with the future of webOS in flux, crowds have clamored to get Google’s green bots on the woebegone tablet. Last week, Team-Touchdroid gave the TouchPad a slice of Gingerbread, and now it’s delivered full 10-point multitouch as well. Of course, the video below only shows it doing the trick on a testing app, but it’s a good start. Shouldn’t be long now before you TouchPad owners can get touchy-feely with any Android app your hearts desire.

Continue reading HP TouchPad gets multitouch drivers for Android courtesy of Team-Touchdroid

HP TouchPad gets multitouch drivers for Android courtesy of Team-Touchdroid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we’ve all thought about how nice it would be to have our PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles in the same enclosure. But, as many similar thoughts go, we left it at that. Not content with letting a good thought simmer, Reddit user timofend accepted the challenge and built himself a gaming mega-machine — he stuffed the new slim model of Microsoft’s console into a PC tower alongside an older 80GB PS3. Looking to save some funds in the process, the über-gamer skipped out on a liquid cooling system — but he notes that when both machines are running simultaneously, they each hover around 100 degrees Farhenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Hey, we’re not complaining… but really, timofend, can we please see a NES / Dreamcast / O.G. PlayStation combo in your next masterpiece? To take a peek under the hood, hit the gallery below.

Gamer stuffs PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles into one case, clears shelf space for the trifecta originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just like the Sn0wbreeze project, redsn0w recently added support for a tethered jailbreak of iOS 5 beta 6. While support for the iPad 2 still isn’t in the mix, the latest version — 0.9.8b7 — adds additional support for Apple’s latest beta on the original iPad, and the folks at Smash iPhone have provided a tutorial for those who move to the beat of a different drum. While redsn0w supports a tether-free solution for iOS 4.3.3, if you want to partake in Cupertino’s freshest fruits, you’ll be required to connect your phone or tablet to your computer whenever you power up the device. Also, while download links for iOS 4.3.5 and 4.2.10 are in the tutorial, if you’re not a developer, it’ll be on you to scrounge up the latest beta. Best of luck with the foray.

Redsn0w 0.9.8b7 gets tutorial for jailbreaking iOS 5 beta 6, iOS 4.3.5 and 4.2.10 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So much for stereotypes, eh? The future of farming is being painted in a far different light here at NEXT Aarhus, where a team from the University of Southern Denmark brought in the largest Wiimote-controlled robot that we’ve ever seen. The heretofore unnamed beast (going by SUFFER ’11 for the time being) is a farming-centric machine that’s designed to take the load off of the landowners (while providing a bit of enjoyment all the while). Put simply, this modular bot can have various apparatuses swapped into its midsection — one pop-in attachment could pick potatoes, while another could disperse pesticide, for example. There’s even a module that’ll enable it to detect rows and plow down the obvious routes, making it that much easier for farmers of the next millennium to take time off. Of course, the standout feature from our perspective was the inbuilt Bluetooth and WiFi, which allowed the demonstrator to operate the ‘bot with a standard Wii remote. Per usual, the vid’s after the break.

Continue reading SUFFER ’11 farming robot plays a multitude of roles, takes commands via Wiimote (video)

SUFFER ’11 farming robot plays a multitude of roles, takes commands via Wiimote (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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