Hasta La Gadget!

Is your Palm Pre feeling a bit down? In the dumps? Not as snappy as it used to? Maybe what you need is a megahertz boost! This custom kernel, demonstrated in a video below, comes courtesy of two hackers called unixpsycho and caj2008. One quick install will make your dull and lifeless 1.3.5.1 Pre come alive. Warning: use of this software may “frakk” your Pre if deployed on a 1.4 device. Side effects include reduced battery life and increased pocket warmth. If your Pre develops excessive heat see a doctor immediately — or just turn it off for awhile.

Update: caj2008 dropped us a note to point out that battery life is “not significantly affected” by this patch, but we’re still waiting on the FDA ruling on that one.

[Thanks, Darren]

Continue reading Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered

Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While it’s hard to say if Apple’s Magic Mouse really needs “fixing” — it depends somewhat on your grip — it’s not a huge stretch to say that the slender multitouch device doesn’t quite fit in the palm of one’s hand. Sensing a market opportunity, Will of MMFixed.com recently decided to come to our collective rescue. For $10, he offers a simple silicone block that matches the mouse’s contoured surface nicely, with an integrated suction cup that keeps it securely fastened. While it’s not quite a one-size-fits-all solution, it’s certainly a lot cheaper than buying one of the new whacky, adjustable mice we’ve seen recently; and if the idea of ergonomics via marshmallow doesn’t appeal to you, you can always try the white bread variety. Video after the break.

Continue reading Make your Magic Mouse oh-so-ergonomic with this pasty silicone grip

Make your Magic Mouse oh-so-ergonomic with this pasty silicone grip originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In 2007, steampunk musician Yoshi Akai wrote his master’s thesis on how to turn color into sound, and he’s been dreaming up unorthodox ways of producing music ever since. Case in point: the Lego Sequencer MR II, a contraption that uses three-dimensional Lego structures to emulate a three-channel, eight-step sequencer, where each differently colored plastic brick produces a different sound and complex combinations (including tremolo and overdrive) are possible when the blocks are stacked. Akai tells us it works using resistors embedded in each and every block, with parallel networks of resistors formed as the bricks pile up, equalling lower resistance and thus a higher frequency sound generated by the contraption. While the result certainly won’t back a techno track — Akai says he’s “building sound more than playing sound” — it looks like a good step up from the lethargic phaser noise produced by his Wireless Catcher, a lot of fun to play with, and much less expensive than hiring a team of hot models. Video after the break.

Continue reading Steampunk sequencer generates audio from Lego blocks

Steampunk sequencer generates audio from Lego blocks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Since 1977, RSA public-key encryption has protected privacy and verified authenticity when using computers, gadgets and web browsers around the globe, with only the most brutish of brute force efforts (and 1,500 years of processing time) felling its 768-bit variety earlier this year. Now, three eggheads (or Wolverines, as it were) at the University of Michigan claim they can break it simply by tweaking a device’s power supply. By fluctuating the voltage to the CPU such that it generated a single hardware error per clock cycle, they found that they could cause the server to flip single bits of the private key at a time, allowing them to slowly piece together the password. With a small cluster of 81 Pentium 4 chips and 104 hours of processing time, they were able to successfully hack 1024-bit encryption in OpenSSL on a SPARC-based system, without damaging the computer, leaving a single trace or ending human life as we know it. That’s why they’re presenting a paper at the Design, Automation and Test conference this week in Europe, and that’s why — until RSA hopefully fixes the flaw — you should keep a close eye on your server room’s power supply.

1024-bit RSA encryption cracked by carefully starving CPU of electricity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, the PSP is still a mighty attractive piece of hardware. “Handsome,” you might say, but that heart-pounding allure is all but gone these days. While we wait a few more years for Sony to rectify that with a PSP 2, we can drool over another mod by “f00 f00.” This time he’s managed to squeeze a working VU Meter onto the back of the ever-moddable machine. Sure, it’s not a revolution in the world of PSP hacking, but it’s impressive and somehow comforting in its own we-guess-the-PSP-is-still-pretty-cool sort of way. Video is after the break.

Continue reading VU Meter finagled into a PSP, reminds us of a time when the PSP was sexy

VU Meter finagled into a PSP, reminds us of a time when the PSP was sexy originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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