May 18

iPad used to replace Apple IIe data cassette, feels seriously underutilized (video)

Posted in: Apple, ipad, mod, Retro, Today's Chili, video
You know how we much love our old Apple IIe around here, and whether it’s being used to create chiptunes or as an 8-bit Twitter station, we’re always tickled when the venerable home computer makes an appearance. When an artist named Stewart Smith asked a Mac software developer called Panic to run some software on their in-house Apple IIe, he provided them with the source code as an audio file — but he failed to supply them with a cassette player to load it from. The solution? Panic played the program off its iPad. As you can see from the video below, this isn’t just any old program either — it’s a homebrew video for Jed’s Other Poem (Beautiful Ground) by Grandaddy. Thanks for amusing us, guys. And thanks for reminding us how much we enjoy The Sophtware Slump.

Continue reading iPad used to replace Apple IIe data cassette, feels seriously underutilized (video)

iPad used to replace Apple IIe data cassette, feels seriously underutilized (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 09:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired  |  sourcePanic  | Email this | Comments

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May 17

Canon DSLR shutter remote hacked into Atari joystick

Posted in: diy, dslr, hack, mod, mods, Retro, Today's Chili, video

Just point and shoot.

Video after the break.

Continue reading Canon DSLR shutter remote hacked into Atari joystick

Canon DSLR shutter remote hacked into Atari joystick originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 03:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  sourceThiago Avancini  | Email this | Comments

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May 16

IntensaFIRE click-on mod bringing programmable / rapid fire modes to PS3 controller

Posted in: controller, diy, e3, gaming, mod, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili

Xbox 360 gamers may have had a solid year head start, but PlayStation 3 loyalists will soon be able to join the programmable / rapid fire party, too. BGRMods has announced that its much-hyped IntensaFIRE controller mod is finally coming to Sony’s latest console, bringing with it fewer installation steps and an equal amount of tinkering possibilities. This new board requires no glue and no solder; users simply “click” it into place and enjoy the spoils of having rapid-fire potential at their fingertips. Purportedly, the mod is useful in “all PlayStation games,” and it’ll begin shipping out on May 21st for those who just can’t game without a macro. We’re told that the $69.95 device will also be making its public debut at E3, so you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be hitting the show floor in hopes of snagging a bit of hands-on time come June.

[Thanks, Kristofer B]

IntensaFIRE click-on mod bringing programmable / rapid fire modes to PS3 controller originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 22:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Bona Fide Reviews  |  sourceBGRMods  | Email this | Comments

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May 16

Students program Human Tetris into 8-bit microcontroller, give away schematics for free (video)

Posted in: diy, hack, Hacks, mod, mods, open source, opensource, Today's Chili, video

Sure, Project Natal is the hotness and a little bird tells us PlayStation Move is pretty bodacious, but you don’t have to buy a fancy game console to sooth your motion-tracking blues. When students at Cornell University wanted to play Human Tetris (and ace a final project to boot), they taught a 20Mhz, 8-bit microcontroller how to follow their moves. Combined with an NTSC camera, the resulting system can display a 39 x 60 pixel space at 24 frames per second, apparently enough to slot your body into some grooves — and as you’ll see in videos after the break, it plays a mean game of Breakout, too. Full codebase and plans to build your own at the source link. Eat your heart out, geeks.

Continue reading Students program Human Tetris into 8-bit microcontroller, give away schematics for free (video)

Students program Human Tetris into 8-bit microcontroller, give away schematics for free (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 15

Auto-dimming electrochromic panels reduce glare when driving (video)

Posted in: automobile, car, Cars, diy, hack, Hacks, hands-on, light, mod, mods, science, Today's Chili, Transportation, video

It’s rush hour, and you’re headed due West on your evening commute — the sun burning holes in your eyes. You could flip down a window visor, trading your field of view for visibility. Or, with a prototype shown off at Intel’s 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair, you could simply let the windshield darken on its own. Two San Diego students (both accustomed to copious amounts of sunshine) rigged a Toyota Prius to do just that by stringing up electrochromic panels, which dim when voltage is applied. The trick is figuring out when and where to apply it, because when the sun is shining the panels themselves all receive the same amount of light. So instead of gauging it at the glass, Aaron Schild and Rafael Cosman found that an ultrasonic range finder could track the driver’s position while a VGA webcam measured the light coming through, and darken the sections liable to cause the most eyestrain. We saw a prototype in person, and it most certainly works… albeit slowly. If you’re rearing to roll your own, it seems raw materials are reasonably affordable — Schild told us electrochromic segments cost $0.25 per square inch — but you may not need to DIY. Having won $4,000 in prize money at the Fair, the teens say they intend to commercialize the technology, and envision it natively embedded in window glass in the not-too-distant future. Here’s hoping GM gives them a call. See pics of the Prius below, or check out a video demo of their prototype right after the break.

Gallery: Electrochromic Windshield Panels at ISEF 2010

Continue reading Auto-dimming electrochromic panels reduce glare when driving (video)

Auto-dimming electrochromic panels reduce glare when driving (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 14

Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video)

Posted in: diy, hack, Hacks, hands-on, mod, mods, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, science, Today's Chili, video

There were certainly a couple whiz kids at Intel’s International Science and Engineering Fair this year, but high school senior John Hinckel’s a regular MacGyver: he built a wheelchair remote control out of a couple sheets of transparent plastic, four sliding furniture rails and some string. A Nintendo Wiimote goes in your hat and tells the whole system what to do — simply tilt your head in any direction, and accelerometer readings are sent over Bluetooth. The receiving laptop activates microcontrollers, directing servo motors to pull the strings, and acrylic gates push the joystick accordingly to steer your vehicle. We tried on the headset for ourselves and came away fairly impressed — it’s no mind control, but for $534 in parts, it just might do. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who thought so, as patents are pending, and a manufacturer of wheelchair control systems has already expressed interest in commercializing the idea. See the young inventor show it off after the break.

Continue reading Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video)

Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 May 2010 08:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 14

iPad Supreme Edition: worth its weight in smug

Posted in: Apple, ipad, mod, Today's Chili

It’s that time again, the time when excess ruins a perfectly functional device. You can thank Stuart and Katherine Hughes for creating this 22ct “solid gold” iPad Supreme Edition slathered in 53 gems. A cookie for the first person to wear this £129,995 (about $190k) monstrosity from an iPad Chain.

iPad Supreme Edition: worth its weight in smug originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 May 2010 07:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechShout  |  sourceStuart Hughes  | Email this | Comments

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May 12

Cellbots get Nexus One upgrade, ad-hoc motion control (video)

Posted in: arduino, diy, hack, Hacks, hands-on, intel, mod, mods, nexus one, NexusOne, Today's Chili, video

Sprint and Verizon may have shunned the Nexus One, but that doesn’t mean the handsets can’t be put to good use: these Android-controlled, Arduino-powered Cellbots now feature the one true Googlephone as the CPU. At Intel’s 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, we got our hot little hands on the DIY truckbots for the first time, and found to our surprise they’d been imbued with accelerometer-based motion control. Grabbing a Nexus One off a nearby table, we simply tilted the handset forward, back, left and right to make the Cellbot wheel about accordingly, bumping playfully into neighbors and streaming live video the whole time. We were told the first handset wirelessly relayed instructions to the second using Google Chat, after which point a Python script determined the bot’s compass facing and activated Arduino-rigged motors via Bluetooth, but the real takeaway here is that robots never fail to amuse. Watch our phone-skewing, bot-driving antics in a video after the break, and see what we mean.

Continue reading Cellbots get Nexus One upgrade, ad-hoc motion control (video)

Cellbots get Nexus One upgrade, ad-hoc motion control (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCellbots  | Email this | Comments

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May 07

Nimbus 64: the latest in a long line of gorgeous portable N64 mods

Posted in: console, diy, gaming, hack, mod, nintendo, portable, Today's Chili, video

For whatever reason, the last great game console to utilize a cartridge over a disc is finding itself in yet another portable form factor, and of course, the Nimbus 64 has been crafted by one of Ben Heck‘s most loyal followers. One cndowning is responsible for this beaut, and it’s actually his second homemade portable; this particular miniaturized Nintendo 64 uses a custom vacuum formed case, D-pads and control sticks from used Game Cube controllers, a Zenith PS1 display and plenty of nuts and bolts that only the hardcore modders in attendance would understand. Per usual, we’d recommend heading down to the links below for more details and images, the latter of which are likely to make you exceedingly envious of the DIY skills exhibited here.

Nimbus 64: the latest in a long line of gorgeous portable N64 mods originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Nowhere Else  |  sourceBen Heck Forums  | Email this | Comments

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May 07

Bacteria creates Bluetooth SNES controller, makes smartphone gamers drool (video)

Posted in: bluetooth, hack, mod, nintendo, Today's Chili, video, Wireless
Bacteria creates Bluetooth SNES controller, makes smartphone gamers drool (video)

We recently checked out the Game Gripper, which quickly turns a Motorola Droid keyboard into a gamepad, and when it comes to simplicity and cost it doesn’t get much better than that. But, it isn’t quite the same as a real controller, not like this creation from Bacteria, creator of many a wonderfully hacked console. Here he took an MSI BGP100 Bluetooth GamePad and stuffed it into a classic SNES controller shell, enabling all the buttons except, sadly, the lowly Select. It’s all demonstrated in a thrilling video after the break that features action, gameplay, and nearly a minute of screw-turning excitement. The best part? He was hired to do this, meaning if you ask nicely (and write a check) he might just make one for you, too.

Continue reading Bacteria creates Bluetooth SNES controller, makes smartphone gamers drool (video)

Bacteria creates Bluetooth SNES controller, makes smartphone gamers drool (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Nowhereelse.fr  |  sourceBacteria’s Site  | Email this | Comments

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