Oct 30

Print your own circuit boards with an Inkjet (and a modicum of skill)

Posted in: diy, hack, mod, Today's Chili
Remember yesterday, when one illustrious modder whipped up a head-mounted computer that featured a printed circuit board of his own design? The fabrication method he used was called direct-to-PCB Inkjet printing. An economical (if laborious) alternative to professional production, the process includes: designing your circuit, printing it out on a transparency, flickin’ on some lightbulbs, washing things out in abrasive chemicals, and waving a magic wand. While it’s not for the timid (nor simple enough to go through in great detail here) the kids over at Instructables have been kind enough to put together and post one of their award-winning step-by-step guides on this very subject. So, what are you waiting for? Hit the read link and get to work.

Filed under:

Print your own circuit boards with an Inkjet (and a modicum of skill) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Oct 30

NVIDIA ION LE hack adds DirectX 10 support, raises interesting questions

Posted in: hack, mod, nvidia ion, NvidiaIon, speculation, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows XP, Windows7
If myHPmini forum member runawayprisoner is to be believed (and why not?), rather than featuring some sort of dumbed-down hardware, the sole difference between the NVIDIA ION and the XP-friendly ION LE is that the latter has DirectX 10 support disabled in the device drivers. Indeed, when the full-blown ION drivers are hacked to recognize the ION LE device ID, not only do you get to run DX10, but performance increases markedly as well. Of course, DX10 is Windows 7 only, but you should conceivably be able to take your ION LE machine, install Windows 7 and the driver hack, and get on with your life (and save a few bucks in the process). Why bother with the charade, you ask? Theories abound, but we think it’s a pretty good guess that NVIDIA is merely adhering to Microsoft licensing requirements here, and that in the long run crippling an existing chipset is cheaper than developing an entirely new one for an OS that’s likely to be phased out sooner than later.

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under:

NVIDIA ION LE hack adds DirectX 10 support, raises interesting questions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Oct 29

Homebrew head-mounted Linux system for telepresence, looking silly

Posted in: hack, Linux, mod, Today's Chili

Sure, viewable eyewear (such as that made by Vuzix) might look like fun, but even with the display balancing on the bridge of your nose you need to find a place to wear that video source. What our man Pascal Brisset did is design a Linux system around a Gumstix Overo Fire computer-on-module, a Vuzix VR920 head-mounted stereoscopic 640 x 480 display (complete with 3D tilt sensor and 3D magnetic compass), WiFi, and Bluetooth modules — the whole shebang resides in (and on) the eyewear, just the thing for secure telepresence and augmented reality applications (or just extra-private web browsing). And he did it all for under a grand. In order to implement his design, Pascal had to design and custom manufacture a digital-to-analog video converter board using direct-to-PCB inkjet printing. As Hack A Day notes, one can easily question the wisdom of “a pair of microwave transceivers and a LiPo battery strapped directly over one’s eyes and brain,” but that’s the price of progress, right?

[Via Hack A Day]

Filed under:

Homebrew head-mounted Linux system for telepresence, looking silly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Oct 28

Korg Nanokey controller repurposed into MIDI foot pedal

Posted in: diy, guitar, hack, keyboard, mod, Music, Today's Chili

Korg’s Nanokey MIDI controller is pretty awesome in its own right, but using it with your feet gets a little difficult under “normal” conditions. We can’t say for certain why Marc Fischer decided to convert his perfectly good control board into a MIDI foot pedal, but frankly, that’s beside the point. The point is he did it, and he did it with just a bit of ingenuity, some wooden blocks for risers and a bit of Plexiglas to cover up the missing keys. Hit the read link if you’re interested in doing something similar, and feel free to ask the man himself where that gorgeous shag carpet came from. Kinky!

[Via MAKE]

Filed under:

Korg Nanokey controller repurposed into MIDI foot pedal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Oct 28

Machined Gear Clock makes watching the time pass a true joy (video)

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

We’ve seen no shortage of homegrown clocks in our day, and while most are cute for their time, few are worthy of being lauded in this manner. Alan Parekh’s Gear Clock is a delightful mishmash of machined gears, thrown together in a fashion that resulted in an actual time-telling gizmo. Hop on past the break to watch this thing spin, but be sure to hold the mute button for the lead-in. Clearly ‘Sound Check’ wasn’t activated.

Continue reading Machined Gear Clock makes watching the time pass a true joy (video)

Filed under: ,

Machined Gear Clock makes watching the time pass a true joy (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Oct 27

DIYer concocts homegrown View-Master, relies on HTC Magic and Google Street View (video)

Posted in: diy, Google, hack, HTC, mod, Today's Chili, video

It’s been far, far too long since we broke out the View-Master from the admittedly dusty toy chest, but now we’re guessing it’ll be at least a score before we get the urge again. Why, you ask? The View-Master 2009. These homegrown virtual reality goggles are surprisingly impressive despite their ragged look, and by utilizing some form of cardboard enclosure, an HTC Magic and Google Street View, the designer was able to mimic that “immersive” environment we’ve grown to know and never forget. Don’t believe us? Have a look at the vid just past the break, and hang in there ’til the end if you’re scouting a how-to guide.

Continue reading DIYer concocts homegrown View-Master, relies on HTC Magic and Google Street View (video)

Filed under: ,

DIYer concocts homegrown View-Master, relies on HTC Magic and Google Street View (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Oct 27

Football Hero mod takes Arduino to the Kasabian-approved big leagues (video)

Posted in: arduino, diy, hack, hacking, mod, modding, Today's Chili

Some folks say less is more, but we’ll bet they never saw Guitar Hero being played by kicking footballs against a giant wall. This epic undertaking will give your plastic axe a major inadequacy complex with its huge wall-mounted piezo vibration sensors and absurdly large fretboard projection. An Arduino acts as the conduit between the contact sensors and a PC running the freeware Frets on Fire. The outcome from such a relatively simple setup is pretty astounding, and you can check it out in the videos past the break, including some behind the scenes footage.

Continue reading Football Hero mod takes Arduino to the Kasabian-approved big leagues (video)

Filed under:

Football Hero mod takes Arduino to the Kasabian-approved big leagues (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Oct 26

Police to auction off nitrous-fueled, motorized La-Z-Boy

Posted in: diy, hack, mod, Today's Chili, Transportation
We’ve seen plenty of strange motorized chairs in this space, including those controlled by Wii Nunchucks and even brainwaves, but rarely do they become available for sale. The handiwork of Minnesota resident Dennis Anderson, this La-Z-Boy mod features everything the manufacturer left out, including: stereo sound system, nitrous oxide booster, parachute, headlights, a steering wheel, and a sticker that reads: “Hell yeah, it’s fast.” The vehicle, which will reach speeds of 20 MPH, was seized by the state when the driver crashed into a parked car — he was on the way home from the bar (of course) and ‘fessed up to consuming “eight or nine” beers prior to the incident. Anderson may be roaming the streets with a two-year suspended sentence, but his chariot can be yours! Keep an eye out on eBay, where it’s due to appear this week with no reserve price.

[Thanks, Scooterde]

Filed under:

Police to auction off nitrous-fueled, motorized La-Z-Boy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Oct 26

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

Posted in: developer, diy, gaming, hack, homebrew, mod, nintendo, Today's Chili
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]

Filed under:

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.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Oct 23

Psystar releases Rebel EFI installer, further enrages Apple

Posted in: Apple, diy, Mac, mod, os x, OsX, Today's Chili
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]

Filed under: ,

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.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,