Hasta La Gadget!

What you’ll require here is about 30 minutes’ endurance, a $10 budget, and a good reason why you’d want to swap some good old versatile wall plugs in for USB-only power outlets. Once you’ve got all that sorted, it’s a quick skip to the source link, where you’ll get step-by-step instructions on converting to “the future” of power distribution. And hey, just to help you justify all that expenditure of effort, we’ve got a whole category devoted to the cornucopia of most awesome devices you can power via USB. Kudos gained for clever design, kudos lost for relatively redundant outcome.

In-wall USB charger is as cheap as it is ingenious originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know, we’ve pretty much all been enamored with the Zune HD’s industrial design, but one unintended consequence for Microsoft was that it made its console look even more childish and toylike. It was inevitable, then, that a group of industrious Swedes would take up arms against this injustice and right the world with their Elegant Edition mod. Featuring three 120mm cooling fans, an aesthetic borrowed straight from the 1980s, and absolutely no shame about its bulk, this mod is cooler than the original in both the literal and colloquial sense. We’ll accept no arguments to the converse. Better still, if you’re willing to part with some cold hard cash, these fellas will build one for you too. We’ve got a few less glamorous shots of the redressed box after the break.

Continue reading Xbox 360 Elegant Edition shows Microsoft how it’s done

Xbox 360 Elegant Edition shows Microsoft how it’s done originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You had to know someone out there would try and profit off Microsoft’s recent mass bannination of modded Xbox 360 consoles from Xbox Live, and although the eBay scammers arguably got there first, we’re awarding the style trophy to AbingtonIP, an Oklahoma law firm that’s trying to gin up a class-action lawsuit. Why? Because even though the XBL terms of service expressly prohibit modded consoles, AbingtonIP thinks it’s not fair for Microsoft to have timed the ban to coincide with the release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and it also thinks it’s unfair for an XBL ban to affect “Xbox functionality not associated with piracy” like Netflix, arcade games, and DLC. A noble cause, to be sure, but if you’re a modder who didn’t think there was a chance you’d be booted from Live at some point, you’re not a very smart modder — and Microsoft isn’t under any obligation to time its bans for the convenience of people breaking its terms of service. The firm is just at the generating-interest phase and hasn’t filed anything yet, so we’ll see how far these freedom fighters get — we’d guess this one dies on the vine.

Banned Xbox modders get a class-action lawsuit to call their own originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Dell Mini 9 modded into motion sensitive, touchscreen tablet (video)

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Dell Mini 9 modded into motion sensitive, touchscreen tablet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll readily admit that most Arduino mods tend to be exercises in creativity (and eccentricity) with little real world utility, which is why this one piqued our interest. A wedding present conceived of and built by Mikal Hart, the box you see above is set to only open in one particular geographic location, and the puzzle of it is to find out where that might be. You’re allowed 50 attempts at opening the box by hitting the button next to the LCD screen, which in turn gives you a distance from, but not direction to, your destination. What tickles us about this idea, aside from its ingenuity, is the potential to use it without the helpful hints in securing your own valuables. Check out the read link for a full shopping list of ingredients and the amusing reaction to the quirky gift.

[Via Slippery Brick]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Homemade GPS puzzle box puts a modern spin on treasure hunts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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