Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t have $65,000 and / or seventeen months to build yourself a Daft Punk helmet? Here’s the next best thing: crack open a Macintosh Plus, add an iPad, an old bicycle helmet and some electroluminescent gear, and get to soldering. Originally a school project for design student Terrence Scoville, this visualizer helmet now sits atop the cranium of DJ Kid Chameleon. Because there’s nothing like a few digital fireworks to celebrate an old computer’s birthday. Video after the break.

Continue reading Macintosh Plus celebrates 25 years by becoming ultimate DJ headgear (video)

Macintosh Plus celebrates 25 years by becoming ultimate DJ headgear (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now, this is a strange project to undertake, for sure — but that doesn’t make it uninteresting. And interesting it certainly is. Over at Instructables, you can currently find step-by-step instructions for how to create your very own camera setup, which will allow you to view yourself tooling around in the third person. Weird, right? The whole setup consists of a camera rigged at your back from a distance far enough to film you from behind, a pair of video goggles to wear as you gallivant about, and optionally, a radio transmitter, allowing a remote viewer to join in on the fun and watch along with you. How does it work? A bit disconcertingly if you ask us, but it’s something we’d certainly consider giving a try, if only once. Hit up the source for full instructions as well as impressions of the experience. There’s a video after the break.

Continue reading DIY third person camera rig allows you to pay attention to what’s most important: you

DIY third person camera rig allows you to pay attention to what’s most important: you originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Gingerbread freely distributed to the open-source masses, it probably won’t surprise you to hear there already a custom ROM for Google’s darling Nexus One. But what if we told you Android 2.3 is now available for the HTC HD2 as well? That’s right, the Windows Mobile 6.5 powerhouse can now snap off a sugary piece of the same Android code, and from what we hear in the XDA-developers forums, it works pretty decently, too. Like the Samsung Galaxy S we saw getting the green tie treatment this morning, the HTC HD2 and Nexus One don’t exactly have stable, fully functional builds, but as long as you know what you’re doing and don’t need petty luxuries like cameras, GPS receivers and official Google apps, you’ll probably be just fine. Find files and a modicum of instruction at our source links below.

Update: While these cookies are half-baked, unconfirmed and potentially dangerous to those not well versed in the art of Android hackery, we’re hearing that the HTC EVO 4G, original Motorola Droid and HTC Desire are now sporting early Gingerbread ROMs too. It seems the source code is relatively easy to compile for other phones, so with any luck there’ll be a compatible build for your device soon.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC HD2 and Nexus One get some Gingerbread crumbs (update: EVO, Droid and Desire, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When word first reached Microsoft that the open-source community would hack the Kinect, the company’s response was pretty heavy-handed: “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products,” a rep told CNET, pledging to “work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant.” But now that Kinect mods blow our minds on a near-daily basis, Redmond has changed its tone. Microsoft’s Alex Kipman told NPR Science Daily listeners that as far as the company’s concerned, the Kinect hasn’t actually been hacked thus far, and that Microsoft actually left the camera’s USB connection unprotected “by design” to let the community take advantage. Though he and fellow Microsoftie Shannon Loftis wouldn’t commit to official PC software drivers for the device, he did say that the company would “partner sooner rather than later” with academic institutions to get the hardware doled out, and suggested that some universities started playing with Kinect even before its commercial launch. Read a transcript of the pertinent section of the podcast after the break, or listen for yourself at our source link starting at the 18:22 mark.

[Thanks, Fred T.]

Continue reading Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea

Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So what has technology modder extraordinaire Benjamin J. Heckendorn come up with for his Ben Heck Show this week? Why, a laptop designed to fit on a airplane tray table, thanks to a special swiveling screen. The Coach Section Laptop is a modified Toshiba Satellite with aluminum arms affixed to either side, with slots down the middle upon which the screen’s pegs slide. Thumbscrews then tighten to keep the display in place in either of two modes: the standard laptop configuration, or the floating display-over-keyboard setup you see immediately above. Ben himself admits that we’re looking at a rough proof of concept for now, but we imagine he’ll have a seamless variant on eBay before long — just as soon as he can figure out where to put that precariously dangling display cord. Video after the break.

Continue reading Ben Heck modifies Toshiba Satellite for cramped flights, throws TSA the peace sign (video)

Ben Heck modifies Toshiba Satellite for cramped flights, throws TSA the peace sign (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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