url stringlengths 37 208 | title stringlengths 4 148 | author stringclasses 173 values | publish_date stringclasses 1 value | categories listlengths 0 12 | tags listlengths 0 27 | featured_image stringlengths 0 272 | content stringlengths 0 56.1k | comments_count int64 0 900 | scraped_comments_count int64 0 50 | comments listlengths 0 50 | scraped_at float64 1.76B 1.76B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/06/mouse-for-your-psp/ | Mouse For Your PSP | Caleb Kraft | [
"PSP Hacks"
] | [
"microcontroller",
"mouse",
"psp"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEwhgJ9XzHQ]
[TokyoDrift] has
added mouse support to his PSP
. He’s using a microcontroller to interpret for the PSP, through the serial port. You can see in the video above that this provides a functional mouse control, especially useful for first person shooter style games. He’s got lots of details as well as schematics available in the forum posts. We’ve seen
other
controllers
added
to the PSP, but this is the first time we’ve seen a mouse.
[via
engadget
] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "72917",
"author": "-.-",
"timestamp": "2009-05-06T18:21:48",
"content": "Boo, atleast talk about the ChickHEN",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72922",
"author": "danadamkof",
"timestamp": "2009-05-06T18:42:52",
"conte... | 1,760,377,654.98324 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/06/pov-final-project/ | Modular POV Final Project | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"final project",
"led",
"POV"
] | [Jonathan] sent us his final project for ECE 476. His group built an
LED POV display
that can be updated wirelessly from a computer. They built it in a somewhat modular fashion, with the LED strip being a simple to replace module. This goes along with their plan to build a 3D version of the display. They have made it able to switch easily from it’s internal programming to direct computer control, allowing them to leave it alone in clock mode, or take control to play with it. The updates seem really quick, you can see them in effect in the video after the break. All source code and schematics are available on the site. We love these final projects, they usually have tons of data and great pictures. Keep them coming.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKi7VSX-nqk] | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "72903",
"author": "chicosoft",
"timestamp": "2009-05-06T16:06:13",
"content": "Nice hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72906",
"author": "liebesiech",
"timestamp": "2009-05-06T16:33:37",
"content": "awesome!",
... | 1,760,377,654.686107 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/05/easy-g1-rooting/ | Easy G1 Rooting | Eliot | [
"Android Hacks",
"Cellphone Hacks",
"g1 hacks"
] | [
"adp1",
"anetshare",
"firmware",
"G1",
"root",
"t-mobile g1",
"taylor wimberly"
] | It’s been many months since the
T-Mobile G1
was
initially rooted
. In that time, the process has been streamlined and tools have been built to make it much easier. Having a rooted phone has become even more desirable with the
recent release of the 1.5 firmware
that includes an onscreen keyboard along with other improvements. Having a rooted phone means you can do tricks like setting up a
3G/WiFi bridge
. [Taylor Wimberly] has written a
guide to help you easily root your G1
without having to go digging through forums for software bits. The process starts by using [Mike Moussa]’s rooting app to revert the phone to the RC29 build. You then use the “
Android stupidly executes everything you type
” exploit to launch telnetd and upgrade the bootloader. After that, the upgrade process is fairly easy. You just flash a new baseband and build. Once you’ve got your new custom firmware, you can do future updates using an app from the Android Market. We recently updated our Android Dev Phone 1 to 1.5 and haven’t had any issues.
[photo:
tnkgrl
] | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "72860",
"author": "SOOPERGOOMAN187",
"timestamp": "2009-05-06T01:40:19",
"content": "wow phones getting hacked like the psp. what an age we live in. Custom firmware Rocks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72864",
"author": "p... | 1,760,377,654.432834 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/05/twittering-toilet/ | Twittering Toilet | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"toilet",
"twitter"
] | We wouldn’t want to let a week slip by without something new
being made to twitter
would we?
This time it is a toilet
. Don’t worry, they are
sparing us the graphic details
, it pretty much tweets every time it is flushed. As you can see in the picture above, they’re using an Arduino for the toilet/PC connection. If you really want to make something twitter, this might be a good starting point. It’s basically twittering every time a button is pushed. You can download the source code on the site as well as find a tutorial on Arduino basics.
[via
astera
] | 38 | 38 | [
{
"comment_id": "72787",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2009-05-05T16:53:59",
"content": "I await the twittering condom",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72788",
"author": "ehrichweiss",
"timestamp": "2009-05-05T17:01:06",
"content... | 1,760,377,654.842971 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/05/weather-monitoring/ | Weather Monitoring | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"lcd",
"pic",
"weather",
"wireless"
] | This
weather monitor can track pressure, temperature, and humidity
and last several months on a pack of AA batteries. It has a PIC18f452 to control all the bits, as well as some fancy power management to get the most out of the batteries as possible. The screen displays the highest and lowest temperatures of the last 42 hours as well as having options to display all other sensor input, updated every minute or so. You can get the full schematic and parts list on the project site.
[via
YourITronics
] | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "72780",
"author": "grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2009-05-05T15:27:20",
"content": "Umm Solar panels perhaps? Saves changing the batteries ever?!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72781",
"author": "False",
"timestamp": "200... | 1,760,377,654.382478 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/04/aprs-tracking/ | APRS Tracking | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"APRS",
"geoloc",
"gps"
] | We really wish we had a little more information on the construction of this, but [Jeff]
made this APRS tracker several years ago
. APRS, or
Automatic Packet Reporting System
is a system where shortwave radios put out small packets of data that are uploaded to a database available via the web. This specific one is relaying GPS data so his family can see where they are located. With current phones, you might think this is antiquated, but he notes that he took this through New Mexico and was able to transmit his position even when there was zero cell phone coverage. | 43 | 42 | [
{
"comment_id": "72662",
"author": "PunchTheDonkeyOnTheNose",
"timestamp": "2009-05-04T20:19:11",
"content": "This is nothing new, This hack appears in ‘Hardware Hacking for Geeks’.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72664",
"author": "jimmyd",... | 1,760,377,655.063818 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/04/robotic-sheep-shearing/ | Robotic Sheep Shearing | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"farming",
"shear sheep"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZAh2zv7TMM]
This contraption was made in the late 80’s, expressly for shearing sheep. For some reason, it never really took off. We’re guessing because it takes forever and still requires a person to wrangle the sheep on to the holding rack. Having that person just shear the sheep themselves might be
much quicker
. We think they need to refine it a bit. It should be fast, and not require a person to load it. Maybe something like a
modified version of this
. | 46 | 46 | [
{
"comment_id": "72648",
"author": "BigD145",
"timestamp": "2009-05-04T19:17:03",
"content": "All that noise and getting sheared?! the horror.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72652",
"author": "Nicklaus Michael (Cold)",
"timestamp": "200... | 1,760,377,654.514179 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/04/led-buttons/ | LED Buttons | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Portable Audio Hacks"
] | [
"final project",
"led",
"music",
"piano"
] | For their final project in ECE 4760 at Cornell, [Christina] and [Joe] made a
small single octave keyboard using LEDs as the input
. They used a total of 63 LEDs to make the keys. Each key consists of 9 LEDs, with the center one acting as a sensor. When you lay your finger on it, the light reflects off of your finger and is picked up by the center LED. An ATMega 664 runs custom code to play a sound. You can find out more details about the construction as well as download the source code on the site. You can also download an example movie of it
in action
( 7MB .mp4) | 26 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "72637",
"author": "incognito53",
"timestamp": "2009-05-04T18:04:56",
"content": "i’m just guessing here.. but you probably cannot play more than one key at a time, can you? other than that its pretty awesome",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"co... | 1,760,377,654.577894 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/03/wtpa-bendable-sampler/ | WTPA Bendable Sampler | Eliot | [
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"cdm",
"circuit bending",
"create digital music",
"kit",
"sampler",
"todd bailey",
"wheres the party at",
"wtpa"
] | Where’s the Party At
is an open source bendable 8-bit sampler kit created by [Todd Bailey]. The initial design started about a year ago when he was instructing
circuit benders
how to transition to circuit design. He designed the kit to show how simply you could build a sampler. It demonstrates both clear analog and digital design. It’s meant to be a unique instrument though and features a lot of glitchy/quirky characteristics while being fairly reliable. You can read more about the device on his site. It has comprehensive parts and assembly manuals available and the
kit is $75
.
[via
Create Digital Music
] | 23 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "72541",
"author": "sidthetaff",
"timestamp": "2009-05-04T00:06:42",
"content": "nice looking project, be a pretty good project to fill a few hours, although $75 per kit seems a little steep, think it’d be more fun putting it onto a project board or diy pcb",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,377,654.637888 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/03/steampunk-vibrator/ | Steampunk Vibrator | Eliot | [
"handhelds hacks",
"home entertainment hacks",
"Medical Hacks"
] | [
"ani niow",
"dremel",
"sex",
"sex toy",
"steam",
"steampunk",
"tesla turbine",
"vibrator"
] | [Ani Niow] built this
steam powered vibrator
. It has a milled stainless steel shell with a brass motor structure. The motor is a
Tesla turbine
made from a stack of Dremel diamond cutoff wheels. This drives an off-center weight to create the vibration. She tested it using a pressure cooker as the steam source. It worked, but became so hot it had to be held using welding gloves. It works just as well with compressed air though. You can see the device at the
Femina Potens Art Gallery
in San Francisco or later this month at
Maker Faire
.
[via
Laughing Squid
]
UPDATE:
[Ani]
responds in the comments
. | 120 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "72495",
"author": "Nicklaus Michael (Cold)",
"timestamp": "2009-05-03T19:42:08",
"content": "Wow………. Im sorry but WOWWW……lmao",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72497",
"author": "billy bigsticks",
"timestamp": "2009-05-03T... | 1,760,377,654.777202 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/03/guitar-hero-macro-board/ | Guitar Hero Macro Board | Eliot | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Xbox Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"eeprom",
"guitar hero",
"optoisolator",
"thunderhammer3000"
] | Doesn’t look like the Guitar Hero hacks will be slowing up any time soon. In this recent installment, [Thunderhammer3000] built a
board to record Guitar Hero “songs”
. It is wired inline with with the fret buttons and strum bar and records each of the key presses. Songs can be recorded at slow speed in practice mode and replayed at full speed. The board is
Arduino
compatible and has two optoisolator chips for collecting the button presses plus a small EEPROM for storage. The board fits easily
inside the guitar body
. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "72485",
"author": "twistedsymphony",
"timestamp": "2009-05-03T18:09:53",
"content": "so um… source code? diagrams? I’d like to build one myself",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72486",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2009... | 1,760,377,655.117342 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/03/waitless-bus-tracking-system/ | WaitLess Bus Tracking System | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"classic hacks"
] | [
"bus",
"campus",
"tram",
"trolley"
] | Bus systems on campus can often be frustrating. You’re standing at the stop waiting and you don’t know if it would just be faster to walk. If you have a
WaitLess tracking system
at your stop, you can see exactly where the bus is and make that decision much easier. The unit is self contained, solar, and equipped with wireless internet. With an Arduino at it’s core, it displays the current location of the bus by lighting an LED on a map. You can see a video of it in action after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRgORkZiOio] | 32 | 32 | [
{
"comment_id": "72472",
"author": "-.-",
"timestamp": "2009-05-03T16:07:37",
"content": "W00t, need i say anymore. i love it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72474",
"author": "George IV",
"timestamp": "2009-05-03T16:12:18",
"content... | 1,760,377,655.187042 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/02/wikibrowser/ | WikiBrowser | Caleb Kraft | [
"computer hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"parallax",
"wikipedia"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1TelXmRQs0]
This project is particularly amusing
. It doesn’t have a whole lot of practical use, but it makes up for it in style. They have an SD card with Wikipedia from 2003 downloaded to it. This is accessed with a Parallax propeller microcontroller based system and displayed on a small retro looking screen. We like it. We don’t think we would ever actually use it, but we would definitely keep it around. | 33 | 33 | [
{
"comment_id": "72396",
"author": "sinoth",
"timestamp": "2009-05-02T15:38:35",
"content": "this is completely awesome. add some solar panels and you will control the wealth of human knowledge and star trek trivia when the zombie apocalypse comes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"repl... | 1,760,377,655.734616 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/02/iphone-controlled-tv-lift/ | IPhone Controlled TV Lift | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"home entertainment hacks",
"home hacks",
"iphone hacks"
] | [
"iphone",
"pic",
"tv"
] | [William] sent in this project where he’s using his
iPhone to control his TV lift
. He’s made a custom PCB with a pic18f122 microprocessor to communicate with the lift. He says it connects to the lift controls via a serial port. You can see a video of it in action after the break. We really think the shadow turning into an arrow is cool. That was a lucky accident.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-5tOaflC_U] | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "72392",
"author": "ryan leach",
"timestamp": "2009-05-02T14:36:26",
"content": "this would be awesome if combined with an iphone remote for the tv.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72394",
"author": "idogis1",
"timestamp"... | 1,760,377,655.621087 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/01/layerone-coming-soon/ | LayerOne Coming Soon | Eliot | [
"cons",
"News",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"con",
"conference",
"hacker con",
"hacker conference",
"layerone"
] | Annual hacker conference
LayerOne
will be held May 23-24th in Anaheim, CA. They’ve completed the
speaker lineup
and have quite a few interesting talks. [David Bryan] Will be focusing on practical hacking with the
GNU Radio
. It’s a software defined radio that we’ve covered in the past for
GSM cracking
. [Datagram] will present lockpicking forensics. While lockingpicking isn’t as obvious as brute force entry, it still leaves behind evidence. He’s launched
lockpickingforensics.com
as a companion to this talk. LayerOne is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the Los Angeles area. | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "72348",
"author": "-.-",
"timestamp": "2009-05-02T00:27:23",
"content": "First again…you guys are terrible at this bizz.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72351",
"author": "vicky",
"timestamp": "2009-05-02T00:38:39",
... | 1,760,377,655.406088 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/01/tangible-changeable-multitouch-controls/ | Tangible, Changeable, Multitouch Controls | Caleb Kraft | [
"Multitouch Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"iphone",
"multitouch",
"projected"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smai_Z_galE]
iPhones and iPod touches have many advantages over the plain iPod. Have you ever wished you could advance tracks without looking though? That is a perfect example of where the current display/ input trends are lacking. There is no tactile feedback. [Chris Harrison], a Ph.D student at Carnegie Mellon
has been working on an alternative
.
His displays are rear projected and multitouch like many of the
other multitouch systems
we’ve seen. However, his also offer tactile feedback by changing their physical shape. Much like a
vac-u-form
, he is using vacuum to deform a flexible surface over different shapes. Not only are they able to do simple 2 state systems where you have smooth, then vacuumed, they can also do a third state by pressurizing the inside of the display. You can see several variations in the video. | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "72330",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2009-05-01T21:15:11",
"content": "Sounds pretty cool. The thing that it’s now lacking is flexibility.For example the ipod touch, you can write a program to have buttons of any size and shape anywhere on the screen. Once created you can send i... | 1,760,377,655.670191 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/05/01/cell-phone-glove/ | Cell Phone Glove | Caleb Kraft | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"classic hacks"
] | [
"cell phone",
"glove"
] | Sometimes you find yourself thinking “this cell phone is far to compact and unobtrusive.” [Trotmaster] had this thought and did something about it. Ok, well actually he’s trying to have some fun and build a
glove phone, inspector gadget style
. There really doesn’t seem to be a good reason to do this other than it would be cool, so we’ll proceed on those grounds. He has disassembled the phone and extended all the buttons. When wearing the glove, you can dial by pressing the finger tip buttons with your thumb. The screen is located on the back of the hand and can be lifted and rotated for easy viewing. Can anyone think of an application where this would be a beneficial layout, assuming you refined it a bit?
[via
instructables
] | 36 | 36 | [
{
"comment_id": "72288",
"author": "l",
"timestamp": "2009-05-01T15:41:53",
"content": "for a space suit, duh’",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72289",
"author": "Jager",
"timestamp": "2009-05-01T15:44:54",
"content": "Would have been... | 1,760,377,655.484867 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/30/battle-cars/ | Battle Cars | Caleb Kraft | [
"News"
] | [
"battlebots",
"discovery",
"mythbusters",
"weaponizers"
] | There’s a
new show coming to the Discovery Chanel called Weaponizers
. Brought to you by the same people who brought you Mythbusters, this show centers around weaponizing and remote controlling cars. They’ll be building them with several different types of competition in mind, including defense of an object and all out warfare. You’ll note in the press release that they keep mentioning their special effects backgrounds. Judging by the picture above, we should expect to see them shooting lots of fireworks, maybe some flame throwers thrown in. Generally, we think we’ll see lots of flashy stuff that really isn’t effective at destroying an unmanned car. They do mention live ammunition, so maybe they’ll actually try to make these things able to harm each other. Let’s hope they don’t let us down. | 41 | 41 | [
{
"comment_id": "72218",
"author": "DeFex",
"timestamp": "2009-04-30T19:15:26",
"content": "I cant wait to see a car sized version of “hypnodisc” with a 1/2 ton disc!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72221",
"author": "barry99705",
"times... | 1,760,377,655.563916 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/30/face-tracking-in-opera/ | Face Tracking In Opera | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Uncategorized"
] | [
"gesture recognition",
"opera",
"python",
"web cam"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ioV2Dj56iw]
Inspired by this year’s
april fools day joke from Opera
, [Jason] has made
facial gesture recognition
actually work. While this may seem like a silly project, it could seriously help some people out. This could be a
great accessibility tool
for
people with motor control limitations
.He states that it has some problems right now, most notably a performance issue with extended use, so he’s hoping to get some input from some bright minds.
[thanks, Jordan] | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "72216",
"author": "-.-",
"timestamp": "2009-04-30T19:02:45",
"content": "But yeah swesome good luck with it :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72276",
"author": "naus3a",
"timestamp": "2009-05-01T08:40:22",
"content"... | 1,760,377,655.825515 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/29/the-cloud-mirror/ | The Cloud Mirror | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"facebook",
"interactive art",
"twitter"
] | [vimeo=4370631]
Cloud Mirror is an interactive art installation
that combines you and your easily available online information in real time. Attendees stood in front of the camera and held up their badges. Cloud Mirror then projected them on the wall and displayed a speech bubble containing information from the web. In the example after the break, you can see our very own [Eliot] displayed with his most recent twitter post. To add another layer to it, you could send a text message with someone’s badge ID to the system and it will display your message in that person’s bubble. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "72127",
"author": "Girrrrrrr2",
"timestamp": "2009-04-29T23:40:29",
"content": "seems kinda stalkerish",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72130",
"author": "tr0nk",
"timestamp": "2009-04-30T00:14:54",
"content": "will i... | 1,760,377,655.786262 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/29/times-poll-hacked/ | Time’s Poll Hacked | Caleb Kraft | [
"News",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"4chan",
"moot",
"poll",
"recaptcha",
"time"
] | Though Time won’t admit it,
their poll on the most influential person was hacked
. Moot, the founder of
4chan
is rated #1. Not only that, but if you read the first letters of the poll results, you get “Marblecake also the game”. This refers to the IRC Chanel where many 4channers congregate as well as “the game” an internet meme. This article is very interesting as it delves into the details of the attack. Focusing mainly on what happened when the autovoting software was shut down due to reCaptcha. you’ve probably seen reCaptcha before. It presents you with two words, made difficult to read by strange kearning, warping, and squiggles. If you can read it, you’re most likely a human. Anon, a common name for 4channers, first tried to hack reCaptcha.
Their attempt at hacking reCaptcha relies on the process reCaptcha uses to identify words. It presents you with two words, one of which it already knows. The other is compared to a database of common responses to that word. Anon decided that if they entered “penis” enough times, they could flood the database allowing their autovoter to function again. This, though clever, was unsuccessful. They eventually settled on manual voting. This was taking too much time, they feared they would never reach their goals. To help with this, they built a simple interface that would preload several reCaptchas and cue up votes. This streamlining allowed them to squeak in the votes they needed to accomplish this.
It’s also worth noting that Time didn’t close the vote entries when the poll closed. They removed the poll from their site, but the streamlined vote software was still working. Anon is a powerful force of nature. If only we could harness it to cure cancer or HIV. | 50 | 49 | [
{
"comment_id": "72092",
"author": "-.-",
"timestamp": "2009-04-29T20:12:12",
"content": "I pwn your nooby self, i am first yayzorr!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72095",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2009-04-29T20:19:13",
"cont... | 1,760,377,656.089441 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/29/hackit-sheevaplug/ | Hackit: SheevaPlug | Caleb Kraft | [
"HackIt"
] | [
"linux",
"low power",
"server",
"sheevaplug"
] | A few months ago,
we introduced the SheevaPlug
, a 1.2GHz ARM processor with 512Mb of RAM, 2 usb ports, an ethernet port, and an SD card slot. In that article, we asked: “What would you do with one?”. We received tons of responses, 118 comments and counting.
Scientific American had a similar idea and asked some “hackers”(MIT students) what they would do with it
(thanks, grisspy). We thought maybe we would weigh in with our opinions. Join us after the break and in the comments.
#1. Home Automation
Summary: “I would hook it up to a Web camera and track myself in the house,” says Nikolaus Correll, an M.I.T. CSAIL postdoctoral associate.
Eliot:
[Nikolaus] has an interesting idea about leveraging the extra processing power to do object recognition and then having the home react accordingly. The phrase “home automation” points out one of the SheevaPlug’s shortcomings; despite plugging directly into the wall, it doesn’t do powerline communication.
Caleb:
Note how he avoids mentioning x10. It’s a nice idea, especially once he gets to the “statistical profile” bit.
#2. Desktop Replacement
Summary:
It’s small and fairly powerful. It could replace your desktop.
Eliot:
No dedicated video hardware means you’ll have trouble replacing even your Apple TV with this. No one is scrambling to build an ARM desktop.
Caleb:
What advantage does this have over a netbook? By the time you add a display and input aren’t you close to the netbook bottom of the line, minus the easy portability?
#3. Data Center Replacement:
Summary: “If these things can compare with [server farms’]…computational throughput at a fraction of the power consumption, that’s intoxicating.”
Eliot:
This sounds like a terrible cluster. Having a dedicated AC-DC converter for each processor is NOT efficient.
Caleb:
For small applications, this makes sense. Like doing a cluster in your home, or possibly office. It seems like their performance would be lacking in larger applications. Anyone care to weigh in here?
#4. Data Availability
Summary:
Connect a hard drive to it, access the data from anywhere.
Eliot:
This is definitely a good use. There are very few applications that get the software right and we’d love to see improvements. The USB host port could make initial setup much easier.
Caleb:
I like this. If it really is plug and play, it is a great solution. I’m guessing you could even have software with it that would let normal people set this up without modifying their router settings?
#5. Data Mining
Summary: Connect stuff to the internet to gather statistics.
Eliot:
This is a user friendly way to add network capability to appliances. It costs more than an
Arduino
, but it should be much easier to get started collecting, storing, and hosting data. It has a serial interface for connecting whatever you want.
Caleb:
He is talking about making every day objects share data right? The title lead me to believe he was going to have these things crawling the web collecting data. This seems like overkill. If you can rig a machine not meant to send that data,with sensors and custom code, you can probably program a development board like Arduino to relay that data for cheaper than the SheevaPlug. Am I way off base here? Assume they have a unit to collect data at the home office, that cost 5 times as much, but they save money on each cheaper unit in the machine(in the field) that calls home. That would be a more cost efficient way to do it wouldn’t it? Maybe my take only applies if you are doing a lot of appliances, like beverage machines.
#6. Life Filter
Summary: Use it to filter your email.
Eliot:
Innocuous looking hardware for running interesting daemon processes on a network certainly sounds like a fun project.
Caleb:
Yeah, I guess that could work. I don’t understand the necessity with all the filtering available for email as it is. Maybe he’s referring to some illusive future data that we need filtered. I’ll just stick with here and now. Email filter? Really?
#7. Surveillance
Summary: connect webcams for cheap surveillance.
Eliot:
This has been solved and many of them even feature external inputs already.
Caleb:
IP cameras are pretty cheap
, they can be found for far under $100. Is this a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist? Maybe this could add some feature like facial recognition or something.
#8. You Name It
Summary: SheevaPlug is versatile, it would make a good cheap server.
Eliot:
The lack of x10, powerline networking, and WiFi makes this platform undeserving os the hype. It could be a replacement for all the router hacking we’ve covered… but it costs more.
Caleb:
Web server and source code repository were mentioned frequently in the comments on our article. It seems that this thing may not be perfectly suited for anything, but it’s small and cheap enough to be used for a lot.
Conclusion:
We saw many of the ideas above listed in our comments, as well as climate control, corporate espianage, proxy serving, media serving with a NAS, IRC, Firewall, torrent box, clustering, SSH, art installations, and more. These guys came up with some good uses, but nothing compares to our commenters. | 59 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "72091",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2009-04-29T20:05:14",
"content": "On net-enabling webcams:A crappy IP-enabled webcam is about £70. A Sheevaplug + a much higher quality USB webcam is £100. Now add a USB hub and more webcams. Maybe add some preprocessing to them. Much better t... | 1,760,377,655.913915 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/29/robotic-guitar-like-instrument/ | Robotic Guitar Like Instrument | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"instrument",
"robot"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxLTJmmyqn4]
This guitar bot is part of the
Legue of Electronic Musical Urban Robots
, or LEMUR. As you can see in the video, it has 4 strings, each mounted on it’s own unit. The pitch is controlled by a sliding bridge, while the strings are plucked by a series of picks mounted to motor. The sliding bridge is quite fast, being able to shift 2 whole octaves in a quarter of a second. The final effect is quite nice, we would listen even if we weren’t watching a robot work. This is the kind of thing we should expect to see at the
Guthman Musical Instrument Competition
.
[via
Hacked Gadgets
] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "72052",
"author": "Marty",
"timestamp": "2009-04-29T14:32:16",
"content": "excellent concept, poor application. surely choosing a well known piece which is royalty free is a far better way to show it off? I’m listening to this and CRINGING at the composition.",
"parent_id": null... | 1,760,377,656.165412 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/28/human-powered-electric-instruments/ | Human Powered Electric Instruments | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"home entertainment hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"instrument",
"mit"
] | [Noah] tipped us off to his work with
Physically Engaged Electronic Instruments
. He is building instruments, that while being electronic, require physical action to drive them. In the video after the break, you can see an example, in the form of a polka. The part that they’re holding (print head?) is attached to a generator which powers the instrument. The effect makes the instrument much more like a traditional stringed instrument that must be strummed. We can easily also imagine an interface similar to a concertina or accordion being functional. There are schematics available on his site in the research reports section, but you’ll have to dig through a pdf or two to find them. We would love to see a breakdown of the instruments and their components in a more accessible form.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8MUgwiZULw] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "71998",
"author": "J",
"timestamp": "2009-04-28T20:53:24",
"content": "It appears that man is spinning a leek.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "72005",
"author": "bancroft",
"timestamp": "2009-04-28T22:01:02",
"conten... | 1,760,377,656.229484 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/28/rovio-fire-extinguisher/ | Rovio Fire Extinguisher | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"autonomous",
"fire extinguisher",
"halon",
"rovio"
] | [Colt45] shows us some pictures of his
Rovio fire extinguisher mod
. Being a fan of model building, he built a new shell for the Rovio and mounted a
halon
distribution system to the top of it. He says he loaded some custom software for identifying and extinguishing flames, which he’ll upload eventually. We really wish we knew more, or at least had a video of it working. We’re a little bit surprised
we haven’t seen more done
with these things.
[Thanks Robert] | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "71991",
"author": "Piippi",
"timestamp": "2009-04-28T19:36:46",
"content": "That’s just funny as heck. “rovio” is finnish for pyre or stake.. so ‘rovio fire extinguisher’ is a bit redundant. :) (maybe it doesn’t like itself)cool build!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"... | 1,760,377,656.285413 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/28/electrostatic-computer-interface/ | Electrostatic Computer Interface | Caleb Kraft | [
"computer hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"News",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"3d",
"electrostatic"
] | [vimeo=4366452]
[Justin] sent in his 1st place winning project from Northeastern’s Electrical Engineering Senior Design Capstone. It’s an
interface that uses electrostatics
to detect your hand position above it. As you can see in the video, it has decent resolution and can detect position on all 3 axes. When they uncover it, you can see the sensors arranged in a grid. They point out that each sensor isn’t just like a button, but rather detects a range of motion. They are using a pic 18×4550 to handle the sensors, which then communicates to the PC via USB. This could be pretty useful for musical performances as well as an alternative interface for people who can’t use a mouse.EO | 24 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "71967",
"author": "BRANKKO",
"timestamp": "2009-04-28T14:14:50",
"content": "This is better thenIntimate control for physical modeling synthesis.We are going in 3D :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71968",
"author": "SOOPER... | 1,760,377,656.594162 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/27/ipod-spinning-vinyl/ | IPod Spinning Vinyl | Eliot | [
"digital audio hacks",
"ipod hacks",
"Mac Hacks"
] | [
"apple",
"ar",
"fat",
"ipod",
"ipod touch",
"scratching",
"theo watson",
"vimeo"
] | [vimeo 4353898]
Here’s a
quick demo that FAT’s [Theo Watson] put together
. It uses the iPod’s accelerometer to measure how fast it’s spinning and plays the sound file accordingly. This only works on the iPod touch 2nd gen because of its curved case. He says scratching is coming next, but currently the app doesn’t know which direction it’s spinning since it’s measuring outward force. This project was done in response to [vanderlin]’s
AR scratching
that used fiducials on records. | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "71929",
"author": "fujifan",
"timestamp": "2009-04-28T00:54:25",
"content": "Now if only you could hook up your iPhone wirelessly to a sound system, this could replace CD-playing DJs in the clubs!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": ... | 1,760,377,656.409178 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/27/plant-fasting/ | Plant Fasting: Robotic Gardening | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"gardening",
"robot"
] | [flickr video=3479713449]
This art display system was created by [Peter Sand].
It is called Plant Fasting
and is comprised of a giant robot with interchangeable tools for various gardening tasks. Though the system is mostly automated, it can be controlled via a game pad. It has an Arduino as its brain and it looks like he’s done a completely custom setup for powering the interchangeable pieces. | 37 | 37 | [
{
"comment_id": "71907",
"author": "Todd S.",
"timestamp": "2009-04-27T18:53:09",
"content": "Nice display, but the woman asking the questions is ANNOYING! She asks “is it automated?” – now, what kind of question is that? She’s the reason I did not watch the entire video.",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,377,656.538146 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/27/happy-birthday-gameboy/ | Happy Birthday Gameboy | Caleb Kraft | [
"Nintendo Game Boy Hacks"
] | [
"gameboy",
"lcd",
"screen replacement"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN5duEPO_vc]
In honor of Gameboy’s 20th birthday,
Stupidinventions has released a video showing how to replace the screen
. They tend to be a common weak point. Essentially, they just bought another , we’re assuming broken, Gameboy and swapped them out. Not a horribly complicated hack, but nice to know that it’s so easy. We have fond memories of the Gameboy, which came flooding back when he blew in the cartridge. Happy Birthday Gameboy. | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "71895",
"author": "thecircusb0y",
"timestamp": "2009-04-27T16:09:15",
"content": "If its the gameboys birthday, and this is hackaday, why not include links to all the latest gameboy projects for DJ’ing, sound processing, and home brew?I’m just as nostalgic and I remember my first ga... | 1,760,377,656.690427 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/27/ipod-gps/ | Ipod GPS | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"gps hacks",
"ipod hacks"
] | [
"apple",
"gps",
"ipod"
] | [Benjamin] was working for a GPS company called Nemerix about two years ago and decided to hack together this
iPod accessory GPS unit
. He is using an Atmel ATmega324 and a Nemerix GPS unit, though he says the GPS unit shouldn’t matter. He is taking advantage of the AiR mode on the iPod which allows a 4 color image to be sent to the screen. There was little information on how to utilize this, but BMW and Alpine had made some car audio that featured this. [Benjamin] picked up an Alpine with this function and sniffed the data stream to get what he needed. He says there is
good documentation out there now
though.
He says that the source code is available if you ask. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "71887",
"author": "grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2009-04-27T14:06:20",
"content": "Cool hack!Anyone have any good links to GPS sites especially the european system? I have a thesis to hand in!Cheers!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id":... | 1,760,377,656.459455 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/26/ping-pong-ball-led-wall-display/ | Ping Pong Ball LED Wall Display | Caleb Kraft | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"display",
"led"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEqAndake4M]
Remember the
2 meter POV display
? Well, that same group of students are at it again. This is the
display they built for parties
. It is 5 meters wide and 2.5 meters tall, 240 LEDs, controlled by 40 AVR ATmega48s. This is pretty nice. We think next time they should go for RGB. | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "71823",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2009-04-26T17:53:49",
"content": "40 ATmega48s 240 LEDs? I can’t read the site to understand their reasoning, but wouldn’t a bit of multiplexing have helped here. I mean, an ATMega48 has quite a bit of IO already.",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,377,656.642521 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/26/exercising-to-space-invaders/ | Exercising To Space Invaders | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"camera tracking",
"space invaders",
"video game"
] | [Matt] sent in this cool final project he did for his Computer Engineering course.
They built a space invaders clone, where the player has to physically move back and forth to move the ship, and jump to fire
. The game is projected on the wall, with a camera mounted below it, facing the player. The player, wearing an orange vest, is tracked for the movement and the firing. They also included a blue tooth heart rate sensor with the ultimate goal of using this data to vary the game difficult, but didn’t end up getting the code in. You can see a video of them testing it out at the end of his post. | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "71796",
"author": "Matthias",
"timestamp": "2009-04-26T15:52:06",
"content": "Wow… just wow, that’s one hell of a junior project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71798",
"author": "tulcod",
"timestamp": "2009-04-26T16:31... | 1,760,377,656.743072 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/25/augmented-network-interfaces/ | Augmented Network Interfaces | Eliot | [
"computer hacks"
] | [
"BSD",
"embedded",
"gumstix",
"microsoft",
"rdp",
"usb",
"usbnet",
"vista"
] | Here’s an interesting bit of research to come out of Microsoft and UCSD. The Somniloquy project is a new type of network interface. It’s a USB device that allows a computer to
continue network communications after being put to sleep
. By offloading these tasks, machines that would normally stay awake for RDP and file transfers are only powered up when absolutely necessary. The device uses a Gumstix board like the one used in the
Tor hardware adapter
. The device pictured above has two USB interfaces, but the second is just for debugging and not needed for proper operation. The board runs BSD and creates a USBNet bridge to the Vista host. When the host daemon detects the computer going to sleep, it hands off active communication to the gumstix. They developed “stub” applications to handle the various types of communication. For downloads, they used wget to download only the portion of the data that was still left. For bittorrent, they customized the command line client ctorrent to manage the download. Both programs wake up the PC upon completion and transfer the file off of the SD card.
[via
Engadget
] | 35 | 35 | [
{
"comment_id": "71759",
"author": "Jason G",
"timestamp": "2009-04-26T01:50:43",
"content": "Finally!!! This plagued me 4 years with wifi stopping when computer sleeps!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71761",
"author": "Jason",
"timesta... | 1,760,377,656.817236 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/24/analog-audio-recorded-on-a-floppy/ | Analog Audio Recorded On A Floppy | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"floppy drive",
"record audio"
] | [Jeri ellsworth] of
fatmanandcircuitgirl.com
has made an
audio recorder out of a floppy disk
and an old tape recorder. She’s able to record 15 seconds of audio directly to floppy disk. In the video after the break, she explains how it works, and why you hear the creepy reverb effect. The next step is to run this as a pedal effect for stage music, and she even mentions doing a larger hard drive version with the ability to seek tracks.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpr7B-7BFP4] | 33 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "71676",
"author": "abeck99",
"timestamp": "2009-04-24T19:42:47",
"content": "I just saw this on another blog, and was checking out their shows:http://www.fatmanandcircuitgirl.com/groups/fmandcg/wiki/0d953/Our_Show_and_Projects.htmlThe shows are way too long to watch right now, but s... | 1,760,377,656.885312 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/22/tuio-multitouch-on-iphone-via-browser-hack/ | TUIO Multitouch On IPhone Via Browser Hack | Caleb Kraft | [
"iphone hacks",
"ipod hacks",
"Multitouch Hacks"
] | [
"iphone",
"mac",
"safari",
"tuio"
] | [vimeo=3975324]
When the MSAFluids Remote multitouch App was rejected, a
developer found a way to get virtually the same effect
using a safari App. They’re using the TUIO protocol to get the desired remote control. This opens up the door to extending Applications through the browser as well. While this probably wouldn’t allow you to utilize the other sensor inputs from your device, like accelerometer data, it will allow for fast prototyping of applications that don’t need that. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "71500",
"author": "jproach",
"timestamp": "2009-04-22T23:43:26",
"content": "If you like the visuals, try Plasma Pong:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDjseVmruH8",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71509",
"author": "blizzarddemo... | 1,760,377,656.991499 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/22/going-green-buy-not-buying-new-stuff/ | Going Green, By Not Buying New Stuff | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"green",
"old hardware",
"recycling"
] | Recycling
is
great
. We’ve seen a pretty hard push in that direction recently. We like the fact that our modifying of hardware is generally saving it from the dump. Keep in mind, that just using old hardware can be advantageous too. We don’t always need the new shiny thing, maybe we’re fine with what we’ve got. That is exactly what
lastyearsmodel.org
is about. You can join their facebook group and even get stickers for your old devices. | 29 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "71483",
"author": "bort",
"timestamp": "2009-04-22T21:38:22",
"content": "“buy” not buying new stuff?lolz",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71489",
"author": "BigD145",
"timestamp": "2009-04-22T22:04:25",
"content": "F... | 1,760,377,657.055237 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/22/uses-for-magnets/ | Uses For Magnets | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"emsl",
"evil mad scientist",
"magnets"
] | Sometimes we forget just how useful magnets can be. Sure, we
use them in some projects
, but usually we just pull them apart for our amusement. Evil mad scientist laboratories reminds us that they can be useful tools. They’ve made a list of
17 uses of magnets
. We’re also reminded that
magnets can be dangerous
. What else can you think of? | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "71474",
"author": "gd",
"timestamp": "2009-04-22T20:36:42",
"content": "Cool. But I’m seeing a lot of f**ls loosing their data for not knowing where their hard disk is on the last trick",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71485",
... | 1,760,377,657.210375 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/22/condenser-microphone-building/ | Condenser Microphone Building | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"condenser",
"microphone"
] | Browsing around today, this project caught our eye. Mainly due to the visual similarity to, well, personal massagers. As it turns out, it’s a
home made studio condenser microphone
. We would generally prefer to link directly to his personal page, that has a slightly more in dept write up, but it has popups and pop unders, so
enter at your own risk
. Generally condenser mics require
phantom power
to make the magic happen, but he has included a circuit to run them off of 9v batteries. We’ve done
condenser mics before
, but this seems a bit quicker and dirtier. | 28 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "71446",
"author": "chipokmon",
"timestamp": "2009-04-22T17:54:05",
"content": "looks like a dildo",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71450",
"author": "The Moogle",
"timestamp": "2009-04-22T18:05:01",
"content": "does i... | 1,760,377,657.274759 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/21/phillips-ambx-dissected/ | Phillips AmbX Dissected | Caleb Kraft | [
"home entertainment hacks",
"Misc Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"ambient lighting",
"AmbX",
"phillips"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSv2VNKnvY]
Electrosthetics has taken it upon themselves to
open up and explore the insides of
a
Phillips AmbX system
. The unit is supposed to help immerse you in your video games by adding ambient lighting, vibration, and wind. They got the starter kit, which is missing some bits. Interestingly they found that the hardware was not hampered in any way. You could plug in fans and such and, in theory, build the larger kit. There are lots of pics of the various pieces for you to look at. They note that the hardware all seems decent, but it’s the software that really causes issue. On their Vista64 dual core machine, the software was eating up an entire core to do ambient lighting. | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "71370",
"author": "thomas",
"timestamp": "2009-04-21T20:47:38",
"content": "i hope they put it on one of the 2nd core, the games are just starting with dual core, i beleive. what was the clock frequency of the core?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{... | 1,760,377,657.39038 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/21/making-cool-looking-pcbs/ | Making Cool Looking PCBs | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"colorful",
"pcb",
"smd"
] | [Mike] has
posted an instructable on making cool looking PCBs
. He does it a little differently
than we do
. He uses soda cans for the stencils and combines the solder mas and silk screen steps. Also, a bit of extra cooking gives him this cool gradient of color. He has managed to get some really fine etching. It isn’t as fine as a
laser etching
, but this should be able to handle the smallest stuff you can throw at it. We’re a bit curious what exactly he’s building. There’s a color picture after the break to show you what we mean. | 25 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "71361",
"author": "wtf",
"timestamp": "2009-04-21T18:53:52",
"content": "Ffs a little proofreading won’t go amiss before submitting! WTF is ‘solder mas’??? Jeez!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "783914",
"author": "Re... | 1,760,377,657.335938 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/21/ugobe-files-for-bankruptcy/ | Ugobe Files For Bankruptcy | Caleb Kraft | [
"News",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"bankruptcy",
"pleo",
"ugobe"
] | Ugobe has officially filed bankruptcy
. This is bad news for Pleo. That lovable little dino bot is no longer being produced. If you’ve got one you might want to refrain from
hacking
, just in case it’s worth something one day. As the point out at Engadget, another toy company might buy up the rights, but we doubt it. At
roughly $250 per unit
, these things probably weren’t flying off the shelves. | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "71355",
"author": "Etan",
"timestamp": "2009-04-21T18:14:49",
"content": "Guess it just had to go the way of the dinosaurs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71356",
"author": "momotarosan",
"timestamp": "2009-04-21T18:20:... | 1,760,377,657.440885 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/24/flying-penguins-are-awesome/ | Flying Penguins Are Awesome | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"festo",
"manta ray blimp",
"penguin blimp",
"penguin robot"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5JHMpLIqO4]
Festo, people who brought us the
Manta Ray blimp
are back with
giant flying penguins
. Actually, there’s lots of cool stuff in this video. The flying penguins are nice, but the swimming versions are amazingly believable. They need to sell these as pool toys. There’s also an interactive wall sculpture and a dangling grabby hand that apparently solves the age old riddle; “How many weird dangly grabby things does it take to randomly place several light bulbs in different sockets?”. The answer is, one. Just like last time, they’re sharing some details in PDF form for both the
air penguins
and the
aqua penguins
. | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "71674",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2009-04-24T19:35:49",
"content": "Ahh!!!!!!! He said “orientate”!Why do people say that! “Orient” already means what people use “orientate” for. Why!! Why do people do that!!!!!!!!!-Taylor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,657.600128 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/24/quick-cheap-ring-flash/ | Quick Cheap Ring Flash | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"camera",
"diffuse",
"photography",
"ring light"
] | Here’s a great example of a cheap mod that gets professional results.
This ring flash
cost roughly $14 all together, and they got to eat some fruit salad in the process. The parts list is pretty easy and can almost be figured out just by looking at the picture. A plastic bowl, an aluminum can, some foil, and a lens adapter. This is very nice and much easier than our
last ring light post
. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "71672",
"author": "Monster",
"timestamp": "2009-04-24T19:31:52",
"content": "I’m sorry, but something like that can’t be complete without some use of duct-tape.brilliant work guys",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71675",
"aut... | 1,760,377,657.491555 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/24/zif-socket-for-arduino/ | Zif Socket For Arduino | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"emsl",
"evil mad scientist",
"zif"
] | Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has put out this nice tool. It’s a
Zif socket for Arduino
. If you’re doing a lot of flashing, this could be a nice addition to keep from having to pry your chip out every time. Plus, it looks cool in a soviet era technology kind of way. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "71651",
"author": "spiffed",
"timestamp": "2009-04-24T14:48:05",
"content": "There’s always the classic “ZifDuino”. I use two of these for my Arduino bulk programming needs.http://bittyware.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies":... | 1,760,377,657.547103 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/24/wii-nunchuck-controlled-pleo/ | Wii Nunchuck Controlled Pleo | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Nintendo Wii Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"nunchuck",
"pleo",
"ugobe",
"wii"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcAsEUOW9Q]
[Andy] wrote in to show us how
he hacked his Pleo to be controlled by a Wii Nunchuck
. He has installed Xbee units for the communication as well as written a “skit” that allows the Pleo to just stand there and wait for commands. He is using an Arduino to interpret the Nunchuck input and send it to the Pleo. It’s a pretty cool proof of concept, but the response time is pretty slow. This might be due to the Arduino’s slower serial communication rate. Yes, we said you might want to refrain from hacking them, due to their
impending extinction
, but did you expect us to stick to that? If you’re going to dig into one, you may also be interested in
how to hack the Pleo for face recognition and remote control
. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "71655",
"author": "grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2009-04-24T15:27:04",
"content": "Oh Yeah!My little anamatronic dinosaur! Ive always wanted one. Is there anything the wimote and nunchuck cant control?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_i... | 1,760,377,657.651649 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/23/radio-controlled-nerf-tank/ | Radio Controlled Nerf Tank | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"nerf",
"radio controlled",
"tank"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FjT9nUkj-I]
[Travis7s] has built this giant
Nerf Tank
. Featuring Radio controls, a web cam, laser sights, and the ability to play music, this thing is pretty awesome. He’s using the Nerf Vulcan rifle, temporarily modified with a servo for remote firing. This thing is pretty huge, as you can see from the video, it sits about as high as the seat cushions of the chairs in his house. The sound system is an amplifier and some speakers hooked up to an iPod. This thing could use a nice coat of paint to make it a little more menacing and a little less Nerf. What it really needs though, is the ability to play sounds from a sound board. Imagine the Imperial March as it enters a room, or maybe a sound board with appropriate insults and phrases for the onslaught. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "71581",
"author": "FIRESTORM_v1",
"timestamp": "2009-04-23T16:18:41",
"content": "While I do applaud the inventor on his efforts, there are a couple of nits to pick, ok, well one major one and one “If I had the funds to do it… “..The major nitpick is: “What? No tilt??” I think the... | 1,760,377,657.859112 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/23/a-new-contender-in-home-fabbing/ | A New Contender In Home Fabbing | Caleb Kraft | [
"cnc hacks",
"News"
] | [
"cnc",
"cupcake",
"fab",
"fabrication",
"reprap"
] | Purple Crayon
is a new entry into the home fabricating arena. Shown above, with it’s makers [Konrad] and [Aaron], it’s set to compete with
RepRap
and
Cupcake
. It looks to be bigger than Cupcake, but smaller than the reprap. There aren’t many details available on their site, but we’re sure there will be soon. They do state that it should retail for less than $1,000. | 30 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "71571",
"author": "Sam",
"timestamp": "2009-04-23T14:50:24",
"content": "It can duplicate people? It obviously used different materials to construct the less hairy one, but they clearly share the same brain and the duplicate can make the same dorky hand gesture. Beware of clones!"... | 1,760,377,657.811865 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/23/autonomous-tank-terrorizing-campus/ | Autonomous Tank Terrorizing Campus | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"airsoft",
"autonomous",
"robot",
"senior project",
"tank"
] | As a senior design project for ECE4007, [Nate], [An], [Chris], and [Wink] built an
autonomous toy tank
. It is using a Panasonic IR motion sensor to find targets, then once it’s facing the target it switches to visual motion tracking through it’s web cam. If it can get close enough, it will stop and begin rotating the turret for more accuracy. Finally it fires a pellet. It’s brains are an
ICOP technology eBox-2300
running windows CE. All of the programming is available on the site, as well as a breakdown of the various sensors and hardware. As you can see in the video after the break, it does a decent job. Given some more time, we’re sure they could speed up the target acquisition process. Maybe we should add a category for
Georgia
Tech
final
projects
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5edeuTK165w] | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "71561",
"author": "Who",
"timestamp": "2009-04-23T13:28:45",
"content": "someone needs to take this project and modify it for that large electronic dalek that came out a while back.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71563",
"a... | 1,760,377,657.923849 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/21/wii-controlled-segway-style-nxt-bot/ | Wii Controlled Segway Style NXT Bot | Caleb Kraft | [
"Nintendo Wii Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"balance",
"lego",
"nxt",
"segway",
"wii"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUzgYcokIF4]
When [Epokh] sent in this
Wii controlled segway style bot
, we remembered a
post a few months ago where someone made a balancing bot
, but hadn’t completed the Wii code. Well, [Epokh] is going to show you how to implement the Wii controls with the Lego NXT system. He’s found the links to all the software you need and broken down the configuration step by step. He’s
been
busy
lately, let’s hope he keeps it up. | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "71389",
"author": "wrrj",
"timestamp": "2009-04-21T23:21:39",
"content": "FIRST -.-YOU ALL ARE NOOBS",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71405",
"author": "Marine",
"timestamp": "2009-04-22T02:30:07",
"content": "omg its... | 1,760,377,658.200534 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/20/twitter-brain-interface/ | Twitter Brain Interface | Eliot | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"adam wilson",
"als",
"eeg",
"electrode",
"johl",
"neural interface",
"nitro",
"oprah",
"twitter"
] | Just in time for the influx of sedentary Oprah viewers, [Adam Wilson] built a
brain interface that allows you to post Twitter messages
. The electrode cap monitors the user’s brain functions to determine where they’re looking. The display slowly flashes each letter in the alphabet. The user focuses on the letter they want and when it flashes the cap can pick up the resulting impulse. It’s a long process and the average user can only do ten characters a minute i.e. 14 minutes to use all 140 characters in a Twitter post. It’s interesting research and shows how far we still need to go with neural interfaces. The researchers note that Twitter’s forced brevity levels the playing field between locked-in patients and normal users. A video of the device in use is available on the NITRO blog.
Related:
KanEye tracking system
[via
@johl
] | 36 | 36 | [
{
"comment_id": "71281",
"author": "will d.",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T23:38:35",
"content": "we’re going to need some technological breakthroughs before we can get a really effective neural interface. the electric signals just don’t transmit well to the scalp. signals from deep in the brain are e... | 1,760,377,658.152848 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/20/bioloid-hacking-with-johnny-lee/ | Bioloid Hacking With Johnny Lee | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"bioloid",
"bluetooth",
"johhny chung lee"
] | Though we usually think of Wii projects when we see him,
[Johnny Lee] is showing us some Bioloid fun
. He’s decided to pick one up to play with, wanting to write his own control programs for it. Unfortunately what he found was that it doesn’t do wireless communication for control. Even after installing a bluetooth module, he found it was only used to trigger different predetermined motions. After some research, he found how to connect the bluetooth module to the main PC link which allows him direct control of the Bioloid via the PC. Unfortunately, the communication speed leaves a lot to be desired, but it’s a good start. We’ll keep our eye on this one. | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "71274",
"author": "Cricket",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T22:25:37",
"content": "Johnny Lee is the best! Everything he does is ingenious.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71308",
"author": "TJHooker",
"timestamp": "2009-04-2... | 1,760,377,660.131523 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/20/linksys-ip-cam-hacking/ | Linksys IP Cam Hacking | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital cameras hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"camera",
"linksys",
"wireless"
] | GNUCITIZEN has posted information on
linksys wireless IP camera hacking
. It turns out that some models send the administrator user name and password to the computer when the setup wizard requests a connection. In theory, someone could send the request and harvest your passwords wirelessly. This seems like a pretty careless oversight. We would think that linksys will probably remedy this before too long.
Update:
Part 2 has been posted
.
Update:
Part 3 has been posted
. | 28 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "71258",
"author": "Clay",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T19:53:54",
"content": "Fail. Good job Linksys.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71260",
"author": "will2",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T19:56:43",
"content": "There’s no ... | 1,760,377,659.950522 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/20/fast-little-hexapods/ | Fast Little Hexapods | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"hexapod",
"roach",
"robot"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC4vWKenA7Y]
We’ve
posted
many
many
times
about
hexapods. One of the most common comments, aside from how creepy they are, is about their speed. Hexapods are generally pretty slow. These little bots are quite a bit different though. The
Sprawl
and
iSprawl
, are anything but slow. Using a hybrid leg mechanism that aims its piston like “toes”, they mimic the motion of cockroaches. The video shows the speed can be pretty quick, especially the iSprawl in the second half. The leg mechanism the Sprawl is air powered, while the iSprawl uses a push/pull cable transmission system. As pointed out at BotJunkie, it’s nice for the “i” in iSprawl to actually mean something. It stands for “independent”.
[via
BotJunkie
] | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "71239",
"author": "tulcod",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T17:34:47",
"content": "give me one which moves backwards at this speed too and you have my attention.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71240",
"author": "BigD145",
"tim... | 1,760,377,660.289351 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/20/felixs-machines/ | Felix’s Machines | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"felix",
"instrument",
"music"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CdA-ivDj8o]
Ok, we know you’re going to get mad, there’s virtually no information on the technical side. But the music was so pleasant, and that’s rare. There’s an
interview with Felix
, the creator, where he discusses his goals and ideas behind the project. We prefer just to sit and watch though. If you want to make something similar, there were some
technical details on a mechanical drum
recently.
[Thanks Hash] | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "71227",
"author": "GaryC",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T15:52:40",
"content": "That’s awesome, the LEDs really make it stand out and add some visual to the show :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71231",
"author": "abeck99",
... | 1,760,377,660.242143 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/20/high-speed-book-scanner-from-trash/ | High Speed Book Scanner From Trash | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"book scanning",
"chdk",
"dumpster diving",
"epilog",
"ocr",
"stereodata maker"
] | [Daniel] sent us his entry to the
Epilog laser cutter challenge
on instructables. He made a
book scanner
, mainly out of found parts. The bulk of the project was salvaged from dumpsters, though if you’re not comfortable with that, the free section of craigslist might be able to do the job. The cameras are loaded with
CHDK
, using
StereoData maker
, and custom software to compile the images into PDFs. They did a fantastic job of documenting every step of the construction, including helpful tips for some of the more complicated parts. There are several videos in the instructable, so be sure to check them out. We’re particularly amused by the extra step of making the photo captions visually interesting. At 79 steps, it’s a long read, but well worth it. | 28 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "71206",
"author": "Laser Pup",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T13:49:56",
"content": "Wow, awesome! I’ve been looking for an inexpensive way to scan books for a while now, and this may just fit the bill…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": ... | 1,760,377,660.465384 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/19/printing-circuits-on-the-reprap/ | Printing Circuits On The RepRap | Eliot | [
"cnc hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"3d",
"3d printing",
"circuit",
"rapid prototyping",
"reprap",
"self-replicating"
] | [Rhys Jones] has been working with the RepRap team to
develop a way to print circuit boards
. The machine first prints the plastic substrate with channels for the metal to be deposited into. They adapted their
pinch wheel feeder
to work with solid core solder (flux creates a mess). The extruded solder’s specific heat isn’t hot enough to melt the plastic. They made a video (embedded below) of their test piece: an optical endstop. The team has also been experimenting with
decoupling the feed mechanism from the extruder
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9miG2U3PR8w] | 27 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "71169",
"author": "Quadrapod",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T03:30:32",
"content": "hmm, so now a rep rap can make even more of its own parts, i wonder if its possible to layout parts like the rep rap mobo and stepper motor controllers on single sided pbcs?",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,377,660.194459 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/19/bohemian-rhapsody-on-old-hardware/ | Bohemian Rhapsody On Old Hardware | Eliot | [
"digital audio hacks",
"home entertainment hacks",
"News"
] | [
"adafruit",
"atari",
"bd594",
"HP",
"music",
"oscilloscope",
"queen",
"scanjet",
"scanner",
"ti"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht96HJ01SE4]
Here’s another junk music performance to add to the list. [bd594] put together this rendition of
Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody on assorted computing equipment
. The lead piano sound is from an Atari 800XL. Lead guitar is a Texas Instruments TI-99/4a. An 8inch floppy plays bass while a HP ScanJet 3C covers the vocals. He had to dub the scanner four times to get all of the vocal parts. He wanted to use four independent scanners but the prices on eBay were forbidding. The use of oscilloscopes to show the wave forms in the video is a nice touch. Check out our
post about Radiohead’s Nude
for more examples of this.
[via
adafruit
] | 24 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "71154",
"author": "d0n0vAn",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T00:40:53",
"content": "I love it, Excellent!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71158",
"author": "sly",
"timestamp": "2009-04-20T01:13:17",
"content": "the hard dri... | 1,760,377,660.344346 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/19/3d-printing-at-home/ | 3D Printing At Home | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"3d printing",
"cnc",
"inkjet",
"mill",
"printer",
"rapid prototyping",
"rep rap"
] | We’ve seen a lot of 3d printing lately, with the
RepRap
and
Cupcake
, both the
fused deposition modeling
type. We don’t often see the Inkjet method.
This is a great example of one
, built in someones home. Instead of laying down layers of molten plastic, he uses the inkjet system to deposit glue like substances into layers of plaster. This project is much higher resolution than the other two, as you can see in the video of it making an RC engine case below. He is currently rebuilding it to be even better and larger.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rxk6nlN9uM]
[thanks Luke] | 36 | 36 | [
{
"comment_id": "71117",
"author": "Edd",
"timestamp": "2009-04-19T16:35:17",
"content": "I saw this guys video for this about a month ago and I’m currently looking at building my own out of the 3 spare printers that I have. It looks good, but I have to say, I’m still pending on membership to the ya... | 1,760,377,660.024143 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/18/microsoft-sorta-explains-e74-errors/ | Microsoft Sorta Explains E74 Errors | Eliot | [
"News",
"Xbox Hacks"
] | [
"e74",
"failure",
"hdmi",
"kotaku",
"red ring of death",
"rrod",
"warranty",
"xbox",
"xbox 360",
"xbox-scene"
] | Last month we
speculated on the recent rise in Xbox 360 E74 errors
. We assumed that this was because of an increase in the number of HDMI consoles and that the associated scalar chip was failing. Unfortunately since these weren’t red ring failures, they didn’t fall into the extended three year warranty period for
Xbox 360s
. That is until this week when Microsoft admitted that some E74 errors are the
same types of failures that cause the RRoD
and would repair E74 under the same three year warranty. Kotaku
attempted to get a better explanation out of Microsoft
, but only got a little more info. Microsoft did confirm that E74 is not a reclassing of RRoD, but that there is some overlap between the two.
[via
xbox-scene
] | 29 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "71082",
"author": "epicelite",
"timestamp": "2009-04-19T05:03:00",
"content": "Nice that they decided to cover it with 3 year warranty. =3",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71085",
"author": "BikeHelmet",
"timestamp": "200... | 1,760,377,660.088822 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/18/laser-cutter-plays-super-mario-bros-theme/ | Laser Cutter Plays Super Mario Bros. Theme | Eliot | [
"cnc hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"cnc",
"g-code",
"hacklab.to",
"laser",
"lasercutter",
"mario",
"super mario bros",
"toronto"
] | [vimeo
http://vimeo.com/3983501%5D
[Jed] from Toronto’s hackerspace HackLab.TO coded the
theme from Super Mario Bros. for their laser cutter
. He’s
posted the ruby code
that generates the g-code from a simple tablature.
Related:
CNC music factory Still Alive
[via
Waxy
] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "71059",
"author": "Wolfin",
"timestamp": "2009-04-18T23:38:19",
"content": "Oh, what will they think of next?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "71060",
"author": "josh",
"timestamp": "2009-04-18T23:58:09",
"content": "... | 1,760,377,660.396489 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/17/pirate-bay-verdict-guilty/ | Pirate Bay Verdict: Guilty | Caleb Kraft | [
"News"
] | [
"bittorrent",
"pratebay",
"sweden",
"torrent"
] | As you’ve undoubtedly seen on every other website in the universe, the verdict is in. The four defendants from the Pirate Bay have been found
guilty of copyright infringement
and sentenced to 1 year in prison and some pretty large fines. This could be a pretty important case since it deals with the blurry area between supplying material and supplying a means to get material. Though the verdict is obviously bad for the individuals, the site seems to be thriving from the media exposure. They’ve
stated that the site will stay up
.
We’ve been watching this since it began
, and now we’re curious what this means for the rest of the file sharing world. | 149 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "70902",
"author": "srilyk",
"timestamp": "2009-04-17T19:31:50",
"content": "They’re not guilty of copyright infringement – but contributory copyright infringement. That simply means they’re guilty by association – because they didn’t do anything to stop a fellow, they’re guilty.Lik... | 1,760,377,660.95898 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/17/radish-eco-friendly-google-calendar/ | Radish – Eco Friendly Google Calendar | Caleb Kraft | [
"google hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Solar Hacks"
] | [
"calendar",
"display",
"google",
"lcd",
"radish",
"solar"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyHaImmmkGs]
[Aaron] a google employee came up with an idea that would be good for the environment, as well as fun. The
Radish is a solar powered display, updated from a google calendar
, with extremely low power consumption. They are building this to be an indicator of the conference room schedule. When we first read this, we wondered just how much greener it could possibly be than printing a few sheets of paper. Then we read that they were going through six reams per day. wow. The Radish gets its power through a solar panel, and preserves it through some creative power saving modes and the fact that it has an LCD that only requires power to update. Would this be a good place for some E paper? Data is transferred using IEEE 802.15.4, which is slow, but also more efficient in terms of power than normal WiFi. The system is so efficient, it can run for 3-4 days in low light conditions after a charge . Another cool fact is that [Aaron] got to design and build this on company time. Google allows people to spend 20% of their time on innovative new projects of their choice.
correction: the LCD goes into an extremely low power “sleep mode” when not being updated, and retains the last image loaded. | 26 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "70876",
"author": "Tom",
"timestamp": "2009-04-17T15:51:48",
"content": "That is really pretty cool, though I wonder why they couldn’t get a more efficient photovoltaic cell. The cell is twice the size of the unit itself…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
... | 1,760,377,660.81308 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/17/wiitar-a-build-log/ | Wiitar, A Build Log | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"home entertainment hacks",
"Nintendo Wii Hacks"
] | [
"guitar",
"music",
"wiimote",
"wiitar"
] | [Ozan] sent in this build log from when
he made a Wiitar
. As you can probably guess from the title, it’s a guitar combined with a wiimote. He has completely gutted the Wiimote and installed the internals in the guitar. Some toggle switches were mounted to control the button states on the Wiimote. This is a pretty useful setup as you can use the Wiimote data to control effects on the guitar. We’ve actually
seen a very similar setup
before. [Ozan] has included the build log, as well as a simple
glovepie
script and a sample effect patch. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "70878",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2009-04-17T15:57:17",
"content": "WII-tar-did",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70882",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2009-04-17T17:07:33",
"content": "What he said.",
"pare... | 1,760,377,661.00991 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/16/bent-festival-begins-tonight/ | Bent Festival Begins Tonight | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital audio hacks",
"home entertainment hacks",
"News"
] | [
"bent",
"bentfestival",
"blip",
"circuit bending",
"circuitbending",
"music festival"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Pbyg_kcEk]
The
Bent festival
, which begins tonight in New York City, is a celebration of DIY musical instruments. Artists from all over converge to beep, blip, and strum for your pleasure. With a heavy emphasis on hacking your own instruments, this is definitely something we’re interested in. If you’ve only heard a little bit of
circuit bending
and didn’t like it, you may want to give it a try anyway. The musical genres are extremely diverse, it’s not all just random noise. | 48 | 48 | [
{
"comment_id": "70798",
"author": "BigD145",
"timestamp": "2009-04-16T23:42:55",
"content": "a kazoo is not quite as annoying as this “film”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70800",
"author": "HackWack23",
"timestamp": "2009-04-16T23:45:... | 1,760,377,661.484382 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/16/spdif-switch/ | SPDIF Switch | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"conversion",
"opto",
"spdif",
"switch",
"video"
] | When [linux-works] found himself needing a switch that could convert coax to opto,
he made one
. The main chip is a cd4052 cmos analog switch, which he says is really cheap. The rest is pretty self explanatory. This setup can switch between 4 different inputs as well as do the coax to opto conversion. | 58 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "70788",
"author": "Garthok",
"timestamp": "2009-04-16T20:51:38",
"content": "Does he have a diagram, or a schematic with pinouts? I could definately use one of these at home.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70790",
"author":... | 1,760,377,661.10501 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/16/laser-projector-zippo/ | Laser Projector Zippo | Caleb Kraft | [
"Laser Hacks"
] | [
"laser",
"lighter",
"projector",
"zippo"
] | [vimeo=4130779]
If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “I wish I had a laser projector hidden in a zippo”, then you’ll really appreciate
this project
. [Rog8811], who you might remember from the
laser lighter
, has made a
spirograph
style green laser projector that fits inside his zippo. This is very compact and you would have no idea it was there until you open it up. Just be careful, this seems perfect for causing eye damage to someone who isn’t expecting a laser to shoot out of your zippo. | 26 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "70775",
"author": "beskone",
"timestamp": "2009-04-16T18:12:17",
"content": "whats the point??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70778",
"author": "J",
"timestamp": "2009-04-16T18:36:44",
"content": "I saw one that had... | 1,760,377,661.541532 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/15/eeepc-picture-frame/ | Eeepc Picture Frame | Caleb Kraft | [
"laptops hacks"
] | [
"Asus",
"EeePc",
"picture frame",
"tablet"
] | We’ve all seen a million digital picture frames. Usually, people use an old outdated laptop or something. [Quinten] just sent in this one he made
using an Eeepc 701
. Being the first one available, the smallest both in terms of screen size and storage, they are available pretty cheap. There’s nothing amazingly groundbreaking here, just yanking all the parts out of the Eeepc and mounting them, nicely, in a wooden frame. [Quinten] did a great job getting everything in, with the least amount of space wasted. It strikes us that He has made a super cheap tablet conversion, he’s only missing the
touch screen
.
We’ve seen Eeepc
tablet conversions
, but they seemed to have much more difficult to construct cases. | 24 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "70630",
"author": "Gaspard de Coligny",
"timestamp": "2009-04-15T15:06:05",
"content": "Please, digital picture frame are now available for less than the price of the glue used in this project. These kind of mods are everyday a little further from ‘hacking’ and closer to ‘being a di... | 1,760,377,661.403029 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/15/mini-arcade-cabinets/ | Mini Arcade Cabinets | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"arcade",
"console",
"mini cabinet",
"sega",
"turbografix",
"video game"
] | [Pocket_Lucho] has really done a fantastic job on this one. He’s
making miniature arcade cabinets
(
translated
) from old consoles. This post is mainly talking about a Sega genisis version, but he’s also done one for the
PC engine
(aka turbografix 16). He takes us through pulling RGB video strait from the chip as well as harvesting buttons from a cheapo all in one arcade controller. For the screen he’s using a PSone portable LCD, pretty much un modified. What really stands out is the final layout. He has built tiny arcade cabinets, about a foot tall, to house them. These are amazingly awesome and we want one. No, we want an entire mini arcade of them. You can see a video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGHc5HlEseU]
[thanks Keith] | 23 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "70608",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2009-04-15T13:37:41",
"content": "Wow.That’s extremely well done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70610",
"author": "infin1ght",
"timestamp": "2009-04-15T13:47:48",
"co... | 1,760,377,661.341084 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/14/space-invader-button/ | Space Invader Button | Eliot | [
"LED Hacks",
"Video Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"atmega164p",
"AVR",
"led",
"led sensing",
"make",
"matrix",
"pixel",
"video",
"youtube"
] | [Marcus] saw [Alex]’s
64 pixel project
and decided it could be implemented in even less space. Pictured above is his
Space Invader button
with a bicolor LED matrix. The controller board is all SMD and piggybacked on the matrix. An ATmega164P drives the 24 pins via transistors. In addition to animation, the board can do
LED sensing
too. It’s a very clever project and [Marcus] has some notes about working with such tiny components. You can see a video of it below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlpE1WtwF9Q]
[via
Make
] | 36 | 36 | [
{
"comment_id": "70528",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2009-04-15T00:16:23",
"content": "Way to go interactive-matter that is my kind of project for sure. Working with SMD is one of my favourite things electronics has had to offer. I really like how it has a professional look to it and well… spac... | 1,760,377,661.281108 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/14/microbot-for-the-robocup-2008/ | Microbot For The Robocup 2008 | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"robocup",
"robot",
"small",
"stepper",
"tiny"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMJJ2FJqsdI]
[tioguerra] helped make
these tiny bots
for the World Robocup 2008 in china. There’s tons of information on the
Mixed Reality forum
, but you might be specifically interested in the
bot section
. There are breakdowns of different aspects, such as charging and IR communication, as well as some great photographs of the unit along with a smaller one. The construction of the robot seems so nicely fit together, someone spent a lot of time getting the design just right. Since we don’t see a new section for 2009 bots, we are guessing that they’ll use this design again. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "70519",
"author": "George Graves",
"timestamp": "2009-04-14T21:45:39",
"content": "I’ve been looking for more info about this FOREVER. Thanks hackaday!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70520",
"author": "bluehash",
"time... | 1,760,377,662.00649 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/14/hard-drive-speaker-ipod-dock/ | Hard Drive Speaker IPod Dock | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital audio hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"ipod hacks"
] | [
"dock",
"hard drive",
"iphone",
"ipod",
"music",
"obsolete hardware",
"Radiohead"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vEEx4rfugE]
This looks like someone watched the
Obsolete Technology Band
, and had to have one of their own. It appears to be a dock,
driving several different sizes of old hard drives
. While the concept isn’t new, we thought they did a decent job of putting the whole display together. It could be fun to have that mounted on our wall, waiting for geek friends to impress. | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "70511",
"author": "tikimexican",
"timestamp": "2009-04-14T20:29:06",
"content": "At the very least, it does use up those old hdd’s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70512",
"author": "Bushi",
"timestamp": "2009-04-14T20:3... | 1,760,377,661.638369 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/14/controlling-spykee-via-web-cam-using-your-fingers/ | Controlling Spykee Via Web Cam Using Your Fingers | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"computer hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"blob",
"finger tracking",
"lego",
"spykee",
"web cam"
] | [epokh] sent in this cool project where he wrote some custom code to
control the Spykee robot using gestures
. He filters out everything but green through his web cam, then wraps his fingers in green tape. He then runs a series of filters to clean it up a little bit. The resulting “blobs” are tracked and converted to motor commands. You can see the setup in action in the video after the break. This guy might look familiar, as we posted a super quick
head tracking rig he did with legos
recently. Some of you mentioned, in the comments, that the legos were a waste, you’ll find that he thought so too, and
ended up fabbing a simple rig to take the place of the legos
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV3nNy2Yseo] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "70525",
"author": "cynic",
"timestamp": "2009-04-14T23:27:37",
"content": "That video shows absolutely nothing other than the fact he can’t smile on camera, why use that one in the article when the other two exist and show a little of what he’s doing?",
"parent_id": null,
"d... | 1,760,377,661.591753 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/14/beat-boxxx-and-speak-to-mebreathe/ | Beat Boxxx And Speak To Me/Breathe | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"beat",
"bleep",
"braille",
"email",
"music"
] | [vimeo=4038918]
[Steve] is in the MFA Design and Technology program at parsons, and as part of his studies, has built a couple really interesting projects. First, the
Beat boxxx
, as seen in the video above, is an 80’s retro looking portable beat looper. You create and loop your beats at the time of playing using simple hand gestures. The look is great, for those who enjoy cardboard and magic marker, though we think some tonal variation and possibly a wider pitch variation would really make this fun.
His second project is
Speak to Me/Breathe
. This project was meant to be a commentary on security in our daily information. He is visually displaying the braille symbols to spell out his emails. If any person were to spend the effort, they could decipher his emails. The finish on this project is quite nice, you can see a video of the display after the break.
[vimeo=3616219] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "70505",
"author": "dext3r",
"timestamp": "2009-04-14T19:17:46",
"content": "oh, so Speak to Me/Breathe has nothing to do with Floyd. Oh well, coolio regardless.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70507",
"author": "Akeldamach",... | 1,760,377,662.140941 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/13/pov-pong/ | POV Pong | Caleb Kraft | [
"LED Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"persistence of vision",
"pong",
"POV",
"rotating"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVOgsUOslMs]
[Akeeh] posted something to our flickr pool that caught our eye.
The image was a rotating POV display, playing pong
. We followed through the links and found this
very well done rotating pov display
. The construction is quite nice, showing multiple colors and smooth motion. there’s a little bit of wiggle even though it has a custom round pcb. Maybe a little better counter weight would help with that. The idea
isn’t new
, but it is good looking and elegantly made. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "70398",
"author": "BigBubbaX",
"timestamp": "2009-04-13T21:20:14",
"content": "Pretty cool, but the video doesn’t show the thing actually playing pong.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70399",
"author": "BigBubbaX",
"time... | 1,760,377,662.044357 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/13/twittering-toots-a-chairs-perspective/ | Twittering Toots, A Chair’s Perspective | Caleb Kraft | [
"Tool Hacks",
"Uncategorized"
] | [
"fart",
"methane",
"poot",
"toot",
"twitter"
] | We might have to add a category of “stuff made to twitter”. The latest installment is an
office chair that twitters whenever it gets farted on
. The author has a smart sounding description as to why he decided to make this, and he has a pretty good point about twittering interrupting the things you’re twittering about, but it all boils down to the fact that he wants to twitter his farts.
We can’t say that we didn’t expect something along these lines
. He has mounted a
natural gas sensor
in his chair, along with a squidbee wireless transceiver. You can download all the code as well as see the construction in the instructable. You can also follow his flatulent adventures on the
twitter account of the office chair
. | 28 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "70382",
"author": "aficionado",
"timestamp": "2009-04-13T19:48:05",
"content": "that is just a bit sillyi cant wait for this twitter phase to end",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70386",
"author": "eric",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,377,661.957622 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/13/naval-academys-auv-team-project/ | Naval Academy’s AUV Team Project | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"autonomous",
"navy",
"rov",
"submarine",
"under water"
] | [Daniel] sent us over to the blog for the
Naval Academy’s Autonomous underwater vehicle entry
for the
AUVSI competition
. You can follow along as they design, build, and test this years entry. It really looks like it would be fun to be the guy who gets to swim with them, like in the latest post in their blog. Their entry, named “Awkward turtle” can be seen above in orange, pictured with their 5th place winning previous entry. | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "70394",
"author": "Man On Fire",
"timestamp": "2009-04-13T20:58:33",
"content": "using a pre-built waterproof case to house the brains is a good idea. fabricating your own would be a pain.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70428",... | 1,760,377,662.189672 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/13/dell-mini-9-3g-install/ | Dell Mini 9 3G Install | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"laptops hacks"
] | [
"3g",
"acer aspire",
"dell mini 9",
"netbook"
] | [Rob] sent in his
Dell mini 9 3G install
. He bought the Dell without the 3G option, but found that he really wanted it. He installed a mini pcie bracket and found a sim connector that matched the specs he needed. Apparently they use one that it rare as it uses the first pin to indicate whether or not there’s a card loaded. He pulled the mini pcie 3G card from a cheap USB adapter. After soldering it all in place and firing up OS X, he was able to connect, without issue. He says the reception wasn’t great, so he’ll need to add an antenna. This is similar to the process seen on the
Acer aspire one 3G hack
. Since you’re already in there, you might as well
add a GPS
while you’re at it. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "70375",
"author": "Convictus",
"timestamp": "2009-04-13T18:04:14",
"content": "Stupid question, can that added mini pcie slot hold a ssd card? I don’t want to boot from it, but I would love to add capacity that is relatively high speed and not have to use the sd slot for it.",
... | 1,760,377,662.095153 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/12/spatialized-umbrella/ | Spatialized Umbrella | Eliot | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"classic hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"ATmega168",
"itp",
"joe saavedra",
"led",
"mapduino",
"mfa dt",
"parsons",
"umbrella",
"video",
"vimeo"
] | Reader [Joe Saavedra] sent in his latest project: the
spatialized umbrella
. The base of each umbrella rib features an LED, speaker, and distance sensor. These are connected to an ATMega168 microcontroller running the Arduino environment. The IR sensor triggers a rain drop sound based on proximity. Shorter distances mean more droplets are played. The sounds are generated using a lookup table and the digital pins. You can see the demo video embedded below.
Using the Arduino environment without the associated board is part of another idea that [Joe] is working on. The
MapDuino Project
uses the standard Arduino hardware for programming, but then transfers the chip to a more barebones circuit in target project. They based their initial work on the
ITP breadboard Arduino
.
[vimeo 4073522] | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "70295",
"author": "epicelite",
"timestamp": "2009-04-13T01:57:59",
"content": "Whats the point?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70296",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2009-04-13T02:17:45",
"content": "…",
"paren... | 1,760,377,662.481403 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/11/tweenbots-rely-on-human-help/ | Tweenbots Rely On Human Help | Eliot | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"bliptv",
"itp",
"kacie kinzer",
"laughing squid",
"navigation",
"robot",
"thesis",
"tweenbot",
"video",
"washington square park"
] | [Kacie Kinzer] put together an interesting social experiment:
Could a robot navigate purely by the help of strangers
? She constructed an inexpensive Tweenbot robot that would drive in a straight line. A flag was attached to the top with a plea for help and a destination. Surprisingly, on the first run it was able to traverse through Washington Square Park in just 42 minutes with the help of 29 people. You can see a video of the first run below. This is part of [Kacie]’s thesis work at
ITP
and she has many other bots planned. While it’s a great demonstration of human kindness, there’s another lesson: If you don’t think your public project looks innocuous enough, draw a smiley face on it.
[blip.tv ?posts_id=1712075&dest=-1]
[via
Laughing Squid
] | 45 | 44 | [
{
"comment_id": "70182",
"author": "Nicklaus Michael (Cold)",
"timestamp": "2009-04-12T00:47:04",
"content": "Actually was kinda cute.. after seeing all the women touch it I want to be the robot… lol Very cool social experiment..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,377,662.266169 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/11/hal-suit-going-into-production/ | HAL Suit Going Into Production | Eliot | [
"Tool Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"cyberdyne",
"engadget",
"exoskeleton",
"hal",
"power suit",
"segway"
] | When we compiled our list of
real life power suits
last May, the HAL suit was being pitched as a $1000 a month rental. Cyberdyne has changed their tune for the better recently. Teports suggest that the first 400 unit run of powered exoskeletons will
sell for $4200
, less than a Segway. The suit can increase the wearer’s strength ten-fold and will run continuously for nearly three hours.
[via
Engadget
] | 53 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "70165",
"author": "suture",
"timestamp": "2009-04-11T22:47:14",
"content": "cyberdyne? so how long until the T series comes out?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70167",
"author": "Nerdcore Steve",
"timestamp": "2009-04-1... | 1,760,377,662.42325 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/11/googles-servers-revealed/ | Googles Servers Revealed | Caleb Kraft | [
"google hacks",
"News"
] | [
"battery",
"google",
"microsoft",
"server",
"shipping container"
] | We’ve often wondered what kind of hardware the giant of the internet, Google, used to handle it’s data. They’ve recently revealed what their
main workhorses
are. It’s a custom motherboard made by Gigabyte with two processors, and eight RAM slots. The main point of interest on these is the fact that each server and piece of network equipment has it’s own battery backup. This may add a little money in the initial cost of the unit, but apparently it is a much more efficient way of handling power. Be sure to click over to the site and check out the shipping container setup that they use. Each container has 1,160 servers. They aren’t the only ones using this method.
Microsoft has adopted it
for their newer facilities and Sun has done some extensive testing on how these
portable facilities handle earthquakes
. You can see the quake test after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HNGM-rje7U] | 34 | 34 | [
{
"comment_id": "70144",
"author": "Louis II",
"timestamp": "2009-04-11T19:05:21",
"content": "Despite the lack of hack, this post was very informative and answered a few questions I had about their systems in a bit greater detail.Thanks for that!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replie... | 1,760,377,662.550911 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/11/rgb-7-segment-display/ | RGB 7 Segment Display | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"LED Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"7 segment",
"display",
"led",
"rgb"
] | [Markus] noticed a lack of 7 segment LED displays that could show RGB. Like any hacker, he sought to
remedy this
. The solution he came up with was to basically remove all the electronics from the plastic body of the display. He then mounted new surface mount RGB LEDs in the correct places. This may be a bit messy, and definitely increased the footprint in this layout, but as you can see from the pictures on his site, the final result is quite nice. What uses can you think of for these? | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "70129",
"author": "EEguy",
"timestamp": "2009-04-11T16:38:50",
"content": "a pinball machine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70130",
"author": "Mike McGregor",
"timestamp": "2009-04-11T16:43:01",
"content": "Whos id... | 1,760,377,662.612902 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/10/dell-adamo-teardown/ | Dell Adamo Teardown | Eliot | [
"computer hacks",
"laptops hacks"
] | [
"adamo",
"air",
"apple",
"dell",
"dell adamo",
"ifixit",
"macbook air",
"ssd",
"teardown",
"windows"
] | TechRepublic and iFixit partnered to
teardown Dell’s flagship notebook, the Adamo
. The Adamo is positioned to compete directly with Apple’s
MacBook Air
. The Dell crams a lot of technology into a very thin frame and they use a clever locking system for the backplate to hide any screws. The built in battery has a longer life than the Air and an SSD comes stock. The team points out that the Windows logo is etched on the backside instead of the standard ugly stickers; apparently this took quite a bit of teeth-pulling to get approved. Check out the
full photo gallery
which includes the fetish packaging and comparison shots to the Air and
Dell Mini 9
. | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "70066",
"author": "thejameshimself",
"timestamp": "2009-04-11T02:17:44",
"content": "now to put osx on it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70078",
"author": "Maj",
"timestamp": "2009-04-11T04:14:08",
"content": "Warn... | 1,760,377,662.653206 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/10/field-a-fluorescent-array-wirelessly-powered/ | FIELD A Fluorescent Array, Wirelessly Powered | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"FIELD",
"fluorescent",
"high voltage",
"light saber"
] | What would you do if you were driving along the highway and you glanced into a field to see a
giant array of fluorescent tubes lit wirelessly from the electromagnetic fields of power lines
. Back in 2004, [Richard Box] set up this display after hearing about a friend playing “light saber” with fluorescent tubes under power lines. The tubes can be lit pretty easily by have a variation in voltage between the ends. By sticking one end in the ground and the other up in the air, he’s harnessing the strong magnetic field from the power lines. Though some thought the display was made to bring people’s attention to possible hazards of living near the lines, [Box] states that he did it just because it looked cool.
[via
io9
] | 73 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "70004",
"author": "pedantic",
"timestamp": "2009-04-10T20:31:50",
"content": "“Variation in voltage between the ends” is caused by electric field, not magnetic field.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70006",
"author": "Joshua... | 1,760,377,662.817983 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/10/stepper-motor-controller-from-old-scanner/ | Stepper Motor Controller From Old Scanner | Caleb Kraft | [
"cnc hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"cnc",
"epilog",
"green",
"mill",
"scanner",
"stepper motor"
] | [Murray484] submitted his instructable on
how to create a stepper motor controller from an old scanner
. He removed the motor and controller from an old scanner then harvested the parts. He’s pretty much starting over, taking the ULN2003 chip from the scanner motor controller and putting it on a fresh board. He then wired it all up, installed the
software
and got it working. Finally, he built a container out of cardboard for it all. Though he could have made it nicer looking and used higher quality building materials, he was trying to make this a “green” project for the
epilog laser cutter contest
. He’s done a good job recycling, this could be pretty useful. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "69995",
"author": "beaker",
"timestamp": "2009-04-10T19:13:30",
"content": "software link is broken",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "70024",
"author": "AnarKIT",
"timestamp": "2009-04-10T22:15:18",
"content": "Not bro... | 1,760,377,662.698943 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/10/the-crunchpad-tablet-shows-its-face/ | The CrunchPad Tablet Shows Its Face | Caleb Kraft | [
"home entertainment hacks",
"News"
] | [
"crunchpad",
"tablet",
"touch screen"
] | After a few pictures of the CrunchPad tablet leaked onto the internet, Crunchgear
decided to release some more info
. The prototypes you see are fully functional, have Intel Atom processors, and a 12 inch capacitive touchscreen. There isn’t much else available yet as far as details. What we’re most curious about is how the interface works. As many people who have used tablet PCs or touchscreens know, it’s usually the software interface that makes or breaks the experience. We’ve been curious since
TechCrunch talked about what netbooks should be
. Can’t wait for some videos. | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "69992",
"author": "sean",
"timestamp": "2009-04-10T18:32:47",
"content": "haha, what netbooks should be. What an elaborate troll.regardless, here is yet another touch-screen internet-based device.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": ... | 1,760,377,662.948002 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/10/removable-router-antenna/ | Removable Router Antenna | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"antenna",
"openwrt",
"router",
"wrt"
] | [Mike] takes us through the process of
adding a removable high gain antenna to the WRTSL54GS
in this article. The antenna that comes on this unit from the factory is a bit small and underpowered. After upgrading it using
OpenWrt
, an open source full featured router software package, he felt it needed a beefier antenna. So, he cracked it open. The new antenna can simply be soldered in place, where the old antenna was. | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "69997",
"author": "TerreurBV",
"timestamp": "2009-04-10T19:16:11",
"content": "”It may become possible to violate your local or federal regulations on output power”Is that seriously illegal?I’ve enhanced the range of WRT54G with a much bigger antenna then the stock one.",
"paren... | 1,760,377,662.997371 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/09/jak-the-blackjack-robot/ | Jak, The Blackjack Robot | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"blackjack",
"cards",
"gamble",
"jak",
"robot"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ELGFunfbs]
[Paul] sent in this Robotfest 2009 exhibition competition entry. This is
Jak, the blackjack robot
. This seems to be a convergence between a digital game of blackjack and a physical game. The robot scans each card as it deals them and feeds the data to a piece of software that tracks each players hand. The players select their next step on the screen and the robot responds appropriately. They have won 1st place in the Ontario competition and are now going to the international level. Jak wins a round in the video, but we didn’t see him celebrating. Come on guys, make him flash some lights or talk some trash. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "69883",
"author": "Jake",
"timestamp": "2009-04-09T21:51:42",
"content": "Trash talking, like “shall we play a game?” and “all your base are belong to us!”Great show – nice piece of equipment there guys!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"commen... | 1,760,377,663.260001 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/09/portal-ish-automated-turret/ | Portal-ish Automated Turret | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"airsoft",
"arduino",
"portal",
"roboduino",
"turret"
] | [RazorConcepts] has
built this cool automated turret
. It is a home made frame with an airsoft gun, a Roboduino development board, a rangefinder, camera, and some servos. They programmed it to keep up constant random banter from the game as well as respond appropriately do different inputs. For example, it complains when you pick it up or knock it over as well as announcing if it has acquired a target. The range finder is mounted on its own servo which constantly sweeps back and forth, so the turret itself mainly sits still. You can see that the tracking is not so great in the video. [RazorConcepts] notes in the instructable that this is because the main focus was just to make it for “show”.
We’ve
seen
our
fair
share
of turrets before. We think he did a good job, but if it is just for show, maybe spend some more time on a nice body and smoother motion.
[vimeo=4070435]
[via
instructables
] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "69856",
"author": "aonomus",
"timestamp": "2009-04-09T18:56:47",
"content": "Mmm, naptime.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "69857",
"author": "Pilotgeek",
"timestamp": "2009-04-09T18:58:04",
"content": "Needs some wor... | 1,760,377,663.057296 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/08/rocket-acceleration-logger/ | Rocket Acceleration Logger | Nick Caiello | [
"Nintendo Wii Hacks",
"Tool Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"accelerometer",
"attiny",
"attiny13",
"AVR",
"datalogger",
"model rocket",
"rocket"
] | Have you ever wondered how high or how fast a model rocket goes when you launch it? [sprite_tm] did, so he decided to build a
low cost, lightweight data logger
that he could fit into the nose cone of his rocket. To keep the circuit small, he built it around the popular ATtiny13 microcontroller. The microcontroller collects data from a Freescale MMA7260, a 3-axis accelerometer that he extracted from a third-party Wii nunchuck controller. After the microcontroller collects the data, it’s stored in 32K of EEPROM on a 24C256. All of this is powered by a small 3.6v Li-ion battery, which is the largest part of the circuit. If this sounds like something you’d like to make, he has detailed instructions along with the software used available on his site. While we don’t launch a lot of model rockets here, we may soon start just so that we have an excuse to build this. | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "69717",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2009-04-08T16:09:16",
"content": "Cool project!Model Rocketry is so awesome nowadays.Now you can analyze after you launch and chase!Flight data, videos._very_ cool stuff!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
... | 1,760,377,663.117929 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/08/the-bulbdial-clock-comes-to-life/ | The Bulbdial Clock Comes To Life | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"home hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"bulbdial",
"clock",
"emsl",
"ironic sans",
"led",
"shadow",
"sundial"
] | Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has built the bulbdial clock
, an idea originated by
Ironic Sans
. It’s basically a high definition indoor sundial. The LEDs arranged in a circle shine a light on the peg in the middle casting a shadow, just like a sundial. There are 3 colors of rings, allowing for hour, minute, and second shadows. This isn’t the first time that Ironic Sans has seen ideas come to reality. There were the
pre pixelated reality show clothes
and the sneaky
histogram hidden message system
. While it is a cute idea, it isn’t really new. People have been
patenting
this idea
for a while
. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "69721",
"author": "mesoiam",
"timestamp": "2009-04-08T16:37:03",
"content": "I think this could’ve been made better by having a pointed stick in the middle, the shadows are a bit blunt. Still pretty cool though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,377,663.190981 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/07/nintendo-dsi-teardown-2/ | Nintendo DSi Teardown | Eliot | [
"Nintendo DS Hacks",
"Nintendo Game Boy Hacks",
"Nintendo Hacks"
] | [
"battery",
"ds",
"ds lite",
"dsi",
"homebrew",
"ifixit",
"nintendo",
"nintendo dsi",
"teardown",
"triwing"
] | Now that the
Nintendo DSi
has been officially released in the US, the team at iFixit has worked their magic. That magic being:
completely disassembling it
. They found the new 840mAh battery to be much smaller than the DS Lite’s 1000mAh. The device features two cameras, but both are a paltry 0.3megapixels. They note that this is the first Nintendo device that they’ve taken apart that didn’t require a tri-wing screwdriver.
Many more DSi compatible flash carts are available now than our initial report in December, so you can pick up a Nintendo DSi for
homebrew
without worry.
[via
iFixit blog
] | 27 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "69626",
"author": "Edward@Nardella.ca",
"timestamp": "2009-04-08T00:18:52",
"content": "“first nintendo device that they’ve taken apart that didn’t require a tri-wing screwdriver.”Guess they never took apart a Nintendo Entertainment System.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,663.417513 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/07/a-pod/ | A-pod | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"a-pod",
"ant",
"hexapod",
"insect",
"lynxmotion",
"mandible",
"robot",
"zenta"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jyBiECoS3Q]
We know it was just two days ago that we were
ranting about the hexapods known as Phoenix, and their creator [Zenta]
. In the comments on that post, [Bluehash] pointed us to [Zenta’s] latest creation.
This is A-pod
. The sheer articulation and believable motion here made this robot worthy of a post all it’s own. A-pod has a 2 dof “tail” and a 3 dof head with a total of 25 servos to drive it. The addition of the head adds so much character, add some face tracking and it would really blow us away. Well, after it fetched us a beer. He notes that he’s still working on the leg mechanicals, so it doesn’t do much walking yet. | 39 | 39 | [
{
"comment_id": "69595",
"author": "pod",
"timestamp": "2009-04-07T20:47:07",
"content": "simply fantastic",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "69596",
"author": "Jose Torres",
"timestamp": "2009-04-07T20:49:18",
"content": "Please for th... | 1,760,377,663.602862 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/07/modifying-a-sonic-cleaner-for-the-lab/ | Modifying A Sonic Cleaner For The Lab | Caleb Kraft | [
"classic hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"jewelry",
"sonic cleaning",
"sonicator",
"ultrasonic"
] | [Sean] wrote in to tell us about this hack he did to
modify a consumer sonicator for lab use
.
Sonication
is often used in labs to aid in mixing in difficult containers or to add energy for certain events. He’s a chemist on a budget, so he couldn’t necessarily afford a nice industrial one. Instead, he found a sonic jewelry cleaner. The main shortcoming of the consumer level one is the fact that it can only go for 3 minute intervals. He needed up to an hour at a time. His solution was fairly simple, he closed the circuit to force it to be continually in the on position, then added a timer in the power line. He notes, that the consumer model wasn’t made to be run this long and could possibly produce enough heat to damage itself. It should not be turned on, then left alone. | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "69589",
"author": "synth",
"timestamp": "2009-04-07T19:45:53",
"content": "i wonder if he considered using an ultrasonichumidifer… those things can be left turnedon for days. this may be more powerful and havea less focused delivery area than a humidifierthough.",
"parent_id": n... | 1,760,377,663.336567 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/07/your-face-on-a-bot/ | Your Face On A Bot | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"face",
"likeness",
"mechrc",
"robot"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLoRpRu_KPo]
We’ll file this one under “creepy yet amusing”. You can now order a
MechRC robot with a 3d replica of your own head mounted to it
. The site
thatsmyface.com
is offering this as a product. Simply take some pictures of your face upload them and mark some options. They’ll send you your robotic replica, ready to go. As they point out at botjunkie, they’ll put any face on there that you have some decent pictures of. That’s even creepier. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "69577",
"author": "The Moogle",
"timestamp": "2009-04-07T17:59:26",
"content": "Now we can remember grandma as the MechRC robot she always was :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "69580",
"author": "neomunk",
"timestamp": ... | 1,760,377,663.659444 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/06/commodore-64-laptop/ | Commodore 64 Laptop | Eliot | [
"laptops hacks",
"Portable Video Hacks"
] | [
"1541-III-DTV",
"ben heck",
"ben heckendorn",
"c64",
"c64 laptop",
"commodore 64",
"commodore 64 laptop",
"dtv",
"laptop",
"sd",
"sd card"
] | [Ben Heck] has just completed one of his more unique laptop game consoles. This time around
it’s a Commodore 64
, which he’s been attempting since 2006. Recently he scrapped everything and started fresh on what turned out to be the fastest build yet. While it certainly looks similar to his other laptops, he put in a lot of effort to give it the appearance of an 80’s computer from the beige color to the texture. He used an original C64C motherboard since it was the final and smallest revision and coupled that with an original keyboard. A
1541-III-DTV
allows use of an SD card as a floppy device. Just drag any disk image onto the card and it’s ready to go. Check out a video of it in use below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AwfyBzeidk] | 41 | 39 | [
{
"comment_id": "69498",
"author": "Nate",
"timestamp": "2009-04-07T01:26:54",
"content": "Two statements. First is two words: Freakin’ sweet. Second is 4 words, I love ben heck",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "69499",
"author": "Charlie Flow... | 1,760,377,663.751564 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/06/spider-fire-flashlight-upgrade/ | Spider Fire Flashlight Upgrade | Caleb Kraft | [
"LED Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"cree",
"fire",
"flashlight",
"lamp",
"torch"
] | [PodeCoet] sent in this
mod he did to a Spider Fire flashlight
. These things are unbelievably bright, they use Cree LEDs that are so intense, they can ignite paper. [PodeCoet] notes that they run on fairly expensive batteries. Instead of buying some rechargeable ones, he decided to customize and hack his torch. He added a custom charging circuit and a Lilon battery as well as a boost-converter circuit and a status LED. We like the idea of having a rechargeable lamp, but he has lost his water proofing. If anything, you should go there to see his nicely done smd charger pcb as well as the pictures of his test run, burning some paper.
As some people have pointed out in the comments, this flashlight could not have started that fire.
This one could though
. | 25 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "69448",
"author": "satiagraha",
"timestamp": "2009-04-06T19:56:42",
"content": "Very nice hack. I love the project. Beautifully executed! Really makes me want to go build a rechargeable system for some of my tools…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,377,663.886075 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/03/new-driver-from-reprap-singing/ | New Driver From RepRap, Singing | Caleb Kraft | [
"cnc hacks",
"News",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"music",
"reprap",
"stepper motor"
] | RepRap has released a
new driver board for their stepper motors
. They’ve honed the design to be easier to assemble and cheaper. We’re sure all of that is wonderful, but what really got our attention was the video. In the video, which you can see after the break, they run a test file through it to make it “sing” happy birthday. Is this something that everybody does and we’re just now catching on? Why all the
musical stepper motors
today?
[vimeo=3978871] | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "69177",
"author": "Dave!",
"timestamp": "2009-04-03T22:18:17",
"content": "FIRST post biotchesss!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "69180",
"author": "drew",
"timestamp": "2009-04-03T22:24:35",
"content": "i wonder i... | 1,760,377,663.819036 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/03/arduino-vga-glitching/ | Arduino VGA Glitching | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"glitch",
"vga"
] | For some people, mistakes or glitches has
become an art form
. We’ve seen it in
circuit bending
for a while, but the newest version is in video glitching. [Sebastian] has gone so far as to
intentionally set up an Arduino to send a glitched signal to a monitor
. His description sounds pretty easy. We’re just assuming this is in motion in some way, a video of it in action would be nice. | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "69164",
"author": "JKirchartz",
"timestamp": "2009-04-03T21:27:27",
"content": "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwh35fcy8kvideo ++ nice",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "69166",
"author": "JKirchartz",
"timestamp": "2009-0... | 1,760,377,663.934402 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/04/03/power-glove-20th-anniversary-edition/ | Power Glove 20th Anniversary Edition | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Nintendo Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"nintendo",
"power glove"
] | Using an original Power Glove, a bluetooth module, an Arduino, and an accelerometer,
[Biphenyl] brought the system up to date
. As you can see in the video after the break, the new version is wireless and much more useful in the games. Skip to 11 minutes in if you just want to see it in action. There’s a
full writeup on Instructables
if you want to build your own. We love the power glove and we can’t wait to see a more developed game for it. This beats the
Power Glove Wiimote
, hands down.
[vimeo=3985361] | 20 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "69151",
"author": "zacdee316",
"timestamp": "2009-04-03T20:24:04",
"content": "that is fucking awsome!i wish i could get one of them.my dad said he got one of them. but then he also said he got pissed off at it because he broke one of the sensors. so he caught it on fire with gasoli... | 1,760,377,663.998761 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.