Month: June 2005

Linux On Microsoft MN-700 Router

June 14, 2005 by 20 Comments

mn700

Gather round folks and watch as reader Liam beats a Microsoft MN-700 router into submission. The router normally runs a Windows CE based operating system and is considered problematic on its good days. The install is pretty involved (more so than a WRT), but when complete you can install any of the firmwares compatible with the ASUS WL500G, like openWRT. You have to open the router and attach a cable to the JTAG connector. After that you upgrade the bootloader so you can install the firmware. Not really out of reach if you’re desperate; if you own this router you probably are.

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HOW-TO: Add An Auxilary Jack To Your Car

June 14, 2005 by 104 Comments

Auxilary Car Jack

Hello readers and welcome to another HOW-TO article. I originally was planning on doing the CVS Disposable Camcorder Hack, but it’s only 90% done. To answer questions of can it be reused?: Yes, it can. But if you want to see it in action, I’ll have it out and working at the first ever Hackaday meetup on Thursday. Come on out and see how it’s done or if you can’t make it, I’ll have it up next Tuesday for you guys.

But now we’re talkin’ audio. Sweet crisp sounding liquid music

Hackaday Monday Sipping

June 13, 2005 by 50 Comments

monday sipping

ahhh, good morning readers! new week, new stuff! get out your venti latte from starbucks, you’re gonna need it for what i have planned. so brace yourself fools.
the big news: very first hackaday meetup(s) in philadelphia, pa
where: rittenhouse square. 18th and walnut sts. middle of the park, just look for me with gizmos and hacking stuff.
when: thursday, june 16th –  7:30pm EST. probably until 9pm or so. don’t be tardy because after awhile we might move it into a place for dinner/liquor/discussions. but not anytime before 8pm at least.
what to expect: me going over the cvs digital camcorder hack, talking about hackaday, plans, the next podcast, we’ll be recording stuff for the next podcast too and taking pics (bring your cameras!). also, any hacks you want to talk about, just come along with them and we’ll open the floor to you to speak about it. we’ll all be discussing hacker lifestyle, culture, findings, and news. also the movie hackers. bring your laptops too since rittenhouse has tons of open wi-fi.
rules: not many except i expect all of you who show up to be polite, kind, friendly, and to introduce yourselves. i will not tolerate any kind of rudeness/offensiveness/hate. we’ll tie you down and make you become the next goatse.

any questions, e-mail me personally.

speaking of goatse, eliot is having a meeting too! here’s the details for his:
where: Bison Witches in Lincoln, NE. look for him wearing a goatse t-shirt. yes, you read right.
when: thursday, june 16th – 7:00 CST until whenever eliot says. again, tardiness is frowned upon.
what to expect: eliot looking for feedback, discussions on hacks, you can bring a hack you’ve done to talk about it and showcase it. a demonstration of the 10-minute WEP cracking demo. bring your ideas, discussions, laptops, and hacks he says.
rules: same stuff. we expect all of you who show up to be polite, kind, friendly, and to introduce yourselves. i will not tolerate any kind of rudeness/offensiveness/hate.

any questions about this meetup, e-mail eliot personally.

now, the big question is: “well i don’t live near those places! can’t i have a hackaday meeting?!!”
answer: of course you can. however, until the next batch of meetings, we can’t post them in a post (use the comments for now) and they will not be official so we can’t condone them at all. but i highly reccomend having one in a city near you in a very public spot so people can join up! unite!

so get giddy and excited. im busy this week, but i know i’ll be very excited come thursday night when i see all of you show up. i also expect tons of feedback and comments so let’s see this post become filled to the top with comments!

aside from the meetings, some other cool stuff to check out while you finish that donut:
great hack for the sony-ericsson k750i on a great cellphone forum! [kevinN]
make yourself a bitchin white-LED flashlight. [boomBOX]
more can cooling action for your pc and soda/booze [joe]
tiger for x86 was said to be floating around

Ronja Optical Data Link

June 13, 2005 by 19 Comments

ronjaronja

Ronja (Reasonable Optical Near Joint Access) is a free technology project. It uses LEDs to create a 10Mbps optical communication link at distances of up to 1.4km. The system was developed using open source tools and the designs are fully disclosed. Everything you need is on the site: schematics, 3D models, and diagrams. The original systems used visible light, but the current designs use infrared. The parts for building one of these units should cost around $60. It’ll probably take at least seventy man hours to put one together so you’d have to be pretty dedicated to not using commodity wi-fi equipment to go through with this.

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CueCat Hacking

June 12, 2005 by 21 Comments

cuecat

The CueCat will always hold a place in hardware hacking history. Actually, anything that makes C&D letters start the to fly will guarantee memory. The CueCat is a simple barcode scanner that was a magazine throw-in. Most people got their’s from Wired, but you could get them from Radio Shack for free. The idea was to scan barcodes embedded in magazine ads and the included software would take you directly to the related website. The problem was that each of these devices transmitted its unique serial number to the software so the parent company could track what you were interested in. Well techies weren’t having any of that and soon began stripping off the serial number. The device also didn’t work as a regular barcode scanner because of some built-in obfuscation. People were able to change the device to read regular UPC codes and then cataloging software was developed so you could keep track of your movies, books, and CDs. Needless to say the company was not happy with this development. Here is one site’s story.

[carpespasm] had sent this in last week and I had brushed it off thinking “yeah I’ve seen it before, and it is interesting, but the old specialized hardware gives it limited appeal”. In a bit of zen BoingBoing recently posted about a liquidator selling two million of these things. You don’t have to buy that many though. I bumped over to eBay and found that for a couple of bucks you can get one of these. So, if you’re curious the hardware is out there.

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Hackaday Links

June 12, 2005 by 22 Comments

Links

i say it’ll be another 3 or 4 days until my teeth become somewhat normal again. i’m so sick of ice cream and biting things like a gopher. but yes! this morning after a long binge of donuts, madonna, and photography, i’m on a mission to find some public hacking to do today. it should be an interesting endeavor.

now before these tasty links that smell like chicken, there is apparently an interest in meeting up. therefore, for the philadelphians/peoplenearphilly, check tomorrow’s monday sipping for the final word. a live hack will be done, stories told, hacks exchanged, and other fun stuff. so, stay tuned or else. as for people in other cities, leave where you’re at in the comments. we’ll see what the deal is with that!

pretty nifty usb-drive in a cellphone. that nokia wasn’t a bad phone though! nooo! [kyle]
(warning, above is geocities. get there while you can)
another great wallpaper! matrix-style! [ryan]
yet another pocket amplifier. i like it a lot. penguin pride! [rob]
apparently you can fix dead psp pixels. worth a shot i suppose. [jon]
some guy on IRC keeps hacking himself. hilarious. [hackadayrdr99]

from the creator of XXL shampoo, we have goth torches. [chewie]

and wowee. apparently, the x86 version of tiger has already been leaked. gimme gimme.

i can’t resist an aussie hack! someone sent this in:
on the foxtell didital settop boxes in australia, go to the system setings
screen, hiltght picture setings. then type the code 0611on the remote, then
press select. this gives you modem setings and other stuff.

sounds cool. always good to get a workaround on a box of some sort. keep hacking!

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