Month: September 2008

Toaster Computer

September 7, 2008 by 28 Comments

[Gordon Johnson] recently completed part 1 of his toaster computer project. He used a standard four slot toaster as the enclosure and cut holes for access to the ports and a wireless antenna. While the specifications of the components used are not mentioned, the build is well documented on his site, complete with lots of pictures and a video. While he used a traditional fan based cooling method for part 1 of the build, he plans on using a special cooling method for part 2 that uses aluminum and mineral oil to create a thermoelectric cooling effect.

Israeli Hacker “the Analyzer” Arrested

September 6, 2008 by 4 Comments

The Israeli hacker [Ehud Tenenbaum], known as “the Analyzer”, was arrested along with 3 Canadians for allegedly hacking into a Calgary-based financial services company and withdrawing almost CDN $2 million. The arrests were the results of a months-long investigation by both the Canadian police and the U.S. Secret Service.  In 1998, [Tenenbaum] was accused of hacking into unclassified computer systems owned by NASA, and the Pentagon, among others. He is in custody without bail, although the three other suspects have been released on bond.

[thanks vor]

Giant Mechanical Spider Awakens In Liverpool

September 6, 2008 by 4 Comments

While we were away, we missed the story about the giant mechanical spider in Liverpool.  That spider has come to life, and you can watch the video courtesy of the BBC.

Named La Princesse, she an art project designed to build tourism and boost the economy.  Developed by french company La Machine, she looks amazing.  It looks as though it takes 9 people to pilot her, possibly another running the crane she’s suspended from.  Watch the video and see her reach out and tap an onlooker’s umbrella with one of her legs.

[via Gizmodo]

Bypassing The IPhone Passcode Lock In Live Webcast

September 6, 2008 by 11 Comments

[Jonathan Zdziarski], a data forensics expert and iPhone hacker, will demonstrate in a live O’Reilly webcast on September 11, 2008, how to bypass the iPhone passcode lock security. Although the presentation is targeted towards law enforcement, it will probably viewed by a lot of hackers and geeks, who could use the information for good or evil. It also doesn’t strike us as very good security if the iPhone passcode is easily bypassed. Then what’s the point of having one?

[via Gizmodo]

High Altitude Photographic Balloon

September 6, 2008 by 6 Comments

[Earl Foster] recently completed his 4th high altitude photographic balloon (HAPB-4) launch. This launch reached a peak altitude of 106,384 feet, and lasted about 3 hours. The final weight of the capsule was 5lb 3-3/8 oz, with all the electronics, GPS, digital camera, and HD video camera. His balloons operate under the exempt rules of FAA Part 101 subpart a governing unmanned balloon flight. This program has been setup to encouraging interest in science, mathematics, and engineering through unmanned ballooning. HAPB-4 uses a Parallax SPIN Stamp microcontroller, this multicore chip offers eight 32-bit processors (cogs) sharing 32kB RAM and ROM. Having eight separate COG’s allows him to log GPS data, control the camera, log and monitor sensors, and control LCD functions simultaneously with minimal hardware. During this flight he did have some equipment failures, but he was still able to capture some nice pictures.

Dell Mini 9 Modification Guide

September 6, 2008 by 5 Comments

One of the things that made the original Asus Eee PC such a big success was the ability to add almost anything you wanted to it. While this might not have anything to do with Dell releasing a service manual showing you how to disassemble your brand new Mini 9, we’re not gonna fault them for making one available.

The service manuals show the proper way to gain access to the various parts of the Mini 9 right down to the motherboard itself. It’s nice to know that the Mini 9 isn’t locked down where simple things like replacing the RAM or upgrading to a larger SSD won’t void your warranty.

[via jkkmobile]