Custom Cable Management

August 31, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 19 Comments

3386152715_53461c9c30

You would be hard pressed to find a hacker who doesn’t have in some form a rats nest of wires and cables behind their computer desk. [Antoine] decided to tackle the problem and came up with his custom built cable management system. There is little info, but he does say his setup uses Ikea Antonius coat hangers and some hollow tube. Its quick and wont leave a residue like some cable solutions, so long as you don’t mind a screw hole or two. We especially like how if you need to change your setup you wont have to re-zip tie everything.

Cheap Wireless For Microcontrollers

August 30, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 44 Comments

hr_RF_circuit

Everybody loves microcontrollers, including the Arduino, allowing you to create whatever you imagine. That is unless you want to hack together something wireless. Originally you had to rely on the expensive XBee protocol or other wireless options, but no longer. Hobby Robotics found an extremely cheap transmitter and receiver and wrote a quick guide for wiring them up to an Arduino. Now your wireless projects can come to life, as long as you are within 500 feet and don’t mind 2400bps; minor trade offs compared to the gains of wireless freedom. Final note: You aren’t limited to Arduino, we would love to see someone modify this to work with a PIC or other microcontroller.

Bokode, A New Barcode

August 29, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 32 Comments

teaser

The MIT Camera Culture Group utilized Bokeh, an effect where the lens is purposely placed out of focus, in order to vastly improve current 2D barcode technology. Dubbed Bokode, the team claims that an off the shelf camera can read data 2.5 microns from a distance of over 4 meters, compared to today’s average barcode reader’s maximum distance of only a foot or so. What looks most interesting is the ability to produce a smoother and more accurate distance and angle calculations (relative to the camera): allowing for a better augmented reality. It also seems to be more secure than traditional 2D barcodes, that is of course until the hacker community gets a hold of it.

[Thanks Talin]

Ms. Pac-Man IPod Charging Cover

August 28, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 20 Comments

FSPKD86FYTCGWZL.MEDIUM

iPod chargers definitely are a unique entity on anyone’s desk. Allowing you to stand your iPod upright, charge, and maybe play a video at the same time, but they aren’t exactly beautiful. [russm313] got the brilliant idea of disguising his iPod (and charger) as a miniature Ms. Pac-Man arcade cabinet. Unlike some other small cabinets we’ve seen, it is just cover and can’t actually be played. But the idea is still original and the process is so simply we’re surprised it hasn’t been done before; just cardboard, glue, and some other small items are needed and you have a work of art. All that is left is figuring out how to adapt it for the iPhone. Check out his iPod playing a video of game play for a more authentic look, after the break.

Continue reading “Ms. Pac-Man IPod Charging Cover” →

Single Can Mini Fridge

August 25, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 16 Comments

untitled

What looks like a potential WMD, requires a huge power supply, and has several fans and wires dangling off the sides? Why a mini fridge of course! Your cubical buddy at work may have a Perfect Coffee Mug, or a USB powered fridge but it wont be as large of a caliber as [CaptPikel’s]. Little information about it is out thus far, but an Instructable is promised. We do however know that it uses 3 peltier coolers (assumed to be 60watt each) and can cool down to 46F while being underpowered! If only it held just a few more cans.

Nokia Booklet And N900

August 24, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 31 Comments

21nokia-booklet-3g-group

Nokia is currently one of the leading phone providers and intends to jump higher on the scale with the Nokia N900 powered by Maemo. But what wasn’t expected was for Nokia to step into the netbook pool. Called the Booklet 3G, it sports 10.1 inch high(er) resolution display with HDMI output. For connectivity you can take your pick of 3G, WiFi, and Bluetooth. All wrapped up in Windows 7 with a whopping 12 hour battery! However, the problem with all these features is the price tag might eat a hefty hole into your pocket book. That’s not going to stop us from trying to get our hands on one, of course. Anyone have any hacks planned yet?

210 LED Lamp

August 24, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 53 Comments

full-mountedLeds

Current fluorescent lamps are great for lighting large areas using very few Watts; however, LEDs are far more efficient at producing light and have less of an impact upon the environment considering there is no mercury within them. [Andrew] sent in his team’s LED florescent bulb. The first revision utilized 87 LEDs, but to increase output the second revision uses 210. The assembly can’t actually be placed in current fluorescent lamp ballasts and must use a 12 volt 1 amp power supply, but perhaps future versions will correct for this. Another problem is the relatively small viewing angle, and while there is a diffuser, we’re wondering if they have any other ideas to spread the light and adjust for the color temperature without reducing output? We wonder how it compares to some of the commercially available LED florescent lamps.