Embedded Linux Billy Bass

February 13, 2005 by 4 Comments

linux billy bass
if you haven’t seen this project before, it’s well worth a look.  the author shows us how to control billy from a pc104 embedded pc running linux.  included is an introduction into using open source tools for creating audio transcriptions, which can then be used to make billy lip-sync to custom audio clips.

the software controls the bass via the pc’s parallel port.  if you are interested in doing something like this, you might also want to check out the article we recently posted on controlling an r/c car from your parallel port.

toy hacks and controlling devices from your pc are really great topics.  i’d love to see more hacks like this.  make sure to send in your tips!

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Hackaday Links

February 12, 2005 by 10 Comments

hackaday links

a reader tells us a trick to make the usb battery work with the ipod shuffle.
apparantly the trick is to ground the data wires. mine still hasn’t arrived so i can’t confirm :(

first nintendo ds homebrew: tetris ds
geocaching for cash — recovering wireless network baloons
realtime digital photo edge detection.  anyone know of software to do this?
turing train terminal.  the tmrc would be so proud.
cool hack involving an r/c tank and a wireless camera
citibank uk online security measures less secure and less accessable
mit to submit 2 entries to the grand challenge this year
wartuning
george foreman mini-itx

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Hackaday Links

February 11, 2005 by 3 Comments

hackaday links

everything else you wanted to know about diy kegerators
basic stamp introduction
another good basic stamp resource
some pictures apparantly of a gamecube embedded in a pc case
homemade aluminum ipod case. sweet.
duct tape ipod case. sweeter.
duct tape and lego hackers can get jobs too
bender costume construction notes (in german, click the arrows)
another german hacker starts his pc with an ignition key (german, pdf)
mpaa lokitorrent takedown
schneier on ecommerce security and a paid parking lot hack

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Basic Stamp Controlled Kegerator

February 11, 2005 by 20 Comments

kegerator

evan jensen sent us a link to his basic stamp kegerator.  the microcontroller monitors and regulates the temperature, and outputs status information and the name of the current beer to an lcd display.  this looks like a fun project if you are looking to get started with hacking electronics.  for our non beer drinkers, i can assure you that root beer is also best served cold and from a tap.

i’ve never used a basic stamp before, but i’ve noticed that a lot of other people are using the microprocessor to do cool things, including james the weather ballon hacker from earlier this week.  i just ordered a starter kit last evening, so if people are interested maybe i can post an introduction when i receive it.

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Hackaday Links

February 10, 2005 by 10 Comments

hackaday links

more details on how google maps works
sleep with your nintendo controller
smartphone motion dectector
saturn in blue
cassini multimedia archive
and raw images from the huygens probe
the end of the hubble?
techno + tron video samples + midi step ladder
secure your wireless email in osx: ssh tunneling overview
neal stephenson on science and the economy, past, present and future
howto: cure cancer
tracking kids with rfid.  also good for livestock.
usa today discovers podcasting. so can you.
display ie favorites in your start menu
hacker revolution

Note: These links are not paid and our not for sale. Any advertising on HackADay is clearly labeled. These are links that our readers have sent in that we thought  the HackADay crew would like to check out.

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Howto: Geocaching With Google And Terraserver

February 10, 2005 by 27 Comments

terraserver hackaday headquarters
if you’re into geocaching, terraserver and google maps can be your greatest allies.  well, maybe second greatest, right after your trusty gps receiver.  with terraserver, you can pull up hires satellite photos and topo maps of just about everywhere in the continental us.  with google maps, you can easily pull up a road map and driving directions.

however, one thing i noticed when google maps launched was that it’s interface is conspicuously lacking a lat/lon entry field.  it turns out there are a couple of query parameters that you can use to pull up coordinate based maps.  with this info, you can make a simple form to pull up both map results for a given latitude/longitude combination, which should hopefully be a handy tool for your next gps treasure hunt.  continue reading to see how this works.

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