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Xim360: Mouse And Keyboard For 360

July 18, 2008 by 3 Comments


Many a computer gamer has scowled at the thought of trying to control an FPS with thumb sticks. When you’re used to the precision and speed of a mouse, the analog stick feels, well… just wonky. XIM360 has built, what is hopefully a big step forward in inputs for the 360. The device is an add on to the XFPS, and supposedly delivers an experience that is “what you’ve always hoped to get”.

The project came into existence when people, let down by the poor performance of the XFPS started augmenting it to try to get desired results. They used a board called XIM to get better control. The new board, XIM2 was built from the ground up to achieve the best possible experience. The XIM2 is now available for pre-order.

More information can be found on their website, as well as a large user forum of modders and hackers.

[via Xbox-Scene News]

Techie Hall Of Shame

July 18, 2008 by 12 Comments


In the aftermath of [Terry Childs], the jailed disgruntled software engineer who created a God password and effectively locked San Francisco officials out of their own computer system, IT Grind unveils its Techie Hall of Shame. The Hall of Shame highlights figures who give computer professionals a bad name. From [Roger Duronio], the systems administrator who wasn’t satisfied with his raise, to [Kenneth Kwak], who installed spyware on his boss’ computer in order to gossip, the wrath of the IT professional can wreak thousands to millions of dollars of damages for companies and corporations to clean up. As much as these figures seem to be singular figures, we think they also serve as cautionary tales. Always have backup. If you suspect you’ve got a disgruntled employee, you should probably at the very least keep another expert eye on him. And hire more than one person to manage your systems. [Deb Perelman] asks her readers who else they think would be worthy of the Hall of Shame. We’re curious to know what you think, too.

[via digg]

Nodeblinky, Rechargeable And Full Of Blink

July 17, 2008 by 3 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si—o0fEto&hl=en&fs=1]
Over 2500 unique patterns and up to 25 hours of winky blinky fun, that’s what you get with Nodeblinky. This contraption was designed by the Image Node crew as a learning platform and a way to raise money for their upcoming Burning Man display.

The kit measures 4″ square and has 28 LEDs spread across its surface. An AVR ATmega168, rechargeable 9 volt battery, and two LED drivers power it. One section of their site states that it has over 2500 unique patterns, while another area says 5000 combinations of patterns. Either way, its pretty trippy as you can see in the video above. There are 4 brightness levels as well as 4 running modes to keep you amused. The kit can be purchased for $40 or the assembled unit for $80. They do freely give out all the details though, so if you really felt like building one yourself, you probably could.

NYC Soldering Championships

July 16, 2008 by 13 Comments


[Matt] let us know about the New York City Soldering Championships. They’ll be happening during the Ignite talks on July 29th at 7pm. 25 people will race head to head to assemble a fully functional electronics kit. Participants have to register in advance and are encouraged to bring their own iron. The kit hasn’t been chosen yet so people can’t practice. We hope they at least consider using a few SMD parts just to keep things interesting. Shout out if you’re planning to attend or compete!

[photo: Nick Bilton]

IPhone 3G: Under The Hood

July 15, 2008 by 6 Comments


TechOnline has cracked open the iPhone 3G to find out what makes it tick. They’ve released detailed diagrams as well as some videos of the dissection.

Calling this an incremental update, they note that the changes seem to be additions and improvements rather than a total rebuild of the original platform. They get into the nitty gritty, discussing not only the layout and structure, but even the importance of each chip manufacturer.

Some of the improvements are obvious, like 3G. Others include the battery not being permanently attached, and the headphone jack being flush mounted. Most of the changes were in who manufactured each chip.

[via TUAW]

IPhone Dev Team Shows Ssh Access

July 15, 2008 by 2 Comments

They still haven’t released the jailbreak yet, but the iPhone dev team hasn’t been sitting idly by either. They recently posted this video of ssh access on the iPhone 3G. Not only have they succeeded in hacking into the phone, they say that apple can’t fix it without a hardware change. Having root level access to the device opens up many more possibilities than just hooking an API.

Mister Jalopy On NPR

July 14, 2008 by 2 Comments


[Mister Jalopy] is an outspoken recycler. He believes it is wrong that we live in a “throw away culture” and we here at Hackaday tend to agree. There is so much potential left in products, long after they may have given up their original purpose. He has been pushing to get companies to work with the public, to encourage re purposing and hacking. The belief is that it can only improve a company’s relationship with their customers.

[Mister Jalopy] appeared on National Public Radio today. They discussed the benefits of making your own stuff, as well as the legalities involved with modifying off the shelf products.

We covered his open house last October. Tons of fascinating stuff there.

[via Hoopty Rides]