An IPod Dock Converted Into Chromecast Speakers

August 26, 2014 by Matt Terndrup 13 Comments

CoQIKNJ

[easybakejake] figured out a way to fuse together an iPod speaker dock and a wireless Chromecast receiver. His method utilized a modified HDMI-to-VGA adapter. From the looks of it, apps like music for Google Play, Pandora, and Music All Access seem to able to be streamed through this device.

A few problems did come up with this project though when researching the functionality of this music hack. For one, there is little to no documentation since the tip came to us through a Reddit post. Another inconvenience had to do with supporting different monitor sizes. [easybakejake] confirmed in the comments of that post that he ran into an error where the input was not working; probably due to a resolution issue. Eventually, he got it working and dubbed the device the MusicBox. Now stick it on a roomba and get it to DJ a party (like this Parks and Recreation skit that follows after the break):

Continue reading “An IPod Dock Converted Into Chromecast Speakers” →

Hackit: Crap Modding

July 29, 2008 by Eliot 30 Comments

When Boing Boing Gadgets posted about this $13 robot hand music box, we immediately thought “OH EXPLOITABLE!”. Over the years, we’ve acquired quite a bit of cheap trash just operating under the assumption that we would turn it into something else. Most of our acquisitions are Woot‘s fault. Just this morning we were dismayed to find out that the purveyor of cheap electronics had already sold out of animatronic Elvis heads. Now that would have been fun. We’ve purchased things like Tony Hawk helmet cams, jumbo remotes, Bluetooth headphones, Gyration mice, IMFree chatpads, and many other items of questionable use thinking that some day we’d use it. How about you? What sort of irrational purchases have you made and what would you do with a $13 mechanized hand?

[Just as we were wrapping this up, Woot posted a $49 HMD; you better believe we bought that.]