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Let the Apple TV hacking begin!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Mods / Hacks

Apple TV jailbreak

Looks like Eric Sadun over at TUAW has found that the new is definitely hackable, as the device is instantly recognizable by PhoneView (an OS X app that let’s you browse the disk of your devices.) Since the Apple TV runs iOS and has been found to pack 8GB of storage, aside from the fact that the Apple TV version os iOS has already been hacked by the iOS Dev-Team using their SHAtter jailbreak, it’s a no-brainer that we will be seeing third-party apps on this thing at some point in the very near future.

Read More | TUAW

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Video: DIY Laser Lighter

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Mods / Hacks, Videos

I’m not a smoker, and I don’t carry a lighter around in case anyone needs a light.  However, I could totally see myself with a miniature laser lighter.  In fact, if you want to build one, feel free to grab a BIC Lighter, a blue laser diode, two 1.5 cell batteries, two magnets, and check Instructables for details on how to assemble a Cheapy Laser Lighter Burner. 

Read More | Instructables

Video: USB Cigar Flash Memory Drive

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB, Storage, Videos

There is a never ending run of drives, many of them made out of everyday objects that have been gutted. This one, made by “laxap,” is composed of a real cigar, a small flash drive, some wire, 2 red LEDs, a resistor, and extension cable, paper and tape. When in use the end turns a bright red. You can get step-by-step instructions as well as a sample of his other USB creations that include the use of a highlighter, Slim Jim can and light bulb.

 

Read More | Instructables

DIY Truth Wristband Kit

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech

Truth Wristband KitFind out what your date is really thinking. The Truth Wristband kit measures the galvanic skin response which is used in larger lie detector tests, and turns from blue to red when the wearer gets nervous. All the parts you need are included: an etched PCB, finger strap, Velcro wristband, TRUTH face plate, batteries and instructions. You need to do some soldering but for $44.95, we figure it should pay for itself after the first transgression.

Read More | Maker Shed

HTPC Building Series: The Final Tally

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Music, PC / Laptop, Software

Check out out series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

The challenge presented at the beginning of this process was for us to build a great home theater PC while sticking to a budget of $1,000. We knew we were up for the challenge, and wanted to walk you through that process with us. Here’s what we’ve done, as a refresher:

So, now that we have reached the end of this process, we need to take a look at how we did, right? Were we able to stick to our budget? Let’s see how we did…

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: The Final Tally


HTPC Building Series: Laying out all the components

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

In our quest to build the ultimate inexpensive hoome theater computer, we’ve walked you through selecting all the major components that will power our labor of love PC. I’m talking about things like why we picked our chosen motherboard, the MSI MS-7411, a look at how we will drive 7.1 sound from the HTPC to our receiver, and the smart way that we will move content to the HTPC so it’s displayed on our television.

But what about the rest? The pieces that, although not major, are still required to have a - you know - functioning HTPC? Well, that’s where this article comes in. We are going to be giving you a quick rundown of the smaller components that you will need in order to get this thing built, before we do our wrap-up in our next article.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Laying out all the components

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

We’re starting to wind down the layout of all the parts that are going into our Home Theater PC. First, let’s recap some of the main components that we’ve thrown into this project this far:

We’ve come a long way to far. In this article, though, I wanted to talk about the TV card that we’ve chosen. Since we are doing this on a budget, we are hoping for a nice balance of good performance at an inexpensive price. This is why we’ve chosen the TV Wonder 650. Amazon has it for 43% off of the retail price. This card supports both over the air HD broadcasts, as well as ClearQAM cable TV.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

PVC Camera Mount

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Design, Hot Deals, Misc. Tech

PVC Camera MountNeed a quicky camera mount for use with a mic stand? “mnwingnut” wanted to create something that was cheap, easy, secure and small. He finally picked up both a non-threaded female to male PVC adapter and threaded PVC cap, added a nut, wingnut and bolt, some flexible water hose and he had himself a mini-mount. Although the mount can pan and tilt, it is somewhat limited in its ability to make angle adjustments. A step-by-step guide is available for the $4.00 gadget.

Read More | instructables

HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

Continuing our quest to build the ultimate, while inexpensive, home theater PC, the one thing you need to consider when talking about media is how you are going to actually get the media to the computer. After covering the main mission, carefully going through our selection of hardware, giving you a first hand look at the MSI motherboard we chose (and explaining exactly why we chose that one,) and then bringing you up to speed on how we are going to drive 7.1 surround sound from this thing, you were probably thinking that the brunt of the thinking was done, right? Well, while that may be the case, there are still some important considerations that need to be taken into account.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

HTPC Building Series: Achieving great 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

In previous posts, while talking about building up our Home Theater PC, from the ground up, and on a budget, we’ve focused on a few goals. Things like what we want to see the system, as a whole, do for our home entertainment experience. We’ve talked, in general, about some of the hardware we plan on ordering to put into this bad boy. We’ve even gone into detail on the one essential piece that is going to drive everything - that being the motherboard. Today we want to focus on how we are going to get amazing sound out of this system.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Achieving great 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

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