Here’s a hack that isn’t only simple to do, but extremely practicle; Adding a USB hub to your USB keyboard.

Most people’s desks are already crowded and having a USB hub laying around can only add to that clutter. Michael decided to take apart a USB keyboard and a USB hub. He wired the USB cable from the keyboard into the hub and then wired one of the hub ports back to his keyboard. What he was left with was three free ports that he could place anywhere in the keyboard.

All that was left was finding a spot in the keyboard housing to cut to accommodate the three new ports. This is an unpowered hub, so you won’t be able to charge your iPhone or smartphone, but adding a powered hub is just as easy!

[Via Hack-a-Day: Adding A USB Hub To A Keyboard]

Jam A USB Hub Into Your Keyboard originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2012/01/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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It can be a chore to keep up with your twitter feeds, countless hours of following people’s daily minutia can quickly chew up your day. This is where the Charatter bear comes in – it synchs with your Twitter account and reads back to you all of your incoming tweets and not on a small screen but out LOUD. How’s that for really annoying, especially if you follow 1000s of people.

The company behind the USB add-on says that sales are exploding. A simple app for your iPhone or PC translates all of your tweets into sound which is then sent to the Charatter bear. Although the novelty of the bear is cute, it can quickly turn annoying. Imagine a co-worker with this on his desk yelping out loud “LOL” or “WTF” every 20 seconds. If would easily drive you to destroying the poor USB bear.

If you lead a really lonely life and want a USB bear to keep you company (and drive you insane) you can pick up the Charatter bear for $28. You will also have to travel to an electronic retailer in Japan to pick one up.

Charatter Bear Regurgitates Your Tweets originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/28. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I bet if you reached into your computer bag right now you could easily pull out multiple USB cables. You know what I mean, that birds nest of cabling consisting of multiple iPod/iPhone cables and USB mini variants.

Scosche aims to change that for you with their flipSYNC II fob. Much like the key fob of a car, the flipSYNC is a USB cable that folds up nicely into a keychain fob.

The currently offer two models; one with an iPod/iPhone 30-pin connector and one with dual miniUSB/microUSB. They are sleek, small, and durable and will run you $20 a piece. I already have a nice Lacie USB key on my key chain and will soon add one of these cool units.

[Link to flipSYNC II]

flipSYNC II Charging Fob originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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This is one small computer, actually it looks more like a memory card reader than a computer. Don’t be fooled by it’s incredibly small size, this thing is more powerful that my netbook. CompuLab’s TrimSlice packs one hell-of-a punch for such a small unit.

The unit comes in a solid metal case that can take some abuse, doesn’t need a fan to keep it cool and uses only 3 watts of power. CompuLab will be gearing this unit to the HTPC market and hasn’t announced an OS for it yet, but I’m sure the modding community will jump all over this once it’s released. This would be great for a small server connected to your TV running something like XBMC or a MythTV frontend.

No official pricing has been announced yet, but CompuLab is aiming for a sub-tablet price and it should be shipping sometime in April.

[Link to TrimSlice]

Tiny Computer Looks More Like A Card Reader originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Here is a great project that will keep your cellphone going when you have no outlet to charge it with. Ben Heck from the Ben Heck show took a cheap wind-up flashlight, added a small diode, resister and a female USB port to make a hand-crank charger for devices that charge via USB.

I wouldn’t recommend using this to completely charge your phone as it would take hours of continuous cranking to get it there, but you can easily get enough juice for a call on a cell phone with just a few minutes of cranking. Its perfect for emergencies.

[Link to The Ben Heck Show]

DIY: Wind-Up Cellphone Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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If you spend any time in hotel rooms then already you know how vauable a resource and outlet can be. If you don’t carry a power bar around with you your gadgets have to compete for the one or two outlets that may be free in your room. Nothing is more annoying that swapping around plugs just to make sure you charge up all of your gadgets.

FlipIt is a brilliant design to help you with just that. The idea it quite simple, a normal plug slips through the slots in the FlipIt, allowing both cords to be connected at the same time and using up only one outlet.

Currently they only offer a USB charging device, but hopefully we will see universal AC cords with this brilliant design at the end so we can charge our laptops or other devices.

For $15 you really can’t go wrong, head on over to their site to order one.

FlipIt – Never Hog An Outlet Again originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I was just talking to someone from Steam TV Networks about the need for a sturdy dock that can hold up a tablet or phone, something that keeps the device propped up when using it to watch video. Kensington has release just such an item built for the iPhone.

Kensington’s new PowerLift is a sturdy dock that also contains a 1,200 mAh lithium-ion polymer backup battery. This bulky yet small unit is perfect for those long flights; prop it up on the fold out tray and you can enjoy countless hours of media goodness. 20 additional hours of music playback, 5 additional hours of video and even an extra hour and a half of FaceTime.

The unit also has a built in USB cable, perfect cable management, and it has some LEDs to let you know where the charging level is at. Its up for pre-order on Kensington’s site and will run you about $50.

Kensington’s PowerLift Backup-Up Battery originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Balmer let the world know during CES that Microsoft would be releasing an SDK for their popular Xbox 360 add-on the Kinect. Sources say that Microsoft may be preparing the release of the SDK sooner than they anticipated, in just a few months. “Sources familiar with the plans” told WinRumors that an official SDK and drivers are being prepped for a beta release “in the coming months,” potentially arriving with an upcoming XNA update dubbed the “Community Technical Preview.”

Ever since the release of the Kinect, hackers have been having a field day with it. Unofficial USB drivers for the Windows environment have already been developed and there are countless hacks out there from X-Ray vision to controlling World of Warcraft.

Now that Microsoft has acknowledged the popularity of the product and will be officially releasing the SDK maybe we might see another revolution in PC gaming, one that could rival the early 90′s.

Official Kinect SDK Coming Soon originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Are they batteries or are they USB flash drives? OR are they both? These clever batteries also double as USB flash drives. The neat thing is that they charge the battery side of the mutant while using the flash drive.

Now, the next time you need a flash drive you can reach for your batteries or the next time you need some batteries you can reach for your flash drives. I know, it’s like a modern day Spork!

At this point these are nothing more than a concept, a good one at that, but still a concept.

[Link via Yanko Design]

AA Battery / USB Flash Drive originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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For those of you who have been waiting patiently for their U-Socket’s to ship rejoice, they are on their way. FastMac’s U-Socet is a wall socket that offers your standard dual 110V outlets alongside dual USB ports to charge your multitude of gadgets.

For under $20 you can equip each outlet in your house with these valuable USB outlets. Imagine not having to cary around multiple USB bricks to charge your iPhone or Droid, simply plug the USB cable into any outlet and you are good to go.

The retail site says that delivery time is about three to four weeks. The sooner they can crack the big box home improvement store’s like Home Depot the sooner everyone will have USB jacks-a-plenty to charge gadgets.

[Link to U-Socket]

U-Socket’s Now Shipping originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I’ve been playing with this surprisingly fast Android tablet for about a week now and so far I am impressed. Stream TV’s eLocity Android 2.2 powered tablet might not be an iPad killer, but it sure puts up a good fight.

The solid 7-inch tablet is powered by NVIDIA’s dual core Tegra 2 processor, comes with Froyo out of the box, is rooted by default and can output a crazy amount of video formats at 1080p via it’s included HDMI port. Although it shows some impressive stats in the video arena, the eLocity does more than that. 4GB of internal storage, a USB port and a MicroSD expansion slot coupled together with the super beefy Tegra 2, the A7 acts more like a powerful computer in your pocket than a PMP.

Not only is the video playback smooth and crisp, this is the only Android device I have ever used that can actually do Flash well. Even when you are on a website with multiple Flash ads watching a video, the A7 came through without a single hiccup. Mix that in with the fact that the device is rooted out of the box, you have one powerful device that is open and free, unlike the “other” guy’s tablet. The only problem I have seen so far is the unit’s battery life. I’ve been able to get about 4 hours out of it with moderate use and only about 2.5 hours of video play. This is more than likely due to the processor as the dual core Tegra 2 could easily power a full size laptop.

The unit doesn’t come with the Android Marketplace out of the box, but a crafty hacker has already created an alternate ROM that offers the Marketplace as well as Ad Hoc networking support. The eLocity A7 is currently WiFi only, by using the Ad Hoc network you can tether your unit to an existing smartphone’s 3G connection. Stream TV is toying with the idea of partnering up with a carrier and offering a 3G model.

At time of print there still is no word on any accessories for the unit, but it does have an expansion port on the bottom that will probably be used for a dock at a later day. A dock would be greatly welcomed, the fact that it can do 1080p without a problem makes this device a perfect addition to your home theater setup.

If your looking for an alternative to the iPad and don’t want to pay a monthly cost for something like the Galaxy Tab, Stream TV’s eLocity A7 is perfect. Priced at $350 it’s a great deal for such a powerful little unit.

[Link to eLocity A7]

Review: eLocity A7 Android Tablet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2011 | Permalink | 2 Comments | Read more in Gadgets | Explore more in: 3g, ac, android, battery, car, computer, dock, ds, ea, elocity, fast, flash, hack, hd, hdmi, heat, id, ipad, laptop, led, loa, make, mod, network, open, os, osd, pen, phone, pmp, pocket, power, press, proc, ring, root, stream, tablet, tech.nocr.at, tether, theater, time, tor, usb, video, watch, wifi | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

I can’t begin to count the amount of iPhone chargers I have. Multiple ones from Apple, knock off units I bought because I left them at home, I even have an awesome unit from iGo that can charge two USB devices from it’s internal battery. But I bet that none of them are as green or as cool as this unit.

The Visible Green Charger will reduce standby power by up to 85% when your iOS device is not in use. The awesome electroluminescent cord will light up and flow quickly to indicate that your iOS device is charged up to 65% and will slow down as the device’s battery starts to fill up.

The Visable Green Charger will retail for $40 when it hits store shelves later this month. Currently the device only supports iOS devices but the company behind the unit, Dexim, hopes to expand it to other gadgets that can take a charge through USB.

[Link to Visable Green Charger]

Electroluminescent iOS Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I’ve tried really hard to stay away from all the CES stuff that has been flying around the inter-webs but this story about Mattel cramming a camera into one of their 1:64 scale Hot Wheels car was too good to pass up.

The idea is for people to get a first person view of what it would be like if you could ride inside a Hot Wheels car. Each car comes with enough memory to capture 12 minutes of VGA video that can be downloaded to your computer via USB or viewed on the tiny screen located on the underside of each car. With such limited memory using this as a spy camera is out of the question, unless something happens really quickly.

They should be available this fall for about $60. I’m sure the novelty of using it to record video will wear off quickly, leaving you with a very expensive small metal car.

[Link via Oh Gizmo!]

Video Camera Hot Wheels Car originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Here are 10 really weird USB drives that are sure to make you laugh.

The sperm drive. When you pull this out of your pocket you are going to have people wondering exactly what you were doing with your hand in your pocket in the first place.

The typical food item converted to a USB drive. Just don’t try to eat it, no matter how much wasabi you add to it.

I guess this is where the name “Thumb Drive” originally came from. Kinda creepy actually.

For those that just can’t let go of old technology. I just hope this USB drive has a greater storage capacity than it’s case did.

The clothes pin drive is creative and different, plus it’s great for hanging your shirts up to dry.

Maybe when you pull the sperm drive out of your pocket you can pull this poop drive out of the other one. That should really get the conversation going.

It’s the old “Teddy Bear jammed it’s head into the USB port” trick. You can’t fool me!

Probably one of the weirdest ones on the list. Not sure why would would want a spoonful of cereal to have a USB drive attached, but then again this is the Internet.

The eraser drive is perfect for fixing mistakes, just don’t try to run out your red underlines in MS Word.

This humping dog drive is sure to get the ladies. Plug it in and it actually starts to hump the side of your computer.

10 Weird USB Drives originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2011 | Permalink | 4 Comments | Read more in Gadgets | Explore more in: ac, bear, blog, bra, case, computer, convert, drive, dry, ds, ea, fix, ical, id, ir, lines, loa, make, nda, nes, os, pocket, press, ring, shirt, stream, tech.nocr.at, technology, tor, usb, weird | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

In our next installment of Distros That Don’t Suck we will be looking at open source HTPC software. Sure you can load up VLC or even use Windows Media player, but having a dedicated solution with a UI that is made for a TV is a lot easier and pleasing. I’ve left the PVR-centric software like MythTV and Freevo off the list since their main purpose is to act as a PVR. I’ll be reviewing open source PVR software by itself at a later date.

XBMC – The Xbox Media Center Project started as homebrew software for the original Xbox gaming system and has since been ported to Linux, Windows, OSX, AppleTV and even as a standalone Linux based LiveCD/LiveUSB image. It offers a clean UI, intuitive interface and can play just about anything you throw at it. It offers a plugin system with a huge repository of community plugins to enhance the experience. It’s real easy to setup and it’s configuration is portable across operating systems. If you have an old Xbox laying around this makes a great HTPC that is powerful and best of all cheap.

MediaPortal – This is a Windows based HTPC software so technically it’s not 100% open source since it requires Windows and doesn’t offer a Linux port. If offers everything you would expect in HTPC software; Video streaming, DVD playback, Internet Radio, Picture Gallery and it’s own plugin system. You will need a compatible TV Tuner card to enjoy PVR features and to watch TV but it’s not needed to run the software. If you are a Windows fan and are looking for an alternate to Windows Media Center this is as close as you can get without the cost.

Element – Element is an open source HTPC system that comes pre-loaded with XBMC and the ability to play back just about any media locally or over the Internet. Element also has it’s own framework for offering add-on modules that allow you to play content from services like Hulu, Cooliris, Boxee, Clicker, Amazon on Demand and Youtube. They have adapted the UI’s of popular open source software like Firefox and Pidgin so that it fits the TV experience better than their native desktop versions. They also offer an Android app that allows you to use your Android phone as a remote control; definitely a neat idea for the times you can’t find the remote anywhere.

GeeXboX – A Gentoo based fully functional media center that can be run from LiveCD, LiveUSB, or be installed on a hard drive. GeeXbox is a very lean distro that doesn’t require a lot of processing power so it’s perfect for older hardware. It uses Enna as it’s primary media center application to play your music, videos or look at your pictures. This is the perfect distro for the no-frills experience when you just want to play your media and aren’t looking for any additional functionality.

Open Source HTPC’s That Don’t Suck originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2011 | Permalink | One Comment | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: ac, amazon, android, apple, appletv, avi, boxee, car, cat, cheap, control, cross, distro, drive, ds, dvd, ea, evo, experience, fire, firefox, frame, freevo, Gaming, gentoo, hard drive, homebrew, htpc, ical, id, internet radio, ir, led, linux, live, loa, make, media center, mod, music, mythtv, nda, open, open source, os, pc, pen, phone, picture, plugins, portable, power, proc, pvr, radio, rc, remote, remote control, rim, ring, service, stream, tech.nocr.at, time, tor, tube, ui, usb, video, vlc, watch, wind, windows, xbmc, xbox, youtube | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Here’s a perfect project for the upcoming summer; a bike powered USB charger to keep all of your gadgets charged while you ride.

The USB bike generator works by placing a rotating wheel against the rim of the rear wheel with a heavy spring. The attached wheel turns a stepper motor to generate an AC current that is changed to DC via a rectifier (which is nothing more than 4 diodes). The DC power is then feed into a USB car adapter to charge your gadgets.

It’s a really simple project that produces great results, best of all, it’s really cheap to build and put together.

[Link to USB Bike Generator]

DIY: Bike Powered USB Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2011 | Permalink | 3 Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, avy, bike, car, charger, cheap, diy, ds, ea, generator, id, loa, pc, power, rim, ring, rod, tech.nocr.at, tor, ui, usb | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Sure, you can control modern day video equipment like you Slingbox or satellite receiver via the web, but what if you have some old school gear that can only accept commands via good old fashioned Infa-Red? Instructables hacker nmcclana has put together a small embedded web server that transmits IR signals (Video after the break).

The Web Clicker, as it’s called, uses a Propeller Platform USB and E-Net Module and can play back any recorded IR command via an AJAX web interface. The unit is small, sleek and uses next to no power. You can purchase most of the componets pre-built or you can live on the wild side and download the PCB designs and etch the boards yourself.

This can be used to control anything that accepts and IR signal, not just a TV or DVR. You could add IR modules to just about anything these days so this project would be great for home automation.

[Link to Instructables]

Control Your TV From Your Phone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2011 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, cellphone, control, design, ds, dvr, ea, etch, fashion, hack, id, instructable, ir, led, live, loa, mit, mod, os, pc, pcb, phone, power, rc, satellite, server, signal, slingbox, small, tech.nocr.at, ui, usb, video | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

After discovering James Whelton’s SpringBoard.plist hack for the 6G iPod Nano, Steve Throughton-Smith decided to play around with his Nano to see what else he might find.

Steve may very well have stumbled on some kind of DFU-like recovery mode, much like the recovery mode that allows customized firmware (or jailbreaking) to be injected into the iPhone/iPod touch.

Discovered what may be DFU mode: hold down the restart buttons until you get a black screen (it reboots twice) and iTunes sees the device and alerts you.

Afterwards, modified iRecovery to work with the iPod nano (had to add its DFU/Recovery USB ID) and allow it send files, and tested with some files I had extracted from the iPod nano 6G firmware

It seems that people are getting closer and closer to a working jailbreak for the Nano. I might just get back video playback on my Nano sooner than I thought.

iPod Nano Recovery Mode originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2011 | Permalink | One Comment | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, boot, dfu, ds, ea, firmware, hack, id, iphone, ipod, ipod nano, ipod touch, ir, itunes, jailbreak, led, loa, mit, mod, nano, nes, os, phone, reboot, recovery, ring, tech.nocr.at, touch, usb, video | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Speaking at the Chaos Computer Club on Tuesday, a pair of researchers demonstrated a method of eavesdropping on encrypted GSM calls and text messages by using a few cheap pay-as-you-go cellphones and a variety of open source software.

The ability to listen in on cellphone calls has been available to law enforcement agencies for a while, but even if the average person could they would have to invest in about $50,000 of hardware to do so, until now. The modern day phreaking takes advantage of security flaws in the GSM network and puts the power within the reach of almost any tech-savvy user.

By using custom firmware that they built in a few cheap Motorola cellphones, they created a bunch of cell phone "sniffers" that send real time raw cell network data back to a computer via a USB connection. By sending a target phone an SMS, they were able to determine what random network ID number belonged to the target.

All that was left was to decrypt the raw information they captured. This was easily accomplished with the use of a 2 GB rainbow table.

I’m sure with time, the software and firmware that was used in the demonstration will make it’s way into the average Joe’s hands and we will all be doomed. It’s not really modern day phreaking, back then all of us were just curious. There is no other use for this besides grabbing peoples personal communications.

Eavesdropping On GSM originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2010 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: 2010, ac, air, cat, cell phone, cellphone, cheap, computer, ds, ea, firmware, gsm, hack, hacked, hacking, id, ir, loa, make, messages, mod, motorola, nes, network, number, open, open source, os, pen, personal, phone, power, rc, security, sms, tag, tech.nocr.at, text, time, tor, ui, usb, vest | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

During the Chaos Communications Conference 27C3, hackers calling themselves failOverflow gave a presentation in which they claim to have the private key used by Sony to authorize code to run on the PS3. This essentially would give full control of PS3 systems without the need of a USB device

The group plans to show off a demo tomorrow at the conference and they say they will explain more about their discovery when their website launches. This hack isn’t designed for piracy but to enable software to be authorized to run on the PS3. Essentially this would open up the homebrew market and allow Linux to run on the PS3 regardless of firmware version.

PS3 Private Key Hacked originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2010 | Permalink | 3 Comments | Read more in Gaming | Explore more in: 2010, ac, cat, control, design, ds, fail, firmware, hack, hacked, hackers, homebrew, ir, key, linux, loa, open, os, pen, ps3, ring, sony, tech.nocr.at, usb | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Looking for a cheap way to stream your tunes all around the house? Then look no further than this cheap DIY WiFi radio.

Video blogger Tinkernet shows us how to build one by using an Asus WL-520GU and a USB sound adapter, and best of all it will cost you less than $50. The video shows the steps involved in putting it all together using Windows. If you want to use a different OS then simply visit MightyOhm for detailed step by step instructions.

I always have my laptop connected to my stereo, now, when I build one of these I can just stream directly to my stereo. Best of all, I can control it from my iPhone!

Cheap WiFi Radio originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/09/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2010 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: 2010, asus, blog, cheap, control, diy, ds, ea, house, id, iphone, ir, laptop, led, loa, music, nes, os, phone, radio, sound, stream, tech.nocr.at, ui, usb, video, wifi, wind, windows | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Here’s an awesome idea. Let’s take some homemade Play-Doh, change the recipe around a bit and make it conductive. You could make all sorts of cool circuits, like say wrap some of it around a cell phone to act as an insulator and then try to bring it on a plane. As someone who once shut down a major airport with a home made battery powered usb charger I don’t recommend bringing the cell phone wrapped Play-Doh experiment on a plane.

Squish Circuits, as they are refereed to, were developed at the University of St. Thomas by undergrads Samuel Johnson and AnnMarie Thomas and essentially are nothing more than homemade Play-Doh recipes that make the Doh either conductive or insulate.

With a small battery pack and something else that can use that power like a small motor or an LED you could make tons of fun circuits.

You can find both the conductive and insulating recipes here.

Homemade Conductive Play-Doh originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Most larger gadgets that recharge via USB require at least 10 watts of power like Apple’s iPad. The iXP1-500 dongle claims it will allow devices to recharge from underpowered USB ports.

I’m not quite sure how they accomplish this for $5, but I assume it must have some sort of capacitor inside that stores juice from these underpowered ports and then sends it down the USB port.

XMultiple Technologies (the makers of the iXP1-500) say that its “100% guaranteed to work”. Hocus pocus or simple electronics? I’m not sure, but if anyone out there gets one be sure to let us know.

Boost USB Port Voltage originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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If you can avoid using disposable batteries then you should. Landfills are full of them and we are doing nothing more than killing our environment by using them. I know that rechargeable batteries are better, but there is always the hassle of having to recharge them and then you eventually have to toss them out as well.

When Apple recently released their desktop trackpad I was surprised to see that it was using batteries as opposed to USB power. Apparently others thought the same thing and did something about it.

Markbog over at the MacRumors.com forums did just that. He crafted together a battery size dowel and stripped down a USB cable to make it all happen.

I’m assuming the trackpad must have a voltage regulator or voltage step up since 2 AA batteries only give off 3V and the USB power spec if 5V. Either way, it seems to be working just fine for him.

Replace Batteries With USB Power originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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How scary is it to know that something as simple as a USB stick can pull data from your iPhone (with some limitations). You really don’t need to be super scared just yet since the iPhone Spy Stick will only run under Windows and will only work with iPhones running iOS 3.2.1 and earlier, but the company claims it will have an iPhone 4 version sometime in October.

How it works is simple, you pull the stick and iPhone into a machine and run the included software. You can grab deleted texts, calendar events, pics, and contact info. You can also grab locations tracked via GPS, voice memos, recent map searches and your web history.

The supplier boasts that it “Looks like an ordinary USB flash drive – no one will suspect that it’s a professional grade forensics tool.” Maybe some one should tell them about the “iPhone Spy Stick” logo that’s on it.

If you want one it will cost you $199

iPhone Spy Stick originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Remember the good old C64, the home PC that was all enclosed in a keyboard? Kinda like the first laptop sans screen. A crafty hacker has done just that. By using the guts of a MacBook Air, a thin Mac keyboard and Apple’s new trackpad he has created an all in one keyboard based Mac.

Not ‘quite’ there yet with the case. I have to add some small mounting points for the keyboard and trackpad to rest on and attach the left hand side of the case where the USB ports are. However everything is in its place, the motherboard is bolted down so it can’t move about and everything else is held in place in the most hack friendly method ever….black duct tape.

If you interested in the project you can visit the modder’s site here

All In One MacBook Air originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Benjamin Blundell built a hardware interface for his jailbroken iPhone that reads RFID signals. By patching in his homebrew hardware to his iPhone via a standard iPhone USB cable the reader detects low-frequency tags and will soon be able to read MIFARE tags as well.

You can bet you will never see this app approved in the official Apple app store, but just imagine how cool it would be to read RFID tags with your iPhone. Check out the video after the break

[Link via Hack a Day]

RFID Reader For Your iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/03/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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You might be wondering why you would spend $250 on a flashlight, especially since you can pick up a cheap one at a dollar store for, well, a dollar. There are two reasons you would do so. One would be because you are filthy rich and really don’t care how much you spend and Two, hmmmm, well you decide for yourself.

• The mPower Emergency Illuminator was designed by the Porsche Design Studio (so far not worth the $250).
• It comes with what the company calls “groundbreaking battery technology”. The unit has dual battery barrel’s. One barrel holds you run-of-the-mill batteries and the other holds the “mPower Reserve Battery” that has a minimum shelf life of 20 years from activation. The user chooses when and where to active it. (still can’t see why I would pay $250)
• A built in USB port for charging other gadgets (Maybe. Actually, nope. Still not worth it)

So as you can see, you’ll have to be filthy rich to justify this purchase, or just an idiot.

[Via DVICE]

mPower Illuminator: A $250 Flashlight originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Another week another bunch of stuff that we posted. In case you missed any of it we have everything from Videogame Alarm Clocks to Secret Knock Door Openers. Enjoy.

In Case You Missed It: Week 44 Round Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/09. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I have seen my share of of really weird USB devices, but a set of breast warming pads that work off of USB? Just imagine plugging in your bra to your laptop as you are working at your desk.

I’m not sure how much good this will do you while your out and about, where keeping your boobies warm might be what you want, but then again you can always have a battery pack or solar panel on the back of your jacket to power it.

[Link to USB Breast Warmer]

USB Boobie Warmers originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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The most awesome guys over at the XBMC project have posted a teaser showing how far along the have come on the ARM port of their media player (Check the video after the break). You can clearly see the package boot up and even play back HD video. There looks like there is still some tweaking to be done on image rendering, but it looks like it’s almost there.

The hardware they used is a Beagleboard which runs a 600 MHz ARM processor, puts out HD via a DVI port, has OpenGL acceleration and best of all, sells for about $150. You can easily connect the 3″ x 3″ (wow, that’s insanely small for an HD media device) to a network by using a USB WiFi dongle.

The port is still a ways away from being stable, but from all of the work they have been doing there shouldn’t be too much more of a wait.

[Link to XBMC on ARM]

XBMC on ARM originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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If you are a true hardcore 16bit gaming geek and have always wanted to whip up your own homebrew games then you might be interested in the Quickdev 16. The unit is a cartridge for the Super Nintendo system that comes with everything you will need to develop for the platform, including the Atmel AVR Atmega644 with boot loader, USB connection for putting your code on the cart, 16 megs of SRAM, and an RS232 converter for a debug terminal. It’s available for Windows, Linux and the Mac.

Homebrew for the SNES was quite rare back in the hay day of the system so if you think that spending all your time coding for the same system 20 years later will bring you anything more than some geek cred then you are sadly mistaken. On the other hand, if your a hardcore emulator playing monkey, then whipping up your own game for the SNES platform might be fun!. For $120 I’m not sure if the cost justifies all that fun.

[Link to Quickdev16]

Quickdev16: SNES Developers Cart originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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The guys over at PortableApps.com have been turning out great portable apps for years now. Apps that you can easily put on a USB flash drive and run from any machine. All of the software that they offer is open source, until now that is.

PortableApps has decided to add a handful of closed source apps like Skype and Chrome to their list of offerings. Project lead John T. Haller offered a number of reasons for the move, ending with “it’s the right thing to do. Keeping an open platform and allowing all software to compete on a level playing field just makes sense.”

Besides fan favorites Chrome and Skype, Free Commander, SpyDLLRemover and 2x Terminal were added. IcoFX, XMPlay and a few others are expected soon.

[link to PortableApps.com]

Skype And Chrome Go Portable originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Barnes and Noble today officially revealed today their e-book reader, the Nook. So what does it have to offer? It measures 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches and it weighs only 11.2 ounces. It comes with two screens, a 6-inch grayscale e-in display and a 3.5-inch colour touchscreen that sits just under the main screen. It’s got 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity as well as AT&T 3G support. It comes with 2GB of internal storage (that doesn’t sound like a lot, but in reality that should hold about 1500 ebooks), microSD card support for additional storage, what they claim is a battery that only takes 3.5 hours to charge and will give you 10 days of usage, headphone jack, USB connectivity and MP3 player support.

Not only does the Nook let you read your favorite books but it also lets you take notes, highlight passages, listen to music, and create your own screen savers. They will also offer e-book lending and free Wi-Fi when your inside a Barnes and Noble store.

All of this sounds like a Kindle killer but there is one small problem. Not only do we not have Barnes and Noble stores here in Canada, it doesn’t look like the device which can now be pre-ordered for $259 will be offered to us Canadians. Looks like i’ll have to make a trip into Buffalo to pick mine up once they hit store shelves.

[Link to Nook.com]

B&N Nook Officially Released originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Flip is set to release an upgraded version of it’s MinoHD pocket camcorder just in time for the holiday season. The second gen MinoHD features a brushed metal body, double the internal memory (8GB vs 4GB), a 2-inch LCD and an HDMI connection (sorry, no cable included).

The corners are now rounded giving it a sleeker appearance and the FlipShare software package has been tweaked to include direct uploads to Facebook in addition to the already available uploads to YouTube and MySpace.

You can get the new MinoHD in silver or you can opt for a custom finish for no extra charge directly from the Flip website.

Second Gen Flip MinoHD originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Now this is only for the Trekkie hardcore. The IMM Vulcan 2GB USB Flash Drive comes in the shape of a hand throwing down the traditional Vulcan gang sign (i’m trying really hard here to make this sound cool). If your not a trekkie you might not want to be caught dead with one of these in your computer bag. On the other hand this could be used as a female pleasure device (it would have to be bigger) so it might actually help you score instead of sending women running the other way.

If you want the geek cred then dropping $35.99 for this isn’t going to be a problem.

Vulcan Flash Drive originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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This $32 USB device can easily cause some great laughs or it will cause you to be beaten senseless. Plus this flash drive looking USB device into an unsuspecting users computer and your victims computer will look like it’s possessed. Random mouse movements, caps lock turing itself off and on, or random garbled text and phrases. The Prankster also features a time delay switch so that you have time to make a getaway before all of the mayhem begins.

Although the unit is annoying it will never save a document or close out of anything. Still, make sure you know your victim well enough to know that he or she won’t be calling in the cops to investigate some terrorist action being performed on their computer.

You can try to pick this unit up (they are currently sold out) at Thumbs Up!

USB Prankster originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/13. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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File this one under the “what the f*#k are you doing spending money on something so damn stupid” category.

It’s now official, I have now seen every stupid possible way to jam a USB flash drive into even stupider objects. The only possible need to this $36 2GB comb flash drive is if your a barber who wants to hide some sort of secret document. Scratch that, that was a stupid idea. I stretching here really hard to try to find an actual use for this product but I can’t.

Flash Drive Comb originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/09. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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A crafty Instructables users has figured out that by using a pair of spining hard drives you can create the same gyroscopic effect that the pros use to keep their cameras nice and steady. A camera stabilizer is perfect for taking those steady shots when your conditions might be less than favorable for doing so, like driving in a car or running (think paparazzi).

Although I wouldn’t say this is a beginners project, it’s not too hard to pull off and your materials list can probably already be found around your house.

• Needed: 2 discarded harddisks (HDs)
• Some old discarded computer, or parts
• The part in the old computer which holds floppies en HDs at a 90 degree angle…
• A wooden box or plywood etc..
• A hand grip
• One or two strips of aluminum
• A camera screw
• 3 or 4 car USB phone chargers
• A 12 V power source (lead acid cell, a discarded NiCd cell, or (rechargeable) batteries)
• Some rubber washers and a piece of inner tire
• Contact glue

A little bit of soldering experience, some free time and $50 in parts you too can build yourself this image stabilizer. Just remember, if you plan a career change and decide to become a paparazzi, everyone else around you will give you some weird looks if you run around with this thing.

[Link to Gyro Image Stabilizer]

DIY Image Stabilizer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I, much like every other hardcore geek on the face of the earth, have multiple linux based distro iso’s laying around. Some of them are for testing and some of them contain tools that I use on a daily basis. I have had many people email me about the best distro out there. The only answer I have for them is “depends on what you want to do”. I have spent sometime working on a list of Linux distros and what they are good for.

Now, before I start. Discussion distro’s with people is like discussion religion. Everyone has one and everyone feels something different towards other people who aren’t of the same faith. I just want to remind everyone that this list is just what I see, and how I feel about each distro. It’s definitely not a “what’s right and what’s wrong” type of list. Enjoy.

Knoppix – The one that started it all. Knoppix was the first major LiveCD based distro to hot the scene and open up a whole new world of bootable operating systems. This is probably the best known and most complete LiveCD distro out there. It contains everything you need to act as a full production replacement system. Word Processing, graphics editors, media players, browers, mail clients. You name is, Knoppix has it.

SystemRescueCD – This one I keep with me all the time. SystemRescueCD is a massive collection of tools to help you get out of a bind. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk. It contains a lot of system tools (parted, partimage, fstools, …) and basic tools (editors, midnight commander, network tools). It is very easy to use. Plus, it can also be booted via a USB flash drive. A must for anyone’s collection.

Dynabolic – Billed as a complete media distro, dyne:bolic is shaped on the needs of media activists, artists and creatives as a practical tool for multimedia production: you can manipulate and broadcast both sound and video with tools to record, edit, encode and stream, having automatically recognized most device and peripherals: audio, video, TV, network cards, firewire, usb and more; all using only free software!. Just boot off the CD and your ready to go.

BackTrack – The king of all penetration testing and security distros. If you’re worried about security or exploits then this is the one for you. With more than 300 different up-to-date tools which are logically structured according to the work flow of security professionals. This structure allows even newcomers to find the related tools to a certain task to be accomplished. New technologies and testing techniques are merged into BackTrack as soon as possible to keep it up-to-date.

NimbleX – This is one of my favorite all around LiveCD based distros. It’s full featured but a lot smaller than something like Knoppix. With everything you need to act as a Desktop replacement in a 200 MB CD image, what more can you ask for.

Gentoo – The hardcore Linux distro. What makes Gentoo unique compared to other distros is the need to manually compile every part of the OS. I know that their are gui installers now and pre built packages for the mindless, but having the ability to tweak and optimize every aspect of the OS will not only give you a stable system, but one hell of a quick one too. Mind you, all of this compilation could easily take you days before you have a base system, especially when you make Xorg and a windows manager like KDE or gnome.

Debian – My day to day OS. Debian is one of the oldest and most stable distros around. The core to a bunch of other distros like Knoppix and Ubuntu. If your looking for something that will give you no headaches and carries a very stable branch of applications, Debian is the distro for you.

Ubuntu – Ubuntu is Debian to the next level. It’s a fork of Debian that has quickly become the most popular Linux distro in the world. It’s easy to install, easy to use, and is probably the best Windows replacement OS that is Linux based. Ubuntu’s software repository contains applications that are more recent than say Debian, but the down side to that is the fine edge you walk on when it comes to stability.

Fedora – The big boy on the block, and by big boy I don’t mean popularity, I mean in size. Fedora comes chalked with what seems like every application ever made. Although to some this might be nothing more than bloat, to others it’s a full and complete experience. Install Fedora and you pretty much have every open source application that is useful at your finger tips. If you have never experienced Linux before this is a great distro to get your feet wet with.

I know there are other great distro’s like Slackware, DSL, and OpenSUSE, this list is just a collection of distro’s that I find useful or that I have had experience with. Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments.

Linux Distros That Don’t Suck originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/05/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2009 | Permalink | 23 Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: ac, audio, avi, backtrack, boot, bra, car, cat, comments, computer, debian, distro, drive, ds, dynebolic, ea, editing, email, experience, exploit, finger, fire, flash, gentoo, gnome, graphics, ical, id, ir, iso, kde, knoppix, led, linux, live, loa, lock, mail, make, mid, nda, network, nimbex, open, open source, os, pen, proc, rc, rip, rod, security, small, sound, stool, stream, system rescue CD, time, tool, tor, ubuntu, ui, usb, video, wind, windows, wire, wrong | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Most people who own gadgets that are USB powered have a billion different charging cables. A USB cable to use with your computer, a few wall warts to change your stuff at home or at the office, a car USB charger, hell, some of us even have battery powered altoid tins to charge our iPod’s and Cell Phone’s. What about the poor folk who ride their bikes everywhere they go? Do we have something for you.

Now you can build this not so easy and somewhat complicated device that will charge your gadgets as you pedal around town. Originally created by a group of guys using a grant from MIT. The device, which was originally planned to charge your mp3 player as you run ended up evolving into a bicycle based charger.

If you want to attempt this yourself, you’ll need about $275 and some advanced knowledge of electronics. Although this project isn’t for the faint of heart, if you ride a bike all the time you can charge everything you have on you. Plus, it’s super green and allows you to do your part to help mother nature.

Pedal Powered USB originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/05/14. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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You must show your true colours when it comes to this gadget sitting on your desk. People from far and wide must know that you have a serious addiction to the Dr. Who series or else you will be ridiculed to no end.

If you are will to suffer the harassment then you will appreciate the famous time travelers phone booth turned fridge. The unit will hold a 12 ounce can f soda and comes with a flashing Tardis light with some sound effects. All this joy can soon be yours for the low price of $44.99 from Entertainment Earth

USB Powered Tardis Micro Fridge originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/11/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | 2 Comments | Read more in Gadgets | Explore more in: boot, dr.who, ea, eff, flash, fridge, id, led, light, phone, power, sound, tardis, time, usb | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

We have featured many things that would explain why people with tons of money are really stupid. But it seems that every time I stumble across some new over priced useless piece of technology it beats the last.

Take this solid gold (yes solid, not plated) PC. I’m not quite sure how much gold is used in the case, but I am sure that it costs more than the internals, which are; an Intel Core 2 Duo, 100GB drive (WTF, solid gold and all you get is 100GBs?), 4GB of RAM, 8 USB ports, and 2 FireWire ports (and Apple wouldn’t put any in the latest MacBook).

No word on pricing either, but I’m pretty sure none of us could afford it.

Pure Gold PC originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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This monitor is small. I mean really small. It measures 77mm x 127mm x 17mm, with a 4.3 inch backlit WVGA (800 x 480) display. So what is so special about a tiny monitor anyways? We see them all the time in our gadgets and in our cars. This tiny unit is 100% USB powered. That’s right, no power cables, no VGA cables, just a single USB cable does it all.

The idea is not to have this act as your main monitor (although I guess you could if you were using something like an NSLU2) but to use it to house a chat window or a widget so that it doesn’t get in the way of what you are working on. For $200 you get the unit with a built in kickstand to keep it upright. Yeah I know, $200 is a tad expensive, but if you don’t want to deal with all of the extra cords then you will have to pay the price.

[Link to USB Monitor]

USB Monitor originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/13. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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This one is perfect for all you retro gaming fans. NES Cartridges have been repurposed to be many things; ash trays, gaming consoles, even coasters, but now a crafty modder has jammed in a 2.5″ 250GB SATA drive inside with a usb controller. Although this isn’t the worlds smallest portable hard drive, it is one of the coolest.

If you want to bump up your geek cred then you can actually purchase this one for $180 on Etsy

250GB NES Cartridge originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Are you afraid of the black helicopters flying overhead? Maybe you owe the IRA IRS a bunch of money and want to keep your financial records from prying eyes. Well, if you answered yes to any of the above then the USB phone jack is for you. Sure you could hollow out a book and place your USB stick inside, but most cops are on to that trick. A much better idea would be to wire a USB cord to the phone plate and making a USB cord with a phone jack terminal at one end, you will be able to access your secret data and nobody will be the wiser. Instructables has a great write up on how to build your own.

[Link to USB Phone Jack]

Hide Your Data With A Fake Phone Jack originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Ever feel the need to check your surroundings for radiation? Me either, but if you ever have then this somewhat complex DIY project is right up your alley.

The geiger counter is a pretty simple device to detect radiations. Many forms of radiations from radio elements (alpha, beta, gamma) can be detected but it is more sensitive to beta and gamma radiations. The Geiger-Muller tube is a simple device, it’s a tube filled with a gas with two electrodes. A high potential is applied betweens electrodes. When a ionizing particle arrived, it create a temporary conductive path between electrodes. The resulting current can be detected by an electronic amplifier.

[Link to USB Geiger Counter via Make]

DIY: USB Geiger Counter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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This crafty UK hacker decided to put his old Gamecube to good use and cram a PC into it. It took him over a year to put it all together. It’s not exactly a powerhouse of a machine, but it is one of the cleanest casemods using a Gamecube I have ever seen.

PicoCube is based on the tiny Pico-ITX motherboard, one of the only boards that will actually fit in such a small space. I’ve also got an 100gb SATA hard drive in there, 1gb of RAM, along with a Pico PSU and 4 USB ports. You can see a slot for the DVD drive but with everything crammed in there, it wasn’t long before temps got too high and the unit shut itself down. I may replace the lid in the future or rework things on the inside.

[Link to PicoCube]

Put Your Old Gamecube To Good Use originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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This super tiny keyboard would be perfect for iPhone users if the iPhone actually had a USB port. Maybe someone could come up with a Apple 30-pin connector to USB adapter so that some of us could actually be productive on our iPhones. Enough with my rant, on to the product.

The “Super Tiny Keyboard” from Brando has it’s own built in USB zip-cord. Actual dimensions are 6.7 x 2.9x 0.6 and for only $25, it’s not that bad a deal if your current UMPC keyboard isn’t cutting it for you.

[Link to Super Tiny Keyboard]

Super Tiny Keyboard originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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For the longest time we have seen portable apps for Windows. You know; the kind of applications you can drag onto a USB stick and have them run directly from the stick and never, and I mean ever, have to install anything on any machine that you may run them on. Now with U3 technology (sorry kids, it’s only available for Windows) installing and creating portable apps has even become easier.

I did a segment on the Lab With Leo show earlier this year on just that, portable apps for your Mac.

Freesmug have an awesome list of great OS X apps like Word Processor, FTP clients, IRC clients, and more. They also have a few paid versions of portable Mac exclusive apps like Mail.app, Ical, and Addressbook so that you can keep all of your setting in synch.

theplaceforitall.com – This has two of the greatest portable apps that I use all of the time, versions of the popular web browser Firefox and the email client Thunderbird. Both of these are compiled for both the Mac and Windows, so it doesn’t matter what OS your on, you can run them both and you will maintain all your settings across both platforms.

Because of the complex way that some settings are stored in the Mac operating system it’s hard to come by or even create portable apps, but I’m sure it won’t be too long before that wall comes tumbling down.

Portable Apps For Your Mac originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I own 4 different iPods. An iPod Video, a 1st gen Nano, an iPod Touch, and my beloved 2nd gen shuffle. Why you ask? They all serve different purposes. I use my Touch for Video, my Video for my entire collection, my nano for my wife, and my shuffle for my driving or running. You can imagine the plethora of cables one has to carry to satisfy this obsession.

That’s why sometime ago I decided to slim down what I needed. Now, my Touch, Video, and Nano can all use the same cable, but my shuffle required something different. So I built this super tiny USB dongle that would do just that, replace the bulky shuffle dock. Video after the break.

Here’s what you will need ..

• USB Type A connector
• 4 Pole 3.5mm Connector
• Wire
• Soldering Iron
• Patience

Connect the shortest length possible of wire between the points listed in the above diagram.

These contact points can be small and quite tricky so take your time with doing so.

Once you have soldered up the contacts use a multimeter to make sure that there are no shorts between the contacts. You want to make sure that no solder has spilled between the contacts, this would be bad and could cause a short and kill your ipod.

Use some heat shrink tubing to clean the whole thing up and make it look professional.

DIY: iPod Shuffle Cable originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Looks like the EFiX USB dongle that is suppose to relive all of the hackintosh headaches isn’t living up to expectations. The EFiX is designed to let you install and run OS X unmodified on x86 hardware, not any hardware, but the hardware that EFiX claims is compatible. You should even be able to run OS X updates without fear of breaking your system.

The product has been delayed several times, but now seems to be shipping in select European countries (no luck in North America just yet). The hackintosh community is up in arms since they claim that the device uses technology that has been developed by the community. Let’s not even go into the legal issue of this either.

There have been some reports in the InsanelyMac forums of users with both success and failure (both on unsupported hardware), but I’m sure as these things ship more and more people will be piping in with their results. If the device works as it claims, it could be a cool way to building a fast and cheap dual boot system without the limitations of Apple hardware.

OS X Mod-Chip EFi-X Spotted In The Wild originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Every night I fall asleep listening to my iPod, and every morning I wake up with it dead as a door nail. This cleaver hack actually came to me via my wife. She said “You put USB ports in everything else, why not the alarm clock”. So I did. As you can see from an old episode of The Lab With Leo some time ago I demonstrated exactly how you go about adding some powered USB ports to your alarm clock to keep everything from your cell phone to iPod fully charged.

Here’s what your gonna need.

• Alarm Clock with an internal power supply of 9–12V DC
• PCB Mounted USB Port
• +5V Fixed Voltage Regulator (7805)
• Multimeter

First thing you want to do is open up your alarm clock and make sure that the internal power supply is giving out 9–12V DC using your multimeter.

Once we have satisfied those requirements, your going to want to find a suitable location to house the usb port, something that will not interfere with the internal componets of the alarm clock once you put it back together

With the USB port mounted you are going to want to wire the USB port and the 7805 as per the instructions that come with the voltage regulator. Make sure to leave enough slack with regards to wiring if you ever need to open the alarm clock back up again.

Voila, power to your usb device via your alarm clock.

DIY: Add USB Ports To Your Alarm Clock originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Almost every laptop user has faced this problem at one time or another. You plug in your USB mouse and thumb drive only to be out of ports for your camera or iPod. Well, someone at RiTEK must have also run into this stumbling block because they have the perfect product for you. The Yego USB Flash drive is not only a conventional USB thumb drive,but it also acts as a mini USB hub. It not only free up the port that it used, but also give you an additional port as well.

If security is your concern then the Yego can lock it’s ports and only let in the person with the right password. We’re not talking file-by-file encoding, we are talking the entire flash drive is encoded with a password. It’s got an LED indicator that let’s you know which port is operating and even comes with a power save mode.

It’ll work with all flavours of your favorite OS and can be picked up in sizes from 128MB right up to 8GB

RiTEK

A USB Stick That Increases Your Ports originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Have you ever wanted to host your own World Poker style tournament like the one on TV? With all of the bells and whistles including letting people see who’s got what, well now you can. This might not be affordable for the average “Guy’s Poker Night”, but I can see this being a hit at bars and clubs.

“The inspiringly-named Video Poker Table makes this possible. Beneath it’s perfectly ordinary looking exterior is a fairly impressive collection of electronics that uses RFID technology to track the movement of playing cards around the table, and superimpose this information on a video feed that’s generated automatically from 4 cameras in the table. We play with a standard deck of KEM cards that have been tagged with 52 RFID ’smart labels’ – thin and flexible enough that while they’re plainly visible they don’t affect the way the cards shuffle, deal or handle on the table. This game data, along with the camera feeds, is transmittted to a Windows PC via a USB cable and processed by a software application I wrote. The end result is a live, fully edited video feed of all the action, with pretty good quality graphics that show players’ hole cards, the board, and context-sensitive statistics during play. At the end of the game, the video is chopped up into individual segments, one segment per hand played, named according to the players in that hand and their cards, compressed and uploaded to a web server that players can later access to browse and play back individual hands. All of this happens automatically without any human intervention.”

If you even dare to build your own then you can get info on the project here

RFID Poker Table originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Here’s a great project to make use of your old PSX controllers that you might have laying around the house. Izuna posted some details on building a micro-controller that is using an ATmega8 chip to convert the signal from a PSX controller to USB.

Sure, you can buy an extensor and cut the cable, but you can also buy a PSX to USB adapter for cheap if you want. This is not the point, the point here is make something yourself (and if you have the rights tools beforehand, this is cheaper than buying the adapter [At least I think it is in Brazil]).
[…]
The circuit is very simple, the Atmega8 do all the work, there is just some resistors and zeners to meet the standards for USB protocol, the oscillator crystal and some filtering caps

[Link to USBJoy]

DIY: PSX to USB originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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All all the USB devices that we have covered on this blog this has to be one of my favorites. This old school cassette tape will definitely wreck your walkman if you try to play it, but it can give you an extra 4 USB ports it you plug it into your computer.

If you want to show your age or create one hell of a conversation then you can pick up your very own at the UK gadget shop “I Want One of Those” for about $24.

Old School Cassette USB Hub originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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With almost every gadget from your cell phone to your camera being charged via a USB connection, why not have the ability to charge these gadgets in your pocket, your shirt pocket to be exact.

The charging pen is a fully functional ballpoint pen that can also function as a cell phone and usb charger. It only needs a single AA battery to provide your phone or iPod with an extra 100 minutes of usage. It comes with a variety of connectors to charge almost any cell phone or USB device.

You can pick up the One Battery Mobile Charger Pen at the Gadget4all store for $19

USB Pen Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Bootable image creator UNetbootin automates the installation of Linux distributions onto USB thumb drives from download to run. Kids, we are talking about a persistent, boot-anywhere desktop, and this software does everything for you. Pick the distro you want and put in your USB key, it’s that easy.

The software is available for Windows and Linux and can be grabbed from their sourceforge page.

Unetbootin – Bootable USB Linux originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/28. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Billix is a multi-boot Linux based distribution that is more-or-less a swiss army knife for system administrators.

You copy Billix onto a CDROM or USB stick and voila, a multitude of bootable/installable Linux distributions. You boot your CDROM or USB key and Billix boots to a boot menu that allows you to book or install the following distros:

• Damn Small Linux
• Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)
• Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)
• Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake)
• Debian 4.0
• Debian 3.1
• Centos 5
• Centos 4.4
• memtest
• DBAN

You can download a copy of Billix from their project page.

Billix – Linux Swiss Army Knife originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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IOGEAR is set to release a Wireless USB to VGA kit next month. The unit will offer you 30 feet of wireless video feed to any monitor or TV that has a VGA input. Why would you want to run your monitor wirelessly you ask? Well, maybe you want to watch that web stream on your fancy big screen TV, this way there are no cables cluttering your path. Add a wireless mouse and keyboard to the mix and you can hide your PC away in some closet.

The unit currently will only work with Windows XP or Vista, but for those that don’t care you will be able to pick one up next month for $229.95

IOGEAR: Wireless USB to VGA Kit originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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We have all suffered it, bad call quality, poor reception, limited or no service. Fear no more (we hope that is), Cell Ranger to the rescue. Cell Ranger is a company that focuses on enhancing your wireless service (once again, we hope). The company just released two cell signal boosters called Cell Ranger Stix and Cell Ranger Port for computer and automobile users.

Both units feature a microprocessor that receives then analyzes cellular signals. It then selectively amplifies the wireless signal based on real time signals conditions to provide the best reception. It claims that this will offer users a more constant signal, fewer dropped calls, and faster data access, all this within a 6 foot radius to the unit.

The units are compatible with any wireless carrier in both the U.S. and Canada except for iDEN networks (sorry Nextel). The units will work with any car’s cigarette lighter or on any computer’s USB port.

Each unit will run for $150.

Better Cell Service With Cell Rangers originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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If you are looking for a Linux powered machine that has an extremely small footprint and only drains 2 watts of power look no further. The Beagle Board is an embedded platform perfect for all things hackable. It’s based on the TI OMAP3 processor and comes with 128MB of DDR RAM and 256MB of NAND Flash all on a single chip.

In order to maintain both it’s small footprint and it’s low power consumption the board does away with thinks like an ethernet connection or wireless on board. It only comes with the bare essentials: DVI for video, SD/MMC for storage, audio in/out, and USB for any expansion like adding wireless or an ethernet connection.

All for about $150

[Link to Beagle Board]

Beagle Board – 2-Watts Of Linux Power originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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We talked about the Neuros OSD earlier this year, well it now looks like the company has decided to mature the project and bring it into the HD age. The OSD2.0, which will be aimed at Linux PVR coders, will have an impressive list of specs.

• D1(720×480) H.264 or SVGA (1024×768) MPEG4 + AAC/AC3/MP3 encoding
• 720P playback, up to 1080i with certain content
• Support H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV codec
• Composite/Component Input: 2 composite input, 1 component input, all with dedicated stereo audio
• Composite/Component/HDMI Video Output
• RCA Audio I/O
• 2 USB ports in rear, 1 in front, and 1 internal to housing

The unit will be retailing for $249.99 and should be available by the end of the month.

Neuros OSD – Take 2 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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The Freedom Stick is exactly what it’s name implies, freedom form firewalls that are placed in countries like Chine or the one in Italy that has been erected to block p2p users from the Pirate Bay.

The project has been brought forward by the CCC (Chaos Computer Club) and is basically a version of TOR and Firefox that can run on a USB stick. The aim is to provide every internet user with the opportunity to surf the Net without fearing censorship or prosecution.

It was designed with ease of use in mind and can easily be run by people with little or no computer skill. Download the archive for the CCC’s Chinese Wall page and unpack the contents to a USB key. If you have autostart enabled the system will launch the Vidalia Control Panel and Firefox which will allow any user to sure the net using the anonymity of the TOR network.

Freedom Stick – Freedom From Firewalls originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Instructable user toymotorhead cobbled together this USB controller power strip to ensure that his devices turned off automatically when he shut down his computer as well as turn them on once he turned his computer on. All-in-all he spent about $30 on the contraption.

The unit consists of a solid state relay, some fuses, and some transient voltage surge suppressing diodes. The unit is also isolated from the motherboard to protect his computer from any unwanted nasty power spikes. The unit current just switches the power supply off and by by measuring the current of the usb connection and doesn’t use any fancy software to control the unit.

It’s a fairly easy project to build, but remember, your working with some high voltage here so make sure to take all precautions necessary so you don’t fry yourself.

[Link to building a USB switched power strip]

DIY: USB Switched Power Strip originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Here’s another NES mod, not quite like the “Wii in an NES” mod that we featured a few days ago, but this “PC in an NES” mod is a stealthy and slick one never-the-less. At first glance you would see nothing more than the beloved 8-bit gaming system some of us grew up with, but under the hood you will find a fully functional Windows PC load with emulators so that you can play original NES games and games from other consoles.

The modded console hides a four-port USB hub that snaps cleanly to the original NES expansion port on the bottom, allowing for a variety on non-NES controllers to be connected as well as having the original NES controller ports rewired to work with the PC’s USB system. To really keep this modded system truly old school, the unit can only be connected via composite video, maintaining that old-school blurry image that concealed some of the graphic flaws of older games.

To get an idea what went on with the design, you can read up on the mod here.

NES PC Casemod originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Ever wonder how to carry current in fabric? Me either, but if you have ever wanted to make your own e-style vest with all of the wires hidden this is perfect. Imagine having your iPod in one pocket, a battery pack in another, and your headphones all connected together with the wiring sewn right into the fabric. Plusea on on Instructables has put together a detailed write-up on making a USB cable partly out of stretchy cotton fabric. If the idea of having an e-style vest doesn’t rock your boat you could always wire up a jacket that shocks you every now and then, if you are into that kind of stuff of course.

[Link]

Stretchy Fabric USB Connection originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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What better way to make sure you take that USB drive with you than have it also be your watch, unless you also forget you watch all the time, then your screwed. The Timeless Watch, which was designed by Ondrej Vaclavik, seamlessly integrates a hidden USB drive that also serves as the watch’s clasp. Perfect for getting your data across the border and through the TSA.

The watch is lightweight and requires no batteries as it charges up via USB. It’s not available for sale just yet and we have no word on how big the drive will be, but I guess you could always build your own from some spare parts.

You can see more pictures of the unit over at Ondrej Vaclavik’s site.

USB Drive Watch originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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A low-tech solution to a hi-tech problem, I love it. Japanese accessory maker Thanks has come up with a physical padlock for anything with a USB end on it. Sticks, connector cables, mice, you name it, if it has a usb end on it, the it can be protected.

Other than making access to the USB device difficult, it really doesn’t offer much else on security, but for $7 what do you expect. People who live outside of Japan will have to hope that they put it up for sale on their English online shop.

When it does, you can enter “rarmono5″ as a coupon code and get an additional 5% off.

Thanko’s USB Padlock originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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This is one of those silly “I should have thought of this concepts”. A Step in the Right Direction is a prototype for a new shoe that detects Wi-Fi signals as you are walking. The shoe has integrated electronics under the tongue flap that is triggered via a pressure sensor so that it begins a scan of any W-Fi signals in the area. The wearer is then notified via LEDs on the outside of the shoe if there is a signal.

My kids have running shoes that light up every time they step, at least with this shoe the LEDs are actually useful. Now if they could incorporate some kind of GPS and logging system that you can then download via USB or Wi-Fi we’d have a complete worldwide layout of Wi-Fi hot-spots.

Hot-Spot Shoe originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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I know that there are many useless USB keys on the market. From dinosaurs to hello kitty dolls, but a wine cork? Brilliant. Key all of your sensitive and confidential data on one of these then pop it into a bottle. I mean, who would ever think to look inside of a wine cork for a USB key? Just make sure you don’t start drinking too much wine and toss the bottle and cork out with the recycling.

Wine Stopper USB Key originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Here’s a perfect gadget that will do nothing more than put a power strain on your usb circuit. Thumbs Up UK’s new USB Owl seems to serve no purpose, unless you count moving it’s head or blinking it’s eyes something useful.

I really wonder how big an industry the useless USB gadgets market has become. These completely useless power drainers have become more popular over the past few months. Maybe it’s a lucrative market after all. How does the USB log sound? Just plug it in and let it sit there and do nothing.

$25 seems about $23 too much for this unit.

Useless USB Owl originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Thanko has just release their new USB charger that will charge almost everything from cell phones right up to gaming consoles. It comes with a huge handful of adapters to charge almost any gadget. You can even charge the battery on your video or still camera by simply removing the battery and adjusting the terminals on the Thanko charger to match the battery.

It’s got all of the standard indicators to let you know when stuff has been fully charged. The Thanko USB charger can be picked up in Japan for about $18.

Thanko USB Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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You can easily file this one under “Most useless USB gadget”. The USB traffic light is more than just a set of traffic lights (I sure hope so). Its exactly what I need, a reminder of all of the traffic I must deal with on my way home from work. Besides the frustrations you also get

• 4-port USB 2.0 Hub
• USB Traffic Light as status indicators (Busy, Out To Lunch, Available)
• 10 Seconds Voice Recording and Playback
• Monitor Cleaner
• Memo Pad/Name Card Clipper

I’m not very clear on the monitor cleaner aspect, but if you have $25 burning a hole in your pocket it’s yours.

USB Traffic Light originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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For all of you who want to walk the bleeding edge of technology and help save the environment the Eco Media Player is for you. The worlds first crank-powered MP3 and video player will leaving you wondering what to do with all of your USB chargers. A play on the many AM/FM radio out there that operate on crank power, the Eco Media Player might just be the perfect addition to your survival kit since it also sports an AM/FM radio and flashlight. What will you do with all those free hours waiting to be rescued? Watch a video of course.

The player can store up to 500 songs and have a SD slot for memory expandability. Cranking it for a minute will produce 40 minutes worth of MP3 goodness. The unit also has a mini-USB which can help charge up other devices like cellphones.

You can pick it up for $275

[Via DVICE]

Hand Cranked MP3 Player originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/14. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Via Make …

Why would you want a USB port in an electric guitar? The answer is simple: convenience. By putting a small USB port and audio codec in a guitar, you’re adding an extra sound board. So when you record, your guitar is digitized locally and the signal is transmitted to your computer over a USB cable. The guitar retains all its standard analog capabilities but outputs to USB as well. Now you can rock steady until your hard drive is full. Here’s how to do it.

Link on adding a USB port to your Guitar

Build A USB Guitar originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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The super popular open source disk encryption software TrueCrypt is now available for the Mac OS.

TrueCrypt creates a virtual encrypted disk that mounts in the Finder and provides on-the-fly 256-bit encryption. You can keep this virtual disk on your drive or on a USB thumb drive and can even be hidden. TrueCrypt relies on MacFUSE to work all of it’s magic.

Given the softwares roots it’s not surprising that the interface isn’t very Mac-like. Nevertheless, you mount and create virtual disks via the TrueCrypt application and interact with them via the Finder.

TrueCrypt is a free grab from sourceforge.

TrueCrypt: Now On OSX originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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For those of you looking to add Skype to your Apple TV then look no further. The unofficial Skype client for the Apple TV is out. I’m sure they have some serious bugs to work out like the fact that there is no microphone of web cam on the Apple TV (minor details for Skype, lol), but if they can get a usb microphone and web camera to work with the AppleTV then they would be set.

Apple TV Gets Skype originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Here is just what everyone needs, a useless USB toy to take up hours and hours of your time. I’ll give it credit, it’s a lot of fun. The USB boxer adds some fun to it’s on screen game. Punches are controlled on the keyboard while the boxer throws his best at the speed ball.

Unfortunately you can only pick it up in bulk (minimum order of 12) for ₤29.99 each here

USB Time Waster originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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