tech.nocr.at » wifi

DIY: Boost Your Laptop’s WiFi

Frank — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:43:11 +0000

Even with the hardware of today you can still experience horrible wireless reception. Dead spots have become all too common and if your wifi access point happens to be on another floor, you know how much of a pain it can be to stream media when your signal sucks.

Sure you could go out and buy some massive transmitter that could cook bacon, but not only is it dangerous it’s also really expensive. By using some velcro, an MC card connector and a Dremel, you can create this Frankenstein of signal boosters for your laptop. You can easily ~~steal~~ borrow the wifi signal from your neighbours place.

If your not crazy about building something like this and want something easier then check out the wifi wok.

[Link to Hook Up]

DIY: Boost Your Laptop’s WiFi originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/02/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Tiny Computer Looks More Like A Card Reader

Frank — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:46:22 +0000

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.

NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 1GHz

Integrated ultra-low power GeForce GPU

1 GB DDR2-800 RAM

ATA SSD (up to 64GB)

WiFi 802.11n + BT

DMI 1.3 full-HD + DVI (dual head)

Stereo line-out, line-in, 5.1 digital S/PDIF

4 USB Ports

Serial Port

Full size SD and Mirco SD reader

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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DIY: Lock Your Door Via Text Message

Frank — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:44:53 +0000

Billy Chasen thought that using keys to open his office was so 2000 so he decided to build a door lock/unlock system via text message.

Using a servo motor, a tiny web server, and some piping claps from Home Depot he built a unit that can lock or unlock a door via a text message. The system uses a white list of allowed users so people can’t randomly open his door.

As you can see from the video above, the unit works well. Some clean up and maybe a project box for the unit is in order, but it doesn’t take away from the unit’s functionality. If your not up to using SMS you could always consider the WiFi Door Opener or the Secret Knock Door Lock.

[Link to Opening A Door Via Text Message]

DIY: Lock Your Door Via Text Message originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Review: eLocity A7 Android Tablet

Frank — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:18:35 +0000

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.

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Top 10 Of 2010

Frank — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:51:37 +0000

Another year is almost behind us and thanks to our dedicated and loyal readers our 3rd successful year bringing you the latest in gadgets, gaming, technology and the bizarre.

We have brought the monkeys in (by monkeys we mean a crafty worded perl script) and have compiled the the most viewed posts here on tech.nocr.at. This list doesn’t just contain posts from 2010, it contains the top ten most viewed posts this year regardless of when they were created.

Without further ado, tech.nocr.at’s top 10 posts of 2010:

Let us know in the comments what were your favorite posts of 2010.

Top 10 Of 2010 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Skype Video On Your iPhone

Frank — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 05:31:55 +0000

Sure you have facetime on your iPhone, but wouldn’t it be cool to have video support for Skype on your iPhone? After all, there are only 6 facetime users in the world and billion of Skype users.

Seems that a document that was released a bit too early points to Skype’s CES announcement as being video support for iOS devices with cameras. I’d be willing to bet that the supposed upcoming iPad 2 will also have a front facing camera.

I wonder if the mobile carries will allow these video calls to cross their network or if it will be wifi only, never-the-less this will be a great way to make a video call when your on the go.

Skype Video On Your iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/28. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Cheap WiFi Radio

Frank — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:56:33 +0000

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.

Shogo Linux Powered Tablet

Frank — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:45:24 +0000

Looks like someone is trying to de-throne Apple’s iPad. Japanese company Redstar are taking pre-orders on their Linux powered tablet.

The 10″ tablet is multi-touch friendly, comes with 1024×600 resolution and is powered by a Freescale iMX-37. It will also include 4GB of internal memory, 256MB of RAM, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and a SDHC memory card slot.

No pricing information or shipping date has been set yet, but I know as a happy hacker I can’t wait to get my hands on one, especially since it will run Linux. Imagine all the possibilities. If you know Japanese, then you can hit their website to get more info, otherwise, check the video below of the unit in action.

Shogo Linux Powered Tablet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

WiFi Door Opener

Frank — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:41:26 +0000

We have seen our fair share of door opening hacks. Remember the secret knock door lock? That was pretty awesome, but what if I tell you that you can unlock your door from any wifi device?

The guys over at Sunlight Labs have done just that. By using a WRT54GL and some creative hacking that have wired up their wireless router to buzz open their front door.

So how does this all work? Well, let’s start with the router. It’s a Linksys WRT54GL, a still-Linux-friendly descendant of the WRT54G, the router which jump-started the custom firmware scene. There are a lot of custom router firmwares available — DD-WRT, Tomato, Gargoyle — and they can all make your consumer-grade router do some professional-grade things. For this project I used OpenWRT, the system on which many of those other projects are based. It’s got a much steeper learning curve than those other distros — you definitely need to be comfortable with the command line — but it lets you build a custom firmware with exactly the components you want. With some tweaking I was able to create a firmware that included a stripped-down version of Python, but which still fit into the WRT54GL’s meager 2MB flash memory. (Like the Arduino, Python turned out to be overkill, but at the time I expected to need it — and it’s always nice to have it handy.)

Link to Door Opener Science Project

WiFi Door Opener originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/02/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Use Your iPhone To Control Your Car

Frank — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:11:47 +0000

You knew it was bound to happen. With the iPhone already having apps to control everything from your iTunes to a remote computer you knew that someone would come up with an app to control a car.

The Spirit of Berlin team have developed an iPhone app that remotely controls a minivan. They developed the app for the 2007 Darpa Urban Challenge, so the likelihood of you getting the app from the app store is slim to none.

The iPhone connects with the driving circuitry via WiFi and offers a button for gas and brake as well as a wheel to turn the vehicle. The camera mounted on the front of the minivan transmits video to the iPhone in real-time.

In the video below you can see the operator in the camera’s view on the iPhone. It seems that the top speed of the van is limited (thank God!). This is every big kids dream, a real live RC of an actual car, problem is that this can be extremely dangerous. Plus, WiFi? I hope that their is some sort of kill switch if the van goes out of range or else there can be some serious consequences. Check out the video after the break.

[Link to iPhone RC]

Use Your iPhone To Control Your Car originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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XBMC on ARM

Frank — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:55:23 +0000

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.

EEE 4G External Antenna Mod

Frank — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:52:51 +0000

I love to use Back Track as my all around security testing OS (If your not sure what Back Track is check out my little write up about it the other day). I also love to use Back Track on my EEE pc. It’s small, light, and has decent wifi range. Thanks to Larry Pesce that will soon change. He modded his Asus EEE 4G Surf with an external RP-TNC antenna connector. This will definitely increase the range when your out scoping open wifi’s.

Full details on the surgical procedure can be found here

EEE 4G External Antenna Mod originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/05/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Evo “Smart Colsole” Is Linux Based

Frank — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:08:55 +0000

When was the last time you say a gaming console released that didn’t come from one of the big three? A while a bet. So you might be happy to know that Envizions Computer Entertainment will be releasing the Evo “Smart Console”. The interesting spin on this new console is that it’s nothing more than a Linux-based computer. It’s not a new concept, Linux has been powering many desktop products from your WiFi router to your Tivo, but gaming?

The unit includes an overclocked Athlon 64×2 5600 processor and an ATI Radeon 3200 graphics card. Development will be geared specifically to the Evo unit so no built in MAME emulator or anything of that nature, but this does open up the world of Linux gaming development.

The new console is set to ship on November 20th with a hefty price tag of $600

Evo “Smart Colsole” Is Linux Based originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Hunt Down Wi Fi Leeches With MoocherHunter

Frank — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:09:48 +0000

Last week we showed you how to screw with people who were stealing your Wi Fi signal by flipping their browsers and blurring their images. Today we show you how to hunt those Wi Fi moochers. The problem with leaving your Wi Fi unprotected is that malicious people can use it to download illegal files that can be tracked back to you. The best thing to do is lock down your Wi Fi to ensure that no one does something that you might be blamed for, but if you choose to leave it open and have a problem with a user or two taking advantage of it you can track them down and pay them a visit.

First thing you are gonna want to do is download MoocherHunter. MoocherHunter tracks the data that is being streamed from your unprotected Wi Fi right to their front door. The program is pretty straighforward to use and is part of a much larger wireless auditing toolkit called OSWA-Assistant which is chalked full of useful tools to make sure your Wi Fi is well protected.

Use this information wisely, don’t go out and do something stupid with it. Remember, this is to be used for personal research, not as an excuse to knock at someone’s door and start a fight.

Hunt Down Wi Fi Leeches With MoocherHunter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Baffle WiFi Leeches With An Upside-Down-Ternet

Frank — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:11:29 +0000

Have you ever had someone leach off your Wi Fi? You could always encrypt it or use any multitude of tricks to hide your network, but why would you do that when you can have some serious fun with them. Blur their images, or flip them upside down to get them really scratching their heads.

Essentially what you need to split up your net block so that you have a trusted block and an untrusted one. That coupled along with a few snippets of code will lead you to a wealth of possibilities. Imagine all the fun you could have with those neighbors who decide not to pay for their own access and ride the carpet on your hard earned dollars. Plus, it’s a whole lot of fun.

[Link to Upside-Down-Ternet]

Baffle WiFi Leeches With An Upside-Down-Ternet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Send Your Idea To The MythBusters

Frank — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:57:08 +0000

Are you a fan of the uber geeky and cool show MythBusters? If so then here is your chance to send them some of your ideas. Adam and Jamie are using YouTube (as in the video above) to reach out to their fans and ask for ideas for the show. You can reply to the video above or in the MythBusters forum. I think we should get them to test the myth that WiFi access point cause harm. Alright, so it’s not a myth, but it would shut a co-worker up who drives me nuts on a daily basis about how back WiFi network are for your brain.

Send Your Idea To The MythBusters originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Wifi Wok

Frank — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:24:53 +0000

What happens when you put a Wi-Fi dongle and a Wok together? The Wok-Fi of course. My favorite how-to site Instructables has a write up on mashing up a dumpling strainer and a Wi-Fi dongle. The writer claims to have gotten a boost of 60% when using this. Plus, everyone can whip out a cantena. Imagine driving around with a Wok out your window. Imaging the geek-cred you’d get with this at the next Hope conference.

[Link to Wok-Fi]

DIY: Wifi Wok originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: WiFi Robot

Frank — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 05:01:46 +0000

Jon Bennett has created a WiFi controller robot that can be controller via the internet or from a computer up to 500m away. The robot is built from an RC car that he picked up at a thrift store, a Linksys WRT54GL router running the Open-WRT firmware, a network camera. The bot can be powered by two different type of micro-controllers: the PIC microprocessor or an Arduino. You can use whichever one your are more comfortable with. If you follow Joe’s guide, it shouldn’t cost you that much to put together. Check out the video after the break of the bot in action.

The goal of this article is to give a high-level overview of the project and provide some implementation details of the software and electronics. It is not meant to be a step-by-step how-to guide, but there should be enough information for someone with motivation and some background knowledge in electronics and software to be able to make their own Wifi Robot. All of the source code is being released under the terms of the GNU GPL v2, so by all means, use the code, and improve it!

You sure could have a lot of fun with this project. Maybe at some image processing code so that it can figure out where the sidewalk ends and can make it’s own decision to turn right or left.

[Link to WiFi Robot]

DIY: WiFi Robot originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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DD-WRT: Bring Out The Best Of Your WiFi Router

Frank — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:37:23 +0000

By using an open source replacement firmware you can turn your $60 Linksys WRT54G into a feature rich router that would easily be worth over $600. All with variants of the OpenWRT firmware.

The DD-WRT firmware is a third party developed firmware released under the terms of the GPL for many 802.11g wireless routers based on the Broadcom chipset. No special hacking is needed. If your supported device is listed then you can simply download the firmware for your router and by using the web based upgrade feature found on every router you can flash it to accept the new feature rich dd-wrt firmware.

The list of feature os too long to mention, but for a quick tease you will have VLAN, VPN Server, and QOS available to you, just to name a few.

If you are looking to really bring out the best in your WiFi router or if you are like me and like to tweak ever possible setting then the dd-wrt firmware is for you. You can check their page for a complete list of supported hardware

[Link to DD-WRT]

DD-WRT: Bring Out The Best Of Your WiFi Router originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

New Commodore Laptop, Yes I Said Commodore

Frank — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:56:18 +0000

With Asus having such great success with their UMPC the eeePC, why not have everyone jump into the game? Commodore (the machine that brings me such great memories of my hacking youth) seems to be jumping into the small laptop market. This tiny laptop was spotted at IFA. Not much is known yet about the machine, but I so want one. I’d put a C64 emulator on it and run around playing Summer Games or better yet, run my old Color64 BBS on it.

I think I just want to be spotted walking around with a laptop that bares the Commodore logo on it. Imagine the geek-cred you’d build with this in your backpack.

UPDATE

We have had some of the specs of the unit sent to us. They include:

10-inch screen
1.6GHz VIA C7-M processor
80GB hard drive
1GB of ram
built-in WiFi
optional Bluetooth

The specs are very similar to HP’s mininote and around the same price point of $600

[Via Crunchgear]

New Commodore Laptop, Yes I Said Commodore originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Skype With Style

Frank — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:45:26 +0000

Using VOIP has become quite easy, so much so that my mother has dropped her landline and gone strictly VOIP. Now more and more people are adopting VOIP, microphones and headsets are a way of the past. Take the Tatung VOIP handset, it features bluetooth, WIFI and has a touchpad design.

It’s currently only a prototype, but if this hits mass production I can see it becoming one hot item.

Skype With Style originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/28. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nokia N85

Frank — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:59:48 +0000

Yummy Yum!. Nokia has just unveilled the N79 and N85 (pictured above). The N85 has a 2.6″ AMOLDED screen, GPS, 5 megapixel camera, is N-Gage compatable, 8GB of microSDHC storage, WiFi, and a battery that claims to go for 28 hours when listening to some tunes.

The N79 replaces the N78, similarly bumping the cam to the big five em-pees with a dual-LED flash, GPS, 4GB microSDHC storage, WiFi, swappable back covers, and a 24-hour music playback battery life.

These are all good and great but when will we actually see something that will knock off the iPhone?

Nokia N85 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/26. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

EeePC Keyboard Backlight for $15

Frank — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 03:00:11 +0000

I’m a huge fan of my EeePC. So much so that I am actually writing this post on my 4G right now. The one thing that drives me bananas with the unit is the lack of a keyboard light, and when you are in a dark room trying to type, well you can just imagine.

Popular Science has a great article on adding a keyboard backlight to a EeePC for under $15

As we showed you in our May 2008 issue, Asus’s Eee PC has quickly become a favorite of hardware hackers around the web. Here, we offer the first installment of our Eee PC School series. Check back in the coming weeks for more tiny ultraportable tweaking.â€”Eds.
What good is that portable PC if you canâ€™t type anywhere and anytime? With its ultra-compact keyboard, even touch typing pros will be hard-pressed to avoid frequent mistakes on when the lights go out. To say itâ€™s a frustrating exercise in futility to locate the miniature F3 key in the dark is an understatement. Oops, you just lost WiFi contact by accidentally hitting F2.
Clearly, a keyboard backlight like those found in higher-end laptops is the answer to your nocturnal Eee PC typing woes. And for less than $15, such a backlight can be installed with minimal fuss.

EeePC Keyboard Backlight for $15 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Hot-Spot Shoe

Frank — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:22:04 +0000

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.

Sony XPERIA

Frank — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 03:53:30 +0000

Sony just launched a new line of phones dubbed the XPERIA. Looks like they are aimed directly at phone such as the Sidekick and Ocean.

The unit has a full QWERTY keyboard, a 3-inch touchscreen, WiFi connectivity, 400MB of storage onboard, and microSD expansion support. It runs on a modified version of Windows Mobile, which depending on how implemented can either make it or break it.

Look for it to hit local carriers later this year.

Sony XPERIA originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

$10 Super Duper WiFi Antenna

Frank — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:55:10 +0000

There are sometimes that a single bar of WiFi service isnâ€™t going to cut it. You can see the access points near you, but the signal is just too weak to get you any access. Before you go out and spend $100â€™s for pringle can like antennas give this $10 alternative a spin.

Items needed: some 35-mm foam (like the kind desktop and laptop PCs usually come with), some solid-core copper wire, a small brass plate, and multiple BNC connectors. Then follow the directions in the video and youâ€™ll have a super powerful directional antenna that should get you better gain that that external antenna your card came with.

Remember, this works as a directional antenna so you need to have it pointed in the right direction to get a strong signal. Just sweep it around slowly until you can lock down a super signal then surf away!

$10 Super Duper WiFi Antenna originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Every EEEPC Hack Under The Sun

Frank — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:10:05 +0000

Iâ€™ve done a few hacks here and there with my EEEPC. Iâ€™ve even been on TV doing some of these hacks, but this takes the cake.

Someone has actually posted an incredibly detailed write-up of adding everything to your EEEPC and I mean everything. Four port USB hub, internal GPS, bluetooth, 56k modem, FM audio transmitter, 4gb USB flash drive and a 801.11a/b/g/n card with a spare antenna for full 802.11n support.

The write up is extremely well done and very detailed with lots a pics, a definite joy for anyone wanting to hack their EEEPC.

[Link via HackADay]

Every EEEPC Hack Under The Sun originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

IR Speeds Hit 1Gbps

Frank — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:09:10 +0000

Truth be told that the IR (Infared) port on my PDA’s and old laptops never saw much use since it was painfully slow to actually do anything via IR, and with Bluetooth and WiFi dominating the wireless transfer airwaves why would anyone bother with that old IR technology? KDDI R&D Laboratories are about to change the way you look at IR with it’s new technology that enables the IR transfer speed to hit a whopping 1Gbps shattering the old theory that you could only get 4Mbps out of it. Not only that, but they achieved the 1Gbps in a stable environment. KDDI claims that they can transfer an entire music CD in under a second.

I sure hope that can retrofit this new technology into my old hardware. Infared never looked so good.

IR Speeds Hit 1Gbps originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Turn A Windows Mobile 6 Device Into A WiFi Router

Frank — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:01:14 +0000

Every wanted a GPRS-Uplinked WiFi router? WMWifiRounter will do just that. The utility that you run on your WiFi-capable Windows Mobile 6 device will turn it into a GPRS-uplinked WiFi router. It sets up your WiFi link in ad-hoc mode and starts a DHCP server in order to hand out ip addresses to neighboring machines. Your laptop will then see a new WiFi network called WMWifiRouter, and connecting to it will send all of your network traffic through your WM6′s phone and GPRS connection.

In the old days you had to tether your device to a laptop to achieve the same results, now you call pull it off without any additional hardware. All you need is your phone and a cell connection.

WMWifiRouter – Link

Turn A Windows Mobile 6 Device Into A WiFi Router originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Archos TV+ – AppleTV Killer

Frank — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:35:04 +0000

Archos recently revealed complete specs and images for their highly anticipated AppleTV killer, the Archos TV+. The compact device is just about the same size as the Apple TV, but it packs some much nicer features.

The Archos comes with twice the storage for less cost than the Apple TV. The TV+ is also capable of recording content from analog sources (via component or S-video inputs) and is also a full DVR complete with program listings that gives you a whopping 700 hours of video.

The unit ships with a qwerty remote control to take advantage of the optional Opera browser with Flash capability so that you can surf the internet from the comfort of your couch, hell it can even read PDF’s. Network connectivity is provided via the built-in 802.11g WiFi card or via a wired ethernet port.

The 80GB version will cost you $249 while the 250GB version should set you back $349. Expect to see the product hitting stores later this year.

Archos TV+ – AppleTV Killer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

HTC Kaiser releases 10.26.07 in US

Frank — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The HTC TyTN II P4550 (HTC Kaiser 120) (AT&T 8925) is a king among phones. And, instead of exclaiming about how sweet this phone is, I’ll let it speak for itself:
Processor: 400 MHz
RAM: 128 MB RAM
Storage: 145 MB
Expansion Slot: microSD, microSDHC, Transflash, SDIO
Cellular Networks Supported: GSM, CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
Wifi Support: 802.11 b/g
Camera: 3.1 Mega Pixel
Other features: Touchscreen, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS

the release date, or for that matter, if it was even going to be released in the U.S. of A. has been a very tightly held secret. NO MORE! The below image was sent in from a source that wishes to remain anonymous. It’s a screen cap from a internal ordering site.

HTC Kaiser releases 10.26.07 in US originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/09/26. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

iPhone firmware 1.1.1 may break soft unlocks

Frank — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:22:44 +0000

We all know that firmware 1.1.1 for the iPhone is due any moment now. Looks like it will bring iPhone users an International keyboard, some extra settings for the Home button, the likely WiFi iTunes store update that is in the iPhone touch, and an update to the modem functionality.

Rumour is that the open-source soft-unlock actually patches the Modem Firmware to do it’s thing, which means that if the Modem firmware gets an update it’s very likely that it’s game over for the current round of unlocks.

It’s not the least bit surprising. Apple is taking a neutral stance against hacks, but I’m sure that AT&T has been all over Apple to break the unlocks that are floating around. This is costing AT&T money, and I’m sure that they will keep up with the pace of unlocking ala Sony with the PSP firmware.

iPhone firmware 1.1.1 may break soft unlocks originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/09/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Rumour: Blackberry Pearl 2

Frank — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Boy Genius Report is reporting that the new Blackberry Pearl 2 will be rolling out to Sprint around the US Thanksgiving.

The new Blackberry will have integrated GPS but will lack the WiFi most people were hoping for. A CDMA version of the Curve is also planned for release some time during the first quarter of 08.

With the release of the iPhone blackberry has been scrambling to create a device that will match the sexiness of the unit, but with lack of WiFi and lack of a camera I think they might just come up short with this unit.

Rumour: Blackberry Pearl 2 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/08/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

How To: Portable Cell Phone Jammer

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Have you ever wanted to shut those people up who ride on the bus or subway with you? You know, the people who decide that everyone around them should be annoyed by their conversations. Here’s an awesome project that let’s you build your very own personal cell phone jammer. This project is recommended for advance hobbyist only. There is quite a bit of tiny soldering involved.

An internal lithium-ion battery provides up to 2 hours of jamming (two bands, such as cell) or 4 hours (single band, such as cordless phone, GPS, WiFi, bluetooth, etc). The battery is rechargeable via a mini-USB connector or 4mm DC jack (a common size). Alternately, 3 AAA batteries may also be used.

Please remember that this is for educational purposes only, FCC and CRTC regulation make this type of device highly illegal.

Link to article

How To: Portable Cell Phone Jammer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

1000 Foot Wi-FI. Yes I said 1000 Feet!

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Anything that can claim to connect via Wi-Fi from 1000 feet sounds like crap to me, but the Wi-Fire by hField can actually do just that.

hField claims that the Wi-Fire can increase your Wi-Fi signal by using a powerful internal directional antenna, a high sensitivity receiver and some software. If the device can actually do what it claims it could mean much better reception while you’re on the road.

Wi-Fire supports both Mac and Windows and will run you about $79.

1000 Foot Wi-FI. Yes I said 1000 Feet! originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

New Phone-less Ipod

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

The biggest media hype of this summer is now over and Apple has come through in a big way (Pics after the Jump)Apple today at their big media circus offered us the following:

iPod Shuffle now comes in project red
New fat Nano’s with 201 ppi screen. Video as well. 4gb – $149, 8 gb – $199
iPod classics as well – 80 gb $249, 160 gb $349
Ring tones for your iPhone – $2.50 a pop
iPhone price cut – down to $399 from $599
Phone-less iPhone – Essential a new iPod without iPhone. Same great features including Wifi and the whole shebang. 8 gb – $299, 16 gb $399
iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
Deal with Starbucks to purchase music at their shops via Wi-Fi

Although there were a lot of innuendoes around the Beatles, sad to say still no announcement about any of the library being sold on the iTunes store, sorry.

New Phone-less Ipod originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.