Did you forget your hardware-based password and now you’re locked out? If it’s an IBM ThinkPad you may be in luck but it involves a bit more than just removing the backup battery. SoDoItYourself has an article detailing the retrieval of password data from an EEPROM.
The process is a fun one. Disassemble your laptop. Build a serial interface and solder it to the EEPROM chip where the password is stored. Connect this interface to a second computer and use it to dump the data into a file. Download a special program to decipher the dump file and dig…

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[Viktor's] laptop needed a new battery; he had the trade off between carrying around a cheap but heavy sealed lead acid (SLA) battery, or buying an expensive but light Li-Ion battery. Figuring his old laptop was pretty heavy already, and having an unused SLA available, re-purposing it for his laptop wouldn’t be too much of a hassle. Using a boost converter he built out of a custom dip MAX668, he is able to output the necessary 5 amps required. An MC 34161 voltage monitor chip is planned for future revisions, but he’s currently running it just fine. Check out…

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The digital voice recorders produced by Olympus are great choices for the always pressed-for-time people who desire to have more options than the usual tape recorders to capture musical pitches or creative impulses. Olympus Digital Voice Recorder offer distinct sound quality, longer duration of recording, as well as convenient file management.
The Olympus vn2100pc digital voice recorder includes wave software along with a USB connection. This small and efficiently designed model of digital voice recorder created by Olympus, permits you to move your files, manage your recordings, and set an alarm. The model is compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 professional,…

Did your battery finally run out of juice? It can be frustrating, trying to replace a watch battery when you don’t know how. Luckily, this simple guide will walk you through it, step-by-step. If you follow these instructions, you should have nothing to worry about.
Step 1: Place the watch, face down, on a soft surface such as a towel. Inspect the rear of the casing, and find a tab-like indentation near the rear-edge of the cover. Use a tool with a wedge-head, something dull, like a butter knife or screwdriver. Shimmy the wedge into the back of the indentation.…

Many people acknowledge the amazon Kindle as the king of e-readers. However, as the Sony PRS-600 and 300 are about to be released, the challenge has began. Although the details are not that elaborate yet, there are things that have already been confirmed. First, the existence of the devices has been established by Sony. Then some details about what they offer were also given. This is what should make Amazon a little bit concerned about the situation.
As a consumer, the price would be your utmost concern. Kindle 2, which is known for being an older model ever since Kindle…

Our friends over at ifixit are at it again, how they get these devices so early before release and make a complete teardown in time still amazes us. Today they bring us the latest Microsoft media device, the Zune HD. Some features worth mentioning: The astoundingly thin, 1mm we’re talking, OLED screen. The Nvidia Tegra 2600 processor, hinting at 3D game capability. And finally who could forget the 660 mAh battery. But isn’t that 129 mAh less than the iPod touch? Microsoft’s reply, supposedly the Zune HD is using many more low power hardware solutions in this device. Either…

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[Dan] set up this simple cell phone hack to disable his microphone when he’s not using his cell phone. He had read that the government can listen to you using your cell phone, even when it is off. This concerned him enough to hack into his phone. He removed the expansion port and wired the microphone to a magnetic reed switch. A strong magnet located in the screen side of his flip phone opens the circuit when he closes the phone. He notes that you could always just pop the battery out of your phone, but then you are…

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The HAL two-leg exoskeleton is now available for rent in Tokyo for $2300 per month. We saw the HAL in our power suit roundup from last year. There is footage of this lower-extremity suit demonstrated by three people. The video is a bit creepy because the they are apparently just out for a stroll in the city.
We really do want to see this succeed. Every time another advancement in exoskeletons comes around we glimpse the future of mobility and freedom for victims of paralysis. The machine is controlled via an interface that picks up electrical impulses on the…

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