Projects involving Conway’s Game of Life and utilizing a Nokia 3310 screen are quite popular with electronics hobbyists. [Droky] put these two together and went one step further by adding capacitive sensors to control the Game of Life. His work is a great example of how to use the Atmel QTouch capacitive sensor (QT100a datasheet). This chip does the heavy lifting that we’ve seen in other touch sensitive solutions. It operates from 2V-5.5V, requires only three capacitors and a resistor, has a one pin active high output, and sells for around $1 in low quantities. One thing [Droky] overlooked…
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Capacitive buttons control all life
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With Zipit, who needs a netbook?
[Hunter Davis] keeps rolling out the hacks for the Zipit. In the past he showed us how to run DOSbox, and then how to get NES emulation working on this tiny device. Now he’s got Linux kernel 2.6.29 running Fluxbox with mouse (newly added), audio, and WiFi functionality. Follow his step-by-step flashing instructions to load the kernel into the Zipit. Once flashed, a partitioned microSD card servers as the filesystem and swap.
Who needs a 10.1 inch screen or an Atom processor when you can get this 2.8″ QVGA beauty with an XScale processor for around $40?
[Thanks Matt]…
Business
Philips Brings Home Cinema 21:9 Experience
The experience of cinema is just going to get bigger with the launch of Philips Cinema 21:9. Movies are displayed in the 21:9 aspect ratio — exactly as the director intended — on its 56-inch Full-HD screen. Cinema 21:9 is the world’s first TV to deliver a true cinematic viewing experience in the comfort of the home, informs Mahesh krishnan, vice president, consumer lifestyle, Philips, to Tech Gadgets. Traditional LCD televisions compromise on the cinematic viewing experience either by changing the aspect ratio to fill the screen – losing the full scope of the original shot – or by inserting…
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New Wii drive hardware emulation
The Wii-Optical-Drive-Emulator (WODE) makes it possible to load Wii and GameCube ISO files from an SD card or USB storage device. This hack uses the ribbon cable for the optical drive to connect to the Wii, requiring no soldering. The WODE is based on an ARM9 processor, runs Linux, and features a backlit LCD screen and 4-way center click joystick. Storage can be hot plugged and then an ISO selected using the stick and LCD display. Selected ISO files appear in the game channel as if an original disc had just been inserted into the drive.
The developers claim…
Internet
Gus Hansen Opens Online Poker website Pokerchamps.Com
Top poker player Gus Hansen "The Great Dane" has launched anonline poker room he has called "PokerChamps".A unique feature of www.pokerchamps.com is that you can play atfour hands simultaneously on a single screen. You can selectOneScreen, EnlargedScreen, DuoScreen or FourScreen windows.PokerChamps is the only Internet poker room in the world thatoffers players this facility.In addition, the double World Poker Tour winner gives tips andhints on the website – and frequently plays there himself.Another interesting new feature is the site’s affiliate system.Users can invite their friends to join and receive a bonus.Games include Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Studand…
Tech Support
A Free Reverse Cell Phone Search To Find Out Who Owns Any Number
Thanks to the technology available nowadays, you can instantly discover the full name, address and even background information about anyone by having only their phone number. This is done by using a “reverse cell phone search” – let’s take a closer look at how this is done.
As you might imagine, this type of service will usually cost a few bucks, but there is a way to get the same information for free.
With the phone number you want to get details about, go to Google and type in the number. Use the following format: “555-555-5555″ (make sure to include…
Tech Support
Know More About How To Choose an Ebook Reader
The advent of the digital age has definitely made this world a more convenient place to live in. For instance, even the most avid reader would balk at the thought of bringing his favorite books with him wherever he goes. But with an electronic book reader, you don’t only bring your top five books, you get to take the whole library with you. It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling or just having a cup of coffee at the nearby caf, your books go with you everywhere. However, owning an ebook reader could cost you a few hundred dollars, and if…
Tech Support
Is The Amazon Kindle Ready to Battle the Sony PRS-600?
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…
Computer
Virus Science
AdwareAdware is software that presents banner ads or in pop-up windows through a bar that appears on a computer screen. Those advertising spots usually can’t be removed and are consequently always visible. The connection data allow many conclusions on the usage behavior and are problematic in terms of data security.BackdoorsA backdoor can gain access to a computer by going around the computer access security mechanisms.A program that is being executed in the background generally enables the attacker almost unlimited rights. User’s personal data can be spied with the backdoor’s help, but are mainly used to install further computer viruses…
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Zune HD teardown
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…
Hack
Disabling your cell phone’s mic for security
[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…
Business
Yen Hurts Japan’s Exporters
SINGAPORE — Asian stock markets were broadly lower on Monday with exporter shares dragged down in Tokyo by a stronger yen. Overall sentiment was cautious with base metals and crude oil prices dropping and investors buying the safe-haven U.S. dollar. “Market timing is essential for investors still concerned about a correction in growth trends, which would lead to an adjustment in pricing of risk,” said analysts at UBS. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 2.5%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 down 1.2% and South Korea’s Kospi Composite was off 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.9% while China’s Shanghai Composite index…
