The Gadget Blog » mods

Mod Makes Old Macbook Logo Customizable

Rico Mossesgeld — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:12:48 +0000

Here’s a pretty cool–if somewhat complicated–mod for older-generation Macbooks. Take a 4.3-inch LCD, cannibalize it for parts, cram the display components behind the main display of the laptop, and you can make the Apple logo extremely customizable.

The key is hooking up the LCD to the Macbook’s USB controller, making the small screen turn up as a secondary display on System Preferences. This makes logo customization endless. Do you display a still image through the logo, or make a video play over and over again? Modder Eddie Zarick even suggests making your logo burn! (full details here)

Of course, if you’re a DIY-er, you’ll need the following: some modding know-how, and the willingness to open up a relatively expensive laptop and void its warranty. If that’s not your cup of tea, you can always spend $1500 for this modded unit on Ebay.

(image courtesy of Eddie Zarick)

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How to Hack Those Roadsigns and Make Them Read Whatever

Rico Mossesgeld — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:30:11 +0000

It’s a bit ironic when you ask your readers to “NEVER TAMPER WITH THESE [ADDCO] SIGNS”, right before you provide detailed instructions on how to basically hack said signs and make them print out whatever suits your fancy. (I bet the promise of learning such illicit info also piques your interest)

Programming is as simple as scrolling down the menu selection to “Instant Text”. Type whatever you want to display, Hit Enter to submit. You can now either throw it up on the sign by selecting “Run w/out save” or you can add more pages to it by selecting “Add page”

** HACKER TIPS ** Should it will ask you for a password. Try “DOTS”, the default password.

In all likelihood, the crew will not have changed it. However if they did, never fear. Hold “Control” and “Shift” and while holding, enter “DIPY”. This will reset the sign and reset the password to “DOTS” in the process. You’re in!

For more info on gaining physical access to the sign control mechanism, check out i-hacked.com.

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32GB SSD on Dell Mini Inspiron 9

Rico Mossesgeld — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:46:08 +0000

An adventurous soul over at jkkmobile decided to put a 32GB solid state drive into the Dell Mini Inspiron 9.

Stay tuned for updates: apparently by disabling on-drive compression, the read-write process can go a lot faster. (jkkmobile.blogspot.com)

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Asus Eee PC 901 Modded for Mobile Broadband

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:30:43 +0000

That’s right folks! An enterprising member of the eeeuser forums has found a way to give the Asus Eee PC 901 HSDPA.

The instructions, stripped down for the layman, involve opening up the netbook, installing a HSPA or EVDO miniPCI-E card, and setting it up properly in the OS. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, can we expect an add-on kit from Asus? (And how does this mod affect the Eee’s battery life?) While you’re waiting though, feel free to check out the complete how-to here.

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Wii Jogging Through Tokyo

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:32:30 +0000

Now it’s possible to do a virtual jog through the streets of Tokyo, thanks to some mods applied on the Wii Balance Board and Google Street View. Check it out:

Let’s just how long jogging in place remains entertaining; can we see a Wii-enabled treadmill soon? (balanceboardblog.com)

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