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‘hack’ Stories

EFix USA preps built-ready Hackintosh desktop

By Daniel Lim on Friday, Dec 12th 2008 No Comments

Speaking of hackintosh; some of you probably heard of EFix, an USB-based dongle that permits a retail DVD installation of OSX with compatible PC hardware. In fact, I’m running one on a PC system that has been though XP, Vista and now is EFix-powered MAC OSX. Does it work? Yes, buggier than previously Vista-powered system but it boots and craps out as usual. For those that aren’t preferred to go though lengthy time of putting together PC parts and pieces, but anxious to get a taste of Mac-clone, you’ll get your wishes; Efix USA (Not the official manufacturer of EFI-X) readies desktop featured an OCed Quad core processor will get officials as soon as early next week.

Update : EFI-X reseller EFIX USA said they will NOT be selling the system after all. EFI-X (the manufacturer of the USB dongle) has made it clear that they do not support system builder that uses EFI-X.

efix

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Hacker makes EEE PC-based in-car computer

By Brenda Stokes on Thursday, Oct 30th 2008 1 Comment

A hacker named Dali has created something seriously cool. It’s a car-puter of sorts that combines the dashboard of a car with an Eee PC 701G. And the results are downright impressive.

eee dashboard 0 480x181

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WowWee Rovio Wiimote-control software: Video Demo

By Chris Davies on Friday, Oct 10th 2008 No Comments

WowWee’s Rovio WiFi mobile webcam is designed to be easily controlled at a distance via the webportal – however what if you want to operate the robot from close up? RobotsRule’s Robert Oschler has added Rovio functionality to the upcoming version of his free RoboDance app, meaning you can use a Nintendo Wiimote to control all of the robot’s features.

wowwee rovio wiimote control

Video demo of the RoboDance Rovio Wiimote control in action, after the cut

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OS X Touchscreen Netbook: Gigabyte M912X gets the Apple sauce

By Chris Davies on Wednesday, Oct 8th 2008 No Comments

Netbooks running Apple’s OS X have been done before, so this software install hack takes it one stage further by putting Leopard on a touchscreen Gigabyte M912X. Since Leopard has inking facilities built-in – including an on-screen keyboard and handwriting recognition courtesy of InkWell – it looks to be a very successful transplant.

gigabyte m912x apple os x touchscreen 479x197

Check out the video demo of the Gigabyte touchscreen MacBook after the cut

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Pleo XBee wireless & facial recognition hacks

By Chris Davies on Friday, Aug 8th 2008 No Comments

Ugobe’s Pleo robotic dinosaur may be a cute toy, but it’s also a useful starting point for messing about with robotics. A team at Otto-Friedrich-University in Bamberg, Germany, calling themselves GRIP (Group for Interdisciplinary Psychology) have posted two tutorials designed to wirelessly connect Pleo to a remote computer and give him the ability to recognise faces.

Pleo camera hack 1

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EFiX demonstrate dongle: Working OS X on generic hardware

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Jul 31st 2008 1 Comment

EFiX PC 1 Given the ongoing Psystar legal tousle, you can bet Apple’s legal team are keenly watching EFiX’s nifty USB dongle that allows you to run OS X on good old generic PC hardware. However EFiX themselves seem to be having more fun demonstrating their setup than worrying about the potential legal ramifications; TeknoJunkie caught up with them this week and while EULA issues weren’t on the agenda, the apparently slick way it allows OS X to run without in any way modifying the install certainly was.

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Where is the Clone Mac’s potential audience?

By Chris Davies on Tuesday, Jul 29th 2008 1 Comment

With Apple stoking the legal furnaces, Psystar facing the prospect of recalling each and every OS X clone machine they’ve sold, and Open Tech Inc. promising yet another EULA workaround, you could say we’re approaching a licencing milestone. Apple could be walking out of court with a watertight grip on OS X, or its EULA might be picked apart. But putting aside the terms & conditions, I’m left wondering exactly who would comprise the market for even a licenced OS X machine.

iphone 3g san francisco 3 480x269

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Eee mods & hacks: add Bluetooth, GPS, FM transmitter & more

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Jul 17th 2008 No Comments

If you bought into the ASUS Eee early on, and now are looking enviously at the array of budget ultraportables available today, why not redirect your angst into crafting an upgrade for the compact notebook. Since there are numerous points on the Eee motherboard where both 3.3v and 5v power can be tapped into, plus some extra space in the casing, adding an internal Bluetooth adaptor, GPS or card reader (to mention just a few) can be relatively straightforward.

Eee gps

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OS X on MSI’s Wind: hack your own 10-inch MacBook

By Chris Davies on Monday, Jul 14th 2008 1 Comment

Most people would say the frustrating thing about the MSI Wind is its shipping delay, but Microsoft MVP Paul O’Brien has taken issue with another aspect: its OS. Working on an Advent 4211 rebadge, Paul has stripped the budget ultraportable of Windows and replaced it with Apple’s OS X Leopard. The result is a 10-inch mini-MacBook.

MSI Wind running OS X

Video demo of the Wind running OS X Leopard after the cut

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EFiX OS X hack dongle release date and price revealed

By Chris Davies on Monday, Jul 7th 2008 2 Comments

EFiX OS X dongle EFiX, who promise USB dongles that allow Apple’s OS X software to be installed on normal PC hardware, have finally been discussing availability and pricing. The device, which allows you to install OS X from a standard retail DVD, together with install any available patches and tweaks, will now be available in V1 or V2 versions. The first batch, which somewhat confusingly will be V2 models, will cost around €80 ($125); that price, according to EFiX, is artificially inflated courtesy of the chips being basically a handmade series of 200, and future, mass-produced versions will be far cheaper.

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