Ben Heck has been at it again, this time taking a Commodore 64 and transforming it into a laptop that “looked exactly like a computer from the early 80’s, yet in a new form.” As well as fully-functional C64 hardware, the laptop has a 15-inch screen, original keyboard and even a separate sub-screen for memory status.
More photos and video of the C64 laptop after the cut
Griffin’s PowerMate USB controller may be a few years old, but it still manages to pull in buyers. Anyone not willing to spend $45 on a glorified volume knob, though, might find something to occupy them in MAKE’s weekend project, the Powerfake.
After astounding, delighting and generally mesmerizing all around with his LCD MacBook Logo mod, Eddie Zarick has bowed to public demand and put together a tutorial explaining how he did it. As you might expect, it’s not exactly a surprising system – take USB LCD panel, squeeze it into lid, hope everything works – but if you’re more than a little anxious about which bit to solder to where, it’s useful stuff.
Take the guts of a Sega Dreamcast, fashion an ejecting GD-Drive mechanism and stuff it all into a 15-inch monitor housing, and you may end up with this: the Dreamcast Tablet. Maker WERD of the Benheck forums also stuffed some batteries in there too, meaning the console is now good for up to 3.5hrs of standalone runtime.
Video demo after the cut
There’s something about taking retro hardware and hiding modern gadgets inside that appeals to a certain type of mod-happy geek. Today’s example takes the venerable NES Advantage arcade controller and stuffs the guts of an Xbox 360 wireless controller inside.
Video demo after the cut
PC case mods with integrated LCD displays are pretty commonplace, but consoles with the same are far more rare. This particular hack takes an Xbox 360 and embeds an LCD of unspecified size (we’re guessing around 7-inches) into the top of the console.
Video demo after the cut
The Antec Skeleton PC case isn’t exactly a shy and retiring design in itself, which is why entrants to the company’s modding competition have had to reach a little further in order to come up with something eye-catching. Designs range from repaints, through bizarre furry wings, to doubling-up the case like this spaceship-like concept here; there’s also a very convincing All-In-Antec machine.
Gallery after the cut
When they’re not trying to bless the Viliv S5 with HSDPA, the guys at UMPC Fever are dissecting the UMID M1 ‘mbook’ to try to do something similar. If you thought the S5 was a challenge – soldering in a new mini PCIe connector, changing the storage – then prepare for what the UMID folks have set up for hapless modders: a combination of very little space and missing controller chips.
Some HSDPA mods are straightforward: open the casing up of whatever gadget you’ve decided will get internal 3G, slot in a Mini-PCI card or maybe even squeeze in a USB modem, install the software and off you go. Other times – like with the Viliv S5 MID – it’s a whole lot more complicated. Over at UMPC Fever, modder SKY is performing delicate electronic surgery inside his S5, soldering in a PCI-E slot in his attempts to get a WWAN-enabled MID.
While many people are still arguing over Apple’s decision to go with complicated headphones for the new iPod shuffle 3G, others are bemoaning the obvious lack of color in Apple’s life. Silver and black are all well and good, but the iPod shuffle 3G certainly benefits from a blast of new paint; that’s what Computer Choppers think, anyway, and so they’re offering the rainbow of shuffles you see here.
JP
