All eyes may be on Dell’s newer Inspiron Mini 10 netbook right now, but that doesn’t stop loyal tinkerers wanting to add some extra oomph to their Dell Inspiron Mini 9 machines. Arch-modder JKK has flipped out the standard SSD that Dell supply with the 8.9-inch budget ultraportable and replaced it with an 128GB RunCore SSD.
Video after the cut
If you’re a Fallout 3 gamer then you’ll likely know that the Pip-Boy 3000 is the wrist-mounted computer used to deliver game stats. A collectible clock version of the computer was included as part of the Fallout 3 Survival Edition set, and that’s just what one enterprising modder chose to gut and stuff his iPod touch inside.
Video demo after the cut
The Tweet-a-Watt project was good – in fact good enough to win a competition – but there are a few obvious flaws in the first iteration of the design. Not least is the requirement to have a computer turned on to receive power-use stats and tweet about them; now Adafruit Industries are back with their solution, a hacked $40 ASUS router with XBee wireless capabilities.
Video overview after the cut
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
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