modding

'Touchdroid' bringing Android to HP TouchPad

A brick is really just a half-baked hunk of dirt, unless you put it to good use. Such is the case with the HP TouchPad, a half-baked tablet that recently became a $500 brick when HP announced it was discontinuing support for all WebOS devices. Now, a team of coders is looking to put this shiny brick to good use.

They call themselves the TouchDroid team, and they've set up shop over on the RootzWiki forums with the goal of porting Android onto the TouchPad, which has been selling out everywhere from online vendors to my local, rural Wal-Mart since HP announced its liquidation prices--$99 for the 16GB model, $149 for the 32GB.

The project is just getting going--at last check not all team members had even gotten their hands on a TouchPad yet.

The goal is to first produce a stable beta using Android Gingerbread and then move on to developing a Honeycomb version while still supporting and fixing bugs in the Gingerbread build, according to a post by team leader Thomas Sohmers on Rootzwiki.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1532: President Obama's on Foursquare (Podcast)

Barack, Do you really want everyone to know where you are? In the Googorola aftermath, Microsoft was reportedly one of the comapnies in negotiations with Motorola. And the best way to kill an iPad 3 rumor, is to squash it with another rumor that you made up. Plus, Wilson Tang of the 404 joins us in studio.

Samsung gift to Cyanogen modders: Free phones

Samsung is apparently looking to co-opt the team of modders behind CyanogenMod. The company sent Galaxy S II smartphones to the four chief developers behind Cyanogen in the mail, free of charge.

Cyanogen is basically a customization of the Android OS that gives users extra functionality like the ability to overclock a phone's CPU, add custom skins, and more.

Cyanogen developer @atinm tweeted earlier this week, apparently after receiving the phone:

W00t! Just received the SGS2 from Samsung so we can work on CyanogenMod for it! You will not hear me bad-mouth Samsung again. :)

CyanogenMod team member Kolja Dummann told Wired.com that the developers had asked the company about getting their hands on the phones after they debuted in Europe--Dummann is based in Germany, other team members are elsewhere, including in the U.S.--and Samsung agreed, sending the phones with a request to get Cyanogen working on the phone.… Read more

L3p D3sk an impressive glowing desktop

Apart from the Tron Lightcycle PC mod, one of the more stunning entries from the Cooler Master's 2011 Case Mod Competition would be the L3p D3sk, a water-cooled computer desk that a guy named Peter built from scratch.

This computer mod features a three-piece monitor setup and an impressive green-colored water-cooling system. Oh, and the whole desktop glows a lovely shade of blue that makes for perfect eye candy.

Of course, there are other "pretty" things to distract you from the desktop's drool-worthy looks. Featuring an Intel Core i7 980X six-core processor, dual GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards in SLI, and a whopping 12TB worth of storage on six 2TB hard drives, this computer definitely packs quite a punch.

Peter first used Google Sketchup to visualize the rig. He then proceeded to build the computer starting with a few aluminum plates. The whole project took more than seven months to complete.

Check out more pictures on the Cooler Master Forum. You may also want to have a look at the other entries in the Case Mod Competition.

(Source: Crave Asia) … Read more

Root, ROM, restore: How to hack your Android OS

In this first video, we show you how to gain root access on your Android phone or tablet using the program SuperOneClick (and we give a shout to Unrevoked for HTC phones). If you're not able to watch the video, check out our written instructions on how to root your Android device.

So you've rooted your phone. Now what? How to install a custom Android ROM video and instructions details how to install a custom ROM, which is a heavily customized version of Android. Using a custom ROM can give you super-Android powers, such as better battery life, … Read more

How to install a custom Android ROM

Congratulations, you've successfully gained root access to your Android device, maybe even using CNET's how to root your Android video as a guide. Now comes the hard part: installing a customized version of Android. We've got that covered in a video, but be careful: this one's for advanced users only.

Before we begin, let's review some of the reasons you might want to install and run a custom Android ROM. It's highly likely that there are Android features your phone company or hardware manufacturer has decided won't get pushed to your device, and … Read more

Xbox 360 dons an Atari suit, sings Bee Gees

Benjamin J. Heckendorn, better known as Ben Heck, likes a challenge. The host of the appropriately named Ben Heck Show is known as a modding master with a penchant for reworking gaming consoles. His latest conquest involved combining an Xbox 360 with a 1977 Atari 2600 console.

If you're too young to remember what an Atari console looks like, think of it as a brownish rectangular box with an angular lump on top. When you put your ear up to it, you can hear the distant sound of the Bee Gees. It's a far cry from the glowing, futuristic design of the latest Xbox.

OK, Heck didn't literally smoosh an Xbox into an old Atari console. That's almost too much awesome to comprehend. He instead took the look and feel of the iconic '70s console and wrapped it lovingly around a deconstructed Xbox and Asus LCD screen to create a big brown and black mutant Xbox/Atari laptop.… Read more

Go truly 'naked' with this iPhone mod

A user from a Hong Kong-based message board posted pictures of his iPhone 4 mod, which replaces the front and back covers with transparent versions. This exposes components typically not seen, such as the battery and lots of screws. No important parts like the processor and memory chip are visible, though, as those are hidden inside.

According to the owner, the original replacement parts were not transparent--he scraped the paint off to achieve the effect. Those who thought they were going "naked" by simply not using a protective case could perhaps go a step further with this mod. … Read more

CES: Datamancer ushers you into world of Steampunk keyboard fetishism

Clicky mechanical keyboards, with their Cherry MX switches and robust base units, can be considered a form of keyboard fetishism, but Datamancer's Richard Nagy takes "paraphrenalic technofetishism" to new heights with his custom Victorian computer mods with a steampunk twist.

Check out this Von Slatt revisionist wonder on display at CES 2011. It's a one-off design made specifically for a customer who requested the classic Das Keyboard mechanical peripheral as its core and is built entirely by Nagy's hands. According to the receiver, "the steampunk theme recalls an age when technology was as much 'love and wonder' as 'labor.'"

The artist would not disclose the pricing since each piece is made to order, but Nagy will gladly sell you a DI(mostly)Y keyboard kit to build your own Steampunk/Victorian device!

Click through for more photos of Richard Nagy's Von Slatt keyboard.… Read more

CarLashes add a little personality, lots of goofiness

If you've found yourself on the Car Tech Blog, chances are you love cars. The odds are also good that you've formed a relationship with a car at some point; perhaps you even gave it a name. For most of us, that's usually where the anthropomorphizing of our vehicles ends, but there will always be someone who wants to take things a step further. For these people, there are products like Turbo Style Products' CarLashes. That's right, someone has invented fake eyelashes for your car!

The CarLashes can be cut to fit nearly any vehicle and … Read more