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Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered
Is your Palm Pre feeling a bit down? In the dumps? Not as snappy as it used to? Maybe what you need is a megahertz boost! This custom kernel, demonstrated in a video below, comes courtesy of two hackers called unixpsycho and caj2008. One quick install will make your dull and lifeless 1.3.5.1 Pre come alive. Warning: use of this software may “frakk” your Pre if deployed on a 1.4 device. Side effects include reduced battery life and increased pocket warmth. If your Pre develops excessive heat see a doctor immediately — or just turn it off for awhile.
[Thanks, Darren]
Continue reading Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered
Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Palm News Daily | 
PreCentral Forums | Email this | Comments
Wind U100 magically modded into tablet-thing, iPad UI along for the ride
Are you desperate for an iPad-like device, short on cash, and long on the desire to completely jack up your netbook? Well you’re in luck, friend, as the proprietor of MSI Wind fansite Insanely Wind has crafted a device which may satiate your tablety desires. By taking a U100, removing the keyboard, relocating a touchscreen display to the bottom half of the unit, and doing some simple rewiring, user alexbates has fashioned a tablet which he says bests a device like the iPad or JooJoo with “10 times the storage, twice the speed, external video (VGA), webcam, USB ports, and built-in multi card reader.” Of course, as you can tell by the photos, this mod has a ways to go before it’s got the fit and finish of the aforementioned devices, and you’ll have rev up a compatible, hackintosh build of OS X to make it appropriately Apple-ish — but it can clearly be done. While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this type of modification, it’s nice to see the love spreading to various devices (and done in a fashion that doesn’t seem overly complicated). From the sounds of things, this project hasn’t hit its zenith yet, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for a more complete variation of the Windlet (our name). For now, hit the read link and keep up with the unfolding saga.
[Thanks, MistaBishi]
Wind U100 magically modded into tablet-thing, iPad UI along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Make your Magic Mouse oh-so-ergonomic with this pasty silicone grip
While it’s hard to say if Apple’s Magic Mouse really needs “fixing” — it depends somewhat on your grip — it’s not a huge stretch to say that the slender multitouch device doesn’t quite fit in the palm of one’s hand. Sensing a market opportunity, Will of MMFixed.com recently decided to come to our collective rescue. For $10, he offers a simple silicone block that matches the mouse’s contoured surface nicely, with an integrated suction cup that keeps it securely fastened. While it’s not quite a one-size-fits-all solution, it’s certainly a lot cheaper than buying one of the new whacky, adjustable mice we’ve seen recently; and if the idea of ergonomics via marshmallow doesn’t appeal to you, you can always try the white bread variety. Video after the break.
Continue reading Make your Magic Mouse oh-so-ergonomic with this pasty silicone grip
Make your Magic Mouse oh-so-ergonomic with this pasty silicone grip originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 9 Computer Store | mmfixed.com | Email this | Comments
Carnegie Mellon student shows that 64 pixels is enough for Mario (video)
There are 2,073,600 pixels in a 1080p TV, yet Carnegie Mellon student Chloe Fan has blown our minds by showing that you only need 64 of them to have a little fun with Super Mario Bros. She wired an Arduino to an 8 x 8 LED matrix through a breadboard, then scaled the first level of the game down to a resolution that makes the 160 x 144 resolution Game Boy look positively high def. The controls are similarly simplified: one button to move Mario (the slightly more orange dot) right, and a second to jump. She also wired up a separate board to play the game’s theme song, as you can see in the embed below, but be aware: the video ends before the theme song does, meaning you’ll be humming it to yourself all day long.
Continue reading Carnegie Mellon student shows that 64 pixels is enough for Mario (video)
Carnegie Mellon student shows that 64 pixels is enough for Mario (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Gizmodo | Vimeo | Email this | Comments
Steampunk sequencer generates audio from Lego blocks
In 2007, steampunk musician Yoshi Akai wrote his master’s thesis on how to turn color into sound, and he’s been dreaming up unorthodox ways of producing music ever since. Case in point: the Lego Sequencer MR II, a contraption that uses three-dimensional Lego structures to emulate a three-channel, eight-step sequencer, where each differently colored plastic brick produces a different sound and complex combinations (including tremolo and overdrive) are possible when the blocks are stacked. Akai tells us it works using resistors embedded in each and every block, with parallel networks of resistors formed as the bricks pile up, equalling lower resistance and thus a higher frequency sound generated by the contraption. While the result certainly won’t back a techno track — Akai says he’s “building sound more than playing sound” — it looks like a good step up from the lethargic phaser noise produced by his Wireless Catcher, a lot of fun to play with, and much less expensive than hiring a team of hot models. Video after the break.
Continue reading Steampunk sequencer generates audio from Lego blocks
Steampunk sequencer generates audio from Lego blocks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink MAKE | Yoshi AKAI, Interactive Institute | Email this | Comments
Ubuntu hits HTC’s Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video)
If there’s one thing we’re pretty sure Windows Phone 7 Series will be worse at than its Windows Mobile precursor it’s in the running of various and sundry other operating systems. We’ve seen Android running on seemingly every WinMo handset ever created and more recently Unbuntu has been receiving the mobile treatment. Last month it was on an Xperia X1, now an HTC Touch Pro2 is getting a taste. A modder who goes by the handle sebbo90 is the one responsible for this, running basically the same technique as used earlier on the X1. It looks quite easy: just download a 200MB zip, extract it to your phone, then run an exe within. A few moments later you’ll be in open source heaven, and, from what we can tell looking at the video below, it works remarkably well. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to hit up eBay to find a used handset and get hacking.
Continue reading Ubuntu hits HTC’s Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video)
Ubuntu hits HTC’s Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink pocketnow.com | xda-developers | Email this | Comments
1024-bit RSA encryption cracked by carefully starving CPU of electricity
Since 1977, RSA public-key encryption has protected privacy and verified authenticity when using computers, gadgets and web browsers around the globe, with only the most brutish of brute force efforts (and 1,500 years of processing time) felling its 768-bit variety earlier this year. Now, three eggheads (or Wolverines, as it were) at the University of Michigan claim they can break it simply by tweaking a device’s power supply. By fluctuating the voltage to the CPU such that it generated a single hardware error per clock cycle, they found that they could cause the server to flip single bits of the private key at a time, allowing them to slowly piece together the password. With a small cluster of 81 Pentium 4 chips and 104 hours of processing time, they were able to successfully hack 1024-bit encryption in OpenSSL on a SPARC-based system, without damaging the computer, leaving a single trace or ending human life as we know it. That’s why they’re presenting a paper at the Design, Automation and Test conference this week in Europe, and that’s why — until RSA hopefully fixes the flaw — you should keep a close eye on your server room’s power supply.
1024-bit RSA encryption cracked by carefully starving CPU of electricity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink The Register, TechWorld | University of Michigan | Email this | Comments
Energizer confirms software vulnerability in Duo charging software
[Thanks, Michael]
Energizer confirms software vulnerability in Duo charging software originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Bleeping Computer | MarketWatch | Email this | Comments
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