On September 11th, Data-forensics expert Jonathan Zdziarski will guide law enforcement personnel "and anyone else who has a need to access the not-so-readily available data on an iPhone" through the process of bypassing the passcode lock security using a custom firmware bundle during a 45-minute webcast on O'Reilly.com. This will enable users to "recover, process, and remove sensitive data stored on the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod Touch."

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Forget the Picoo Z's, no matter how much fun they are they can't be as cool as making and flying your own indoor remote-control 'copter. And over at this site there's a set of instructions that'll help you DIY, assuming you have some spare CD drive motors and servos lying around, and are happy with soldering and detailed rotor-carving. The instructions even say how to add a wireless cam beneath the fuselage... useful for, um, imaging the precise moment you crash it into your cat? I suspect more nefarious purposes. Still, it's a full cyclic-control aircraft, so it should be extremely flyable. [Heliproject via Hacknmod]

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It's not what I would call a Bond-calibre flipping licence plate, but the system that a Queens truck driver hooked up in his rig is chock-full of ghetto ingenuity. Apparently, Orlando Payano mounted his licence plate on a hinged piece of metal then ran an attached cable through his cigarette lighter. When he went through a toll booth, all he had to do is pull the cord and abracadabra! No licence plate caught on camera.

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The speakingObject is a voice-synthesising board that's easily tweaked with two buttons and a typical three-axis accelerometer. What's that mean? You get a completely original, vaguely human techno-ready track with the flick of a wrist. And yes, it's only a matter of time before some tripped-out a'hole at a concert is doing this right next to you while waving his iLighter high in the air. [joerg via bbGadgets]

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Ron Tajima has some time on his hands. And a Roomba. And a Wii Balance Board. See where we're going with this? Anyway, he put them all together, combined it with a Surfin' USA track that sounds like it was ripped from the 1980's, and now he can control the previously autonomous Roomba with his feet. "This is my third Roomba hacking," Tajima says. "This surfin is safe, useful (it's cleaning), and easy for nerds. Wii balance board is great!" Indeed it is, Tajima-san, indeed it is. Maybe there's a reason for me to take the Balance Board out from underneath my TV and use it again.

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Knowing that the government can keep us safe against evil dildos and penis pumpers, I don't really give much importance to the fact that a guy got into the U.S. Homeland Security Department phone system to make more than 400 calls to his buddies in friendly countries like Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. According to security consultant John Jackson, the hacking was very low-tech and old school, which probably would make Steve "Blue Box" Wozniak proud, but it was an embarrassment for the agency:

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Sort of like the hacked Wii Balance Board that'll surf Google Earth, but a little more down to earth, this mod will let you act like you're strolling through town with Google Street View. You walk to move forward or lean on one foot to turn--it actually seems to work pretty well. With a giant display, you could visit New York and walk around without suffering from the gross and smelly summer, or you know, just use it as another excuse to never leave the massive pillow fort you've converted your living room into. [blog.katsuma.tv via Balanceboarding - Thanks Mark!]

No offence to the Nintendo DS version of Guitar Hero, but when I'm pretending to be Mick Mars the last thing I need is to be fumbling around with some tiny gaming handheld. One modder has felt my pain and hacked a wireless PS2 guitar to integrate with Guitar Hero: On Tour and allow full-out faux instrumental jamming.

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This video demos what an Instructables team call a "quick down and dirty hack" that uses a Bluetooth headset to prank callers to your mobile phone with an infinite hold pattern. It involves nothing more sophisticated than a cheapo Bluetooth headset, a few components, a modicum of soldering, and some amusing tunes and message creation. Your callers will then be treated to a "you are in a XX minute queue" message and your choice of irritating music. Now this wouldn't amuse me: It would piss me off, as I've listened to enough hold muzak for real... but your mileage may vary. Check out the Instructable if you want to DIY. [Instructables]

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Now that Nintendo's solving their Wiimote control issues, we can finally focus our intentions on superficial improvements. It's required some major soldering, but one modder has added all sorts of LED-based tweaks to his Wiimote. The first, seen here, Skittles-izes the player indicators by swapping out the now-drab blue LEDs for those of multiple colours. Our cup of tea? Not really. But the kids will love it. The second notable mod utilises the Wiimote's rumble signal and maps an LED pulse to the shaking:

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