Mods

Geek Out

Siri Plays The Piano Better Than She Gives Directions

5:20AM December 21, 2011 | Kyle Wagner

Siri has been something if a disappointment so far — more flash than substance — but this particular trick is a mighty impressive novelty. A neat new hack lets Siri play music on a Yamaha Disklavier player piano from music files in your library. More »


Mobile

Jailbroken iPhone 4 And iPod Touch Run Limited Siri

7:00AM October 31, 2011 | Jack Loftus

A hacker group has successfully ported Siri over to jailbroken iPhone 4′s and 4th-gen iPod touches, marking the beginning of what could be a “whack a mole” response from Apple as it attempts to block the 4S’s “killer feature”. More »


Science

View Small Things On Your iPhone With This Microscope Mod

11:45AM October 11, 2011 | Kelly Hodgkins

UC-Davis researchers developed a lens that’ll turn your iPhone or any camera-enabled smartphone into a 350x microscope. The mod is a simple 1mm ball lens mounted in rubber that’s taped to your phone’s camera. It costs about $US40. More »


Computing

Modder Recreates First PC From Scratch

7:40AM October 4, 2011 | Sam Biddle

The Kenbak-1 is 40 years old, runs at 1MHz, and can’t do very much besides blink. But computers had a humble start in this little guy, and modder Mark Wilson replicated the antique with 21st century parts. More »


Mobile

Make Your iPhone Logo Glow With This Hardware Mod

6:30PM September 13, 2011 | Kelly Hodgkins

iPatch, a UK-based iPhone repair company, has developed a hardware mod that’ll add a backlight to your iPhone’s logo. Similar to Apple’s line of computers, the logo will glow when the phone’s display turns on. More »


Geek Out

Not Only Does This Nerf Lancer Fire Darts, It’s Fully Automatic

2:20AM August 7, 2011 | Owen Good

Sure, Nerf Lancers have been done before, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be done better. This one, from reader Nick G, is also for sale on eBay. More »


Gadgets

This Delightful USB Desk Bell Could Result In Violence

6:00AM July 24, 2011 | Jack Loftus

Get me this DIY USB Desk Bell for my desk immediately! I plan to place it on said desk and use it to command an army of interns to do my bidding and/or a Pavlov’s Dog activity involving coffee, More »


Gaming

A Machine That Changes Xbox 360 Discs For You

5:40PM July 12, 2011 | Luke Plunkett

My TV has a remote. Ditto my surround sound. My Xbox 360 can be turned on remotely with my control pad. And yet, when I want to change the disc, I have to get up. On my feet. Which is never where I want to be. More »


Gaming

Receipt Racer Is A Modern Day Ode To Obsolete Printers Long Gone

7:00AM June 20, 2011 | Jack Loftus

Designers Joshua Noble, Martin Fuchs and Philip Whitfield breathed new, modern-day life into this archaic receipt printer by combing it with a PlayStation controller, light sensors and some Spy Hunter-esque gameplay mechanics. More »


Science

Turns Out Kinect Can Read Sign Language

12:00AM May 20, 2011 | Owen Good

Kinect’s patent application said the device could recognise American Sign Language. Microsoft then backed off the claim, at least for the initial generation of the device, saying that sort of application would be supported in later models. Then people started developing open-source Kinect drivers and doing all sorts of cool things with them. And lo and behold, the commercially available Kinect recognises sign language. More »