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Good news for Xbox modders… the developers of Xbox Media Center for have added to the CVS their efforts toward a working DVD player with menus. Previously menus were not included due to XBMC’s use of mplayer and its current state of not natively supporting dvd menus. [
Energy Generating Backpack
Lawrence Rome, a biologist at the University of Pennsylvania has led the development of a backpack that can generate around 7 watts of electricity, without solar cells, and actually providing a more comfortable backpack in the process. Taking advantage of vertical motion, much like some wave generators, the backpack harnesses body movements while hiking. Link.
This is a really nice gallery of hand carved PC parts by a Russian maker, all out of Redwood with neat looking scrollwork.
HOW TO Make Ice Out of Thin Air
When he isn’t snowboarding or volunteering for Engineers Without Borders, Dave Williams spends his days thinking about something most of us take for granted: ice. As he discovered on a volunteer trip to Haiti in 2002, ice can be a godsend to a poor village, keeping fish fresh on a journey to market or preserving vaccines. But how do you make it without electricity, without access to coolants like Freon or fuels like propane? Williams, 26, knew that forcing compressed air through a hole in the middle of a pipe causes hot and cold air to flow from opposite ends, a phenomenon known as the Ranque-Hilsch… [via] Link.
I, Cringely . NerdTV | PBS
NerdTV is out and it’s great! NerdTV is a new weekly online TV show from PBS.org technology columnist Robert X. Cringely. NerdTV is essentially Charlie Rose for geeks – a one-hour interview show with a single guest from the world of technology. Guests like Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy or Apple computer inventor Steve Wozniak are household names if your household is nerdy enough, but as historical figures and geniuses in their own right, they have plenty to say to ALL of us. NerdTV is distributed under a Creative Commons license so viewers can legally share the shows with their friends and even edit their own versions. If not THE future of television, NerdTV represents A future of television for niche audiences that have deep interest in certain topics. Link.
Play Oregon Trail
G4 TV’s AOTS has links to the old favorite Oregon Trail as well as the emulators to run it. Try taking a journey by covered wagon across 2000 miles of plains, rivers, and mountains. Try! On the plains, will you slosh your oxen through mud and water-filled ruts or will you plod through dust six inches deep? [via] Link.
Post to your blog with PhoneBlogger and VoiceXML…
PhoneBlogger is a tool for publishing to a blog via a phone call. PhoneBlogger is an automated voice application that first asks you for info about which pre-configured blog you wish to post to. After collecting the necessary information, PhoneBlogger records your audio message. Finally, it posts a blog entry that links to the recorded audio. Link. I could see this working out well for the new Skype – eBay…