Entertaining article on why most of us buy CD players…One of the great puzzles of gadgetry goes thusly: Why are portable CD players outselling digital audio players three-to-one? No, that’s not a misprint—for every American who bought an iPod or Dell Jukebox in 2004, three of their countrymen bought a descendant of the 21-year-old Discman… Link.
I’m at the airport on my way to foo camp at O’Reilly and discovered something really neat- I have an EVDO card that I hacked up the drivers to work on a Powerbook 15″. I turned on my Airport card at the same time, turned on Internet sharing, checked off airport, turned on web sharing and now everyone with me can use my connect as a free Wifi hotspot, which is a better deal than the $10/day deal here. This likely isn’t news to old pros, but news to me. It’s a little like the stomp box in MAKE volume 03. This might also work with XP’s connection sharing, will try that later too. Link. Update: Second life on the parasite PC is doing great! Photo.
Building a computer is a very rewarding experience. You can learn more about computer hardware by building a computer than you can by reading every computer hardware textbook ever written. Aside from that, you get a totally personalized computer that no OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) could match, and there is also the opportunity to save a lot of money in the process. The only downside is that you won’t have any technical support number to ring, or any warranty service, so there may be a chance that you will have to pay more for service (if you don’t repair yourself). So now you’ve been sold on the merits, read on to find out how… [via] Link.
Here’s HOW TO create your own optical wallpaper for your room…If you put a magnifying glass a few inches from a wall that is opposite a window, you will see the outside view projected upside down on the wall. But if you put a lens on the window and cover the rest of the window with opaque material, the lens will project the outside view over the entire opposite wall, of course you must have the proper size lens for the room. Thanks Walt! Link.
MAKE pal Hans writes “It’s almost that time of year again in about two weeks I will be starting to help split and stack wood for the winter. (I like to do this before it gets 30 below Fahrenheit.) And with gas prices up this (project) may be even more useful…” Link.
Ever wanted to control your TV with an old school Nintendo controller? No? Well, I have and now I do. A few weeks ago I picked up an old school Nintendo controller from eBay and began thinking of a project for it – then it hit me! Controlling the basic functions of my TV through a NES pad would not only be awesome, but it would make me one step closer to that darned Captain-N. [via] Link.
One of the complaints about the first-generation PowerBook G4 is that the rubber feet easily wear down/tear off leaving the owner with a very hot machine that sits directly on the table. Not good for the table, not good for the machine. Here’s a HOW TO on replacing them, cheaply… Link.
