Transcoding video for iPods and PSPs on TiVo…
Big news for TiVo owners with iPods and PSPs – “You can setup the desktop to automatically transcode transfers to one of three formats – Windows Media Library, Sony PSP, or Apple iPod. At least in the first release you cannot transcode shows that have already been transferred. And you can only select one format for the desktop, so you can’t transcode transfers for both a PSP and an iPod, or put some shows into one format and other shows into another. But, again, I suspect most users will be OK with these restrictions, and TiVo says they may add these capabilities in subsequent releases. Advanced users still have other options.” [via] Link.
Cory Linden with some details on the Linux version of Second Life previewed at 22C3, the Chaos Communications Congress hosted by Germany’s Chaos Computer Club in Berlin. “What made this talk especially exciting was that it was the first public showing of the Second Life client on Linux. On a laptop that arrived the day before leaving. With a version of the client that Icculus’ finished while I was waiting to board my flight our of SFO. With an ATI card.” 
GoRobotics writes “LEGO is finally rehauling it’s Mindstorms kit. At the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early January, LEGO Group announced LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, a new system that redefines the consumer robotics category which the company created in 1998. Robot Magazine has pictures and video. Press release 
Hunter is looking for some ideas for the discarded game gear he found, post up in the comments! – “My friend and I had an unusually lucky day and we got a lot of free electronics. Some of them working and some not. Here’s what we got: N64 – working, original playstation – working PS2 – works sometimes, Gameboy pocket – not working, gamecube – almost new condition and working and working we already have all of these so we were wondering if you would have any suggestions on how we could mod them or what we could make them into. it doesnt necessarily have to be all of them together. we were thinking about making the PS2 sphere but the PS2 doesnt work all the time and there isnt a step by step instruction on how to make the PS2 sphere.”
Here’s a great list of NES projects, we’ve covered some of them here on MAKE, but there are lots of project that are new (to me)…“Got one of those extra NESes lying around? Bored out of your mind? Well you’ve come to the right place to find out you can modify with your Nes, here is a list of links to things you could modify with your Nes.” Thanks knoppy44! 
Greg writes “Here is a line following robot that will follow a line, and at the end will stop for three seconds. After pausing for three seconds it will retrace its steps and drive in reverse. It is made with a sensing circuit, and H-bridge motorcontroller, and a microcontroller.” 
On New Years MAKE kicked it the virtual world. Here’s what 
