Matt writes “CVS changed its firmware in more recent versions of the one-time-use camcorders, apparently to stop hacking. The old mathods/applications don’t work, so the camerahacking kids have been trying to sort it out. Here’s one tricky hardware method that some ppl have had success with.” This clever hack just uses a wire, then you’re all set to download the videos again. Link.
The 8th annual Vintage Computer Festival is being held on November 5th – 6th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. The highlight of this year’s event is a Homebrew Computer Club retrospective featuring a panel of original members of the Club including Steve Wozniak, Lee Felsenstein, and others. [via] Link.
Here’s a blog devoted to making Railguns (Railguns utilize an electromagnetic force called the Lorentz force to propel an electrically conductive projectile that is initially part of the current path) – the site has tons of pictures, videos, and links. Link. In MAKE 01, we have a little less electrifying version, the Gauss Rifle.
We posted about “Learning to use LEDs and Transistors” from Iguana labs awhile back, but it’s worth noting that their main tutorial section has a ton of HOW TOs to check out. From basic concepts, to a complete temperature sensor project. All around good resource to bookmark if you’re getting started in electronics. Link.
Wow, here’s a really cool looking project – it’s a Mac mini robot. It seems to be using an iSight to see, external battery pack for the mini and USB to control the 3 wheels on the bot for getting around. [via] Link and project page. This could potentially be a great robotics kit, you could call it…er, iRobot, well only if you use a Roomba for the locomotion.
Here’s a Simple two line output combiner – Sometimes there is need to combine the output of two line level audio sources to be fed to one input. A standard way in professional audio is to use a mixing desk, but on home audio system you might want to look for a simpler and less expensive alternative. Link.
Here’s a great site that shows you how to upgrade Apple’s eMac. Overclock to 1.3Ghz, add a new hard drive, run dual screens and cut down on fan noise. These eMacs are usually pretty cheap on eBay too, so it might be worth grabbing one and sup’ing it up. [