Using a small Linux distro like Puppy Linux and open source emulator like QEMU,it is possible to run and stop Linux like normal windows programs. By creating virtual hard disks and using software like WinImage you can actually transfer data between Linux and Window. You can also create a virtual network between Windows and the guest OS for sharing and transferring files. And not to forget SAMBA in this context. Link.
John sent in his USB Flash Drive HotWheels car mod. I stuffed a USB Flash Drive into a HotWheels Ferrari convertible. Basically, I had a USB drive that the case had fallen off and chose this opportunity to mod a different case rather than gluing the old case back on. I also made a little video of the build using a modded CVS camera. Link.
Great HOW TO from Tomas Kindahl. “This is a short description on how I spent some hours this summer building a simple GPS device. For some time now I have been wondering about the possibility to build such a device from mostly scavenged and old parts, the most important being (of course) a GPS receiver module, and an LCD display. And indeed it was possible”. [via] Link.
Get a free copy of Linspire until the 6th: I downloaded it, burned the ISO, and it worked just fine off a Sony VAIO and lots of other old PCs around here. You do need to join their software service if you want to do more it seems, but overall it’s a great Linux distro to play with. So far, my favorite “live” CD to carry around is WHAX – post your favs in the comments. [via] Link.
AppleMatters had Daniel Kushner explain the inner workings of Apple’s new Mighty Mouse. Daniel is a post-industrial designer at IDEOs San Francisco studio. Here’s the complete dissection. Link. I’m in week one of using this mouse, will have a report (or a project) with it soon.
Encouraging…Disabled scientist Professor Stephen Hawking is using a hi-tech gadget to communicate by blinking because his deteriorating health limits movement. The Infrared Sound Touch (IST) switch has been developed by the American company Words+ and works by emitting a very low-powered infrared beam. The reflection of the beam changes when the eye is closed and the cheek muscle moves and so controlling the computer is as simple as blinking. Link.
The Ninth Circuit has created box-wrap patent licenses. Now the label on the box that says “single use only” is given force of law, and if you refill the cartridge you are liable for patent infringement. This from Lexmark, the company that already tried and failed to control the printer cartridge after-market using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)…Will patent owners exploit this decision as an opportunity to impose over-reaching restrictions on formerly permitted post-sale uses, repairs, modifications, and resale? Will consumers soon confront “single use only, not for resale” notices on more and more products? Will innovators stumble over labels announcing “modifications prohibited”? Link.
