Here’s a page with a lot of iPod hacks, all in one place “iPod hacks have been created to aid users in using their iPod more efficiently, or to customize their product, making it more individual or for novelty purposes. Their creation has also been to create new features, possibly that Apple Computer wanted to disguise to aid sales of another product.” [via] Link. Also, check out these other two listings and iPod hacks the book.
Keylock has an interesting post about cell phone ownership in other countries in response to the Verizon crippling of our phones – “In Qatar I pay a security deposit and then my mobile phone is billed like a landline phone. I pay for the calls I make–no limits and full access to all my Nokia 6230’s features (like bluetooth) without being billed for it. The coverage in Qatar is good (albeit a small country) but it is also an all digital network. The USA is a mix of analog/digital because the companies that put up the analog towers are trying to wring every dollar out before they have to replace them. The USA is behind in the cell phone market considerably…don’t believe me? Check out Nokia’s website and click on the Middle East. I’ll bet you’ll find phones that you haven’t even heard of over here. I bought my buddy a Nokia 6600 cellphone while I was in Qatar and brought it back for him. It works fine over here and his bluetooth chip wasn’t disabled and he isn’t billed when he transfers his photos, movies, music, etc…” Link.
Command-Tab is reviving an iPod with a ThinkPad 240 HD adapter. In his Flickr photo set you can see the start to finish of building an iPod to 2.5″ hard drive adapter. Looks pretty easy to do if you have an old drive and iPod to hack up. Link.
Jeff at Palm addict writes – “Somehow tonight I stumbled on something I’ve never heard of. It seems that Google has a page that will optimize any website for viewing on a mobile phone or PDA, similar to Skweezer and IYHY. All you see when you load the page is what shows in the included graphic. No Google logo, no explanation, nothing. But simply enter a URL and you recieve a quick-loading mobile optimized version of the page you requested.” [via] Thanks, Brian! Link.
Here’s how to make a very cool motor from a disposable plastic drinking cup, aluminium foil, glue-stick, bamboo or dowel, wire and a non-conducting base, such as a plastic plate or a wooden board. Kiteman writes – “Normal motors are driven by electromagnetic forces. This motor needs no batteries, mains supply or solar cells. Electrostatic motors are turned by the kind of electricity generated by wearing nylon clothes in a modern office. Think of it as gigantic nano-technology as well, because this is how the microscopic motors of nanobots work.” Link.
Pretty unfortunate. I suspect we’ll see a hack to work around this soon – “So you just bought a Windows Mobile Treo with EV-DO service and you want to use it as a modem for your laptop? Forget it. Verizon Wireless says you must buy a second 3G subscription and they have the technology to back it up. Specifically, while the device, which has well-reviewed, comes with Bluetooth, Verizon has disabled the Bluetooth dial-up networking capability that would enable the Treo 700w to act as a modem for laptops.” Link.
Good round of motherboard upgrading tips on Extremetech – “…motherboard upgrades can be either difficult or straightforward. It all depends on how you approach it and how you prepare. We’ve upgraded motherboards quite often over the years, so we’ve learned a few lessons along the way. We’d like to share our knowledge, so that when you tackle this, you encounter minimal hassles. Our pain over the years is now your gain.” Thanks Star! Link.
