Although the iPad may not have the ability to take pictures, make calls, or multitask, but this Chinese hacker managed to create his own huge touch screen phone by modding a netbook.  It’s actually bigger than the iPad and works just like a normal phone.

To build this, he took a Dell netbook and stripped it down its bare bones. Using what parts he could salvage, he magically integrated mobile phone technology and made the screen touch sensitive. We say “magically” since there are no details provided with the rather sketchy video.  There are aftermarket touchscreen kits available you can purchase to accomplish this though.

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While there are a few various DIY ways to to extend the range of your cell phone signal such as using tin cans, this is an entirely new, far more powerful method for super powering your signal.  A 16 year old from New Mexico created the device shown above which allows cell phone communication from 1,000 feet below the earth’s surface.  You could adapt the technology to create your own cell phone range extender.

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“The device is something like a computer attached to a ham radio. It transmits data using low-frequency radio waves that can penetrate rock more easily than high-frequency transmissions, like those in FM broadcasts.”  An awesome discovery and fun communications project to explore.

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When the Chevy Volt is finally available, you’ll be able to start your car via your cell phone (if you have a spare $40K).  However, you can easily make your own car starter from a $10 disposable cell phone and a few bits and bobs for around $10.  If you’re super lazy, you could use it to start your car in the morning so it’s all warmed up when you leave the house.

This is the same technique used to launch fireworks with your cell phone. Instead of turning on the vibrate motor when someone calls, your car will start instead.  The phone can be kept charged by hooking it up to the cigarette lighter of your car (you can do this from behind the dashboard if you want it to be discreet).  You can also set alarms via your phone’s calendar.

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This New Zealand modder decided to make a touch screen PC for his kitchen so his wife could keep inventory of their food, print out shopping lists, access the web, watch TV and use it as a normal PC.  First, he found a cheap touch screen monitor which would form the heart of the device. These screens are used in vending machines and public places in Japan so they are vandal-proof and water-proof which is perfect for the kitchen environment.

For the PC aspect of the project, he decided to build one from scratch. You could use any old machine left lying around but he decided it would be best for performance to custom build it. He settled on specs such as 4GB of RAM, a 3.20Ghz processor and an 800Gb hard drive. This would all be stored in a small cabinet near where the screen would be mounted for maintenance purposes. Wires run from the cabinet, through the drywall, to the touch screen.

Once he had everything running, he needed a better interface than the standard Windows desktop. He used a program called Active Desktop which enabled him to replicate the iPhone menu style. He calls his creation iKitchen. For the touch screen keyboard, he went with a quality program called Comfort On-Screen Keyboard which vastly improved the typing experience when compared with the standard on-screen windows keyboard.

On top of that, he added a barcode scanner for groceries and a TV tuner!  Awesome project to add to our case mod collection.

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Need help with your New Year’s resolution?  Burn off the calories while playing your favorite racing games.  The faster you pedal, the faster your vehicle travels.  Learn how to build your own Excite Bike video game controller.

The project is built around an Arduino-based device that senses your pedal speed on an exercise bike and feeds it into the game console. The unique thing about it is that you can make it work with any exercise bike and the sensory feedback from the pedals.  And we like it because it’s an open source project and can be built cheaply.

You’ll have to disassemble your Xbox 360 controller in order to hook up the Arduino set-up. For the most part, this is a simple matter of following the schematic and being brave enough to heavily mod your exercise bike.

The Arduino set-up is basically just sensors deciding which speed you’re pedaling at and relaying that to the proper trigger pressure setting. The schematic above has it all explained, as well as including LEDs so you’ll know which speed you’re pedalling at.

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Previously, we’ve shown you how to setup your own projection bombing system allowing you to “tag” and monument or building with your own, custom messages.  Typically, a green laser was used to draw a design on a building, but now you can use your finger and an iPhone to accomplish the same thing.  Enjoy!

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You can remotely shut down your computer from anywhere in the world using any cell phone with texting capabilities and Mozilla Thunderbird, a Mac, or Microsoft Outlook. It’s pretty simple to accomplish and the video above guides you through the step by step setup process.

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1. How to Use the iPhone as a Wireless Router for your Laptop
2. Use email to send texts for AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Virgin, & more
3. Subscribe via email or RSS for more outstanding hacks.

10. Top 25 Outstanding DIY Dorm Projects

School is back in session shortly for most college students.  While you could be an average Joe and and buy all your back to school goods, you’ll be far better off building your own DIY projects to pimp your bland dorm room.  These fantastic tutorials will walk you through creating custom, outstanding dorm rooms to show off your DIY skill.  Read full post >

9. Incredible, Sleek Blue LED Case Mod

Combining his incredible carpentry and circuitry skill, this modder created a fantastic, modern LED case mod design. Based on a Beijing building, it incorporates sleek, circuitry-like lines creating a fantastic ambient effect. The full tutorial will take you step by step through the modding process.  Read full post >

8. How to: DIY Star Wars Lightsabers & Replicas

Using some spare parts from eBay (a Graflex flash bulb) and a bit of ingenuity the guys at Systm show you how to create your own legit lightsaber (using actual parts they used in the movies). Read full post ->

7. How to: DIY Cable Management on a Budget

In just a few minutes and for less than $6, you can transform your workstation into a cable free sanctuary. If there is one thing that really annoys people about computers it is the ridiculous amount of cables that need to connect everything together, especially if you have scanners and printers close by. Thankfully there is a simple way to fix that.  Read full post >

6. Dirt Simple Office Supplies iPhone Stand

Holding your iPhone for hours while watching a movie can be an annoyance. Using five pencils and a few rubber bands, you can easily construct a makeshift iPhone stand. So easy a noob could do it. Not much of a hack, more of a simple, useful tool.  Read full post >

5. How to Make your Own Ringtones

Are you one of those people who changes their ringtones frequently? If so, you may be surprised to learn that there are many online tools that allow you to create your own ringtones within a matter of minutes. To get started… Read full post >

4. How to: iPhone as a Wireless Router for your Laptop

Transform your iPhone into a wireless router, allowing you to connect your wifi deprived laptop to the internet anywhere phone service is available. It’s also perfect when you’re browsing the web but the small screen is too cramped. Now you can easily switch over to your laptop for a larger viewing window. Read full post >

3. How to: DIY Solar and Wind Energy Tutorial

Mother nature provides us with countless ways to produce our electricity. The tricky part is harnessing it. Learn how to install solar panels and wind turbines to generate all the electricity you’ll ever need. Read full post >

2. DIY Arcade Style Joystick Controller

We’ve seen some giant NES controllers in the past and even an Xbox 360 arcade controller. Now we have a coffee table style controller custom made for arcade games like Street Fighter 4. The first controler is basically a wireless Xbox 360 controller with larger buttons substituted for the standard ones. Read full post >

1. Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web

Since we love the ever-popular Arduino, we’ve scoured the vast reaches of the interweb and unearthed the best Arduino projects just for you. The Arduino is an open source programming platform which allows you to easily control electronics with a microcontroller.  Read full post >

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The BlackFin Surveyor is an open source Wireless Mobile Robot comes fully assembled for use in research, education, and exploration at home. For example, it can be a robotic guardian around your house via the internet. Or you could make things more exciting and send it into a nuclear wasteland and search for zombies. Think of it as a robotic webcam recording and archiving all that it sees using its digital sensors.  Awesome!  You can also buy one at ThinkGeek.

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The palm sized internet-controlled robot is made up of a digital video camera with resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels, laser pointer for optional ultrasonic ranging, and WLAN 802.11b/g networking, all mobile on a tracked base. The Java based console software has a built-in web server making it controllable online from anywhere in the world using a browser. The firmware programming is written in C language under GPL Open Source license.

Surveyor website.  The best thing about this tiny robot is that you can manually control it via the internet or let it roam about on its own. The robot has a bit of artificial intelligence and can be designed for autonomous operation.  If you have an Apple iPhone, try out the Befree4iPhone remote control program. Originally intended to let you remote control your PC using an iPhone or an EDGE enabled device, the freeware can also be directly used to control the SRV-1.

If you don’t have time to build it, you can pick one up fully assembled at ThinkGeek. If you have some programming knowledge, then fiddling around with the source code is half the fun.

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Setting up a dual-monitor stand or using a TV/monitor combo are great ways to save space, but neither ares as sleek as having a PC hanging on you wall and being able to control it using an XBOX 360 controller or an iPhone app.  Why would you want a PC hanging on your wall? We’ll tell you why:

• Takes up almost zero space
• It’s cheap, only need an old unused laptop and cheap frame
• Digital picture frame with online syncing
• Dedicated video game emulator with wireless controller (NES, SNES, Genesis, Playstation)
• Control music, watch movies, watch TV
• Security web cam or video conferencing
• Looks cool, good conversation piece

Learn how to convert an old Sony Vaio laptop and to create this picture frame PC.  It can now be used to emulate video games, a digital picture frame, or watch TV.  Basically, you just remove excess casings and unnecessary components of the laptop, flip the base behind the screen, and apply a matte finish over the screen before securing it all snugly inside of a picture frame.

The Insides of the Picture Frame PC

The materials aren’t really that complex either. For the most part, you just need a USB wireless adapter to pick up the XBOX 360 controller and some other optional parts such as a TV tuner should you want to use it as a TV.

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