The Nintendo Entertainment System is now 28 years old.  Can you believe it?  We can’t.

Today, the hardware needed to produce the same gameplay and graphics has been shrunk to an uncanny size.  In fact it’s so small, it all fits inside of a NES cartridge, replete with AV and controller inputs as shown in this video by modder OkiPanoki.

For complete instruction on how to build your own, head to Instructables.  Also, checkout the video after the ‘leap’ demonstrating this nifty build.

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Stuffing the couch, floor or mattress are just a few of the best (worst) known hiding places in a house.  But what about a door?  Usually doors are regarded as a gateway to concealed or protected stuff, but no one ever thinks about jamming stuff into them, right?  

This mod makes use of the space inside of a door.  You’ll need to drill out a hole and then fit it with a canister (cigar tube in this case). It’s ideal for hiding USB sticks or small amounts of money.

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Instructuable’s user “Fungus Amungus” just wasn’t satisfied with his USB flash drive setup.  So like any good tinkerer he (or she) disassembled a NES cartridge and then retrofitted an 8GB flash drive in place of the chip.

But the wow doesn’t stop there.  His next step was to convert the NES console into the port.  Hit the video after the ‘leap’, but you’ll see the NES cartridge, complete with image, mount on the desktop once inserted into the console.

It’s all rather gimmicky, but fun nonetheless.

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Fallout 3 was one of 2008′s biggest games, and Fallout: New Vegas is hotly anticipated. So plenty of fans should be impressed by this replica of the game’s A3-21 Plasma Rifle. It was created by modder Ryan Palser, and it took him five full months to complete. Hit up the read link for a full Flickr gallery of the guy’s awesome work.

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This table, modeled after the PlayStation’s Dualshock Controller, is impressive no matter what. But it’s even cooler that it was constructed by a high school student in Australia.

It’s built out of MDF and plywood, with the analog sticks attaching the glass to the base, and took 20 weeks to complete. I like the choice of a white PS3 controller instead of black — makes it a little more stylish in my opinion. He’ll definitely have a popular dorm room once he graduates.

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As evidenced by Iron Man 2‘s box office, Iron Man is a pretty darn popular character. So this custom Iron Man Xbox 360, created by modder Zachariah Perry Cruse, should sell for a nice price on eBay, where it’s currently up for auction. It has blue LEDs that light up to resemble Tony Stark’s power core, and a very appropriate red and gold paint job.  The console itself has a 120GB hard drive and is a model with HDMI out. Check out the video below to see the LEDs in action.

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They’ve been sticking computers into monitors for a few years now, and now it looks like keyboards are the next frontier. Following in the steps of the ASUS Eee Keyboard, a modder has taken the guts of a MacBook Air and placed them within an Apple Keyboard, even carving out inputs for DVI, USB, and the MagSafe power.

Coupled with the Apple Trackpad, this is truly a minimalist computing experience — Steve Jobs would be proud.

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The BBC’s long-running Dr. Who series is one of the biggest hallmarks of sci-fi TV ever, and just like Star Wars or Star Trek, it has legions of devoted fans. Fans like the guy who created a fully working Tardis MAME Console that’s a 3/4ths scale replica of the time machine from the show. It closes up like an actual phone booth when not in use. But, when you want to get your classic arcade gaming on, the console pulls out to reveal a nicely detailed control center for playing thousands of (legally acquired, right) ROMS. No word yet on whether cheeky British humor is included.

Here’s a little nostalgia to end the week — an original Game Boy for you, first launched in 1989. Some modders took the venerable handheld and turn it into a not so portable, but awesome little arcade unit that plays Mario Land, Pokemon, and all the other great Game Boy games. They took out the old d-pad and replaced it with a full joystick, to boot. They’re were selling these at $149.99 on eBay a little while back, but it looks like they’re all gone…for now. Bummer.

An enterprising modder has modded his iPad to use Verizon’s 3G network after he was dissatisfied with AT&T’s network (surely, he must be the first person to think this way…not). He removed Apple’s 3G card and replaced it with the innard’s of Verizon’s MiFi, which lets users create hotspots on the go. Of course, this totally voided his warranty, but if you’re interested in learning how to do it yourself, hit up the link.

NES and Gameboy games are beyond antiquated at this point.  But if you’re like me, you like to whip out the 8-bit system every once and a while and take a stroll down memory lane.  One modder liked his Gameboy games so much that he chopped up his Gameboy – apparently he didn’t like the small screen and buttons – and modded it to work with one of those retro NES gaming machines.

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Believe it or not, Cats are of the giving type.  Wake up on any given weekend and you’ll be sure to find a dead mouse or some other small critter waiting for you in the kitchen.  Gross, I know. 

Flo the cat was a repeat offender so the folks at Quantum Picture rewired a commercially available magnetic cat door (Cat Mate) with a camera that reads the cats profile before entry.  The pics are pretty self explanatory, but if the computer’s camera and image recognition software sees an image that differs from the baseline pic (no critter in mouth) the door won’t unlock and the cat – Flo in this case – is restricted from entry.

[via Hackaday]

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We simply can’t help ourselves and had to post one more item pertaining to the celebration of all things Star Wars: the AT-AT Baby Stroller.

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I’m still loving my iPad and while I’m apprehensive to bring it into the kitchen for fear of spilling on the touchscreen device, TUAW reader Alan Daly has found a resolve.  He modified a standard kitchen cabinet to hold the device away from splatter and spills.  In reality, it would be relatively easy to do it yourself, provided of course you’ve got some carpentry skills and the appropriate tools.

]]> http://www.gadgetreview.com/2010/05/ipad-kitchen-cabinet-video.html/feed 0 http://www.gadgetreview.com/2010/04/handheld-64-includes-screen-speakers-and-rumble-pak.html http://www.gadgetreview.com/2010/04/handheld-64-includes-screen-speakers-and-rumble-pak.html#comments Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:04:21 +0000 Chris Gullo http://www.gadgetreview.com/?p=54034

Ah, the Nintendo 64. Such warm, fuzzy memories (and fuzzy graphics) from my childhood came from the nearly fifteen year old console. Now a case modder going by Bacteria has spent four months creating a handheld version of the N64 so you can get your Star Fox 64 on the go…with included rumble too!
Alongside the aforementioned Rumble Pak functionality, the 5-inch screen and built-in speakers allow for three hours of battery life, thanks to two Canon camcorder batteries. Bacteria has created a video series to show users how to make one themselves, if you’re so inclined. Until then, watch the video to see it in action and wish you were playing Mario Kart on it.

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This is just straight up, bad ass cool.  Alex Rosiu scored an instrument cluster from a 1992 BMW and hacked it to work with a PC racing simulator.  So now when he revs in the game the tachometer reacts appropriately with the correct RPM read out.  The same applies for the speed.  What did he use?  An Arduino Mega, what else. His next hack is to outfit a full dashboard – think full racing simulator.

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Microsoft’s Xbox 360 lets you copy your games to the hard drive or a properly formatted USB drive up to 16GB.  Unfortunately, you still have to insert the disc to play the game – this insures you don’t copy and return the game or resell it.  But what about the Wii?  Well good and bad news.  The good news is that this too is possible on the Nintendo video games system.  The bad news is that you have to hack it to accomplish this feat.  But once complete, you’ll never have to play your games from the disc let alone insert it into them into the console’s disc drive.

By now you’re probably saying “hurry up and give me the details so I can get started”.  Unfortunately, we can’t do that.  You see after speaking with our lawyers there is just too much liability involved; you could break your Wii, blame us and then we’d be cleaned out of our savings, all $10 of it.  So we’re directing you over to Lifehacker who has a complete run down of how to install Wii games onto a hard drive and play them.  The process isn’t for the light hearted, but they say it only takes 10 minutes, that is of course after you’ve read the instructions 20 times.

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Good lord!  It was just last night that I was wondering how I could mount my iPad in my car to turn it my vehicle’s source of audio.  I was thinking mount, though, not full in dash installation like Doug the Soundman has done inside a Toyota Tacoma pick up truck.  Too bad my VW GTI’s small dash doesn’t even have enough room for the 10-inch iPad…or does it. Maybe I should pay a visit to Doug, after all he is in Santa Clarita, CA.

Installation wise they not only used the iPad, but an Audison Bit One processor, a McIntosh six-channel amplifier and an Onkyo ND-S1, all of which provide enhanced sound out of the iPad. They’re waiting on a special dock connector that allows for optical out of the tablet device – that should provide even more qual’ sound.

After the ‘leap’ there is a video walk through of the installation. 

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You know you’re a hardcore gaming freak when you modify your car’s engine bay to include a NES controller engine cover.  Unfortunately, it’s all aesthetics, but perhaps an iPhone mod could rectify that situation.

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When Thinkflood released the RedEye remote for the iPhone/iPod Touch their intentions were for the home theater crowd.  But that hasn’t stopped Dave Phipps from hacking the device and turning it into the ultimate remote control for his ’69 GTO.

Using the RedEye application Dave is able to put the roof and windows down, turn on the alarm, control the stereo and even start the car’s engine.  It’s pretty bad ass to say the least, plus it doesn’t hurt that he rocking a fully refinished ’69 GTO.

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