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Angry Xbox Modders Join Together in Class Action Lawsuit

Paul Lilly — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:45:44 -0600

Up to 1 million Xbox modders were pretty pissed to find that they had been banned from Xbox Live following the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the biggest launch in entertainment history. The mass ban was intended to prevent pirated copies of the highly anticipated game from spreading, a notion Microsoft will now have to defend in a class action lawsuit filed against the company.

"Although modification of Xbox consoles is arguably against he terms of use for Xbox/Xbox Live, Microsoft 'conveniently' timed the Xbox console ban to coincide with the release of the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfar 2 game and less than two months after the release of the very popular Halo 3: ODST game," says AbingtonIP, the Texas-based law firm who filed th suit.

According to the lawsuit, the timing of Microsoft's widespread ban may have resulted in more Xbox Live subscription sales than if the bans had taken place before the release of Halo 3: ODST and CoDMW2. The lawsuit also claims that some of the bans locked out users who had modded their consoles for reasons other piracy.

Want to Build Your Own Super Accurate GPS?

Paul Lilly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:30:34 -0600

If you've ever lost a night's sleep because you couldn't wrap your head around how to build a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS receiver without breaking the bank, then prepare to sleep like a baby. Why? Because researchers Tomoji Takasu and Akio Yasuda of Tokyo University have you covered.

The researchers developed an inexpensive, open source RTK GPS that runs on a beagle board, and better yet, they've posted instructions so you can do the same. And unlike traditional GPS, RTK units measures the shorter wavelengths in the satellite's carrier signal, which ultimately means greater accuracy.

Getting it work right, however, isn't an easy task. That's why Takasu and Yasuda deserve major kudos for printing the detailed instructions, which you can access here.

Anyone plan on tackling this project?

Image Credit: gpspp.sakura.ne.jp

Awesome NES Case Mod Stuffs System, Screen into Cartridge

Paul Lilly — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:08:09 -0500

We've seen modded NES systems before, but BenHeck.com forum member "airz" earned some serious geek cred on Thursday by cramming all kinds of goodies into an NES cartridge.

Airz took a foreign-made portable media player and hacked an NES controller to replace the player's buttons, then stuffed the whole assembly into a Super Mario / Duck Hunt combo cartridge. He then cut out an opening for the 2.8-inch LCD screen and the end result is a handheld NES cartridge capable of playing a complete library of NES games using the original buttons, while also serving as an MP3 player, FM radio, picture viewer, audio recorder, and more.

After going through 3 game cases, 2 controllers, and 2 media players to make the mod work, Airz said he's selling his awesome mod to recoup his losses.

YouTube Video
Worklog

Image Credit: forums.benheck.com airz

Google Demonstrates Limits of "Open Source" for Android

Paul Lilly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:31:15 -0500

Earlier this month, we posted a step-by-step guide showing Android G1 owners how to root their phones and install a third party ROM. There are several upshots to doing so, including the ability to overcome the G1's meager amount of memory by installing apps directly to a SD card. Wtih the Android Market now sitting at roughly 10,000 apps strong and third party ROM developers churning out mature firmware, we felt the time was right.

Unfortunately, Google's timing couldn't be any worse. The search giant last week issued a cease and desist order to ROM developer Cyanogen, maker of CyanogenMod, arguably the most popular Android ROM out there.The problem, says Google, isn't that Cyanogen is hacking away at the open-source OS, but that he's also including (and distributing) a handful of closed-source apps, including Market, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps.

Here's what Google had to say on its Android Developers blog:

"To encourage broad adoption, we arranged for Android to be open-source. Google also created and operates Android Market as a service for developers to distribute their apps to Android users. In other words, we created Android because the industry needed an injection of openness. Today, we're thrilled to see all the enthusiasm that developers, users, and others in the mobile industry have shown toward Android.

With a high-quality open platform in hand, we then returned to our goal of making our services available on users' phones. That's why we developed Android apps for many of our services like YouTube, Gmail, Google Voice, and so on. These apps are Google's way of benefiting from Android in the same way that any other developer can, but the apps are not part of the Android platform itself. We make some of these apps available to users of any Android-powered device via Android Market, and others are pre-installed on some phones through business deals."

The last line says it all. No matter how pissed off the Android developers are - and they're pretty pissed -- and no matter how much open-source advocates want to cry foul, the truth is, Google is within its legal rights, and even has a complelling reason for enforcing them. There's no doubt handset makers are paying Google a premium to pre-load their devices with proprietary apps, so ti doesn't matter that all of them can be obtained for free. Redistributing the closed-source apps on hacked ROMs that can run on a number of handsets could potentially cut into Google's business revenue.

At the same time, Google has also dropped a bomb on Android developers, who all must now figure out how to work around Google's restrictions, and whether it's even worth their time to do so. Should Cyanogen ultimately decide to call it quits, the Android community would lose its most active developer, who claims there are over 30,000 active installs of CM Updater, the 'One-Click' G1 root utility.

For the time being, Cyanogen said he is trying to come up with a workaround, including shipping the next version of CyanogenMOd as a "bare bones" ROM along with a utility for end-users to first backup their proprietary Google apps. Android ROM developers are also working on alternatives to these closed-source apps, all of which would appease Google and its business partners, but at the expense of pissing off open-source advocates, third-party ROM developers, and hacked G1 and Hero owners.

Should Google have let this one go? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.

Google Issues Cease and Desist Letter to Android ROM Modder

Paul Lilly — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0500

According to Taylor Wimberly of AndroidAndMe.com, uber popular Android hacker who goes by the name of Cyanogen managed to ruffle some feathers over at Google. From the sound of things, the search giant is none too pleased with Cyanogen distributing their closed source Android apps (Market, Talk, Gmail, YouTube, and others) with his third-party CyanogenMod ROM.

Going by the chat log Wimberly posted on his site, Google has issued a cease and desist letter to Cyanogen, who laments that "CyanogenMod is probably going to be dead." It would be a shame if it came to that, as CyanogenMod is probably the most popular third-party Android ROM out there, and is actively being developed, somewhat of a rarity in the Android ROM community whose only compensation is user donations.

But all might not be lost. Cyanogen said he has opened up a dialog with Google.

"My argument is that I only develop for Google-experience devices which are already licensed for these apps," said Cyanogen. "So we'll see what they say. Maybe we can work something out."

So do we. Otherwise, this could be a blow to the entire Android ROM community, not just Cyanogen.

Save Cyanogen Petition App (free)
How To: Hack Your Android G1

Modder Crams HTPC Into 25-Year-Old Cellphone

Paul Lilly — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:52:02 -0500

Finnish modder Jani Pönkkö scores major geeks points, both for holding onto a 25-year-old cellphone and for breathing new life into the mobile monstrosity by modding it into an HTPC.

Pönkkö started off with the handset, installing LEDs, a WiFi card, a soundcard, a speaker, and the crème de la crème - a 128 x 182 OLED display.

Inside the briefcase-sized Mobira Talkman's base, Pönkkö managed to cram a 3.5-inch form factor motherboard, Intel T5500 Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 notebook memory, and a 32GB SSD. The modded cellphone also boasts a DVI port and USB hub.

Check out the full worklog and video here.

Image Credit: metku.net

Ben Heck's Latest is the Sexiest Xbox 360-in-a-Laptop Yet

Paul Lilly — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:30:48 -0500

We've seen some cool looking Xbox mods, but Ben Heckendorn's portable Xbox 360 creation stands apart from them all, and his latest is the sexiest one yet.

Now in revision 5, Heckendorn again gutted the same Gateway 1775W laptop with a 17-inch 1280x720 screen as he done in the past, but this time has added a bevy of new features. His portable Xbox 360 now comes with a built-in Ethernet port, WiFi, a digital push-button volume control, flush-mounted DVD door and side panels, remote IR sensor, two USB ports, a bunch more air holes, and the latest Jasper motherboard.

If you like what you see (and we certainly do), Gizmodo has a heaping handful of other Heckendorn-mods worth checking out right here.

Image Credit: CrunchGear via Gizmodo

Make Your Own Blu-Ray Laser Keychain!

Paul Lilly — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:54:35 -0500

You probably have an old processor lying around that you ended up modding into a keychain, but to take your geek cred to a whole new level, try wielding a blu-ray laser like a light saber the next time you fumble around for your house key.

Not only can it be done, but "jayrob," a DIY lasers expert, has posted a worklog of how he built his own using a keychain light made from a solid piece of brass that he picked up from Lowe's. In short, Jay stuffed a laser diode and a larger battery inside, did a little drilling, and ended up with the coolest keychain we've ever seen.

Read all about it here.

Image Credit: hacknmod.com