iKitchen – DIY Touch Screen Wall-Mount Computer

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.

**Note** This post was first published six months before the iPad was released.

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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Powerful AA Battery to USB Device Charger

Need a highly portable USB power source that can be replenished with readily available, common batteries?  Look no further my friends .

 Inspired by the original Minty Boost project, this modder managed to shove 4-AA batteries into an Altoids tin to charge any USB powered device.  So if you don’t have your laptop or PC nearby, simply pull out your Altiods tin and plug in your device!

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Music on the Front Lines: iPod Ammo Box Speakers

For those who want an explosive new way to modify your music, look no further – The iPod Ammo Box is here.  This ammo box is half A-Team, half Steve Jobs and one unique way to enjoy your tunes.  Here’s what it looks like on the inside:

“The iPod/mp3 player can be connected on the outside of the A-BOX as well as the inside so you can listen to your tunes while running around with the A-BOX for example or just protecting your iPod from bullets and stuff.

 By the way, the box has 2 x 70 watt amplifiers and – get this – woven Kevlar speakers.  Unfortunately, it’s actually a commercial product, but we’ve posted it here for your DIY inspiration.

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Superb Ratchet and Clank Gun iPod Amp

Here’s an absolutely outstanding project about how to make a DIY Ratchet and Clank gun which doubles as a sweet iPod amp.  We’ve seen a few similar projects such as a Nerf gun turned into a Gears of War lancer and also a handheld portal gun.  The author does a great job salvaging materials for the project including:

 Check out the full Ratchet and Clank tutorial and be sure to stay updated through our RSS feed.

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Mac OSX Running on the iPad! With Flash!

Well…sort of It’s actually an app called Desktop Connect which allows you to connect via VNC to share another computer’s desktop.  A perfect shortcut for those who would rather have seen OSX on the iPad instead of a variation of the iPhone OS and don’t want to wait until it’s hacked.

 It’s really easy to setup and you pull up an onscreen keyboard as well.  It’s not perfect though.  It’s pretty difficult to use an OS made for precision mouse clicking and attempt to control it using your large, stubby fingers.  More iPad hacks to come! – Subscribe so you don’t miss out.

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iPad Jailbroken Within 24 Hours

The iPhone Dev Team is at it again.  Using the same methods which allowed them to jailbreak the iPhone, these hackers were able to jailbreak the iPad within a day of its launch.  The exploit known as “spirit” allowed root access into the iPad’s OS and file system.

“The video shows that the jailbreak provides a root shell with what appears to be full access to the iPad file system. The video walks shows connection to the iPad via ssh, exploration of the OS and kernel version information, a view of running processes, moving applications out of the iPad’s applications directory (and then restarting Springboard via the shell to show the results) and finally, rebooting the iPad via the jailbroken root shell.”

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How to: Install an iPad in Your Car

We’ve seen a few ways to install a computer or Xbox 360 in your car but this sleek integration of an iPad into the dashboard of a Toyota Tacoma is far more impressive.

The video above is the first of several which show you how to replicate the process yourself.  Essentially, the author just moved any important switches and components to other parts of the dash, and installed the iPad front and center.  A full video tutorial is below:

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Install an iPad in Your Kitchen Cabinet

About six months ago, we showed you the the iKitchen, a touchscreen computer with iPhone-emulator installed on it.

Essentially, it was the iPad before the iPad even came out.  Here’s a similar project which details how you can install an iPad in your kitchen cabinet to browse the web, play tunes, or watch TV in your kitchen.  The video below is an overview of the iPad in action as well as the hardware within the cabinet.

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DIY iPod Dock From an Old DVD Drive

Here’s a dirt simple DIY iPod dock project you can build in a few minutes.  Odds are, you don’t use your DVD tray hardly at all anymore.  While you’re not using it, you can convert it into an iPod doc for your computer by simply modifying an old DVD.   The rest of the materials consist of a sandpaper, a cutting tool, and tape.

The hardest part is simply cutting the DVD into the shape of the dock without breaking it.  The idea is to fit it all snugly so that the plastic dock doesn’t detach when you pull the iPod out. This way, you can still use your drive for normal purposes when the time comes.

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Hack an iPad to Achieve Verizon MiFi Network Speeds

For many, iPad’s AT&T network just doesn’t cut it when it comes to internet speeds.  This hack enables an iPad to cruise on the internet using Verizon MiFi.  However, you’ll have to crack open your precious iPad to accomplish the feat.The MiFi modification involves opening up the iPad, removing the AT&T 3G card, and hooking up a Verizon MiFi device to the iPad’s battery.

First, you need to setup the proper power source for the Verizon MiFi card.  Filling and soldering skills come in handy here as you’ll have to insert a power switch to toggle the MiFi. The MiFi card also needs to be connected to the iPad’s internal antenna which extends its reach.

 The real work involves fitting the MiFi card in the slot by cutting (yes, you’ll have to physically mutilate your iPad) the resonating chamber which houses the iPad’s twin speakers (causes a minimal loss in sound quality).  The final modification disconnects the bright green LED power indicator of the MiFi card so that it doesn’t shine through the LCD screen of the iPad.

Quite a bit of work, but perhaps worth it if you’re tired of AT&T’s poor service.  In the end, you’ll get a high speed internet connection plus a device that can be a Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices.

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How to Play SNES on an iPad

The iPhone and iPad are two of the newest additions to the gaming scene and their accelerometers, proximity sensors, and beefed-up graphics chips allow for some pretty impressive gaming.

One thing that the swath of new games for Apple’s devices can’t offer is that warm and fuzzy feeling you get playing such old school classics as Pac-Man and F-Zero. Not to worry though, because with just a few simple steps you’ll be playing all your old SNES games in no time. You’ll need:

• An iPad (or iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Wiimote
• Sync Cable
• The Spirit Jailbreak

Check out out video demo of the completed project.

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How to: Unlock and Jailbreak the iPhone 4

Regardless of it’s highly publicized antenna problems, people still want to use the iPhone 4 on whatever network they please. Below is a video of UltraSn0w, the iPhone Dev Team’s unlocking software, running on the iPhone 4.

Not only does the video walk you through unlocking the phone, but also jailbreaking it to access loads of banned apps via Cydia.  If some of the above doesn’t make sense, check out our post on iPhone and iPad jailbreaking.

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How to Jailbreak the Apple IPad

Within within 24 hours after launch, the the iPhone Dev Team (a group of hackers which works to jailbreak Apple products) released a preliminary jailbreak video.  Since then, they’ve released a dirt simple way to jailbreak your iPad called Spirit.  But why would you want to jailbreak the iPad?   We’ll tell you:

How to Jailbreak the iPad:

When you jailbreak the device, you can run apps that haven’t been approved by Apple.

1. Download the Spirit Jailbreak Tool (available for both Mac and Windows)
2. Jailbreaking the iPad with Spirit is a simple process and takes under 30 seconds.
3. Once it’s jailbroken, you’ll run an app called Cydia, a directory of powerful applications.
4. If everything goes horribly wrong, there is an undo button to restore your iPad to it’s previous state.

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The Apple Fan Boy’s Dream Car

This highly customized Mercedes S600 has been decked out with nothing but Apple gear.  The customization was done by Brabus, a company which customizes high-end luxury cars.  So essentially, it’s like Steve Jobs’  CEO office suite on wheels.

The main attraction is the 15 inch display in the middle of the vehicle which is the display for a Mac minicomputer under the rear shelf. Additionally, there are two iPads built into the seats accompanied by Bluetooth keyboards and mouse.

The entire system is can be control by the Mercedes “COMAND” system which would normally be used to control the radio, navigation, and telephone.

A 64GB Apple iPod touch takes care of the car’s audio needs and of course, all gadgets tuck into the car itself to be hidden when not in use.

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Stuff an Entire Macbook Air Inside a Keyboard

This intrepid modder has embarked on a project of Ben Heck proportions: converting a Macbook Air with a broken screen into a computer embedded within a keyboard.

The modder’s detailed work log includes descriptions of how he overcame problems with wireless interference, getting components to fit, heat build up, and redesigning delicate battery cables.

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How to: Setup Windows, OS X, and Ubuntu on One Machine

Learn how to use virtualization software as an alternative to setting up a multi-boot computer. Software like VirtualBox emulates the environment that would be required for running Windows, Ubuntu, and OS X.  For developers who need to test software on multiple OS’s, this is a perfect, cheap and easy solution.

Or, if there are just certain applications you prefer to use on Linux instead of Windows, here’s an easy way to switch between the two without partitioning.To further improve your workspace, you can use a multiple monitor setup as if you were using three separate machines.

Check out the beginner’s guide to setting up a virtual machine or the advanced step by step instructions.  The system specs for crash free virtualization require a modest computer with decent amount of RAM.

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IPad Running Google’s Chromium OS

We’ve seen Windows 7 and Mac OSX on the iPad and now we have Google’s Chromium OS.  For full details and more versions of Chromium, check out the build blog to take a sneak peek. The 17 year old college student and programmer is fairly well known for his tweaks to the Chromium code.

 The photos and the video show an iPad running a version of the Chromium OS. The modder has also tweeted about the ‘breakthrough’ and promised details soon.

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DIY Macbook Tablet for Under $50

The world loves hacking Apple products and here’s another superb example.  In this project, learn how to convert a MacBook into a touchscreen tablet for under $50.

The build tutorial features detailed photos and plenty of videos along the way so you can build your own.

Essentially the entire cost of the build was in the touchscreen itself.  The rest involves essentionally “flipping” the monitor and rearranging some of the innards. Check out some of our most popular Apple projects:

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Massive 58-inch MultiTouch IPhone Table

Table Connect for iPhone is a superb project which makes an exact copy of the iPhone onto a huge 4 feet 10 inch table.  All of the same mulitouch movements (swipe, pinch, etc.) apply.

We have seen some epic DIY furniture before, but nothing comes close to this fully functioning 58″ capacitive multi-touch surface.To have one for yourself, you have to get a large capacitive surface that will double up as a table (probably incredibly expensive). Once you have that, you’re pretty much all set.  All you have to do is jailbreak an iPhone and use the Table Connect app. Any iPhone model can be connected to the multi-touch surface with a standard dock connector. What you get finally is a much larger screen to play around with your iPhone apps, pinch-zoom and everything.

The project details remain minimal but the creators will be updating it with more details this week..

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Unlock Serial Communication With the IPhone

Serial ports are as vintage as CRT monitors, but serial communication itself is still widely used.  Some devices feature serial communication via USB as a standard protocol, but certainly not in an iPhone.  But!  A group of network engineers have found out how to create a serial connection to the iPhone.

“So…what’s good is it?” you ask.  For one: a jailbroken iPhone with a serial port can be used to connect with servers. Instead of lugging around laptops, network engineers can use the pocket sized iPhone and downloaded applications from Cydia to turn an iPhone into a near computer and troubleshoot networks.

The complete how-to with a slideshow makes it easy for someone who knows his way around an iPhone and a soldering iron. The little known secret lies in hacking the dock connector of an iPhone to make it work as a serial port. Next is jailbreaking the iPhone, installing Terminal, OpenSSH server and Minicom. The last slide tells you where to find the $80 worth of parts to build your own

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