Fully functional NES guitar

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on October 14th, 2009


Console guitars have been around for awhile, but this one is a real gem. This NES guitar even has the headstock replaced with a cartridge. Though it looks like it would break super easy.

Bust out the old NES guitar and it’s an instant Mario Party. You can play Yoshi’s greatest hits. Flipping open the cartridge slot reveals the standard guitar knobs and the AV out and power ports have been converted accordingly. Super awesome and rocking custom mod.

Dell Mini 9 Netbook converted into an Internet Tablet

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on October 14th, 2009

Dell Mini 9 Netbook converted into an Internet TabletTurns out that the Dell Mini 9 can be modded into a sexy looking internet tablet. Who is responsible for this? A dude named Rob, who is a MyDellMini forum member. He turned his Del Vostro A9, which is a business version of the Mini 9, into a Windows 7 touchscreen.

This bad boy holds a 16GB SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth, 1GB of RAM and an Intel Atom N270 processor. Rob has further plans for it, like adding an accelerometer to automatically adjust the screen orientation and a small USB fan for temperature control.

32GB SSD Hacked into a Zune 120

Posted in Zune by Conner Flynn on October 13th, 2009

32GB SSD Hacked into a Zune 120If your gadget isn’t up to your standards, just mod it and make it so. While searching for a replacement hard drive for his old school iRiver H300, Andrew decided to go with an SSD drive for more reliability. He couldn’t find the proper SSD drive to replace the H300s so instead he looked for a broken hard drive player to combine with an SSD drive.

So he found a broken Zune 120 and a refurbished SanDisk EIDE/PATA SSD drive and married them. Total cost was $130. If you want to do this yourself, Andrew has some instructions for you.

Project Cool Boombox PC case mod

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on October 6th, 2009

Project Cool Boombox PC case modCheck out this totally funkadelic PC case mod that glows like a toxic night-lite. This one comes from modder JJ-Sky5000 and was created for a Coolermaster contest. The Project ‘Cool’ Boombox PC Case Mod. Cool doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Obviously the mod uses an old boombox from 1990s to great effect. I see some groovin’ dude carrying this thing on his shoulder, moving to the music as he strolls down post-apocalyptic streets in search of nothing more than good times.

Ben Heck’s PS3 Slim laptop

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on October 1st, 2009

Ben Heck's PS3 Slim laptopOur favorite modder Ben Heck is at it again. The man never stops. I swear, he isn’t human. He just keeps churning out masterpieces. This time, it’s a sleek pin-striped laptop based on the new PS3 Slim that looks retro. Just like his Xbox 360 laptop, this one has a 17-inch Gateway 1775W screen at 1280 x 720 resolution.

Some other features include a storage space for the power cord, Blu-ray drive, and even an Iron Man Arc reactor-inspired fan grill. It could have been even smaller, but he wanted the 17-inch display.

Space Foosball turns Foosball into a video game

Posted in Games by Conner Flynn on September 22nd, 2009

Space Foosball turns Foosball into a video gameWe’ve seen some crazy Foosball tables, but nothing like this one. It’s clearly from the future and it’s name is Space Foosball. Basically they’ve turned foosball into a tabletop video game.

Sure it takes some of the fun out of it. No spinning paddles that kick a real ball around the table. But think about it. The players can now be anything. Donkey Kong Vs. Mario, Space Invaders… The possibilities are endless.

R2-D2 Gaming Rig holds 8 game consoles and a projector

Posted in Robots by Conner Flynn on September 21st, 2009

R2-D2 Gaming Rig holds 8 game consoles and a projectorThis R2-D2 may be the best mod ever. It was created by Popular Science reader Brian De Vitis and holds not one, not two, but eight consoles, a sound system, and a projector. You had me at eight consoles R2. This all started with an R2-D2 shaped cooler that he modified.

Then the consoles were gutted to rearrange the controllers inside so all the ports could face in the proper direction. He still had enough space inside for a projector and a sound system. This man is my new hero.

A book with a Flatbed Scanner inside

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on August 27th, 2009

A book with a Flatbed Scanner insideBooks. Who needs ‘em in the age of the Kindle? You may as well do something with these relics right? Maybe put a flatbed scanner inside of one for instance. That’s what datamancer did. It’s much cooler than your boring grey scanner or the one attached to your printer.

You can now copy pages from within a book itself. I think the world just imploded and created a separate reality that seems no different, yet is.

Wiipod Wiimote mp3 player

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on August 20th, 2009

Wiipod Wiimote mp3 playerThis is a pretty cool idea. I wish I had thought of it. Modder goteking has turned a Wii remote into a music player. I never ever thought that I would see a Wiimote with headphones.

Under the hood is an iPod shuffle. Well, a fake iPod shuffle that has also been modified. It’s not often that we see a mod within a mod. It blows our minds. But mostly we just love how a Wiimote looks with headphones.

Atari 2600 console mod with built in screen

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on August 13th, 2009

Atari 2600 console mod with built in screenSure we’ve seen all kinds of mods where they toss the Atari 2600’s case and hack them into a proper portable, but what if you want to keep the aesthetics of the console intact? You put a 5″ LCD screen and the joystick controls right on the console itself of course.

This one goes by the “Stella-Tubby v1.0″ moniker. And it can actually be yours since it’s on Ebay. It even runs on a pair 9V batteries so it is portable. Kind of. Think of it as an Atari tablet.

Cute Robot reacts to your friends’ tweets

Posted in Robots by Conner Flynn on August 13th, 2009

Cute Robot reacts to your friends' tweetsWhat could be better than getting robots to interpret the world of social networking for us? Why should we do all the work? That’s what robots are for. This cute little guy just sits on your desk and while he may not reply to your tweets, he understands the emotions of your friend’s tweets and whether they are happy or sad.

If he finds a “happy” tweet, the Guardian Robot raises its head and arm in triumph. It holds the pose until you give it a “high five”. (By hitting the switch in its hand.) Then the robot passes the high five on to your buddy via a reply Tweet.

Modder hacks PSP for DualShock 2 control

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on August 13th, 2009

Modder hacks PSP for DualShock 2 controlAs far as DIY projects go, we never thought we would see a DualShock 2 controller hooked up to a PSP, but here it is, proving that if you can think it up, it will happen. It allows one to control Sony’s portable console from a distance, or at least from as far as the cable (Or your eyesight) permits.

What’s neat here is that this is a 100% detachable solution. It’s the work of a French modder by the name of Flasheur, who refuses to be told how and with what controller he can play by the likes of Sony.

Steampunk USB flash drive

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on August 9th, 2009

Steampunk USB flash driveThis Steampunk USB Flash Drive looks a little more authentic than some others. This one was created by a Russian modder, using some cogs, screws and a brass pipe.

You can easily picture this one attached to a victorian laptop, had they had such things. You can load your plans for all of your Steampunk creations on this drive and keep them safe in style. If you think you have the skill and want to make your own flash drive with a similar look, full instructions are available at English Russia.

Wiimote and iPhone get together via Bluetooth

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on August 5th, 2009


Here’s a great hack that will merge your iPhone and your Wiimote. This is an OpenGL ES demo showing a Wiimote paired with the iPhone, using Bluetooth. The iPhone can then track the Wiimote’s orientation in real time. Pretty sweet.

It will be interesting to see what evolves from this project. Maybe one day soon you will be playing a smaller version of Wii games on your iPhone. Maybe Nintendo and Apple can get together and make games that use both a Wiimote and your iPhone…Like that could happen.

TurboGrafx-16 gets modded into a custom portable

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on July 29th, 2009

TurboGrafx-16 gets modded into a custom portable Why bother dusting off that old TurboGrafx console when you can just build your own portable version? Not everyone has the skills, but that’s what modder “Bacteria” did.

Dubbed the IntoGrafx, this portable allows you to play TurboGrafx and PC-Engine HUcard games using the original hardware and original game carts, not emulation. This one weighs in at just 750g and measures 215 x 135 x 55mm. As usual he did an awesome job. That was a fun console to play back in the day.





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