Has the damaged economy managed to crush your new gadget budget?
Instead of sitting around and complaining, why not make your old things new again with a few “creative” hacks?
To help you along the path to recycled gadget goodness, Gizmodo has put together a guide to Zero-Cost Gadget Upgrades, including turning your Xbox, PC or Apple TV into a genuine media center, hacking your iPod with Rockbox, converting your PC into a Mac, flashing your crappy router’s firmware with DD-WRT to turn it into a top-of-the-line piece of hardware, downloading new maps for your old GPS, jailbreaking your iPhone for Wi-Fi Internet tethering, and modding your Wii to create a free emulation machine.
Who said the next great depression had to be so depressing?
Apple went iPod crazy on Tuesday, and released an updated Nano, a new Touch, a larger (and cheaper) Classic, and Shuffles in all new (for them) colors.
The tech blogs have all managed to beat this news into the ground already, so I’m not going to dive into the details, but what I am going to wonder aloud about is this: Why did it take Apple so long to release an iPod in a rainbow of colors? (Or Nano-Chromatic in Apple speak.)
While Apple was busy doling out doses of iPod five flavors at a time, ColorWare managed to make an entire business out of taking your iPod and adding color to it, and they even charge an extra fee to do so.
It’s obvious that the demand for colors has always existed, as evidenced by Apple’s decision to release their products in various (limited) colors along the way, and the mere existence of ColorWave, so why hasn’t Apple jumped on this bandwagon before?
Foofbags and Foofpods are fantastic looking cases, sleeves, covers and pouches for laptops, iPods, iPhones, and other gadgets in need of protection.
Each Foofbag or Foofpod is ethically handmade in Australia, and comes in a variety of fantastic finishes.
The insides are lined with either Sherpa fleece or polished satin, and the included padding keeps your gadgets safe from the bumps and bruises of everyday use.
Didn’t get enough Steve Jobs in your life yesterday?
Then make your own!
Toy-A-Day is a year-long project where the creator will be constructing and posting a new paper toy from a basic template each day for one year, and to help celebrate iDay, he created a little Steve Jobs that comes with his own iPhone and iPod.
Simple print it out, fold it up, and display it for all your friends to see.
A lack of a neck makes it difficult to show off the trademark turtleneck in this mini mock-up, but considering the fact that this is an accurate representation of his Steviness, you can trust that it’s in there somewhere.
If you’ve always wanted to have your own soundtrack, then check out SynchStep for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
SynchStep taps into the iPhone and iPod Touch’s motion sensor, and matches your music library to your pace. The result is that “every step you take lands in-time with a drum hit, a bass pluck, a piano chord”.
Unfortunately the beat that follows your feet is only available in “sucktacular beta” for now, but when the SDK goes live, prepare yourself for tons of fantastic apps just like this one.
If you’re trying to get people to pay attention to your car, nothing does it quite like chopping the back half off of a Mini and turning it into a MiniCamino.
This Pioneer show car features an MS Design widebody kit in two-tone chocolate and white, a custom convertible kit, Recaros, a surfboard rack, an iPod dock, and enough Pioneer electronics to blow your neighbor’s ears out.
Misu is a new iPod music transfer utility for Macs that makes it easy to transfer music between two iPods.
Simply select the source and the destination and let Misu go to work. It then compares the two iPods, figures out what’s missing, and syncs them together.
Currently it’s only in super-secret private beta mode, but courtesy of TUAW, the super-secret code that you’ll need to get a copy is 48372.
Plus, if you try out Misu during the beta phase, they’ll give you a free and licensed copy of the final version as a thank you. (This code is only good for today, but if you miss out, you can still get a free copy of Misu by becoming a fan of the Misu Facebook Page by the end of March.)
The minds over at ReadWriteWeb seem to think that with the announcement of Exchange support and the iPhone SDK, Apple has set themselves up to become the dominating force in next gen computing, and I must say that I agree.
Here’s why:
The demand for small yet functional computers has already been demonstrated with the Asus Eee PC. If you can fit an entire computer into your pocket, you open up a world of possibilities.
The demand for pocket sized gaming devices has already been demonstrated with the DS (as well as all other pocket sized Nintendo consoles) and the PSP. Throw in Wii-esque motion controls and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Windows Mobile is terrible.
Exchange support means the iPhone can do what the BlackBerry does, only it looks good doing it, and can play games, movies, music, and more while you’re waiting.
It takes an iPod and a phone (two things many people carry around with them anyways) and combines them into one device. Why carry two when just one will suffice?
It’s an Apple product, so the UI is both beautiful and functional.
Combine a full SDK with a huge desire to develop for the latest and greatest mobile platform, and you’ll have throngs of developers jumping on board to develop amazing apps out of the gate. Microsoft Office anyone?
The list goes on and on.
Basically, as long as Apple can ride its current wave of iPhone success to conclusion, it will set the bar far beyond what anyone else is even striving towards at this point. The iPhone has created a whole new game, and currently, Apple is the only player.
Does this mean Apple will surely dominate next gen computing?
Time will tell, but all signs currently point to yes.
If you’ve had your eye on a new iPod Touch, then it’s time to pull the trigger, because Amazon is offering up a free 1GB Shuffle with the purchase of a 32GB Touch.
(It’s also a good time to note that the Shuffle is now just $49, with a $69 2GB version in the works. I used a Shuffle a lot for running, and it was the perfect player until I decided to get the Nike+ kit (which only works with the iPod Nano), so if you’re looking for a no hassle, easy to use MP3 player, then the Shuffle definitely gets my recommendation.)
Didn’t get enough Steve Jobs in your life yesterday?
If you’ve had your eye on a new iPod Touch, then it’s time to pull the trigger, because Amazon is offering up a free 1GB Shuffle with the purchase of a 32GB Touch.
