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Filed under: iMac

Apple posts DIY info for new iMac memory installation

If you're looking to do a DIY memory upgrade on your brand-spanking new iMac, Apple's more than happy to tell you how. The Cupertino company has posted info in the Support section of its website telling people who aren't afraid to pop the hood on the new 21.5" and 27" iMacs what kind of memory modules the new machines use and how to install or replace memory modules themselves.

While it's not the public's first look inside the machines, Apple lets the world know that the iMac (Late 2009) has four SDRAM slots, where to find them, and what types of modules will and won't fit happily inside.

Would-be do it yourselfers can search Apple's site for support document HT3918. Godspeed – and Godcaution – to you.

[via Softpedia]

Filed under: Accessories, Hacks, Mods, iPhone, iPod touch

Build your iPhone a dock from its own box

As the product of frugal New England Yankees, I like items that multi-task. If said item is something that could typically get thrown away, even better. Check out this awesome iPhone 3GS dock made from its retail box.

Since the 3GS does not ship with a dock (bummer), enterprising owner Vince Tang used the included USB cable, the docking "plate," which is that tiny piece of plastic meant to seat the phone correctly, and the sturdy box to create a dock. Specifically, he cut a hole in the box's lid, crammed the plate and cable inside and glued the daylights out of it. We think it looks pretty good (from the top at least).

In fact, if I hadn't sent my old iPhone to NextWorth in my 3GS box, I'd be making one of these right now. Well done, Vince!

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends

Etsy creator turns old Macs into new clocks

Here's one really cool way to recycle an old Mac.

Etsy seller pixelthis has turned the panels of retired Macs into clocks. pixelthis has already sold one clock made from the side of a G3. The seller currently has a clock made from the side panel of a G4 for $59USD and from the front cover of a G4 for $57USD. There are other unique clocks including those made from hard drives, circuitboards, bicycle wheels and old records.

[Via Macgasm thanks to Josh for the tip!]

Filed under: iPod Family, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends

The greenest iPod yet: made of real wood

Well, mostly. It's an iPod mini dressed up in wood, and the clickwheel happens to be wood as well -- check out this gallery at the Sydney Morning Herald. Australian modder Josh Darrah whipped up this crazy wooden skin for his mini, and a wood dock to boot after calling the metal and plastic case materials normally coating iPods "crass." The flannel carrying case he made is a nice touch, too.

Good news if you'd like one of these for yourself: Josh is considering a DIY kit to mod your own iPod.

Thanks to Leighton Johannesen for the tip!

Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Video, Found Footage, iPhone

Found Footage: Inexpensive do-it-yourself tripod mount for iPhone


iPhone Savior featured this short video clip this morning by Scott Patrick showing how to use an inexpensive Contour iPhone case and some common hardware to make an iPhone tripod mount.

There are two impressive points about this mount; first, by using the Contour case, you know that the iPhone is going to be held securely (my wife used one for over a year and never had it inadvertently open up), and second, Scott made it so it will work with any standard tripod camera mount head.

With the tripod Scott is using, it would be simple to flip the camera 90° to put it into a landscape configuration. This should work well for both still photography with any iPhone or video work with the iPhone 3GS.

[Thanks to TUAW reader Michael for pointing us to this video]

Filed under: Hardware, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends

G4 tower table

The door to my garage doesn't have one of those elf doors or a potted plant or concrete gnome. A couple of years ago I acquired a dead G4 tower, the model affectionately termed "mirrored drive door G4." After gutting it down to the fan and a few cables, I set it outside my door. Why? Sometimes I'm carrying an arm load of items and have to set something down to unlock the door. This tower table is the perfect height to sit a glass of water down while I get my keys. Notice how the mirror finish, even after years of exposure to the elements, is still pristine.

Have you seen any old Macs pulling odd duty? Aside from aquariums, of course.

Filed under: Accessories, Odds and ends

Earbud speakers from 4 business cards?



I happened to catch this interesting hack on core77 and tried it for myself. You take four business cards, cut them up to interlock, leaving enough space for your earbuds to nestle inside, pop it open a bit and voila -- instant speaker cones for the tiny music makers. My MacBook Pro's headphone port recently became stuck in the line-out mode (the Cylon light is glowing and yes, I've tried to slide the little switch), and until I can get it to a shop I'm using these as my "speakers." Obviously the primary use would be for iPods, or anything without a built-in speaker.

Does it work? Hey, it's better than nothing. But don't expect to hear much if the noise in your area is anything north of murmur. The decibel boost is negligible, and the amplification is somewhat directional. It works well if you have an ample belly to rest the speakers upon when lying on the couch, as I do. A neat exercise in creative thought, all the same. If anyone can figure out the exact pattern the designer used, post a link in the comments.

I snapped some pics of me trying to replicate the design. I wound up altering it a bit, although my final speaker cone locks the headphones in quite firmly and can stand up in a variety of ways. It is narrower than the original, which doesn't help amplification. Check the gallery for details. Oh, and be sure to check out the neat iPhone earbud winder made from paper.

Filed under: iPod Family, Multimedia, How-tos, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod nano, iPod touch, iPod classic

How to make three free pseudo-apps for your iPod, touch or iPhone

Yes, you can roll up your own lighter app by videotaping a lighter. Yes, you can create a soundboard by recording noises and creating a playlist. And yes, coin-flipping apps are a dime a dozen since most of us have ready access to some form of coinage. Along these lines I'm going to show you how to create three "apps" using nothing but a Mac (or PC) and your iPhone, iPod (must be able to display photos) or iPod touch. The apps? A "mood lamp" (or color-changing night light), a futuristic medical scanner (aka Tricorder) and a simulated energy blaster (aka Phaser).

The gallery will walk you through the process step-by-step and on the next page I'll show you a video of these in action. Essentially I'm making playlists: one each for the futuristic devices (with only one "song" in a playlist, set to loop) and a looping slideshow for the mood lamp. Much easier than Xcode, I'm sure. Got a similar DIY trick for you machine? Let us know in the comments. No doubt there are much better ideas than mine!

Note: you'll need speakers attached to your iPods, or you'll look like a fool pointing the thing at people and pretending you shot or scanned them. You might look like a fool anyway, but at least with some external speakers they'll be in on the joke.

Continue readingHow to make three free pseudo-apps for your iPod, touch or iPhone

Filed under: Hardware, Hacks, How-tos, Mods

Create your own Mac tablet

Many Mac users have wanted a tablet for years, but Apple has definitely failed to deliver such a device. But if you think that the ModBook is too expensive, or if you're the DIY type, then why not build your own Mac tablet? Hack-A-Day has posted a gallery of images showing some of the various types of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Mac tablets.

If you are too scared to start ripping apart a Mac notebook and blindly build your own tablet Mac, then why not take a peek at this Instructables project. If you have built your own Mac tablet before, be sure to tell us about it in the comments.


Thanks, Victor!

Filed under: Audio, Hardware, How-tos, Tips and tricks

A low cost guide to making music with your Mac, part one

It's well known that Macs have always been favored by musicians. And why not? Macs are the only computers that come from the factory with a starter-level digital audio workstation, or DAW as the hip kids call 'em.

Point of fact, these days it's entirely possible to make perfectly respectable, professional quality music with your Mac and some relatively inexpensive outboard gear. Gone are the days when you could only use your desktop or laptop for sequencing MIDI tracks and writing lyrics for songs that you'd have to take to a professional recording studio to realize. You may not be able to make a Dark Side Of The Moon or an OK Computer in your bedroom but if you're a singer-songwriter, hip-hop artist or if you're in a band making music with simple arrangements, you can skip the studio process almost entirely.

Of course, when it comes to music, most of the quality has to do with talent and skill, not technology: despite tools like Antares AutoTune, no amount of digital wizardry can make you a better songwriter. And you'll still need to understand the fundamentals of audio production, which can be as exciting as watching paint dry.

But if you're wiling to educate yourself a bit, there's no reason you and your Mac can't make beautiful music together.

In this four part feature, we'll look at what it takes to turn your Mac into a music studio.

Continue readingA low cost guide to making music with your Mac, part one

Filed under: iPod Family, Hacks

DIY iPod video projector



Forget those silly video out ports on your iPod's dock. For some serious video fun, build your own video projector.

Instructables member tanntraad built a clever little projection box for his iPod with a mirror and a lens from an old slides projector (remember those?). When the iPod is placed on a screen-sized hole on the top of the box (brightness turned all the way up), its video is bounced off of the mirror, through the lens and onto a the wall. The result is a very cool iPod-powered home theater.

Well done, tanntraad! We love it.

Filed under: Hardware, Software, Hacks, How-tos, Odds and ends, Internet, Open Source, MacBook

DIY on how to make your plants Twitter


Engadget hit on this one, and it's technically possible to do it with a Windows PC, but considering that Mac users are greener than most folks, and lovers of both plants and cool tech DIY, we're posting it anyway. Botanicalls, which is a project to help your plants make phone calls, has posted a how-to guide on getting your plants to twitter when they need water, got water but not enough, or are even being overwatered.

The whole rig requires an Arduino board, and it's not exactly for Mom to do on her own (unless of course your Mom is an electrical engineer, which is entirely possible), because it also will walk you through making your own moisture sensor. Once you've got everything plugged in, the Arduino software will talk to the unit via USB and ethernet, and a terminal script will actually send the Tweets out. Unfortunately, despite a quick search on Twitter, I wasn't able to find any plants actually tweeting, but if you have one, let us know.

Filed under: Hardware, Hacks, How-tos, Mods

DIY iFlash for the iPhone


Reader Joe, he of the Ringtonator program we've posted about before, has sent word of a crazy cool hack-- using LEDs and a broken iPod car charger, he's created what he has dubbed the iFlash-- an external flash device for the iPhone's camera.

And it actually works really well. Apparently he used a tact switch, so there's no super coding necessary-- you just hit the button to turn the light on, and then take the picture. But he did hook it up so it's powered by the dock connection, which means all you have to do is keep it in your pocket until you need it, then plug it in and shoot away. Over on his forums, he's posted an entire how-to of the whole thing, from the dissection of the dock connector to the wiring of the LEDs. Pretty slick-- looks like maybe an afternoon's work, and it presents about as good a flash as the iPhone's camera is.

Thanks, Joe!

Filed under: TUAW Business

Welcome DIY Life to the family

Today a new blog enters the Weblogs, Inc family and it is my duty to share it with you all. DIY Life is for the Do It Yourselfer in your life (be that you or a friend). They cover everything from making your own slime (and who doesn't need some slime from time to time) to how to give a memorable wedding toast. Think MAKE combined with This Old House and a dash of LifeHacker and you'll know what DIY Life is all about.

Filed under: Hardware, MacBook

MacBook DIY hard drive replacement from Apple

If you've got a MacBook with a cramped hard drive, and you're kind of handy, check out this official DIY manual from Apple. As someone who has changed the drives on beastly Nubus Macs and 1st generation iMacs, I can tell you that the process described here is a breeze.

So pick up a drive and save yourself some labor fees. This one is a piece of cake.

Tip of the Day

Use Spotlight as a reference tool. Type any word in the Spotlight box and one of the top entries will be a definition. Click on it, and it will bring up the dictionary application to check the word in either the dictionary, thesaurus, Apple database, or Wikipedia.


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