TUAW reader Rowan Pope pointed us to this insane MacBook Air hacking post. How many USB ports does the Air support? Apple says just one; this post says up to 7. Apparently, the Air has a few extra live USB port connections built into that thar skinny little computer. How do we know this? Because the guy downloaded developer documentation for the ICH-8 chip, which offers 5 low-speed and 2 high-speed USB controllers.
He popped open his Air and measured the voltage at each pin. He then used a hacked memory key with a modded USB extension cable (with an extra resistor just to be safe). After connecting the memory key to one of the pins, his MacBook Air system log reported a USB error. A few more tests and adjustments later, he actually got his laptop to recognize the drive. In total, he found three working USB connections plus an unused SATA controller.
TUAW is awed. Be sure to check out the other mod on this much-opened Air: a carbon-fiber bottom case. Sleek!
We love reading articles like this. Folks who use old gadgets for novel purposes make our geeky little hearts dance. Take as evidence the DIY iPod video projector and the iPod nano slide viewer.
Today we came across a post from jeffkobi at Instructables describing how he turned a 5.25" floppy drive into an amplifier. After building a prototype with a Tupperware container, Jeff (can we call you Jeff?) put the guts of a Sonic Impact 5066 T-amp into the drive case (it fit quite nicely, actually), attached a volume knob and in/out ports, connected his iPod and was in business. A retro-amp that looks cool on any desk.
Steampunk. Since the late eighties, the genre has spawned a diverse lineup of books, movies and – perhaps most importantly – hardware mods. The playground ranges from Nerf guns to revamped R2D2s, but computers have likely been one of the most attractive targets for Steampunk modders. Sadly, the romantic vision of technology-sans-silicon has been heavily oriented towards the PC platform, leaving most Macs untouched by the fog of steam and coal smoke.
A new entry in the Mac category – created by one Dave Veloz for his wife – takes on a Mac Mini and forges a machine that Captain Nemo would be proud to use. The keyboard may be familiar, and the monitor is an evolution of previous works, but the treatment of the Mini and gold lettering in vintage Victorian style brings the full package together in a wonderfully Mac-centric, Steampunk fantasy vision with superb attention to detail. And all that work didn't just sit around looking pretty: the final product was set up at Dave's wedding to display a slideshow of engagement photos.
We at TUAW would like to extend a hearty "hurrah" to Dave for what may be the coolest mod ever to befall a Mini. Maybe even cooler than the Millenium Falcon mod. And yes, that can be taken as an official challenge: show us what you've got!
While checking out yesterday's beautiful iPhone mod, we though about wallpaper that would compliment an all-black iPhone. In the process we compiled a list of our favorite resources for iPhone (and iPod touch) wallpaper.
Not all preferences appear in your iPhone Settings application. As I discussed rather thoroughly in my Modding Mac OS X book, it's not that hard to dig through applications and discover undocumented--or in this case unpromoted--preferences that add spice to your Mac or iPhone. I decided to put the iPhone's SpringBoard to the test. That's the app that runs your main home page. This core application contained over a dozen user-settable preferences. I tested them all and selected my six favorites. If you have access to the command line, you can start having fun with these settings yourself. This post shows you how.
Our good friends at Engadget note that Colorware has now included every single new slice of Apple in their lineup, so if you want a brand new iPod Nano in Cotton Candy, Fusion, Cobalt, or Crush, it's yours, baby. Expect to pay through the nose, though-- just one color is over $200, and mix it up any more than that and you'll be racking up the price even further. The reviews we've seen say Colorware does a great job, but just how much are you willing to pay for a Mystique-colored iPod Classic?
And if King Midas (or Bob from Heroes-- good show tonight) has more your touch, Engadget also links to an even pricier color mod for the iPhone. A company named Goldstriker International (sound like a corporation James Bond infiltrates, doesn't it?) is willing to dip your iPhone in 24-carat gold to give it that "I have so much money I'm willing to dip my iPhone in it" effect. Unfortunately the price is listed as "TBA," so you'll have to wait until they list one to tell your butler how much money to get out of the gold-plated wallsafe, but who are we kidding? If you have to ask how much it costs to dip your iPhone in molten gold, you can't afford it.
Posted Aug 1st 2007 5:00PM by Dave Caolo Filed under: Mods
Each August, we anticipate the start of the MacMod Challenge, a time for case modders to compete for bragging rights and glory (among other prizes). Last year's entries included the iMac mini LCD and the Tonka iMac. In fact, did the 2005 challenge produce the first iMac with "Intel inside?"
The list of prizes and judges for 2007 are yet to be announced , but a glance at the information page reveals a new category: "iPhone mod."
Two days after Apple TV Hacks published the much sought-after USB hard drive hack for the Apple TV, the site is making a call for help to polish the modification. For now, the hack isn't for the faint of heart - it requires some mucking around at the command line, not to mention an Intel Mac to apply the patch (i.e. - PowerPC Mac and Windows owners seem to be out of luck for now). It also appears that the hack is confirmed to not work on Apple TVs that have had their software updated to the 1.1 YouTube edition.
Specifically, Apple TV Hacks is looking for help to simplify the hack's process and, ideally, bundle it in a GUI to make it a lot easier for all users to apply. Compatibility with the 1.1 Apple TV software is also on the todo list, since reverting one's Apple TV back to the original software and losing all the new features isn't the first thing most users want to do.
If you have any skills with helping out on hacks or bundling them into a GUI, or if you know a developer who might, send them over to the Apple TV Hacks post to see if they can lend a hand.
While the iPhone's sleek, imageless design helps to keep things simple for everyone, I can understand some people's desire to customize their surroundings. While Apple isn't making this easy on anyone, keeping the iPhone locked up for themselves and all, that doesn't mean determined hackers aren't trying to pick the locks. For anyone interested in changing their iPhone's background from (arguably) boring black to something of their choosing, ModMyiPhone has just the how-to for you. Adventurer be warned, however: this is not for the light-hearted. This is a 15-step tutorial involving some ugly hacking with the Terminal app and digging around in your iPhone's guts. On the upside though, if something goes wrong I imagine you can easily get your iPhone back to square one with iTunes' Restore button, but I obviously am in no position to make any guarantees, so proceed with caution.
That said, it sure would be nice to see Apple officially open up the iPhone to this kind of customization with a future software update. It totally makes sense that they themselves are using caution with their first foray into mobile phones though, so I wouldn't hold my breath for a feature update like this anytime soon.
How we love enterprising geeks. "This machine isn't dead," they say, "it's prepped for re-purposing!"
Thus was Jonas' thought process (maybe not verbatim) when he came across this 500mhz G3 ibook with a busted display. Other than the screen, the computer functioned perfectly, making it a good server candidate.
He removed the display, optical drive and battery. Next he whittled the case down to the bare minimum that would contain the remaining parts. Finally, he went to a used book store and found a hardcover book that was slightly larger than the resized laptop and cut out all of the pages.
He then used some plastic and velcro to secure the 'book in the book, put it on the shelf and the iBooklet server was born. He claims that there have been no heat issues. Still, I wouldn't go to sleep with that thing running.
Jonas at the MacThemes Forums got tired of looking at the "...old Cartoonish orangy interface" of Apple's calculator Dashboard widget. So, he made his own. It's a simple black affair with recessed buttons. We think it looks sharp.
When you install it, you'll be asked if you want to replace the existing Calculator widget. Just say "Yes." (of course, you made a backup first, right?).
OWC this afternoon unveiled its answer to a Macintosh tablet. Going by the moniker of ModBook, the device was specially engineered by OWC and Axitron (a company created just for this purpose). When all is said and done, the ModBook is essentially a MacBook with a Wacom Graphire digitizing tablet built over the screen, a few select shareware titles to better the tablet experience, and for some reason foreign to this blogger, integrated GPS. The ModBook is available in multiple configurations starting at a special Macworld Expo discount of US$2199.
Flickr user sjwalsh384 has a neat Dvorak keyboard mod for the MacBook. Apparently fond of the alternative and supposedly faster Dvorak keyboard layout, he rearranged the key caps on his MacBook (their square shape makes this relatively easy). He has some photos on flickr documenting the process. Worth a look if you're a Dvorak fan or just want to know what the back of a MacBook key looks like, but you're too chicken (like me) to pry one off.
If you aren't hip on the un-Aquaness of the new iTunes 7, AquaT might just be the remedy for adding some of Apple's more standard UI elements back into their straying media software. As you can see, it brings the candy-blue scrollbars, light blue sidebar background and other various UI elements back in line with the rest of Mac OS X. It even goes so far as to make tweaks to some of the file type column names, like slimming down 'MPEG Audio File' to 'MP3' - great for those to whom screen space is a premium.
Now AguaT is free, and it works by replacing a few files inside of iTunes itself, so if you're at all worried about fubaring iTunes, or if you want to revert back to the regular iTunes 7, the author recommends (and I echo) backing up iTunes.app before applying this hack (clicking on iTunes and pressing cmd-d to duplicate it should suffice).
This looks like a well-done hack, but I agree with Dan: even though iTunes 7 is laughing at Apple's HIG docs, I'm diggin' it. Still, in the interest of 'to each their own,' I though I'd bring this to the table for y'all Mac OS X users keepin' it old school out there. Peace.
We love reading articles like this. Folks who use old gadgets for novel purposes make our geeky little hearts dance. Take as evidence the 
While checking out 
Our good friends at Engadget note that Colorware has now 
Each August, we anticipate the start of the MacMod Challenge, a time for case modders to compete for bragging rights and glory (among other prizes). Last year's entries included the 
Two days after 
While the iPhone's sleek, imageless design helps to keep things simple for everyone, I can understand some people's desire to customize their surroundings. While Apple isn't making this easy on anyone, keeping the iPhone locked up for themselves and all, that doesn't mean determined hackers aren't trying to pick the locks. For anyone interested in changing their iPhone's background from (arguably) boring black to something of their choosing, 
How we love enterprising geeks. "This machine isn't dead," they say, "it's prepped for re-purposing!"
Jonas at the MacThemes Forums got tired of looking at the "...old Cartoonish orangy interface" of Apple's calculator Dashboard widget. So, 
