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It really bothers me that everyone here is propping up all these new proprietary system for something like a backup solution whenever there are so many open alternatives.

Almost anything is better than buying some black box solution that will sure to be outdated and out of the users control in a year.

I feel there already is a tradeoff. I have an iPhone 3GS, and I know that if I surf the internet or play games for 3-4 hours I'll all but kill the battery. A 2 hour bike ride with the GPS turned on and my route-tracking app running will suck nearly 50% of the battery life from it.

You can get one of these, or a try a more do-it-yourself option

Why don't you try modding your camera for IR yourself? On a hot day these things can supposedly see through clothing... though it's a pretty damn sleazy (and probably illegal) thing to do ;-)

If you have an iPod mini and don't mind seeing its guts, there is a nice DIY on the web for converting it to use flash memory rather than a hard drive. While you have it open pop in a new battery and you are good to go for quite a while. Battery life will be improved as well.

Slightly OT, so mod away.

RoHS is just one of those outgrowths of a nanny-state mindset, but one that has bitten Apple before, ironically enough. One of the chips that was a display driver famously would become desoldered. This was a mechanical/packaging/board layout issue, but some good old lead-based solder would have been much more flexible. D--n that RoHS!

The EU also implemented a standard for products that mandates the harmonics that a power supply can reflect back onto the power lines. This affects power supply design. Of course, it makes supplies for the EU market more expensive because of the need for an added series choke on the mains wiring.

Dell Vostro
Intel® Coreâ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
17.0 in Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Display with TrueLifeâ
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD
256MB NVIDIA® GeForceâ 8600M GT
250GB 5400RPM Hard Drive

$1,714

Macbook Pro
2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution LED Widescreen Display
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
unknown videocard
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

$3,099.00

As you can see the apple is cheaper for the same specs.

Oh and for those of you planning to keep the Mac for a decade ... this is what happens to computers after 5 years http://geektechnique.org/blog/810/itanium-desk

Easier than you think. Some low-end Sony video cameras were way to sensitive to IR. The result was an effect very much like X-ray vision. ie. clothing tended to disappear. Interested? Just modify the camera feeding the goggles. Here's how: http://geektechnique.org/index.php?id=254

I can't believe the eds rejected my submission and took this one.

Yes, it's off topic. I don't care, this was so freakin' lame.

Photos are down, so I can't confirm this is the same item in question, but a few months ago someone with the same problem [video failing due to the solder-ball seating] - had a remarkable fix.. BURN IT WITH FIRE - and it worked again!

http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/726/diy-obsole te-ibook-logic-board-repair

Clever solution:
http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/726/diy-obsole te-ibook-logic-board-repair

Is that piece of toast a subtle warning?

Or is it just breakfast?

http://geektechnique.org/images/1387.jpg

Actually, the article is a follow up to a previous article ( http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/753/how-to-tur n-your-ipod-mini-into-a-flash-based-ipod/ which is linked in the main) which contains the "how to"

this eMate is pretty close. And NewtonOS is often considered the pinnacle of portable OSs.

Well, I don't know how Falcon did it, but there is an excellent howto on Geek Technique that shows how to do it with
a Lucent WaveLAN Orinoco Silver-card. http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/669/getting-yo ur-emate-wireless

A golden age of energy accessibility may be at hand, and...

Exactly, at hand! Hand cranks seem very promising to me. They have been applied to at least laptops, mobile phones and ipods. Never used, but I'm highly aware that human body is marvelous energy container.

Energy self-sufficiency by handjobs, geek comrades, you must have some serious expertise at this field of engineering!

These guys showed this on WhatTheHack - conference in The Netherlands last friday.

I made some pics of the demo, starting with this one:
http://geektechnique.org/gallery/wth2005/DSC04384
(browse with 'next' through the pics of the demo)

BTW, WTH was great! ;-)

>I'm never further than a meter away from a computer, so I can have music there

Then my iNO is just the thing for you, Apple-logo, no MP3-circuitry and no cost :-)

Just leave the mp3 player circuit board...

and you can have those iPod-looks for no cost!

Project iNO

again, the links (I'm sorry, I should've used the preview button, doh!)

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

Only downside was tuning these:

pic 4

...but I actually enjoyed that(is that odd?) ;-)

again, the links (I'm sorry, I should've used the preview button, doh!)

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

Only downside was tuning these:

pic 4

...but I actually enjoyed that(is that odd?) ;-)

again, the links (I'm sorry, I should've used the preview button, doh!)

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

Only downside was tuning these:

pic 4

...but I actually enjoyed that(is that odd?) ;-)

again, the links (I'm sorry, I should've used the preview button, doh!)

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

Only downside was tuning these:

pic 4

...but I actually enjoyed that(is that odd?) ;-)

Well... I've been busy finding such cases for the company I work for to build Media Center PCs... but personally, after seen, touched, feeled and used a lot of these cases, I can come only to one conclusion... Nothing beats my black 19" case media center

Well, I'm running MCE2005 and I like my little solution better...

My 'extender' (a PSone-display and a miniature remote I actually got as a goodie from the guys from Redmond)

extender on my desk

...and my desk from a distance... a dual AMD AthlonXP with Gentoo Linux (of course! otherwise I wouldn't be reading /. would I?)

my desk

...and for those who are interested, this is/was my testsetup for MCE2005

Well, I'm running MCE2005 and I like my little solution better...

My 'extender' (a PSone-display and a miniature remote I actually got as a goodie from the guys from Redmond)

extender on my desk

...and my desk from a distance... a dual AMD AthlonXP with Gentoo Linux (of course! otherwise I wouldn't be reading /. would I?)

my desk

...and for those who are interested, this is/was my testsetup for MCE2005

Well, I'm running MCE2005 and I like my little solution better...

My 'extender' (a PSone-display and a miniature remote I actually got as a goodie from the guys from Redmond)

extender on my desk

...and my desk from a distance... a dual AMD AthlonXP with Gentoo Linux (of course! otherwise I wouldn't be reading /. would I?)

my desk

...and for those who are interested, this is/was my testsetup for MCE2005

I think I agree on the analog being hip thing... I've got a big Sony CRT-projector/coffeetable since a short while now and most of the people that see it, think it rocks :-) and some think it's just old junk

Sony CRT-beamer/coffeetable

How's this for that 'analogue control feeling' ?

40 potmeters to keep you happy

I think I agree on the analog being hip thing... I've got a big Sony CRT-projector/coffeetable since a short while now and most of the people that see it, think it rocks :-) and some think it's just old junk

Sony CRT-beamer/coffeetable

How's this for that 'analogue control feeling' ?

40 potmeters to keep you happy

My mod at least has a tube in it :-)

macmod.html

Oh, and I do use a Classic II regularly just as it is and as it was intended...

fastclassic.html

My mod at least has a tube in it :-)

macmod.html

Oh, and I do use a Classic II regularly just as it is and as it was intended...

fastclassic.html