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Xbox 360 Laptop Creator Unveils Sleek New Design

Posted by Soulskill on from the look-at-the-shiny dept.

A couple years ago we discussed Benjamin Heckendorn's modification which turned the Xbox 360 into a laptop. Now, he's completed a new, revamped design which includes a removable Xbox 360 hard drive, an internal Wi-fi module and a new button layout. It looks a lot nicer, too. He's also posted a description of how he did it.

34 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Sleek? by kevind23 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wouldn't exactly call it sleek, but then again, you're trying to turn a 360 into a laptop...

  2. whoa by ILuvRamen · · Score: 1

    Wow, it's been about 30 seconds and his site is already down. That sucks cuz it sounded REALLY COOL!

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    1. Re:whoa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Coral Cache link: http://benheck.com.nyud.net/12-02-2008/new-xbox-360-portable

    2. Re:whoa by pushing-robot · · Score: 1

      The nyud.net links weren't working for me. Here's a pic on DVICE, at least.

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      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  3. Do you smell something burning? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    As an added bonus, you can fry an egg on it!

  4. So, the obvious question by Caboosian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is Microsoft really stupid enough to not hire this guy? He's been doing this for years, and really makes some fantastic designs. At the very least have the brains to steal his idea MS - there's clearly a market here (whether it's a niche or not remains to be seen).

    1. Re:So, the obvious question by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Might as well ask if Nintendo and Sony are too stupid to hire him too, since he's done console projects of their hardware too (including PS3 and Wii laptops...). Not to mention a whole bunch of dead consoles turned portable; Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, etc

    2. Re:So, the obvious question by sleeponthemic · · Score: 3, Interesting

      From what I gather of the few posts I've read of his over the time, he prefers new and varied challenges and isn't overly enthusiastic about becoming an assembly line.

      Not saying that would be what Microsoft would hire him for but he would be stifled working on microsoft only products.

      Not to mention the fact that great hacker he might be, it might not be true that he has the right type of experience in mass production manufacturing in order to really aid them. The cost of these units is quite high. It would go down but the interest in one, considering price, would be at best, niche.

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    3. Re:So, the obvious question by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      http://benheck.com.nyud.net/12-02-2008/new-xbox-360-portable
      (because I couldn't get the site to load)

      Usually the cooler a one-off tech gadget looks, the harder it is to mass produce.
      OTOH, MS could probably charge one heck of a premium for a portable xbox experience.

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    4. Re:So, the obvious question by DreamsAreOkToo · · Score: 1

      I don't think they'd hire him as an assembly line worker, but instead an engineer/designer.

      Truthfully, I'm not sure how you got modded +4, interesting. It's common sense that people that come up with innovative new ideas get hired into development, not production.

    5. Re:So, the obvious question by phorm · · Score: 1

      Why not just license his designs?

    6. Re:So, the obvious question by alcmaeon · · Score: 1

      there's clearly a market here

      You could be right, but I rather suspect there was never a market for a kludgy, 14 lb., steel notebook, but back in the days of the Macintosh Portable and the IBM 5155 Portable there weren't a whole lot of alternatives; now there are.

    7. Re:So, the obvious question by Xenolith · · Score: 1

      Nintendo already has released a portable Wii - http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/home-entertainment/a749/?cpg=ab - Strains the eyes a bit, but works fine.

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      Journal
  5. I'm dumping my Apple stock! by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1, Funny

    Macbooks are so ugly next to this thing.

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    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  6. Wondering why Microsoft isn't making one? by gblackwo · · Score: 1

    Probably because they have failed to make a non-portable unit that doesn't overheat. Anyone in here imagine them making a smaller enclosure that doesn't overheat? Not I.

    Anyway, Ben makes some pretty cool mods, stuff I wish I had the time and money to do.

  7. Youtube link by bigmonachus · · Score: 2, Informative

    The site seemed to be already overwhelmed, so in case it gets slashdotted, here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA88nmSeOM8&eurl=http://benheck.com/12-02-2008/new-xbox-360-portable&feature=player_embedded

  8. Re:First post from original /. article by kevind23 · · Score: 1

    No it hasn't, it was up at least 10 minutes before you posted this comment. Images and all.

  9. Site takedown.... by rwven · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seriously, considering how often Ben Heck gets linked to on tech sites, I cant believe the guy hasn't upgraded to some decent hosting yet.

    I'd really like to actually read this article.

    1. Re:Site takedown.... by socsoc · · Score: 1

      I have no clue what duggback is, but just found it and their cache seemed to work when Google's was failing. http://www.duggback.com/xbox/the_new_portable_XBOX_360/

    2. Re:Site takedown.... by sleeponthemic · · Score: 1

      Maybe he can't afford to pay for increased costs of hosting far above his needs except for the odd mass link.

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      I record my sleeptalking
    3. Re:Site takedown.... by Enderandrew · · Score: 1

      Doesn't he have links on his site to watch his movies as well? I haven't watched his movies, but he has been linked to a lot over the years.

      I really loved the PS2 portable with no enclosure over the DVD, but he said it cooled his hand like a fan while he played it.

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      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    4. Re:Site takedown.... by rwven · · Score: 1

      I pay $20 mo for shared hosting at 1and1 and I've survived a digg onslaught before. It doesn't take a lot of money to get decent hosting.

    5. Re:Site takedown.... by Lordnerdzrool · · Score: 2

      Problem is that when he bought a new server for his site, he tore it to pieces because he wanted something more portable.

    6. Re:Site takedown.... by rwven · · Score: 1

      digg generates more traffic than slashdot does. Digg is quite a bit more popular last time I checked.

      I know...it sucks...but it's true.

      I will say that the troll level here has gone down significantly since digg hit its stride.

    7. Re:Site takedown.... by LandDolphin · · Score: 1

      Quality over Quantity

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    8. Re:Site takedown.... by rwven · · Score: 1

      Hear hear! :)

  10. Yes yes a thousand times yes. by MrMista_B · · Score: 1

    I don't have an XBOX, 360 or otherwise. I travel too much to make it worth it.

    But this... damn yes this.

    I'd by this tommorrow if they had it.

    1. Re:Yes yes a thousand times yes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      ummm he creates this in order to sell.... "they" do have it.

  11. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  12. Re:good at what he does by Amouth · · Score: 1

    "Anyone have any idea what the battery-life is on this thing, btw?"

    well lets see .. if he put in an extended Li like lenovo uses i think their largest is 90wh.. and the newest Jasper uses 150w.. so using that i don't see any more than 25-30m.. probley less cause that 150w doesn't take the LCD into account.. which is a desktop one so about 30w.. so 180w... 90wh.. yea 30min at best on the very first use of the battery

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    '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
  13. I'm not sure what the point is by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    He took at 10 pound console and made a 14 pound "portable". Really, why would someone even want to carry it around?

    Its neat, sure. But I see it as a solution in search of a problem.

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  14. Re:good at what he does by s.carr1024 · · Score: 1

    There is no battery. You'd need an enormous one to run the Xbox and the monitor for an extended period of time.

  15. Playing fast and loose w/ "portable" and "laptop" by s.carr1024 · · Score: 1

    Getting this out of the way: I think is project is really cool and all and he seems like a nice guy. By what definition is the thing portable? It still needs to be plugged in to play. This "laptop" isn't any lighter than just carrying the monitor and Xbox seperately. By what definition is this thing a laptop? It has no battery and realistically no one is keeping something that big and heavy on their lap. If I duct tape my monitor to my case is it now a portable laptop?

  16. Re:good at what he does by Amouth · · Score: 1

    isnt' that exaclty what i said? i put "well if he put a battery in it" and then took the largest one i could find's specs (well the largest easy to get one) and pointed out it would last 30min.

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    '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'