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Ben Heck's PS3 Slim Laptop

Posted by Soulskill on from the making-small-bigger dept.

We've occasionally discussed Ben Heckendorn's various console modifications, and he's now come out with a new one: a laptop version of the PS3 Slim. It has volume control buttons for the built-in speakers, and plenty of vents for cooling. The display is a 17" widescreen panel, and the Slim's hardware doesn't fill that much space in the case, so there's a neat little compartment for the power cord. Ben's blog post shows details of the laptop's construction.

16 of 84 comments (clear)

  1. Small briefcase is more like it by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not really a "laptop" in the sense that we're used to thinking, but still a very interesting modification.

    1. Re:Small briefcase is more like it by CarpetShark · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yeah, it's bulky, and it lacks a keyboard, and seemingly a battery, so it's no wonder there's space to randomly throw the cable in. Still nice, but not really an improvement to throwing a PS3 in a bag and plugging it in at your destination.

    2. Re:Small briefcase is more like it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      We called those luggables back in the days.

    3. Re:Small briefcase is more like it by ArcherB · · Score: 3, Informative

      Why? Most homes would have a larger screen available, with better placement for viewing than a laptop would provide. Most offices or other commercial places/organisations wouldn't let you plug in a console, pull out a controller and start gaming, even if the console did have a laptop format. Don't get me wrong, it's a neat project, but I'm just saying it's not very practical.

      Actually, most places will let you plug in. When traveling, I almost never ran my notebook off the battery. The airport, coffee shops or just about any other place where I could actually sit down and use my notebook would have a plug available for me to access. I see this as being no different.

      And, sure, while nearly all homes will have a bigger screen, they may not have a better screen. Many homes still have old, non-hi-def CRT TV's plugged into their cable boxes, or have the cable plugged directly to the TV's.

      Finally, I don't think practicality was the point. Sure, it's a nice feature, but this guy made this simply because he could. That was the whole point.

      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
  2. is it discreet enough? by yivi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe it could be sold with a couple of Lenovo|Mac stickers to bring to some of those very engaging meetings, presentations, etc...

    I.-

    1. Re:is it discreet enough? by Jurily · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because real laptops cannot possibly run games.

      I must be getting old.

  3. Re:Is he selling these on eBay afterward? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't know how long it would take to saturate the market, as it seems like sort of a small one; but given the prices that crazy fanboys will pay to have perfectly stock consoles a few days ahead of time, he might well be able to pull that by catering to a few well-heeled fanatics.

    However, while the market might be there, I suspect that, once tapped, he couldn't hold out for long. 1 guy, using more or less standard home modding methods(albeit applied with competence substantially above average), doing bespoke pieces would have a hard time competing with a smallish pro outfit doing larger runs at somewhat lower prices, with the benefit of actual machine tools, and parts you can only (cheaply) buy in lots of 100, and possibly rework kit above the level of a soldering iron and strong nerves.

  4. Re:Is he selling these on eBay afterward? by Lord+Fury · · Score: 5, Informative

    From your link:

    Frederick Brown 'had allegedly built up a thriving business selling counterfeit games and installing mod chips, having advertised his services on Craigslist and other web sites. He allegedly sold pirated games from his Vista, CA residence as well, including both discs and hard drives preloaded with games that he would install into customers' Xboxes and Xbox 360s.

    That's absolutely nothing like what is being done in the article. This guy is modding the hardware to make the ps3 portable, the guy in your link was putting mod chips in the 360's so people could play pirated games, which he also sold. Just because the word "mod" is used in both stories doesn't make them similar.

  5. Re:Is he selling these on eBay afterward? by asdf7890 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would agree with you that it would be difficult to make good money on this as a career move, but he could possibly make a decent amount of extra income (on top of his day job) through doing custom jobs. He would have to charge above the odds to make each individual job it worth his while, but as he would be serving a small niche this wouldn't be unreasonable.

    Of course he may be of the attitude that he does not want to take money for this, as it is his hobby and he might not want his hobby to become a chore (even if it is a chore that earns him money).

  6. Re:Slashdotted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    that's ok... just get the cache of the cache: benheck.com.nyud.net.nyud.net:8090/10-01-2009/ps3-slim-laptop

  7. Two thumbs up by marqs · · Score: 3, Funny

    That is one Heck of a hack...or perhaps one hack of a Heck

  8. Re:He should have... by Kokuyo · · Score: 2, Informative

    The thing is built upon a PS3 Slim. Linux is not an option.

  9. Will Ben Ever Learn? by damn_registrars · · Score: 4, Informative

    He does great work, for sure. But he has been slashdotted more than a couple times; just about every new console he builds and describes leads to a slashdot article, which leads to his webserver being reduced to a smoldering pile of nothingness. He really should stop using his old XT for a webserver. I suspect his portable PS3 would probably handle the load better...

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:Will Ben Ever Learn? by GreyWolf3000 · · Score: 2, Informative

      There are apparently legal gray areas with that that CmdrTaco doesn't want to get into. If I recall correctly, it's not clear that he has the legal right to take someone else's content, throw it up on some other server that does not earn the original author ad revenue, and post a link to it on the home page.

      --
      Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
  10. Re:unique stuff by stevenaei · · Score: 2, Funny

    oh wait, that was sarcasm... crap. must be monday.

  11. In case you're wondering how to get it... by Avogadro65 · · Score: 2, Informative

    A video game store just south of Nashville, TN is going to be doing a giveaway with this PS3 laptop as the prize: http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=43627590335&share_id=138212171129&comments=1#s138212171129 (DISCLAIMER: it's my friend's store)