The Daily Hack

Secure Online Banking: How To Protect Your Online Banking Info

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Have you ever done any of your banking online? Online banking allows you to check your finances, pay your bills, and transfer money at any time from the safety of your own home. But, how safe is online banking really? I'm sure you've heard the horror stories of people whose identities were stolen due to phishing scams or computer malware, and maybe you've even wondered if your online activities might make you susceptible to these kind of attacks, as well. Well, don't fret because today we're going to learn how to keep ourselves and our banking information safe online.

Stefan Neagu has posted an excellent article on MakeUseOf.com entitled "How To Connect To Your Online Bank Account Safely." In the article, Stefan describes some of the threats we might face while doing our online banking and how we can combat those threats. So, what are these threats and how can we protect ourselves? Well, according to Stefan:

Phishing, by far the most common vector of attack, is often an email, text message or even call, that, through a technique called ‘social engineering’ fools you into believing that the bank contacted you. Social engineering is, according to BinarySEC:

Art of manipulating persons in order to bypass security measures and tools. The purpose is to obtain confidential information from users through phone, e-mail, snail mail or direct contact and secondly use these data to gain illegal access.

The easiest thing to do in order to protect yourself is to never click on links in emails pertaining to be from banks and other financial institutions. Even if you believe the message might be from a trusted source, go directly to the bank website by typing the web address yourself, or even better call the bank directly. Remember to always report phishing attempts.

Malware, spyware and other types of computer viruses, present a major risk especially on Windows platforms.

If possible, work on Linux or Mac computers day-to-day. It is widely believed that the security system for those operating systems, both Unix-based, is more robust.
Use a Linux Live CD from any major available distribution. A perfect example is the Ubuntu Live CD. Available for free via the ShipIt program or easily downloadable from mirror servers around the world, it guarantees that you have a uncompromised environment for working with sensitive information.
Make sure your software is always up-to-date. New vulnerabilities are discovered every day and the developers are usually pretty quick to patch the hole. Update your anti-virus, anti-spyware, and leave Windows Updates on automatic check every day.
Security through obscurity isn’t very well regarded by security researchers but it will protect you from exploits targeted at mainstream software. An example of this could be Google’s Chrome, which remained unscathed at the recent Pwn2Own security contest, although it is based on the same underlying code base, WebKit.
Some malware will try to route your request for a bank website to a malicious one. Remember to always check the security certificate of the webpage you’re visiting. Even if the connection is SSL secured (https://) and the site presents a security certificate, you should still verify the issuer, the owner and the expiration date to ensure it belongs to a bank.
To prevent DNS exploits and redirects, you should use OpenDNS or a VPN service you trust to have up-to-date software. A VPN service also ensures your traffic will be encrypted, out of reach of network sniffers and packet capturing and reconstruction; A VPN is extremely useful on an open wireless connection. For example, I use Witopia’s personalVPN service.

Extra security measures are usually provided by your bank. You should check with your bank’s website to find out if they have software solutions like NatWest’s Rapport and multi-factor authentication using tokens, SMS or other means of verification.

Great safety tips, Stefan! Keep your personal data and banking information secure people!! :-)

Via How To Connect To Your Online Bank Account Safely [MakeUseOf.com]

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WTF! Wednesday: Billy Bob Thornton's Hissy Fit On 'Q TV'

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Billy Bob Thornton's Hissy-Fit on "Q TV"

Oscar award winner Billy Bob Thornton threw a temper-tantrum during a recent video interview about his new band "The Boxmasters", on CBC's "Q TV". Billy Bob's little hissy-fit was in reaction to Jian Ghomeshi's (host of "Q TV") interview introduction, in which he mentioned some of Billy Bob's past acting accomplishments. Apparently, Billy Bob didn't want Jian to mention anything about his acting background, and in retaliation, Billy Bob answered Jian's first few questions with a glassy-eyed stare and the response that he didn't know what Jian was saying. When asked if he liked music when he was a kid, Billy Bob oddly replied that he had once subscribed to a magazine called "Famous Monsters Of Film-Land." At the end of the interview when The Boxmasters were supposed to perform one of their songs, Billy Bob refused to play with his band. The other members of The Boxmasters were visibly upset and embarrassed by their front-man's antics, and I can't say that I blame them. Whether Billy Bob's incoherent tirade was drug induced or simply a result of celebrity arrogance remains to be seen, but whatever the reason, Billy Bob made a complete fool of himself!

To watch the whole video, head on over to Q TV's YouTube channel, by clicking the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJWS6qyy7bw

For proving that he's an even bigger jack-ass than we all thought he was, Billy Bob Thornton get's the honor of being my WTF of week!

Oooops, I'm sorry Billy Bob...you probably don't know what I'm saying. Let me spell it out in sign language for you:

Via Q TV on YouTube

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Hacking Insomnia: Put Your Mind To Sleep In 3 Easy Steps

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:17:00 +0000

Do you often lay awake at night, tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep? I know it happens to me quite a bit. I finish up working on The Daily Hack, or watching an exciting episode of LOST or Chuck, and head to bed only to discover that I can't get to sleep. Although my body is physically tired, my mind is still going a mile a minute and there's no way I can get it to gear down. Usually, I just lay there for a couple hours waiting it out before I finally drift off to sleep. The next night I go to bed tired and cranky and start the whole thing over again. If only there were a better way! Well, there is a better way, and today we're going to learn how by hacking our insomnia!

The fine folks over at MindCafe.org have posted an awesome article on how you can hack your insomnia by putting your mind to sleep in 3 easy steps. How can you hack your insomnia in 3 easy steps? Well, according to the article:

Step 1: Awareness

The beginning step to changing anything is becoming aware that it’s happening, particularly if it’s your own mind. Assume your mind is racing, and you finally recognize that you’re thinking… Most people at this stage get awfully irritated and “try” to force the mind into submission. It doesn’t work! Why? For the reason that what you focus on expands. The more irritated you are, the more you’re focusing on irritation, so you’ll get even MORE irritation, and more thinking… on and on!

Therefore the first step is to merely become “aware” of the fact that you’re thinking. And not anything more. When you see that you’re thinking, smile to yourself, and say, “I just noticed myself thinking… Interesting…”

Now note down what happens inside of you when you do this… something very profound. If “I” just noticed “myself” thinking, conceivably there are two entirely separate identities running your life? You have the “I” and you have the “self.”

The “I”, is the real you, the higher being, the “I” behind the mind, that executes the inner being, the heart, the soul, the true conscious being, the choice maker.

The “self” is the mind. If left to execute the inner being, will run in endless circles until the edge of insanity.

The minute you do this, the minute you become “Aware” - you are no longer a slave to your mind. You have succeeded! After you become aware… do nothing, just lay there for three seconds and see how it feels to be present in who you really are, not the mind, but you, the “I” - there is a great feeling of peace behind that presence in the “I.” Why? Because when you are aware like this, you get to know the power of your choice making. Now you possess the power of choice.

Step 2: Relaxed Focus

Once more… “What you focus on expands.” Now that you are fully conscious of your thinking, all you need to do is “direct” your mind into a position that will bring you into a profound place of rest. Think about it, if before your mind will persistently race into any direction you give it; why not pick a direction that will give you serenity and restful sleep?

But, majority of us do not realize what that direction really is. It’s really simple. If you focus on anything your body does or feels subconsciously, you will start to become more and more realized. For instance your breathing, the sensitivity of the pillow on your head, the sounds of nature outside (unless you live in the city), the warmth of your body. These are all situations that occur, yet your conscious mind doesn’t think about them.

Now one more time use, “What you focus on, expands”… Then what would occur if you concentrated on something that is happening in your “subconscious”? That’s right, your conscious thinking would decrease, and your subconscious mind would start to accept the whole process of you falling asleep! It really is that easy, and it always works…

The lightest one, is your breathing. And I guarantee you if you just try this tonight, you will be surprised when you wake up in the morning: “Whoa! It worked!”

Step 3: Repetition

I’ve already mentioned, the lightest one to focus on is your breathing. In the starting, you’ll find this easier said than done. Let me explain.

First of all, take your focus onto your breathing. Take a deep breath in. Hold it for a short while, and slowly exhale…
Count “1″
Breathe in again… hold it for a while, exhale slowly, and count…
“2″

Why count? Because I promise, in the very beginning, you may find it difficult to hold your focus. Actually, you’ll be astonished as you may not even make it to “5″ the first time. This is because your conscious ever-thinking mind will chime in and interrupt. You may haphazardly go over into a storm of thoughts again. If this occurs, and it very well may, what do you do?

Simply become aware, and begin focusing on your breathing again. Guess what happens? As you become aware, 2 or 3 times… your mind will give up. I guarantee you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, when you get to “10″ or “15″ breaths you will feel a wave of relaxation in your body. This is the silent “click” as your mind shifts from the high frequency Beta brain-waves into Alpha brain-waves. Your subconscious mind will do the rest for you!

Great tips guys! Happy insomnia hacking everyone!! :-)

Via MindCafe.org

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Quit Smoking The Geek Way By Playing D&D

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:06:00 +0000

Are you a smoker? Have you tried countless times to quit, but just couldn't do it? If you're tired of going cold turkey, chewing the gum, wearing the patch, or popping the pills, than the method I'm about to share with you might be just the thing you've been looking for!

MC Frontalot from the Nerdcore Hip-Hop Headquarters, has posted about his newest campaign to ditch the cancer sticks by applying a couple of rules from Dungeons & Dragons. That's right, you can quit smoking and geek it out at the same time! So how can you drop your dirty little habit with a little D&D? Well, according to MC Frontalot:

Usually I stop by not smoking, which is a pretty okay way to do it. This time I'm trying to make it more interesting by gradually diminishing intake with the help of a couple D&D rules.
You can play too! Here's how.

1. Name your character. Mine's Breathorr Inflatagon, a level 2 Lung Elf. You don't have to roll up stats. If you're a real stickler for form, go get your lungs x-rayed. The x-ray film is your character sheet.

2. Keep a d20 in your pack of cigarettes. If it doesn't fit, keep die, lighter, and pack together in some kind of totable container. May I suggest a pouch?

3. Whenever you feel like smoking, that means the GM (you) is trying to poison your character (also you). Time for a saving throw! I decided the DC (Difficulty Class) for my save vs Poison is 15. Roll the d20. 15 and up: I am saved from that cigarette I wanted! Hooray? 14 and under: oh darn, I get to enjoy another satisfying and flavorful cancer treat.

4. If you make the save, you really can't have a cigarette. Rolls have to be at least an hour apart. If you haven't rolled for two hours, that does not mean you get to roll twice. Be strict, or the GM Regulatory Cabal will revoke your authority. (I assume? I haven't GM'd since like 1988.)

5. Every day of the campaign, your Wisdom increases slightly. You're using Will to save against Poison, so increased Wis modifies in your favor (well, in your character's favor — your GM prefers that the poison attacks land). I'm using a mod of +1 for each day, so on day two rolls of 14 and up are successful saves, on day three it's 13 and up, etc. Fifteen days into the campaign, I will only be allowed to smoke when I roll a natural 1.

6. Rolling a natural 1, of course, is a critical fail. Thus, no matter how wise I get, I will always be able to sneak a cigarette if I can roll a 1. But after fifteen days I'm going to limit myself to one poisoning attempt per day, instead of one per waking hour. The game logic behind this is: fuck you, I do what I want.

You can design your own system, of course. The DC of 15 and the minimum hour between rolls seemed suited to how much I was already smoking. If you go through two packs of Chesterfields a day you are probably not going to survive on so meager an allotment of poison.

I realize also that this system is nowhere near complicated enough for some gamers. Feel free to adapt much more sophisticated rulesets. Probably "internet" would be a good place to post them once you've got the kinks worked out.

Here's to breaking free! Enjoy all!! :-)

Via WIRED: GeekDad and MC Frontalot

Image via Kirk Lau's Flickr

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Homemade Banjo Ukulele (Banjolele) Hack

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:23:00 +0000

A little over a month ago, I posted a hack on how to make a cigar box guitar and tape recorder amplifier, that hopefully got you all in the musical spirit. If not, then today's hack will definitely get your feet a-stompin' and toes a-tappin'! Today we're going to learn how to make our very own homemade banjoleles.

Balno has posted an excellent tutorial on the Instructables site, on how to make a fully functional banjo ukulele from a few odds and ends. Balno's ingenius design includes a tambourine body with a ukulele neck mounted to it. The final results are pretty sweet! How can you make your own homemade banjolele? Well, according to Balno's instructable:

step 1: materials
- a ukulele neck and fretboard taken from a cheap soprano ukulele kit ($20 here in France). I bought mine here : http://www.thomann.de/fr/hosco_ukulele_kit.htm. Kit includes pegs and nuts. fine
- 8" tambourine (should cost about $15)
- a block of hard wood (1"1/2 x 2" approximately). I used sapelli, any harwood is fine.
- threaded rod (1/4", 2 ft.)
- aluminium tube (your threaded rod should fit in)
- 1/4" nuts + washers
- a metal piece with holes to make tailpiece. I used a piece of an old construction game called "Mecano".
- 2" of hard wood cleat (1/4" thick)
- plastic guitar saddle

step 2: making the neck longer
To play in tune, the most important thing is that the 12th fret must be placed exactly at the middle of the string length. If you attach the ukulele neck directly to the 8" tambourine, it won't work, you'll have to put the banjo bridge too near from the tambourine border in order to get a proper intonation.

THE SOLUTION : making the neck longer.

I used a block of hard wood and shaped in to fit the neck heel one side and the tambourine the other side. I used a dremel, various fillers ans sandpaper.

When doing this, you should have in mind that the neck is slightly tilted back on a ukulele, this helps getting appropriate action and intonation. Measure this on the kit you use and try to shape the wood block in consequence.

This piece of wood makes the neck 1" longer. It could be more, since the more the bridge is centered, the best the ukulele sounds.

Advice : you must take care of the wood grain. It's always better to have the grain of the block perpendicular to the tambourine. the piece of sapelli I found was too short to do this.
Since the neck is attached with a nut, the problem is cosmetic, but if you can get a piece of wood allowing this, it will look better and will be more durable.
step 3: Attaching the neck to the tambourine
This is how the neck is attached to the tambourine.

I drilled the heel and the hardwood and put two gudgeons to prevent the neck from rotating around the threaded rod.

The aluminium tube is cut to the exact internal size of the tambourine. Use washers everywhere it's possible (better look and finish and preventing loose fixation). Finish by nuts on the threaded rod.

step 4: Glueing the fretboard
See the kit's instructions on how to glue the fretboard.

This is how I did.

Finish the neck with sandpaper to get a smooth feeling.

step 5: Making the bridge
I cut the bridge in a piece of hardwood cleat.

The guitar saddle is cut to length and its side glued on the bridge.

On this peculiar prototype, the bridge is about 1/2" or less. Best height is obtained by trial.
I've tried several possibilities and it appeared that 3 legs bridges work best... At your convenience...

You can find 4 strings banjo bridges on the net, also.

Make slots to hold the strings using a fine filler. Be very careful at this point. Slots should fit the strings exactly for a better sound.

step 6: Making the tailpiece...
... depends on what you are using to attach the strings.

Attach the strings with small knots.

step 7: finishing the neck
I used varnish but oil is good for finishing ukulele necks.

pegs are mounted in the headstock and nut is put at the end of the fretboard. Don't glue it, string tension is enough to hold it in place.

step 8: Finished !
Advice : apply as much tension as you can to the tambourine skin !!! Skin tension really improves projection.

Use an electronic tuner to place the bridge correctly (BTW bridge is not glued, strings tension holds it in place). Once done, use a fine pencil to mark the place of the bridge (for further use :)

I've mounted Worth CM strings instead of the awful black strings supplied with the kit.

And this is how the banjo uke sounds like :

http://balno.free.fr/work/banjolele.mp3

Does anyone know the Foggy Mountain Breakdown? Happy playing everyone!! :-)

Via Instructables

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DIY Digital Camera Bottle Cap Tripod

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:12:00 +0000

As most of you are probably already aware, I have been on a photography kick for quite some time now. I have featured quite a few camera hacks and tips that, I hope, have helped to improve your photographing skills. Some of these photography hacks include:

Well, today I have another photography hack for you guys, that includes two of my other favorite aspects of hacking: recycling and saving money!

After reading about a new $10 bottle cap tripod on Gizmodo, Jake Lundington set out to build his own out of a bottle cap, a screw, a washer, a lock nut, and a plastic bar knob. The final results are pretty impressive! So how did Jake make his DIY bottle cap tripod? Well, according to the instructions on Jake Lundington's MediaBlab:

	Master parts list: 1 1/4-inch Stainless steel washer 1 1/4-20x1 1/2-inch stainless steel pan head machine screw 1 1/4-20 Bar Knob 1 1/4-20 stainless steel lock nut 1 lid from a 20oz bottle Tools required: Drill with 1/4-inch bit Screwdriver Wrench All parts for the project were purchased at Lowes. Total cost is $3.37, not including the Pepsi.
	Step 1: Drill a hole in the center of the bottle cap using a 1/4-inch drill bit.
	Step 2: Insert the washer in the bottle cap. This helps stabilize and strengthen the bottle cap.
	Step 3: Insert the screw in the bottle cap, until the pan head is flush against the washer.
	Step 4: Tighten the lock nut until it is firmly secured against the top of the bottle cap. The lock nut prevents the machine screw from turning while using the tripod.
	Step 5: Twist the bar knob on the screw until it's flush against the top of the bottle cap.
	Step 6: Connect your DIY tripod to the base of the camera, then screw the cap down on the bottle. The bottle should contain some amount of liquid to counterbalance the weight of the camera. For additional stability, place a second washer between the bar knob and the camera.

Pretty neat huh? Enjoy all!! :-)

Via Hacked Gadgets and Jake Ludington's MediaBlab

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Writers Block Hack: 10 Unusual Ways To Cure Writer's Block

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:33:00 +0000

We've all been there, it's something that every writer -- whether a professional author or a part-time blogger -- goes through at some point during their writing career...the dreaded writer's block! I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting in front of the computer, trying to write a post for The Daily Hack, and absolutely nothing comes to mind. Of course, there are some common sense tips to help cure writer's block, such as:

1. Take a break.

2. Do something else for a while.

3. Take your mind off of it.

4. Start over at the beginning.

5. Start in the middle.

6. Start at the end.

7. Brainstorm ideas.

8. Ask someone else for ideas.

9. Talk about your ideas to others.

10. Keep writing no matter what.

These cures, however, are often hit or miss and it usually takes just a little bit more to snap your brain back into the writing mode. Luckily the folks over at the Shanel Yang blog have posted 10 unusual cures for writer's block that may be just the thing to get your writing back into gear. Their writer's block cures are as follows:

1. The Hotel Room Solution

Screenwriter Jordan Roberts (Around the Bend): “I can only write in hotel surroundings. I like isolation, I like loneliness, and there’s nothing lonelier than a hotel. When I’m lonely, I write more intimately. I need to be away from everything, including family and friends, so that I’m so desperate I will actually bother to write.”

2. The Robert Towne Solution

If you can’t write it, and if nothing else works, do what Robert Towne does. He goes out to lunch with agents and producers and tells them the details of the story that he is blocked on. They beg him to write the story instead of telling it, and Bob goes home and doesn’t write it; he abandons it. But at least he’s impressed agents and producers, sellers and buyers, about how creative he is.

3. The Pain in the Ass Solution

This has always worked for me: Let’s say I’m on page fifty-seven when I’m blocked. I go back to page one and retype the whole thing.

Through the process of retyping all the scenes, I have always found where I went wrong—and why, feeling that I went wrong, I shut down.

I have found that actual scene or sequence and, by rewriting it as I retype it, I have unblocked myself.

I know it’s a terrific pain in the ass to go back to page one and retype the whole damn thing, but it’s always worth it.

4. The Lamborghini Solution

If you live in L.A.—which I told you not to—go over to Budget in Beverly Hills and rent a Lamborghini for the weekend. Drive it out to Joshua Tree National Monument and then back. Tell yourself that if you finish your script and it’s a hit movie, you’ll be able to buy yourself one of these babies.

You’ll finish the script (I promise).

5. The Viagra Solution

A screenwriter I absolutely, categorically won’t name told me this story. He was blocked writing a script and he took Viagra. He figured if Viagra helped one thing, it might help another. He was still blocked, though, after he took the Viagra.

But now he was blocked and had a big hard-on. He called his girlfriend and said he was on his way over to see her. They got into an argument when he got there and he stormed out and went home, where he sat down and tried to write. He was still blocked.

But now, his hard-on was making him so uncomfortable that he couldn’t even sit at his desk anymore. He lay down in bed and tried to figure out how to get himself unblocked. After awhile, he found himself unblocked with one thing but not with the other.

6. The Broken Toe Solution

My wife bought me a heavy rock at an art fair. On it were written the words: Writer’s Block.

I kept it on my writing desk.

Once day, blocked on a script, I smashed my desk with my fist and the Writer’s Block fell on my big toe.

It hurt like hell. I put ice on it, but it still hurt like hell.

I went to the doctor and he said the toe was broken. There was nothing he could do, though, except put a bandage on it and tape that toe to another one.

I hobbled back home, sat back down at my desk, and found myself, miraculously, unblocked!

I moved my Writer’s Block from my writing desk to my bedroom nightstand as a possible talismanic weapon in other creative situations.

My big toe still hurts, six years later, when cold weather sets in. The doctor says I’ve got arthritis in it.

There are obviously pluses and minuses, ups and downs, to a Writer’s Block.

7. Don’t Keep Messing with the First Scene

Screenwriter Anna Hamilton Phelan (Gorillas in the Mist): “Don’t go back and fix that first scene. Don’t go back and fix that dialogue. Write yourself a little note saying ‘Put in first scene such and such,’ if you happen to think of something, then get a little stickum and stick that somewhere on the wall. But don’t go back, because going back is a trap. It keeps you from going forward. It keeps you from going ahead. Your first enemy, of course, is yourself. Yourself is also that little critic that sits on your shoulder and says, ‘This is terrible.’”

8. Reread—But Don’t Edit—Your Last Few Pages

Do this first thing in the morning, before you start writing for the day. Don’t edit any of what you wrote the day before; just read it a couple of times to put yourself back into it.

As you approach the ending, reread the entire script each morning before you start writing. I find that doing this inevitably leads me to my ending.

9. Don’t Masturbate Too Much

Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo: “It is then, while panic tightens my sagging throat, that I whisper to myself: ‘It’s true, after all. It does make you crazy. It does cause the brain to soften. Why, oh why did I like it so much? Why didn’t I stop while I was still ahead of the game? Was it only one time too many that caused this rush of premature senility? Or a dozen times? Or a thousand? Ah, well—little good to know it now: The harm’s done, the jig’s up, you’re thoroughly addled, better you’d been born with handless stumps.’”

10. Don’t Write on Any Drugs

It will affect the rhythm of your scenes. You’re too wired or too zippy on either drug to get your rhythms right. I know; I’ve been there.

Don’t write on booze and cigarettes, either. I’ve been there, too. I used to love writing on black coffee, cognac, and endless cigarettes.

Since I like writing and always wrote a lot, I smoked lots and lots of cigarettes and drank lots and lots of cognac.

That’s one big reason 80 percent of my larynx is gone and I hack for an hour each morning until I get the phlegm off of what’s left of my throat.

Great tips guys...unusual...but great! Happy writing everyone!! :-)

Via Shanel Yang

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FTW? Friday: Star Trek Communicator From A Discarded Mouse

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:50:00 +0000

FTW? Friday is much like the usual daily hacks, mods, or tech tips I write about on The Daily Hack. But FTW? Friday has a little twist! You may have noticed the question (?) mark after the FTW, well that's because you guys will have the opportunity to vote on whether the hack, mod or tech tip is FTW or if it's a FAIL. This week's FTW? Friday candidate is:

Star Trek Communicator From A Discarded Mouse

Masynmachien has posted an interesting tutorial on how to transform an old computer mouse into a Star Trek (Original Series) communicator with chirp and talk back functionality. By combining an old computer mouse as the main body of the communicator, a paper hole pattern board (as used for circuit boards) as the flip antenna/lid, a cheap greeting card sound recording module for the chirp/"response from the enterprise" sounds, and a few other odds and ends, Masynmachien created a pretty impressive Star Trek communicator for his nine year old daughter. I think this hack is pretty flipping cool, but FTW? Friday isn't about my opinions, it's yours. So let us know what you think by voting below! But, before you do, watch the following video of the Star Trek communicator hack in action:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Via Instructables

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Homemade Bike Lock DIY For Less Than $10

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:42:00 +0000

As I was looking through the latest posts on the Daily DIY, I came across a nifty little hack that I thought I should share with you guys. If you own a bike, you really should have some sort of device for locking it up when you're not using it. Whether it's a dinky little combination lock or a fancy-schmancy expensive one, it's definitely a good idea to have a bike lock. Not because it will actually stop someone from stealing it, but because it acts as a deterrent to a would be thief. Why would a bike thief mess around with a locked bike when they could pick up plenty of unlocked one's nearby?

After reading this article on Slate Magazine, that showed that the only bike locks that would stand up to hand tools cost about $90 (and even they could be quickly cracked with power tools), kill.cactus set out to build his own bike lock for less than $10. Kill.cactus says that his homemade bike lock "will provide similar security to many cheaper bike locks and could save you 10 to 20 dollars in the process." So how can you make your very own dirt-cheap homemade bike lock? Well, according to kill.cactus' tutorial on Instructables:

step 1: Materials
Obtain some chain (0 to 10 dollars):
A friend had some extra chain laying around - it was 5mm thick and about 3 meters long (.2 inches and 9.8 feet long). You can use chain of any thickness - the thicker it is, the more hassle it will be to cut and the less . However it will also become more and more of a hassle to carry around with you.
You can pick up chain for 1-4 dollars/foot at most hardware stores. Decide how much you need for the lock - I used about .8m (2.5 feet) for my lock.

Get a padlock (0 to 10 dollars):
I spent about 10 dollars on a Master D-1 padlock. It is pretty hefty, but don't let that fool you. It can be cut by a 10 year old with a bolt-cutter if they know what they're doing. You can get a dial-based padlock, but I chose one operated by a key for no real substantive reason.

Get some fabric (really? you must have something lying around...):
Anything will do here. Make sure you can cut it into a long strip which can be wrapped around the chain so that it doesn't pinch skin or scratch paint as it swings around.

step 2: Cut the chain to desired length
You can cut chain with a bolt cutter. Most hardware stores will let you do this for free with theirs.

I had 3 meters of chain and cut it down to be just under a meter in length. This would allow me to wrap it around the frame, and front wheel of a bike and then have room for wrapping it around a thick object like a sign post.

step 3: Wrap the chain in cloth
Cut the cloth into a strip that is wide enough to wrap the chain with and just a few centimeters/inches shorter than the chain's length.

Then sew or staple the strip around the chain.

This will allow you to protect your chain from damaging painted surfaces and also protect your skin from the film that develops on your hands from dealing with bare metal.

step 4: Additional Info...
You can now use this chain and padlock system to deter the theft of your bike.

Notes:

1. Another things that deters theft is making your bike less attractive. Real bike thieves can break any locks they want, but will only do so if they think the bike is worth it. Making your bike look less expensive than the one next to it will almost always prevent its theft. Cover your Pinarello's frame with reflective tape or your Moots with dirty-looking paint. Boom! A $3000 bike looks like it is worth $300!!

2. You can wear your bike chain as a belt or wrap it around your torso and shoulder like ammunition. This helps you achieve that "hardcore bike messenger" look.

Awesome build kill.cactus! Lock up those bikes people!! :-)

Via Daily DIY and Instructables

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Home Redecorating Hack: DIY Paint Swatch Wall Mosaic For Cheap

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:26:00 +0000

How much longer can this recession last? It's a question that most of us have been asking ourselves for quite some time, and unfortunately it's a question that none of us has an answer for. The recession could miraculously end in a couple of days or it could drag on for another year, or two, or three...who knows! What we do know, is that we need to start preparing for the worse, and hacking our budgets a bit. So, with that in mind, let's all do some home redecorating! No, I haven't taken leave of my senses (what little of it I had to begin with), I'm talking about a DIY bedroom redecorating job that will cost us next to nothing!

The folks over at the Design*Sponge blog have posted an awesome bedroom redecorating hack from one of their readers (Scott Prendergast). Scott, being the creative guy that he is, decided to add a bit of color to his room by redecorating his bedroom wall with paint swatches. So, starting a regimen of going to the "Home Depot every day for a few weeks," Scott managed to collect around 1000 paint swatches, which was just enough to completely cover his bedroom wall. He attached the swatches with a little Mod Podge glue and bing, bang, boom he had himself a beautifully redecorated bedroom for nothing more than the cost of the glue. How sweet is that!

Happy home redecorating everyone!! :-)

Via Design*Sponge

For more money saving hacks, check out these past posts:

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WTF! Wednesday: Omegle

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:08:00 +0000

WTF! Wednesday is a post where I will share a gadget, service, website, hack, picture, or anything else I find during the week that makes me stop whatever I'm doing and say WTF! This week's WTF! Wednesday candidate is:

On the latest episode of the "This Week in Fun (TWiF)" podcast, hosts Sarah Lane and Martin Sargent mentioned an anonymous chat service called Omegle, which touts itself as a "brand-new service for meeting new friends." Well, being a lover of anything new and cutting-edge in the tech industry, I headed over to the Omegle site to give this new service a go. I was sadly disappointed!

Using Omegle is like taking a step back into the 90's. It's just like those old chat rooms that were all the rage back in the day! You know the one's I'm talking about; those seedy chat services where the first thing people would ask you was "ASL?" (age, sex, location), hoping they'd find someone to join them in a little some cyber-flirtation (or more). I wasn't a fan of those chat services then, and I'm sure as hell not a fan of them now!

For resurrecting a service nobody was sad to see die the first time around, Omegle gets the honor of becoming my WTF of the week!

Via TWiF and Omegle

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Remote Control Hack: Modding Remote Control Battery Source

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:53:00 +0000

As I was scouring the latest tech news on the "interwebs" this morning, I came across a nifty little hack on how to mod a 'AAA' battery powered remote control to run on 'AA' and 9V batteries. Why would you want to do this? Well I can think of a few reasons:

You have a bunch of half dead 'AA' (or 9V) batteries lying around and you want to squeeze the last bit of juice out of them.
All your other devices run on 'AA' and you don't want to have to buy two different kinds of batteries.
You have some sort some sort of weird 'AAA' prejudice.
Just to prove that you can! :-)

So, how can you hack your 'AAA' remote control to run on 'AA' and 9V batteries? Sparkington has posted an excellent step-by-step tutorial, on the Instructables site, on how he modded his own DVD remote. His instructions are as follows:

step 1: Parts and Tools
Well this mod is simple and quick. You need the follow items:

Tools
1. Solder iron
2. Small screwdriver (flat blade)

Materials
1. Solder
2. TV remote
I got the following items from Dick Smith
3. 2x "AA" snap battery holder S6112 $1.67
4. 9V snap-type battery holder S6100 $2.28

step 2: Open up the remote
Well here it goes, all you do is open your remote with the flat blade. What you got inside the circuit board, a membrane that is the button.

step 3: Adding new wiring
You have to do is to put the 9 volt battery snap wiring through hole in a back of the case. Then you solder the red wire to the positive terminal on the board. Then solder the black wire onto the negative terminal on the board. I remove the old battery terminals because I didn't need them.

step 4: Putting it back together
Now it the simple step putting it back together. The case should just snap back together, it that easy. This will now allow me to grab any old battery that laying around and use it. Since I use a snap on battery pack. I have a battery charger that will be able to charge this pack up but that another instructable :) I know that this can accepted a 9 volt battery but it a risk that I will take. The last thing I didn't have any Velcro but that what I will use to keep the battery pack in place.

Great hack Sparkington! Enjoy hacking your remote controls, everyone!! :-)

Via Instructables

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Hack Your Mind: 3 Tips To Improve Memory

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:33:00 +0000

How is your memory? Do you have trouble recalling names, numbers, and other bits of information from your past? If so, you're not alone! Although I take pride in my ability to remember intricate details about one on one conversations, I'm a complete scatterbrain when it comes to recalling the details of a phone conversation. For some reason, when I can't see the person I'm talking too, I find it much more difficult to remember what was said. I had always thought that I was simply concentrating too hard on what I was going to say, that I completely blocked out what the other person was saying to me. But, after reading an article on Stepcase Lifehack entitled 3 Tips to Improve Memory, I now think I know why my phone call memory just isn't up to par.

Steve (the author of the Lifehack article) states that our memory "has little to do with genetics or environment," it has more to do with our brain use strategy. Steve goes on to give the following example of a couple of different brain use strategies:

There are an infinite number of ways to learn how to spell. Most of the average to poor spellers learn phonetically. That means learning to spell based on the sounds of the letters and words - an auditory strategy.

It turns out that this strategy is not the most effective way to become a great speller. The real trail-blazers, the people who consistently produce top scores learn how to spell visually - a visual strategy.

So, my inability to remember phone conversations may have more to do with my lack of visual stimulation, than it does with my over-thinking of what I'm going to say. What can we do to counter this lack of visual stimulation? Well according to Steve:

1. Begin to access your visual cues. Access the visually memorable part of your brain by looking up and to the left. You see when you look up and to the left you access your visual memory. These are the pictures, images and movies that have flashed on your mind from the past. You can do this deliberately right now to find items you lost or misplaced.

Have you lost your keys or misplaced your wallet?

You can find these items in your mind. Outer world images are stored inside. Just move your eyes by looking up and to the left and look for your wallet in your mind. Where did you see it last?

2. Another way to use this approach is in conversation. The next time you speak with someone, be sure to play with the visual strategy.

When someone is speaking to you, start to create pictures and images in your mind. Listen to people as if they were telling you a story. And as they tell you their story, build a motion picture in your mind. Add visual images and pictures to the story. The richer the pictures, the easier it will be to remember.

I’ve used this strategy to avoid taking meeting minutes. All I did was add pictures to the story I was hearing. A picture says a thousand words. Some people were amazed at how good my memory was, but there’s no trick to it - just a strategy. Use it or loose it.

3. Practice changing your physiology. Make sure to speak to someone by keeping your head up and shoulders back. Stand up straight when possible. This makes it so much easier to look up and make pictures. And since your memory is accessed through the picture-making magic comes from looking up and to the left, that’s where you want to be.

Practice seeing the world differently. Use the muscle between your ears. You’ve got one of the most precious gifts the world has ever known; your marvelous mind.

Great mind hacks Steve! I'm definitely going to give these tips a go during my next phone conversation. Happy memories everyone!! :-)

Via Stepcase Lifehack

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Homemade Business Card Catapult (aka Cardapult) Design

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Well, it's Monday, and you know what that means: the pure drudgery of going back to work after a wonderful weekend of relaxation! If you work in a cubicle, my heart goes out to you, because there's nothing worse than a Monday morning in a cramped cubicle surrounded by -- you guessed it -- even more cramped cubicles! But, if you do find yourself in this situation (or one similar to it), don't fret because today I have an awesome hack just for you!

Clide has posted an excellent tutorial on the Instructables site, on how to make a homemade business card catapult. By using some thick card stock, glue, and a rubber band, Clide designed a business card that could be quickly converted into a catapult, which he dubbed a "cardapult." His cardapult business card design features slide out legs for stability and a fold out rubber band-powered catapult arm, which is capable of flinging small objects (ex. Tic Tac's) more than 5 feet away! The best thing about it, is that when you're finished firing Tic Tac's at your fellow cubiclers (or is it cubiclites), you can simple fold the catapult back into a business card. How sweet is that!

Here's a video of the cardapult business card in action:

For full step by step instructions on how to make your own homemade business card catapult, just head on over to Clide's Cardapult the Business Card Catapult instructable and check it out. Enjoy!! :-)

Via Zedomax and Instructables

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DIY Sound/Motion Toy Mod For Children With Special Needs

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:32:00 +0000

Since the release of "Tickle Me Elmo" in the mid 1990's, sound/motion plush toys have become an increasingly popular toy for young children. By squeezing a switch in a specific area of the plush toy's body (ex. hand, foot, tail, etc.), the toys will carry out any number of actions including talking, laughing, moving, and shaking. Needless to say, children delight in the sounds and motions of these plush toys, hence their ever increasing popularity.

But, for some children who lack the physical dexterity, using these switch activated plush toys can be much more difficult, if not impossible. Fortunately, the folks over at the Children's Care blog have posted an excellent video tutorial on how to add an external switch to a sound/motion plush toy, so that the child can activate it by simply tapping the switch with any part of their body (i.e. elbow, head, foot, etc.). So, how can you add an external switch to a sound/motion plush toy? The following is the video tutorial from the Children's Care blog's:

Great tutorial guys! Enjoy all!! :-)

Via Children's Care Blog

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Single Cable Peripheral Charging Station Hack

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:47:00 +0000

A couple of months ago I featured a computer cable management hack, that taught us how to tidy up our workstations by routing our computer cables through a series of desk mounted binder clips. This worked wonders for cleaning up our computer work areas, but what if we wanted to tidy up our peripheral charging cables? Most of us have a pile of MP3 players, cellphones, digital cameras, ebook readers, etc. that each require it's own proprietary charging/syncing cables. If these cables were interchangeable between all of our peripherals we wouldn't have a problem, but as it is, we often have a pile of wires running willy-nilly around the house just waiting trip us up.

So, what can we do about this little problem? Well, Grahm Skee from the Anything But iPod blog, has written an excellent tutorial on how to consolidate all those peripheral cables into one a single cable charging station. How did he create his single cable charging station? Well, according to Grahm:

Choosing the cables

You will need to do is figure out what cables you want to include in your bundle and how many. When I made this last cable I choose 7 connections since that seems to be the maximum number of most USB hubs and I wanted to use it permanently connected to my D-Link USB Hub.

Getting the wires and supplies

Most of the supplies and cables in this guide can be picked up anywhere, but one of my favorite online shops aside from Amazon is Monoprice.com. If you ever need cables, connectors, or wall mounting items, this is the place to go.
One of the things you will need a wire sleeving kit in either black or blue. What is nice about this kit is that it has everything you need aside from the cables including: braided sleeves, tie wraps, and heat shrink tubing. There are several different sizes of braided sleeve and tubing in the kit so you will be covered for however many connections you choose to put in your super cable. If you are not shopping at Monoprice and can’t find a kit, all of what is in the kit can be purchased piecemeal at many electronic parts stores or sometimes even places like Home Depot.
The wires can be what you have hanging around your house, but you might not want to tie up your original cables into a super bundle. So you might want to pick up some super cheap OEM cables while you are at it. At Monoprice they are around $2 each for standard USB cables as well as proprietary ones. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, eBay and other online retailers stock cheap after market cables. Just please don’t pay $20 for an original cable if you don’t have to.

A Quick Note: Different cable sizes

When you start to arrange your cables you might run into a problem that not all cables are the same lengths. There are a few ways to go about solving this problem.
If you purchase all of you cables from Monoprice or s similar OEM cable vendor you may get lucky and won’t run into this problem. If you don’t have all the same lengths you will have to do some creative wrapping of the cables.
In my case what I did was overlap a few of the cables and using wire ties to keep them in place. Unfortunately, when I made this super cable I didn’t have a how to guide in mind so you will have to settle for my crude diagram. You should be careful not to overlap too much in one spot, you still have to fit the braided sleeve over top.

Though you do have a final option and that’s to just leave them at different lengths. You might actually want this on either the USB side you might hide or on the connection side to give you more room for gadgets.

The Stepps

You first cable tie should be at the connection end of the cables since it will be easier to get the USB end thought the sleeve and shrink tube. Align them like you want, then put one wire tie 3” from the connection side end to keep them in place.
The second step is the optional step previously discussed, overlap longer cables to make the ends even.
Third, is probably the hardest part, putting the sleeve on, especially if you are trying to push 7 at a time. You might have to fold some back or stagger them to fit them though. Remember you can also wire tie things in place and cut them off when they get thought to the other side. Other than that, you are just going to have to work with it- it’s tricky stuff.
Once you get the sleeve to the other end you might want to tie it or tape it in place so that you can properly cut the other side. When you do cut the other side you might want to use tape the spot you are going to cut since the braid will start to unravel.
On the fourth step you will need to pick out the smallest shrink tubing you can get to go over the smallest end. You will need 2 pieces per end; one of them about a half inch to an inch bigger than the other so that they can overlap. The size will vary on case and personal taste, but the smaller one should be at least big enough to hold the braided sleeve in place.
For mine, I wanted a smooth finish on the end so I took off the wire ties that would get int the way of the shrink tubing. In some cases you might want leave them on for extra strength.
Last, flip it around and install two more pieces of shrink tubing on the other end. Before you shrink one, put them both on. It will be easier this way.

E pluribus unum...very cool, Grahm! Enjoy all! :-)

Via Lifehacker and Anything But iPod

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FTW? Friday: NES Controller Shuffle Hack

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:34:00 +0000

The NES Controller Shuffle (Nintendo Controller MP3, v3.0)

ihrtglfx10 has posted an interesting hack on the Instructables site, on how to covert an iPod Shuffle (2nd Generation) into a NES (Nintendo) Controller Shuffle. How did he do it? Well, basically he created a new circuit board for his NES controller, soldered the wires from the buttons on the new circuit board to the buttons of the iPod Shuffle innards, placed the shuffle and circuit board inside the NES controller case, and closed everything back up. Of course, the build is a little more complex than that, but I'll let you read the step by step instructions over on the Instructables site.

Here's a video of the NES Controller Shuffle in action:

So, what do you think is the NES Controller Shuffle? Let us know by voting below:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Via Instructables

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KitcheNET Project: Cabinet Mounted Kitchen Computer Mod

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Do you have an old laptop lying around the house? Have you ever thought of doing something with it, but could never think of anything cool enough? Well, instead of letting that old laptop go to waste, you can always turn it into a KitcheNET.

What is a KitcheNET? A KitcheNET is an awesome under-the-cabinet kitchen computer, created by Bryan English of Bluelinecity.com. Or, in Bryan's words, "an up-side down modded laptop with PuppyLinux and KitcheNET XUL app playing a Pandora station." So how did he create his up-side down modded kitchen laptop? According to Bryan:

Ingredients

Old Laptop ( Dell Latitude CPx, PIII, 256MB )
2 Coat Hangers ( for under-cupboard mounting )
Barebones Pup ( eventually a KitcheNET specific puppylinux distro )
KitchenNET ( XUL Software )

*I apologize for the quality of these photos in advance. The G1 has a great OS, but a terrible camera.

The OS

The first thing I did was find out if a tiny linux distro would even run on this thing. I knew Ubuntu runs on it, rather sluggishly, so I did a quick wikipedia of the more mature mini-distros out there.

At first I tried Damn Small Linux and I was pleasantly surprised at how insanely fast this OS was. Even the version of Firefox they had on it was pretty fast ( for FireFox ). But unfortunately I really wanted Flash support for my Pandora stations and getting it on DSL was more of a pain then i was willing to deal with.

Next was PuppyLinux. It was about twice as big as DSL but had GTK-2 libraries and support for Adobe Flash. Firefox was a bit slower than DSL but still much faster then Windows. Plus it was very user friendly for those of us who get annoyed by Linux’s level of “user assumed knowledge”.

After testing sound, wi-fi, FireFox and flash I knew I found my OS.

I wanted the most minimalistic version of puppy to cut down on all unneccesary fat so I downloaded Barebones Pup 4.1.2 and added FireFox and Adobe’s Flash player to the OS.

What is really cool about PuppyLinux is its easy to get the whole OS installed on flash drive so you wouldn’t even need a CDROM or hard drive in the laptop. However, my laptop’s only USB port suffered prong damage during the last zombie hoard attack. So I had to suffice with a “Frugal Install” where it boots off a LiveCD and saves a subset of customized files to the hard drive.

Next I needed to make sure I could finagle Xorg to invert my screen. This took some time. Xorg worked perfect however it refused to flip my screen. So I ended up using the Xvesa server and flipping my screen on startup using xrandr. Not ideal since I couldn’t invert my mouse axis or take advantage of my video hardware but is close enough.

After switching to Xvesa I noticed my sound wouldn’t work after I would restart. After a little debugging I discovered it just wasn’t starting so I just added a start command to my startup script.

~/Startup/startup.sh
#!/bin/bash #flip screen xrandr –output default –rotate inverted #start sound /etc/rc.d/rc.alsa start

So far so good. Everything seemed to work so the next step was to make sure I could mod my laptop screen to face outwards.

The Mod

The keyboard screws gave me a tough time. Not only were there a ton, but they all seemed cemented in the laptop. Either that or I’m a weakling.

After getting most of the case off and disconnecting the LCD from the laptop, I noticed the ribbon cable wouldn’t reach the port on the board if the LCD was flipped. So I dismantled the LCD casing to see if there was any slack i could use.

About 10 minutes in and a pile of tiny screws later, I was able to un-tape some of the ribbon from the back of the LCD to give me about three extra inches to work with.

I reassembled the case with an ugly looking ribbon cable sticking out.

Next I to pried the bottom hinges off their pivot points and swapped them. Then stuck the whole piece back into my laptop chassis. Perfect.

The LCD ribbon reached the board but i had to kind of do some careful bending and folding to get it routed correctly. After I to got relatively flattened down, I tapped it down to keep it out of the way.

I powered up the laptop just to make sure i didn’t damage anything in the process. So far so good.

I reattached the keyboard and moved on to the software.

The Software

The goal of the whole project was to basically have a FireFox/XUL-only machine. I didn’t care about any other application other than a good browser and Flash. Being a XUL developer, I whipped up a very small XUL application (KitcheNET) which is just a headless browser powered by an external XOXO standard outline made up of text and links.

I wanted to minimize the input required to the bare minimum so designed the browser to be worked by only a mouse. The browser title bar doubles as a one-way “next” button to load up the next XOXO linked item in the list. The thinking behind this externally managed playlist of webpages is that you don’t have to depend on the appliance itself to provide the interface for management.

Putting It All Together

After getting the basic KitcheNET software developed and installed, I added it to my startup script so it starts soon after X does and the screen is inverted.

Mount time.

I ended up having to cut a little 3/4 inch piece of board to space the laptop from the bottom of the cupboard because it didn’t give me enough room for the power and PS/2 plugs.

Breaking out the most versatile house item ever, I grabbed two metal clothes hangers for mounting the laptop under my cupboards.

As you can see my LCD ribbon didn't completely fit under the keyboard.

I straightened the hangers and bent them across the keyboard portion of the laptop so they would mount against the laptop with no slack.

I snipped and fashioned the ends into a circle with needle-nose pliers.

After a little careful placement I got the hangers mounted to the board with the laptop underneath.

After that the rest was a breeze. I mounted the board and laptop underneath my cupboards and velcro’d power pack next to it.

So far so good. I’ve been noticing a few bugs here and there, particularly with flash. Sometimes when I switch to on my my items with flash the software would die and I’d have to restart it.

Other then that I’d say this was a pretty successful prototype.

My son playing with our new kitchen kiosk.

Now, if only I had a bathroom-based computer, I could Tweet from the toilet...or maybe not! :-s

Enjoy!! :-)

Via Lifehacker and Bluelinecity.com

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YouTube Hack: Link To The Exact Minutes/Seconds In YouTube Videos

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:26:00 +0000

I know you've all been in this situation before: you're watching a really long YouTube video, when you come across a part that's so epically hilarious, you want to tweet it to all your friends. Alas, that really epic part is about 5 minutes into the damned video, and you're friends would have to watch the whole 5 minutes just to get to the good stuff. Well, maybe you could let them know the exact time where the video starts getting good. But then they'd have to open the video, pause it, wait for it to load, and then move the progress slider on the player to the right part. By the time they've done all that, they'll be so pissed at you that they'll just block you on Twitter...okay, maybe not, but I'm sure they'll be pretty annoyed. If only there was an easier way! Well, you're in luck, because there is an easier way and I'm going to teach you just how to do it. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't? :-)

While listening to the Geek News Central podcast last night, Todd Cochrane (the host) mentioned a great little tip he had come across on how to link to the exact minutes/seconds in a YouTube video. How is it done? Well, let's say you're watching the YouTube video of the girl who falls off the platform while crushing grapes, located here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKhZ8l1n8A

But, you only want your friends to start watching the video from where it starts picking up steam, which is at about 43 seconds in. By adding the following #t=??m??s (replace the question marks (?) with the actual minutes and seconds) to the end of the URL, when anyone clicks on that link, they'll be taken to that exact point in the YouTube video. So, using the "crushing grapes" example above, we would add #t=00m43s (i.e. oo minutes, 43 seconds) to the end of our URL to get:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKhZ8l1n8A#t=00m43s

Pretty neat huh? Enjoy all! :-)

Via Geek News Central Podcast, ResearchBuzz, and Matt Cutts

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WTF! Wednesday: Big Pimpin' The ShamWow Way

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:54:00 +0000

WTF! Wednesday is a post where I will share a gadget, service, website, hack, picture, or anything else I find during the week that makes me stop whatever I'm doing and say WTF! This week's WTF! Wednesday candidate is:

Vince Shlomi (aka the ShamWow Guy) was arrested last month in Miami for "beating up a prostitute." Yes, the ShamWow Guy decided to lay the ol' pimp hand down on a hooker he had taken back to his $750 room, after she "bit his tongue and would not let go." This is what Shlomi looked like after the hooker bit him:

Being the "sweet guy" that he is -- are you following me, camera guy?! -- Shlomi gave the hooker a ShamPow or two. This is what she looked like after Shlomi got through with her:

Hmmmm...I wonder how many ShamWows it took to clean up that little gruesome mess? :-s

WTF, ShamWow Guy...WTF?!?!

Via Gawker and The Smoking Gun

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Macro Photography Tips: Homemade Macro Photography Box On The Cheap

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Over the past few of months, I've featured a number of digital camera hacks, that have hopefully helped to improve your photographic skills. Some of these hacks included:

Well, when I came across today's hack over on Hack N Mod, I knew I had to share it with guys. Today's hack will not only help improve your photography, it will also save you a couple hundred bucks...which I'm guessing is a good thing! ;-)

Macro photography involves taking close-up pictures of various objects -- sort of like the "extreme close-ups" on Wayne's World, only with digital cameras -- to show incredible detail, even on the tiniest of subjects. To take these pictures, professional photographers "typically [use] thousands of dollars worth of hardware," but even a "mid-range amateur camera is actually capable of extremely good macro shots." The problem isn't with the camera itself, the problem is in the "lighting and environmental factors". So, how can we eliminate the guess work from our macro photography? By building a macro-photographic box we can control any environmental and lighting issues we might have. How do we do that? Well according to Hack N Mod:

What we need to do is create a closed environment with controlled but relatively bright light. Have a good light source already, you can build it almost for free.

To create our macro environment, we’ll be using a cardboard box, cutting out its sides, sticking some tracing paper or “rice” paper in the holes, and that’s actually about it. I started out with a 14×14x18 cardboard box. I chose these dimensions because mainly this was the box I had at home, but also because while my subjects aren’t that big, I like to have room to play around with the objects themselves, and some shadow-casting.

You may also enjoy:

Instant DIY Camera Tripod on the Go

Once you have your box, whip out a knife or a razor, and start cutting. First of all, lay the box in its side, and cut off one side almost completely, leaving about 2 inches on each side (see bootom of box in the image). On all other sides we will be cutting windows, leaving 2 inches on each side, but we are removing this side completely. The purpose of this, is to enable you to put your macro box over your subject, rather than putting your subject in.

Once you’ve removed the side, you can start to cut the windows on the other sides. Remember not to remove the whole sides, just cut a rectangle out of each. I left 2 inches all round, but if you have a very sturdy box you can go with less. If you want, you keep the flaps which were at the top of the box (these are now on the side). They can be used for light control, but I’m not such a professional, they just got in my way, so I heartlessly cut them off.

All that is left to do is to stick some tracing paper over the windows. I used some black masking tape to finish the job as you can see on the pic, however, I only stuck it along the top for each window. I used pins to hold the other end in place initially. My idea was to paint shapes on the paper and experiment with lighting like that. In the end some interesting stuff came out of it all, but finally I taped it all around and kept it white.
The last piece of the puzzle is the one thing you might have to pay for, a light source. Apparently you can use a bright light, but I never got exactly the results I wanted. It was still pretty good, but you really should get a better light source. You can buy some appropriate lights for around $20 - $30 on ebay, the best would actually be a manual flash. I am actually in the processes of trying to find a good light source, and I really want two, coming from both sides.

Great tip guys! Enjoy everyone!! :-)

Via Hack N Mod

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Linux Laptop Multi-Touch Gestures Hack

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Well, I did the whole Windows thing when I posted a few hacks on how to increase the speed of your PC and how to optimize your Windows computer's performance in 5 minutes or less. Then I decided to go all Mac on your asses with a MacBook anti-theft alarm hack and 11 more cool MacBook SMS hacks. So, what's the logical next step? Yup, we're taking this to the terminal and hacking it up Linux style!

As I was perusing (it's a word!) the latest posts on the Lifehacker site, I came across a hack I knew I just had to share with you guys. It involves setting up multi-touch finger gestures on a Linux powered laptop. Ravi from the Ubuntu Snippets blog has posted a nifty code, that allows Linux laptop owners to do many of the same finger gestures you can on the iPhone and Mac laptops. Lifehacker notes that although this particular code was written for the Ubuntu 8.10 operating system, it "would likely work for other modern Linux distributions."

So, how can you set up multi-touch finger gestures on your Linux laptop? Head on over to the Ubuntu Snippets blog and simply copy & paste the code into a new terminal file, restart, and enjoy that Linux multi-touch goodness! Enjoy!! :-)

Via Lifehacker and Ubuntu Snippets

Photo by franchesca_rauchi.

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MacBook SMS Hacks: 11 Bad-Ass Cool MacBook Hacks

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:40:00 +0000

Well, don't say I didn't warn you! I told you I was going to "Mac things up" around here, when I did the post about the MacBook anti-theft alarm hack, and Mac-ing it up is exactly what I'm going to do. Today, I'm going to share with you, eleven (yes 11) more MacBook (MB, Pro, and Air) hacks that uses the same built-in Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS) that we utilized for our anti-theft alarm hack.

Jeffry Thurana (the same Jeffry Thurana from the last MacBook hack), wasn't satisfied with merely explaining how to use a MacBook's SMS to set up an anti-theft alarm. Hell no! The dude wrote a whole new article for MakeUseOf.com, on not one, but eleven more MacBook SMS hacks. Jeffry admits that although these hacks are bad-ass cool (my words), some of them are completely useless. But, come on, we all know that "bad-ass coolness" trumps usefulness any day! ;D

So, what are these eleven MacBook SMS hacks and how can we use them? Well, according to Jeffry:

MacSaber

Geek will be geek. This is the proof. One of the first (and most popular) hacks of SMS is turning the Mac into some kind of Jedi’s light saber. If you swing your Mac around, it will produce the sound of the saber.

There’s nothing productive about this app, but it’s fun to use in front of others – especially Windows users. It will raise your geekiness degree several levels up.

Liquid Mac

Imagine your Macbook as an empty aquarium, then fill it with colorful liquids, tilt the laptop to different side and angle and watch the liquid move accordingly.

That, my friend, is the simple explanation of what this app will do. It’s pretty useless and serves nothing more than a means to show off – and maybe to check whether the SMS feature of your Macbook is working. But you have to admit it’s very cool.

Skip Checker

I could say that this app is some kind of customizable control of anything utilizing the SMS feature. Be sure to do the calibration before using it.

It comes with a built in function of “smack your Mac to skip iTunes song”, but advanced users can utilize this small app for almost unlimited functions. Go to the Advanced tab and adjust the “threshold” sliders to your sensitivity preference, then write any script you want this app to do when the threshold limit is reached. Click the Active check box to activate it. One possible useful idea is to set the script to do up-down-left-right (and maybe page up and page down button) according to the set condition.

The cool thing about this app is that the user can save one set combination of script actions and then create another. The not-so-cool thing is that scripting is not for everyday users. It would be more convenient if the developer would provide drop-down option boxes instead.

SeisMac

Have you ever thought of turning your Macbook into a seismograph? Well, with SeisMac you can. I personally could not find any useful use for this app, but maybe people who live in an area with lots of earthquakes can.

The developer suggests it for classroom use and I couldn’t agree more. It’s fun to see which student can stomp the floor hardest. ☺

Carpenter’s Level

Human eyes can be deceiving. Sometimes what we see and what is the actual condition can be two very different things. That’s why a simple task like placing a picture on the wall could be very difficult. You need a carpenter’s level to do that, or – with a little help from this dashboard widget - your MacBook is also fit for the task.

Smackbook Pro & Slapbook for Virtue Desktop

Smackbook - another early adopter of SMS - is an example of the clever use of the feature to switch between different virtual desktops by “gently” smacking the side of the monitor. It uses Virtue Desktop (no longer in active development) as the virtual desktop.

Later on, Smackbook was picked up by another developer and turned into Slapbook. However, the development has been stagnant for a few years (the latest release is dated back to May 25th 2006).
It would be nice to see the version that works with Spaces.

Note: To download Slapbook, you need to register yourself first in the forum.

Other SMS applications

My research on SMS points to Amit Singh as one of the first developers who explored the possibilities of the feature. He wrote a lengthy explanation of using Sudden Motion Sensor as a human interface device. There are five applications related to SMS in his website:

SMSRotateD

the Sudden Motion Sensor as a screen rotation trigger for automatic screen orientation based on a notebook’s physical orientation (portrait or landscape). This application is limited for several use only and not working well on my Macbook.

AMS2HID

the Sudden MotionSensor as a human interface device. You can read the usage explanation from the webpage. It’s too long to describe here.

AMSTracker

retrieving data from the Sudden Motion Sensor.

AMSVisualizer

a 3D visualization of the Sudden Motion Sensor.

StableWindow

a window that counters motion.

Have fun guys...but be careful with that MacSaber app! My MacBook nearly slipped out of my hands when I was playing around with that one! :-o

Via MakeUseOf.com

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Homemade Unicycle Hack With Built-In Training Wheels

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:46:00 +0000

When you were a kid, did you ever wish that you could just run away and join the circus? Did you ever long to be the daring young man (or woman) on the flying trapeze, the goofy clown riding around on that crazy looking unicycle, or maybe even the brave lion tamer who sticks his head inside the lions mouth? I'm sure most of us have had this dream at some point in our lives, but very few of us have ever actually followed through on the fantasy. Maybe it was because of our fear of heights, maybe it was our lack of balance, or maybe we just didn't like the smell of lions breath. Whatever our reasons, we decided to play it safe and stay at home. But, in the back of our minds and in the deepest recesses of our inner child's psyche, we have always wondered if we could have done it...if we could have joined the circus!

Although, there's no way for us to know for certain if we could have made it in the circus, there is a way for us to bring the fun of the circus into our adult lives, without seriously injuring ourselves in the process. So, how do we do it? Well, for this hack we'll need a bar stool, a long leather whip, and a large ferocious lion...okay, I'm totally kidding, but how cool would that hack have been? :D

Today's hack, although not quite as daring as the lion tamer hack, is just as fun! Today we're going to learn how to make a unicycle for all us "balance-challenged" individuals. bdring from the Instructables site has posted an awesome hack on how to make a homemade unicycle with built-in training wheels, which he has dubbed the "Universe Cycle." bdring's homemade unicycle is made from a little plywood, some steel pipes, and a few screws and nuts. The total build time for his unicycle hack was about 2 hours (not including decorating) and cost only $18! That's definitely a small price to pay, both to your spare time and to your wallet, for countless hours of family fun! :-)

So, how did he make his homemade unicycle? Well, according to bdring:

step 1: Parts List
3/4" Plywood. A little more than 3 sq.ft.
2x6. About 24" long
1/2 NPT Steel Pipe. 2 pieces @ 8" long.
1/2 NPT Steel Pipe Flange qty 4
1/4-20 x 1" Flat head screws qty 16
1/4-20 Nuts (I used T-Nuts) qty 16

Cost To Build. I had everything except the plumbing parts which were about $18.
Duration: About 2 hours not including the decorating time.

step 2: Pedal Assembly
Put one flange on each end of an 8" x 1/2 NPT steel pipe. Tighten as tight as you can.
Measure the width of the exposed pipe to determine the proper pedal width. Mine measured about 7.00"

I made each pedal out of two pieces because my drill was not long enough to go all the through and I was worried about keeping the hole straight through such a long length.

Rip the 2 x 6 to half the pedal width on a table saw. Subtract about 1/16" more for clearance.

Cut into (4) 4" long pieces.

Mark the center of each piece on the 4" x 1-1/2" face and drill through 7/8" Dia.

Glue the pedals together with the holes lined up.

Clamp and set aside to dry.

step 3: Wheels
Cut (3) 12" diameter circles out of 3/4" plywood.

I used my homebuilt CNC router, so I added some extra details. A jigsaw or bandsaw would work just as well.

Place a flange on the wheels to to mark for drilling the attachment holes. The center of the flange is located 3.5" below the wheel center. The (2) outside wheels require (1) flange pattern and the center wheel needs it on both sides of the wheel.

Optional: Use a round over router bit around both outside edges of each wheel. This will make it look a little better and limit the chipping of the edge as it is used.

step 4: Final Assembly
Assemble the pedals onto the pipe and attach the flanges. Tighten the flanges as tight as you can, but make sure the mounting holes are oriented correctly for the wheels.

I was worried about this coming loose so I added a few tack welds from the backs of the flanges. Epoxy would probably work as well.

Attach the pedal assemblies to the wheels using the screws and T-Nuts. You could probably use standard hex nuts or woods screws.

step 5: Decorate
I finished mine with some cabernet stain and clear spar varnish.

I routed a diamond plate pattern into the pedals, rounded the edges and painted them black.

step 6: Ride.
Be careful. Wear a helmet and wrist guards.

While it is quite intimidating to get on the first time, it is easier than it looks to ride. I am upper 40s and have never successfully ridden a unicycle (yet) and I was able to figure this out in about 10 minutes without a single crash to the ground.

Start along a handrail or ledge where you can steady yourself. Set the pedals with one high and one low (6 and 12 o'clock). Step on the low pedal first. Then step onto the high pedal, while keeping more weight on the low pedal to keep it from moving. Now slowly roll forward until the pedals are even (3 & 9 o'clock). Now try to pedal forward. Avoid stopping at the 6 & 12 position at first because you have the least control there. Try to keep a little pressure on the rising pedal. This will limit the speed and jerkiness.

If you feel like you are going to fall, step off with the high foot first. The lower foot will rotate the cycle a little, but it gets pretty stable. It does not turn sideways well, but you can usually get it to rotate on smooth ground.

The video is my daughter's first successful run across the garage. She is quite good at it now. [CLICK PICTURE BELOW FOR VIDEO]

Awesome homemade unicycle hack bdring! Enjoy all!! :-)

Via Instructables

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MacBook Anti-Theft Alarm Hack

thedailyhack@gmail.com (C. Flowers) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:09:00 +0000

Well, seeing since I've been featuring a lot of Windows/PC hacks lately, I thought it was high time I Mac things up a bit. So, today we're going to learn how to set up an anti-theft alarm on our MacBooks!

I'm sure most of you are aware that you can rotate the display of an iPhone simply by turning the iPhone to one side or the other. This is made possible by the iPhone's built-in Accelerometer, which senses the movement of the iPhone and adjusts the display accordingly. But, the Accelerometer isn't an iPhone-only tool, it's also a built-in feature on all Mac laptops (i.e. the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air) but is called Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS) on the Mac's. It's this SMS feature along with a program called JackSMS that allows us to set up our Mac's anti-theft alarm.

So, how do we set up our Mac anti-theft alarm? Well, according to Jeffry Thurana's article on MakeUseOf.com:

The first time JackSMS is opened; it will automatically display the Preferences screen. Here users can set several things according to their preferences.

Some of the settings are:

Whether to launch the app automatically at every login
Whether to set the sound every time the application is on or off.
If user uses Apple Remote control, choose which button of the Apple Remote Control to use to activate/deactivate the app.
Adjust the sensitivity of SMS and the duration of the alarm.

There are some special settings to choose to be implemented when the alarm goes off:

1. Send mobile text. Only applicable for US mobile numbers.

2. Email picture captured by iSight, to help you identify the thief.

Anytime you need to reconfigure, the Preferences is accessible through the menubar icon.

JackSMS also comes with sample AppleScript and PhoneEvents script for Salling Clicker and BluePhoneElite.

Very cool! Enjoy all!! :-)

Via MakeUseOf.com

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