I’ve considered modding some of my old laptops before, maybe adding stickers or sport a new custom paint job. But this guy DRILLED through his laptop case with a sanding bit, installed a couple of LEDs, and then covered it up with the clear acrylic from a CD jewel case before gluing it all together with silicon glue!

Taking things further, here’s a steampunk laptop mod from Datamancer.

The brass key turns on the laptop. Awesome!

This got me inspired to live a little and try modding some of my own stuff. The Ubuntu logo sure would like nice on Koji, and it would look extra big for that netbook too! What do you think? What mod should I do? Hit the comments.:)

So I got my brains out of the drawer, dusted it off, and started using it a bit, and thought up of a cheap, simple, and really easy-to-do but very elegant solution! The philosophy behind it? Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Things We Need:

• IR LED
• LED Keylight
• Small screwdriver
• Long-nose pliers
• Wire cutter

First step is to go to your nearest electronics store and buy an IR LED. Then get yourself to the nearest flea market (like Divisoria) or dollar store (over here and in Japan, we have Daiso, which is where I got this). Buy one of those small LED keychain lights.

The reason I bought this particular type is:

1. The LED is immediately visible
2. It has ONLY ONE LED
3. As shown on the back of the box, it is EASY to replace the regular LED without any “hacking”.

NOTE: It is also possible to buy an LED flashlight from the dollar store and convert it into an IR flashlight. It’s use and application, however, is different from this IR “lightpen” tutorial. Also, depending on the flashlight you buy, you might need a hell of a lot more IR LEDs.

Before our mod, this is how the LED keylight shines: with a nice, bright white LED light.

According to the instructions on the back, you simply unscrew the four tiny screws at the back housing openand the housing comes apart. There are two CR2016 3V batteries sandwiched between the legs of the LED. Once you get the keylight housing open, removing them is as simple as plopping them down onto your palm.

Note that the white LED’s legs are bent into a certain shaped and cut to a certain length. The spacing of the legs is just enough so that the batteries are not in contact with both legs at the same time. There are also grooves in the housing to prevent the LED from moving around too much, and that’s also why the legs are cut to size. You want to shape and cut the IR LED’s legs to match as closely as possible to the original. Use a pair of long-nose pliers and wire cutter.

The final step is to test if our creation is working. Since the IR LED is emitting infrared, which isn’t in the visible spectrum, you’re going to need to use your webcam or a digicam to see if it’s working or not. Here is a shot of the IR keylight using my phone’s camera.

So there you have it! An IR LED light tutorial that’s easy on the pockets and very professional-looking without you needing to break a sweat (or any tools). What are we gonna use it for? Stay tuned, we’re gonna get to that next time!

Concept art by Andree Wallin

The third open movie, Sintel, is coming out really soon and is in its last few weeks of development. Like the first two open movies, it is being produced by the Blender Foundation, inviting the best talents to work on it for six months in Amsterdam and introduces several more improvements to the Blender software. As an open movie, the guys creating it are not restricted as with commercial movies and have all the creative freedom they could have to create it. This time around, the third open movie will be an epic, action-adventure short movie set in a fictional fantasy setting.

Video of their intro video at the Blender Conference after the jump

Blender Conference Intro Video from Project Durian on Vimeo.

Big Buck Bunny

How Much Is That Bunny in the Window?

Meanwhile, as I was looking for the SM/Nokia dropbox where I could dispose my old batteries, I was surprised to see Big Buck Bunny looping on some monitors of a computer store window. Not that I don’t want them to show it there, it’s great that they are. It’s just that Big Buck Bunny has been out for almost a year and a half now…

For those of you who also have no idea about Big Buck Bunny, it’s the second open movie project by the Blender Foundation after Elephants Dream (see To the (Open) Movies).

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Learn more about Max and the Magic Marker from their official web site.
If you’d like to subscribe to GameTrailers Wii, click on the following button:

If you found this information useful, buy me a coffee.

So for now, I’ll just leave you with an excerpt from late breaking news that Apple is getting sued for iTunes

Internet rights champions have accused Apple of stifling free speech by bullying OdioWorks into ending online sharing of ways to get iPods to work with music websites other than iTunes…

…At the heart of the issue is the BluWiki website that details ways to get Apple’s popular iPhones and iPod MP3 players to synchronize music and video files with media at services such as Songbird, Banshee, Rockbox, and Winamp…

…Apple zealously guards iTunes’ status as an exclusive content delivery and management tool for iPod and iPhone hardware.

“Apple’s legal threats against BluWiki are about censorship, not about protecting their legitimate copyright interests,” said EFF senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann.

Full article at Yahoo!News

All I can say is I’m not surprised and actually expecting it. These days, consumers can no longer be bullied into a monopoly the likes of how Microsoft dominated the 90′s. Personally, I’ve never used iTunes software with my 3rd-gen iPod Nano. As an Ubuntu user, I’ve initialized it in Linux and use Rhythmbox and GTKPod for managing my music and videos. I’ll teach you guys how to do that next time. Till then!

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Earlier, the E-Jeepneys were rolled out onto the streets of Makati, Baguio, and Bacolod, but was prevented from serving as mass transit vehicles by red tape in the Department of Transport and Communication (DOTC) as the guidelines and regulations came only last April 2008. And after that, it was only now that the Land Transportation Office has approved the guidelines, rules, and regulations on registering and issuing license plates for these e-jeeps, and hopefully we too may soon be able to eco-commute via these e-Jeepneys.

Here is the article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer last March 10:

E-Jeeps Now Available Commercially, Set To Invade Metro Streets by Marlon Ramos

The electric-powered passenger jeeps are now available for commercial use.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has finally agreed to issue plate numbers to the e-jeepneys which can now be sold to interested public transport cooperatives and jeepney operators, Yvonne Palomar-Castro, the project director of Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc. (GRIPP), said yesterday.

She added that the development and production of the vehicles were primarily funded by GRIPP and the Dutch group Stitching Doen as part of their “Climate-Friendly Cities” project.

The LTO decided to allow the e-jeeps to operate commercially after GRIPP and Stitching Doen were able to assemble the vehicles locally with the help of Philippine Utility Vehicles, Inc. (PhUV), a local group of car parts manufacturers.

“With the issuance of the LTO license plaes, we assure the road-worthiness and safety of e-jeeps for commercial use, ” Castro said at a press briefing on the project in Taguig City.

“All of us would surely benefit from this project as it would answer our need for mass transport which uses a clean and renewable source of energy,” she added.

Powered by an electric motor with 12 six-volt lead acid batteries, an e-jeep can carry 14 passengers and run 40 to 60 kilometers per hour.

Priced at P625,000, the electric-powered jeepneys are cheaper than diesel-fed ones which now cost at least P700,000, according to Ferdinand Raquelsantos, PhUV president.

(Approx. P50 = $1 as of this writing. P625,000 = $12,500; P700,000 = $14,000)

GRIPP Official Website

This time, we’ll be showing you some great video channels to deck out your Miro player, but before that, I would like to point out that, YES, MIRO HAS A VERSION FOR WINDOWS TOO! And this guide is applicable for either GNU/Linux, MS Windows or Mac OS X.

WebbAlert

WebbAlert

TechTV/G4 X-Play host Morgan Webb gives you news about technology, Internet and gaming squeezed into digestible 5-minute shows 5 days a week, Monday to Friday. Perfect for getting all those tech news quickly, especially when you don’t have much time during the weekdays or when you’re on the go.

National Geographic Wild Chronicles Digital Shorts

National Geographic Wild Chronicles

Embark on an adventure with National Geographic Wild Chronicles. Learn new things about nature and the world around you in bite-sized 10-minute podcasts.

Chase Jarvis Photography

Chase Jarvis Photography

For non-photographers, Chase Jarvis is a very successful lifestyle photographer. For everyone else, what do you mean you don’t know Chase Jarvis?! Though his channel doesn’t get updated very often, but when it does, it’s worth the wait. You’ll get backstage pass to his wonderful shoots in a perfectly-edited video that could be as short as 5-minutes, to a full-featured 30-minute clIp.

There are two feeds available, one is for the higher-res for-Apple-TV channel, and a lower-res for-iPhone/iPod channel.

Hi-res

Lo-res

GameTrailers Wii

GameTrailers Logo

This is where I get my Wii gaming fix. I get a whole slew of videos each day, sometimes more than 10 clips at a time, ranging from trailers, game reviews, developer interviews, game events, and more!

CNet Insider Secrets

CNET Insider Secrets

Get expert tips for topics ranging from rescuing your computer from a crash, to squeezing the juice from your iPhone3G, to tips on buying cars online.

Get All of These Channels

If you want to subscribe to all these channels, click on the following link:

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Miro Video Player

I know a lot of people who love watching videos at YouTube. And among them, there are also plenty who like downloading their favorite videos. The problem though is that YouTube doesn’t freely provide this service. Instead they have to rely on Firefox extensions, download websites (which are either full of ads, possibly virus-laden, or just plain dubious), and other such hacks.

That was how I found Miro. I’ve been using Miro for about a year now, and it has improved over the past year in terms of both usability and stability. But Miro is more than just another YouTube downloader. Advertised as an Internet TV player, it does what it says and does it well.

Downloading YouTube Videos

Downloading Videos

With Miro’s integrated video search feature, you can search videos from YouTube, Daily Motion, Veoh, and other video websites without starting your browser. You then just choose your search results and Miro will start downloading them into your library. I find this feature really nice, especially when downloading a long or large video, when I want to show something to some friends, or when I’m just too busy to watch them immediately. WIth the video in my library, I can load it up anytime at my convenience, whether I’m on the train or relaxing after cooking/eating dinner.

Internet TV with Miro

Viewing The Contents of a Channel

Miro comes with a few default channels and lets you add more channels. There are plenty of channels to choose from the integrated Miro Guide, which offers you some of its recommendations or you can search for a particular interest. Miro uses the open RSS standard for its channels, so it’s compatible with practically all feeds on the internet, including iTunes podcasts.

The beauty of using channels is that you can set it to auto-download New content or All content to download even old videos you haven’t seen yet. For example, I am subscribed to the WebbAlert channel, which offers an almost-daily 5-minute round-up of what’s new on the Internet and computing in general. When I get home and turn on my computer and Miro, it will automatically download new episode(s) if any, for my viewing pleasure, at my own leisure. It’s like turning on your TV to your favorite daily program, only you’re not bound by stiff schedules.

More Cool Features

Video Playback

Miro’s core functionalities are wonderfully complemented by the options that Miro’s intellgent engineers came up with.

Afraid you’ll run out of disk space? That shouldn’t be a problem when using Miro. You can easily set Miro to make sure to leave a gigabyte or two. And if space is a problem, the expire feature comes in very handy. Some people unfamiliar with this concept might be wary at first, but trust me, you’re not going to be watching last week’s podcast episodes anyway. YouTube videos also expire in the default 6 days, but you can choose to keep a video indefinitely by clicking on the “keep” button. Of course, there’s also a “delete” button, in case you downloaded a loser video or this week’s podcast episode just sucks.

Each channel also displays the number of unwatched videos you have, which conveniently turns into a play button when you move your mouse over it, giving you instant access to unwatched content. There’s also a “New” item in the sidebar. Just like the channels, it displays the number of unwatched videos across all your channels and clicking it plays it. By default Miro is set to play all videos consecutively in a section (be it a channel, New, or your library), but if you prefer watching one at a time (like me), you can turn it off in the options.

Miro is available for GNU/Linux, Mac, as well as Windows. Download it now from http://www.getmiro.com

While you’re downloading Miro, click on over here to read more about how Miro does what it does. And if you’re interested in making your own videos or channels for Miro, http://makeinternettv.org is a good resource for information.

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Here is the official list of gear I brought with me:

1. Nikon D200
2. Nikon MB-D200 battery grip
3. Nikon SB-600 Flash
4. 18-135mm lens
5. 28-85mm lens
6. 70-300 lens
7. DicaPac WP-S10 Underwater DSLR pack
8. Cokin P-series filter holder
9. Cokin 58mm adapter ring
10. Cokin 62mm adapter ring
11. Cokin Circular Polarizer
12. Cokin 81B filter
13. Cokin Gradual Grey filter
14. Slik Able-300EX Tripod
15. Kohjinsha SH6 laptop
16. Okion portable optical mouse
17. Nintendo DS (Ok, maybe this doesn’t count with photography, but it’s still tech)
18. Chargers

Note: If you’re wondering why I still brought with me my 28-85mm, it’s because I didn’t have an adapter ring for the 67mm diameter 18-135mm lens.

I had so much gear with me, that in fact I think I had more gear than clothes! Yeah! All these in tow, camera gear…check. Batteries fully-charged…check. Clothes…check. All set to go to beautiful Dos Palmas!

Now for all of you out there, here’s Piece of Advice #1: If you’re going out on a trip like this with this much gear, I advise you to make a checklist; things can get pretty hectic when you’re getting your gear ready and rushing to the airport. In my case, I didn’t have one. And I forgot probably the most important thing in my gear…

…my fully-charged D200 battery!

My first realization of this fact was in the boarding area, when my boss asked me to take a picture, and I gladly obliged. Bringing out my camera, I wondered for a second why the LCD didn’t show the available shots left (it displays even when the D200 is turned off). And I just bumped my head into the D200 (don’t worry, the D200 is tougher than my head), and muttered “ass…” All of those camera gear, and no SLR to use them with!

On the plane, I rejoiced in the fact when I remembered that I brought the MS-D200 battery holder that came with the battery grip. What this savior did was to allow me to put 6 AA batteries into the battery grip as an emergency power source. I found a sari-sari store at the dock just before leaving for Dos Palmas island (after the bus ride from the airport at Puerto Princesa) and bought a couple of batteries for P18 a piece. Piece of Advice #2: Eveready General Purpose batteries (color blue) WILL NOT power up your D200! Even with a fresh batch, they will display as battery low. At the Dos Palmas Tabu-An (their souvenir shop), I bought more alkalines, this time Kodak batteries meant to be used for cameras.

Piece of Advice #3: When operating with limited battery supply, turn off auto-focus, flash, and keep the LCD preview to a minimum. I also turned off the grid display, for good measure, but I don’t think it mattered at all. The Kodaks lasted for around 25 shots. At P270 for 6, it wasn’t going cheap…

Much later, desperate for power, I thought, flash is useless without a camera to use them with. So I salvaged the 4 NiMHs in my SB-600 and borrowed 2 more from a friend. Piece of Advice #4: NiMHs can smoke alkalines, any kind, any day. The NiMHs could shoot through 2 2GB CF cards and still keep on going (I’m still draining them right now, trying to figure out continuous flash shooting).

Much, much later, I realized that the “drained” Kodaks could still power my flash! Doh!

Anyway, head over to www.jplui.com/photos/DosPalmas for the vacation pictures that I managed to take. Enjoy!

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I’ve been looking around for a flat-panel monitor for 6 months, but since I had a long-term assignment in Japan, it would be gathering dust and cobwebs if I had bought one last year. And thank goodness I didn’t! My initial choice was a 19-inch widescreen Samsung. But when I was already about to get one, the store guy recommended that I get this AOC instead, since the price difference was minimal.

Aside from the 19-inch widescreen goodness, the AOC also had a built-in TV tuner and your standard-fare RCA and S-Video inputs, as well as DVI input for a full HDTV experience (if your hardware has it). Of course, it comes with a remote control.

After trying it out at the store, I was pretty much convinced. After all, I didn’t have a TV in my room (my old TV was brought down to the living room). So now, not only do I have a space-saving flat-panel monitor for my PC, I can also play with my Wii from the comfort of my room! Plus the fact that I could pay for it slowly for 6 months through my credit card.

Another cool thing is the picture-in-picture (PIP) function; it allows me to use it as a monitor AND watch TV at the same time (click picture to enlarge)! Sweet.

Update: Today, less than 2 weeks later, my girlfriend got herself one of her own.:)

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