The iPhone screen is capacative, meaning that it requires your finger to complete a circuit in order to work. So, by sewing some conductive thread in small patches on the fingers of your gloves (a circle of about 1/4" or 6mm in diameter is recommended) and larger patches on the inside area of the fingertip, you should be able to use your touchscreen with an acceptable degree of accuracy.

Still, I have to imagine that this modification would be useless on anything other than tight-fitting gloves. The thick gloves that actually keep your hands warm would be far too bulky. [Instructables via Lifehacker]

Check out the Instructables guide for details on how to hollow out light bulbs and build the necessary stands without cutting up your hands. There are even some bonus light bulb projects on there.

Now, how about a few "How many ___ does it take to change a light bulb" jokes before you run off to DIY? [Instructables]

The shake-to-erase action works because of a hidden mercury switch which detects movement and you don't really need to worry about the hard drive since this project kinda destroys your screen. [Project Lab via Make]

The original 1.2GHz Core 2 Solo U2200 processor (which was soldered in place) has been swapped with a 1.33GHz Core 2 Duo overclocked to 1.438GHz. And the 48GB SSD is replaced with a fast RunCore ProIV 128GB SSD. Amazingly, the battery life is said to be pretty much the same.

It's a pretty involved mod, but it's a hackintosh I'd definitely like to take for a spin. That 4.5-inch touchscreen doesn't look too bad, either. [MicroPCTalk via UMPC Portal via SlashGear]

Chumby Guts are available for $139 and include everything you need to construct a Frankenstein's monster version of the gadget. [Maker Shed]

Using a hacked Powermat, this plank of wood becomes a full capable inductive charger. Why do I find this so superior to the original product? Most tables are built from wood, and this technique would allow a tabletop, with no special gimmicks on top, to charge your gadgets.

And it's the potential for passive, seamless integration that makes inductive charging so attractive to me, not just the lack of plugs. [Instructables via CrunchGear]

Maximum PC's how-to uses 3D picture synchronization software called StereoData Maker, a nonvolatile firmware update based on the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK).

You'll then need to build a mounting rig, and use a small enclosure (such as an Altoids tin) to make a simple USB switch remote. Free software called StereoPhoto Maker is used for post-processing. And yeah, you'll still need a pair of red/cyan glasses. Still, it looks like fun. Full instructions at: [Maximum PC]

Unlike traditional GPS, RTK-GPS doesn't measure the delay between its signal and the the signal received by a satellite—instead it measures the shorter wavelengths in the satellite's carrier signal. This can mean accuracies within one centimeter, but there are difficulties with aligning signals with RTK, and the need for multiple receivers makes the technology impractical for navigation. This is why the technology is most widely used in land surveying. If you would like to tinker around with one yourself, full instructions are available on the project page. [Project Page via Make]

Of course, that means you wouldn't have to sit staring at a wall or a TV while exercising—you could virtually travel down roads anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the design needs some tinkering to be really usable—but it's a fantastic concept that's really worth pursuing. If there was a commercial product that got this right, I would probably be all over it. Hit the following link to learn how to do something like this at home. [Bako via Make]

In a Skittles array of colors, the Big Shot's actually designed to be put together and taken apart again, unlike real cameras, and it's aimed squarely at kids, developed by Columbia University's Computer Vision Lab. It's actually a fairly sophisticated kit in some ways—the really unique component of the Big Shot, the lens wheel, contains three different lenses and viewfinder stencils—and it has a crank for manual, battery-less power.

It's not for sale yet, because it's still in final testing, but I'm really excited to what this thing can do—for digital lomography, it could be more popular with hipsters than kids. [Big Shot via Make]

A project of Garnet Hertz of the Pasadena Art Center College of Design, this is a classic OutRun arcade cabinet that's been placed on an EVT America Electric Trike with electric motors that can go up to a whopping 20MPH.

Check out the below video to see a bit more about how this thing will work.

[ConceptLab via Jalopnik]

Here we modify battered, crappy cars—like this 1988 Oldsmobile Delta—in just four weeks using "a few motors, potentiometers, a Compact RIO embedded controller, and LabVIEW," which get connected to the iPhone using Wi-Fi. And then we strip out the doors for fun. And we ride it on top of its roof. Hopefully to an In-n-Out drive-in. Would you like to do it yourself? Your lucky day, Mad Max. Here's a video tutorial:

And if that wasn't enough, you can also drive it using a modded Power Wheels truck. America, I salute you. [Engineer Awesome via LikeCool]

The DIY design is the brainchild of Aydogan Ozcan, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and member of the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. He did it all with some software he wrote and about $10 in off-the-shelf parts, reports the New York Times.

There's actually no lens to speak of, as the magnification is handled entirely by software, holograms and electronics. This, Ozcan says, is what's at the heart of the device's portability and affordability. Better still, this means that a future system based on this design could have the ability to diagnose and research even better than a traditional microscope in the field. Said Bahram Jalali, an applied physicist and professor of electrical engineering at U.C.L.A in an interview with the New York Times, the beauty of the design is in its lack of mechanical scanning.

"Instead you capture holograms of all the cells on the slide digitally at the same time," he said to the Times. This makes it possible to "immediately see pathogens among a vast population of healthy cells." [New York Times]

An accelerometer tied to a touchscreen. Why not, right? Seems like a logical progression after we saw this tiny tot of a netbook hacked to serve as a stylus-driven tablet.

It's no Courier, certainly, but as far as cheap, functional touchscreen tablets go, it's not half bad.

Update: Apologies to the creator, Brian, who wrote us with the original link for this post. I've since updated with the correct link, so go check it out! - j.l. [My Dell Mini Forums via Gadget Mix]

The main bottleneck in any NAS is the RAID engine. Since many NAS units don't include a dedicated controller, oftentimes the speed of the drive just doesn't matter. If you're using a blazing-fast hardware RAID card in your own custom built setup, then drive speed might make a difference. But for most consumer units, the controller is the bottleneck.

With that in mind, you can go with slower 5400 RPM drives that reduce power consumption, generate less heat, and will likely cost less up front too. Even if you have a dedicated RAID card that could let a 7200 RPM drive do it's thing at full speed, I'd consider the benefits of low-power drives to outweigh the marginal speed increase you might see.

This chart shows the difference between Samsung 7200 and 5400 RPM drives in various RAID configurations:

Not much, right? So think twice before you drop more than necessary on 7200 RPM drives for your backup unit. Check out the link for the full test rundown. [Tom's Hardware]

The first test was caught on tape, and despite issues with a broken meter, the device managed to crush the hell out of that soda can. In fact, it was so powerful that the power transformer shorted out and the diode was "blown to bits". Interesting, but not quite as manly as it could be. I'm waiting to see someone build a crusher that smashes a can flat on a dummy's skull. [Bob Davis via Gadget Lab]

Basically you're cramming a Bluetooth module and a microcontroller into a toy Communicator and then pairing everything with your phone. As long as you've got voice dialing, you can leave your phone out of sight and be the snazziest Trekkie on the streets. Just don't come crying to me if someone stuffs you into a locker, trashcan, or wormhole. [Make]

The instructions are actually pretty thorough and explain everything you need to know about running CAT 5e or CAT 6 cables through your home, walls, and attic without making a horrid mess, but please don't blame me if you somehow manage to destroy something anyway. [Instructables via Lifehacker]

As you can see in the video, all that you really need to do is smoothly stroke the bezel with the rough (usually green) scrubbing surface of a kitchen sponge. This'll make the scratches blend in by creating a more brushed look. Just don't forget to use masking tape to protect the rest of the phone and it's the simplest cosmetic surgery you'll ever do.

While I don't know how my iPhone will cope with losing his manly bezel battle scars, I do know that he'll at least look far more handsome again. Is anyone joining me in using this trick? [Just Another iPhone Blog via Lifehacker]

We've seen this guy's work before, but nothing actually produced such a controlled flame or came with building instructions as detailed as Everett Bradford's new Prometheus Device. And while I know that Pyro technically controls fire rather than actually making it, short of mutant genetics, this project is as close as we'll get. And it's damn awesome. [Prometheus via Make]

Steve Hoefer's secret knock detector is little more than a piezo speaker, a tiny gear reduction motor, an Arduino and some PVC pipe—basically a bunch of stuff he had lying around the lab. It works by keeping track of the time between a pattern of successive knocks. It's probably not the most secure way to lock a door, but Hoefer notes that there is a lot of room for improvement on this design. Besides making it small enough to actually fit in a doorknob, you could program it to accept a variety of knock patterns, including different knocks at different times of the day. Hit the link for instructions on how to build one yourself. [Grathio via Make]

The first step was to model his face in 3D Studio Max. After overlaying a wireframe, he added textures in Mudbox 2010 and Photoshop CS3, before using software called Pepakura to break the model up into printable sections. The effect is genuinely impressive, and he's posted a full run-down on the process: [Eric Testroete via Adam Savage and Kotaku]

All the instructions, from how to build the firing mechanism to the open source control software, are available on the site below and while the video clip leaves a bit to be desired for lack of an actual gun (water or otherwise), I still think this is one kickass project. I can't wait to build one and duck while it shoots paintballs at anything that moves. [Sentry Gun via Boing Boing]

James' MENACE (Matchbox Educable Noughts And Crosses Engine) is based on a manual machine learning concept from back in the 1960s, and frankly I'm not really surprised that I've never heard of it before. The idea behind the "machine" is that the 19,683 possible Tic-Tac-Toe board layouts are condensed into a mere 304 (due to how many are "rotationally identical") and a selection process for moves is put in place. The best part, of course, is that the machine "learns" as the operator adds beans for winning moves and thereby provides indication as to what has worked in the past.

It's a pretty neat low-tech idea, but I think I'll still stick to playing a human opponent instead of a bunch of matchboxes. [Flickr via Short Term Memory Loss via Boing Boing]

Here's how it works in a nutshell:

- light sensors read the falling notes (brightness set to max)
- light data is sent to an Arduino Mega, which is monitoring for data spikes
- The Arduino filters the data, and sets a threshold for "on" and "off"
- an "on" means the tiny robot finger presses the screen
- the capacitive touchscreen requires a human touch to operate, so a rudimentary Xacto knife/copper wire workaround was created. Simply hold the knife while the robot plays, and the current is enough to trick the iPhone

The code is available for download, should you want to help the robots spread their lifeless 87% accuracy music around the globe. Update: You're right, eagle-eyed commenters. The result is in fact 87%. We're safe! [OhBowz via Boing Boing]

Built using a pair of old PCs, some fishing wire, inkjet printer motors, spools and little lander models. You use a wheel to control where the lander is and a button to control the rockets, aiming your lander to its ideal landing position on the moon's surface. It only cost him $800 to build, and it'd be an impressive creation if it cost twice that. [PopSci]

It runs C on an Axon microcontroller. It uses all digital servos and can lift over twice its body weight. The software (soon to be given out open source) allows for 6 synchronous degrees of motion. Future additions will include foot sensors and a remote control option.

Based on that info, and other nuggets gleaned from the Trossen Robotics forums, you might be able to have a bot of your own ready for next year. Or, better yet, put a Santa head on top of that thing and march it out in the living room on Christmas morning. Your kids are sure to have suppressed memories of it that will bubble up to the surface years and years from now causing a dramatic and crippling meltdown. Priceless. [Trossen via DIY Drones via Boing Boing]

Of course, looking at these videos it is plain to see the Mr. Wake is a moron. I'm pretty sure I could capture him even when my eyes are half open and I'm stumbling around the room. Still, it's a good proof of concept. Perhaps you can use Vadim Ryazanov's notes on the build to make Mr. Wake more elusive—although I have no earthly idea why you would want to torture yourself like this. [Let's Make Robots via Make]

Which isn't to say I won't totally do this when I have a few spare minutes, because when you get to thinking about it, this is pretty great: our host in the video doesn't show off anything more than Google Street View. But imagine using this hobo helmet with camera-based apps like Wikitude or Layar, or replacing the Magic with an iPhone and loading up the new version of Yelp? Excellent. [Twitter via Slashgear]

Well, at least I would consider 76% accuracy to be pretty great when you need to time kicking a ball and actually manage to hit the right sensor. That and it's better than I score on a regular round of the game to begin with. [YouTube via HacknMod]

Using leverage, this simple device will radically increase your throwing power. Finally, you can deliver messages to your neighbors via notes stuck into their doors with a spear thrown from across the street. That way they'll know you aren't fucking around. [Make via Lifehacker]

"My first observations positively terrified me as there was present in them something mysterious, not to say supernatural, and I was alone in my laboratory at night."
- Nikola Tesla 1901

"The sounds I am listening to every night at first appear to be human voices conversing back and forth in a language I cannot understand. I find it difficult to imagine that I am actually hearing real voices from people not of this planet. There must be a more simple explanation that has so far eluded me."
- Nikola Tesla 1918

Is it science or the supernatural? Check out the video to see what the radio is capable of and, if your are so inclined, build one and decide for yourself. Needless to say, this would be a hit at a Halloween party. Hit the link for a complete set of instructions. [Instructables]

The picture above is a crashed UFO prop, complete with chasing LED lights.

Or there are the "ghost sliders," where you attach a set of casters to kneepads in order to drift across pavement like a ghost. This is dangerous. Don't blame me when you end up eating asphalt instead of candy and get your jaw wired shut.

There are hundreds of projects at the link. Check it out if you need something to keep you occupied this weekend. [Make]

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is in an uproar about the things people are doing in their bathrooms. It's not that those surgeons are just worried about losing money on procedures, they're bound to gain clients from all the DIY messups anyway, but they appear genuinely concerned about regulations and safety. And I agree, because somehow former Gizmodo intern Benny Goldman letting the Jezebel team cajole him into a bikini wax doesn't seem so insane when you read about people ordering Botox from websites called Discount MedSpa and putting videos of their DIY injections onto YouTube (Warning: the clip may make you cringe).

We all like to look pretty, but there are safer ways to get rid of hair, folks! And somehow it's better to have wrinkles than order Botox from a website that looks like it was made in Microsoft Word. [Wired]