Doc writes -
The World Yo-Yo Contest gets bigger and better every year. The event is split into several different categories, but one of my favorite divisions the World Mod Contest. In this division, competitors do their best to create the most unique entries either from scratch or from existing yo-yo tech. Check out S.Kon’s Nostalgia, an amazing recreation of a spoked classic car wheel.
Yo-Yo modifying contest – Link.
Jeff writes -
Neodymics Cyclemotor is a self contained powered wheel designed to instantly replace the front wheel of any standard bicycle. Prototype is powered at 72 volts by four unmodified Dewalt nanophosphate packs using a reverse engineered drill speed control and optical relays.
Neodymics Cyclemotor electric bike conversion kit – Link.
Windows only: Freeware application Adobe Reader SpeedUp selectively removes Reader plugins to speed up load times of the notoriously slow PDF application. Granted, most of us left Adobe Reader long ago in favor of Foxit Reader, or even the keyboard-navigator Sumatra, but for those of you who need Adobe Reader for whatever reason, Adobe Reader SpeedUp should go a long way toward a faster Reader. You can either choose one of SpeedUp’s suggested tweaks (like Fast or Turbo) or do some experimentation on your part as to what you can and can’t disable. Adobe Reader SpeedUp is freeware, Windows only.
TOUCHPAD HACK – How to transform a touchpad into a useful mini graphics tablet with some simple everyday items
For a complete video please visit
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/777196/2_mini_graphics_tablet/
Making the pen step 1
Get yourself a long phillips head screw. This will simulate the tab…
By: biink
Bruce writes in -
Dear MAKE, I got turned on to Make at the TED (Technolgy Entertainment Design) convention and I just love your magazine. I am a metal sculptor from Los Angeles, and am fascinated by all the great articles in Make. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of my creations, as we enjoy the same kind of things..
Kinetic art, metal sculpture by Bruce Gray – Link.
The default desktop environment for Linux users, Gnome, is fast, organized and very easy to learn. But Gnome is also very powerful and highly customizable. Today’s top 10 lists the various ways you can tweak Nautilus and the Gnome desktop to turn Linux into a productivity powerhouse.
10. Re-theme Root Applications
9. Disable Trackpad While Typing
8. Copy and Paste Without Using the Gnome Clipboard
7. Hide KDE Apps From the Gnome Menus
6. Smooth your fonts (Ubuntu Feisty specific)
5. Embed the Terminal in the Desktop
4. Change Gnome Menus to use PCMan File Manager
3. Supercharge Your Right-Click Menu
2. Do Even More with Nautilus
1. Speed up Gnome MenusSometimes, 10 is just barely enough. A couple of items from the Top 10 Gnome desktop tweaks list’s cutting room floor include:
What is your favorite Gnome tweak? What did I miss? Tell all in the comments.
Here’s a two-part video that will teach you how to easily do a massive smoke hand grenade using sugar, baking soda, organic dye and saltpeter, all common elements that anyone could buy. The first part above shows you how to do the grenade itself, while the second part after the jump show you how to do the fuse using matches, tape and a paper clip.
And remember, once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Red Smoke towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it. [Metacafe]
Want to include a YouTube clip into your PowerPoint presentation that you’ll be giving offline? Hit this nine-minute video to see how. Use the Video Downloader to save the clip to your hard drive and the free SUPER to convert it for use in PowerPoint.
Now you can stargaze using Google’s popular desktop mapping application Google Earth. In the latest version of Google Earth, hit the “Switch between Sky and Earth” button on the toolbar to get a map of the night sky from your current location. Several Sky layers are listed on the left-hand side, including Constellations, Backyard Astronomy, Hubble Showcase, The Moon, The Planets, User’s Guide to Galaxies and Life of a Star. The Sky layers are composed of over 1 million photographs from various scientific and academic sources. Looks like an incredible educational resource for anyone who wanted to be an astronaut when they grew up. Google Earth is a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Check out this Western Digital Hard Drive Oscilloscope. The Google translator didn’t do much with the text so other than the pictures the page may be hard to follow… Anyone want to do a short English translation?
