PC Tech World: custom

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Monday, April 8, 2013

3D printed speakers give you a custom light show to go with your tunes (video)

3D printing is still in its relative infancy, but more and more folks are using machines like the MakerBot Replicator and Formlab's Form 1 to turn digital plans into physical reality. An Autodesk engineer named Evan Atherton has access to a much more capable (and expensive) 3D printer, an Objet Connex 500, and as a design exercise decided to use that printer to create a finished product. You see, a lot of 3D printers are used for rapid prototyping, as opposed to product manufacturing. Join us after the break for a video interview with Atherton explaining how he created these sonic beauties. 3D printed speakers with LumiGeek-powered LEDsSee all photoswhen.eng("eng.galleries.init")

With the Objet Connex 500, Atherton is able to print single objects that seamlessly integrate two different materials, as opposed to the single materials used by less expensive printers. In this case, he combined a flexible rubber and a hard plastic to print out a pair of crystal orb speaker housings. From there he inserted strips of addressable RGB LED strips operated by a custom LumiGeek microcontroller to make the speakers glow in time with your tunes. LumiGeek also provided the companion app that allows users to fine tune the light show to their tastes. Alas, at well over $2,000 worth of printed material and almost 60 hours worth of man and machine labor to create them, there aren't any plans to sell the speakers. However, LumiGeek will be Kickstarting its mictroctontroller that allows users to dictate video output based on audio files sometime soon.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

More Coverage: LumiGeek

Friday, March 22, 2013

Apple updates iOS Podcasts app with new design, custom stations

Apple overhauls iOS Podcasts app, adds custom stations

There's been few Apple iOS apps that have garnered more complaints than the company's Podcasts app (outside of Maps, at least), and it looks like it's now finally taken some of those criticisms into consideration with the latest update (version 1.2). That includes the overly-stylized design, which has been ditched in favor of a simpler approach that's more in line with the iTunes app (including a far more basic player interface). Along with those changes come some new features like custom stations, which are each stored in iCloud and updated automatically, and so-called On-The-Go playlists that'll let you load up any individual episodes you like. You can find the app itself and the full list of changes now in the App Store.

Via: The Next Web

Source: iTunes

OneNote update improves custom pens, syncs Office 365 notebooks

OneNote for Windows 8 update improves custom pens, syncs notebooks with Office 365

If you picked up a Surface Pro or another pen-friendly Windows 8 tablet, you're likely eager to wring every ounce of productivity out of that stylus. Microsoft hears your call. It just updated the OneNote app for Windows 8 to give pen customization a shot in the arm: a new radial menu makes it easier to choose a pen's color and weight while saving favorite pens to quick-access slots. Whether or not drawing's your thing, Microsoft has also simplified syncing with support for pulling in Office 365 notebooks, not just those stored on SkyDrive. Avid note-takers only need to grab the upgrade from the source link.

Via: OneNote Blog, The Verge

Source: Windows Store

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Black Label Neo Geo custom wood mod ups the ante on collector excess

If you want to relive the glory of owning one of the rarest and most expensive (for its time) consoles in gaming history, you can do that for $130 with the Neo Geo X. Or... or you can recapture that magic and rebuild the system using "one of the rarest and most expensive woods in the entire world." That wood would be Cocobolo and, no, we're not making that last bit up. Analogue Interactive -- the same company that brought you the Neo Geo CMVS Slim -- is introducing a new service today for those (read: collectors) with money to burn, dubbed Black Label.

The service, designed to let consumers craft a new Neo Geo console using a selection of domestic and exotic woods, starts at $1,299 -- that's for a custom setup made with domestic wood. Should you have more champagne tastes, there's a variety of exotic woods on offer, but be prepared to fork over up to an additional $585 for the "privilege." Without a doubt, it's the stuff of an über-collector's wet dreams; the very same stuff that has us scratching our heads and railing against the excesses of the 1-percent. And just in case it was lost on you earlier: a portable and significantly cheaper Neo Geo alternative is readily available.

Source: Analogue Interactive

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Custom ROMs for your Alltel RAZR MAXX are just a flash away

Verizon may take most of the headlines, but the Motorola RAZR MAXX (sans Droid) also made it's way to other carriers -- like Alltel. We love seeing the smaller carriers getting great Android phones like the MAXX, but folks who want to run a custom ROM are usually out of luck when this happens. Not so this time.

Forum Moderator, Alltel subscriber, and Android hacker cole2kb has you covered. He has taken the most popular ICS and Jelly Bean custom ROMs for the Verizon version of the RAZR MAXX and ported them over to Alltel. Getting them installed is as easy as flashing the original ROM and a small patch from recovery. He's even figured out how to get MMS working, so you're set there.

This is why we love Android. Users getting their hands dirty to bring more options to the folks who want them. Thanks, Chris -- and I'm sure plenty of folks on Alltel are thankful as well. Click the link below to get started.

Got ROMs? Flashable ZIPs for your Alltel MAXX!

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 12:55 PM

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Custom ROMs for your Alltel RAZR MAXX are just a flash away

Got ROMs? Flashable ZIPs for your Alltel MAXX!

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 9:03 PM

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Custom ROMs for your Alltel RAZR MAXX are just a flash away

Got ROMs? Flashable ZIPs for your Alltel MAXX!

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 10:08 PM

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Queen checks out 3D speech with sparkly custom specs

Bit nicer than this pair, we'd wager

The Queen will be comin' atcha in 3D this Christmas Day, so the eighteen of you with 3D TVs in your living rooms can enjoy her seasonal message of hope and goodwill in three dimensions.

Of course, The Queen didn't get to be The Queen without keeping a close eye on her pre-records, so she's donned a pair of 3D specs to give her Christmas message the once-over.

The Queen doesn't just wear any old 3D glasses though; no, she wears specially-made blinged out Swarovski crystal encrusted ones that will have the cast of TOWIE quivering with envy.

The crystals form a letter Q on each side (for Queen, presumably, although she may have preferred an E and not just being defined as her job title but as a person).

It's not the first time Queen Elizabeth II has rocked this particular pair - she first wore them in 2010 during a visit to Toronto, although we doubt they've seen much action since then.

A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said that the Queen thought the 3D footage was "absolutely lovely". We look forward to snoozing through it on Christmas Day at 3pm.

Via The Guardian