mods

Think PCs are dead? Check out these crazy mods

AUSTIN, Texas--The PC is so not dead.

That's what AMD, one of the world's largest makers of processors, wants the world to know. And at SXSW, the chipmaker is putting its money where its mouth is and showing off a collection of modded PCs masquerading as art.

During its Technograffiti event here tonight, AMD will let the world get a glimpse of a series of PC mods that it hopes will convince people who think mobile devices have fully supplanted PCs that there's still some life remaining in the full-size computer.

"We want people to reimagine … Read more

Google releases Web site speedup software

As part of its "make the Web fast" effort, Google has released version 1.0 of a module designed to improve the very widely used Apache software that's very widely used to host Web sites.

The Apache Software Foundation's flagship project is Web server software that delivers Web pages to people's browsers when they request it. It can be extended, and Google believes its mod_pagespeed extension for Apache is ready for use, Google said in a blog post.

"Users prefer faster sites and we have seen that faster pages lead to higher user engagement, … Read more

Black Mesa: Half-Life revisited

Whether you're an old-school gamer or a recent fan of Valve's Steam games, don't miss the chance to play (or replay) the critically acclaimed classic first-person shooter Half-Life in its latest re-imagining for free with the total conversion mod Black Mesa (download, 4GB).

After eight years of development, the Black Mesa Modification Team has finally released a remake of the award-winning FPS Half-Life. Utilizing more than 40 developers and headed by project leader Carlos Montero, the team has reconstructed the fan favorite into a polished Source Engine version complete with new models, maps, textures, voice acting, and … Read more

Grand Theft Auto goes 'Back to the Future' with DeLorean mod

A fan had a dream. He dreamed he would some day roll around Vice City in a souped-up DeLorean, dressed as Marty Mcfly, packing heat, and terrorizing the town. Then he made it happen.

The creator of the Back to the Future Grand Theft Auto mod (SeedyROM34 on YouTube), spent months working on the elaborate creation with many hours of file editing thrown into the bargain. This is quite a bit more than just a skin. There's time travel, an excellent-looking Marty McFly character, and a detailed DeLorean complete with flux capacitor.… Read more

Smart trash can catches your garbage for you

A Japanese inventor appears to have put an awful lot of effort into enabling laziness. A modder going by the handle of "FRP" looks to have designed a mobile wastebasket that can ambulate around to catch any falling (preferably with a high arc) trash you toss in its general direction.

FRP replaced the bottom of the can with some wheels attached to something similar to an Arduino board. On the other end of the system is a wall-mounted Kinect that watches for flying debris, calculates the landing spot, and then sends the can to catch the garbage like an outfielder going after some rookie's pop-up.… Read more

iPhone 4S gets wireless charging, thanks to modder

An ambitious tinkerer has bestowed the power of wireless charging upon his iPhone 4S, with a modification that sees Apple's prized smartphone pulled apart and put back together with all new components.

Essex, England-based Tanveer Islam is the chap behind the creative hack. He uploaded a video explaining exactly how to modify your iPhone, which will gain the power to charge itself without being tethered to a boring old power cable.

Read more of "iPhone 4S gets wireless charging thanks to UK modder," and see the instructional video, at Crave UK. … Read more

DIY: Give your iPhone a mirrored rear panel

There's not much you can do in the way of customizing your iPhone's hardware. Unless you bedazzle it with Swarovski crystals, apply a GelaSkin, or give it a funky case, your iPhone will continue to stand undistinguished among its cookie-cutter siblings.

iFixit, a Web site that offers tools and parts to allow owners to repair, mod, and upgrade their iPhones, has another option for customizing your iPhone: unique rear panels.

After seeing iFixit's mirrored rear panel, I knew I had to have it. No, it's not a vanity thing -- I'm just tired of firing up the front-facing camera or squinting into the black rear-panel just to see if there's something stuck in my teeth.… Read more

AT-AT computer walks on the wild side

One could safely say Dutch computer modder Sander van der Velden adores the behemoth AT-AT vehicle from "The Empire Strikes Back." The self-confessed sci-fi addict recently stuffed a water-cooled computer inside a large Hasbro toy version of Star Wars' most infamous four-legged Rebel annihilator.

The AT-AT computer measures 2 feet tall (plus several more inches for the dock), and contains some spicy hardware, including a Zotac Z68-ITX (Mini-ITX) motherboard running an Intel Core i7 2600k processor, SSD, and built-in Wi-Fi. The water-cooling system (radiator and XSPC pump) uses water blocks to cool the CPU, GPU, and other components.

The designers at Hasbro probably didn't expect someone to take the largest action figure AT-AT ever made and fit a bunch of computer parts into it. … Read more

Got 'banned' on Android? There's an app store for that

As CyanogenMod skates past 1 million active users, making it by far the most popular custom flavor of Android around, one of its main developers has asked the Android community if there's interest in creating an app store for Android modders and their fans.

Koushik Datta suggested a marketplace designed for apps, ROMs, and emulators that Google refuses to host and carriers refuse to allow. Not surprisingly, the answer he got was resoundingly positive.

Dutta, also known as Koush, said in a Google Plus post earlier this month that the time was coming for an app store that specialized in rooted Androids. … Read more