DIY Weekend: Mobile Xbox setup 007 would love
When you want to game on the road, and a DSi or iPod Touch isn't cutting it, you go this route.
James Bond has always (until recently) had Q to create his gadgets. But regular guys Carlos Picart and Kevin Alexander of Westchester, N.Y., wanted a gadget that only superspies and NBA players can get: a mobile Xbox 360 gaming workstation. So they made one themselves using off-the-shelf parts, and it's something 007 might actually take with him to a clandestine meeting in Prague.
The duo was inspired by Kobe Bryant's professionally made secret-agent-style gaming kit from 2K Sports. It features an Xbox 360, screen, controller, and other gaming essentials, all in a tough Pelican carrying case so Kobe and his friends can play NBA 2K10 on the road. It's an awesome idea, and the homemade version by Picart and Alexander lives up to it.
Their finished getup--which took six weeks to complete--features an Xbox 360 Premium Edition, a 22-inch wide-screen HD lid-mounted monitor, integrated power so that only one outlet is needed, Wi-Fi for connecting on the road, Turtle Beach 5.1 Dolby Digital wireless headphones, and extra controllers for one-on-one jams. It's all housed in a Pelican 1600 carrying case.
And it even looks good. If it could squirt an oil slick or make a decent dry martini, Bond himself might be interested in hiring these guys as his new version of Q. And since the new 007 films don't have one yet, maybe there's an opening.
I hope Picart and Alexander can come up with something like this when Project Natal hits. Seeing people playing that while, say, waiting for a flight sounds amazing.
Next up in DIY Weekend: A performance art piece for amphibians.
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