While you might have thought it would be riddled with bullets, or maybe involve a horse head, it’s really just a massive, powerful PC in an ornate case. Inside, a 1940 Cadillac Fleetwood spins on a turntable as Don Corleone keeps his watchful eye on the mobo, power supply and cooling system, powered by MSI and Cooler Master components.

Under the hood (of the PC, not the car), there’s an MSI Z68A-ZD80 mobo, with a Intel Core i7-2600K Quad-Core CPU, 16GB of DDR3 RAM, a pair of MSI GeForce GTX 550 Ti Cyclone II OC graphic cards, two SATA3 120GB SSDs, 1TB and 2TB hard drives, powered by a Cooler Master Silent Pro M850 power supply, and cooled with V8 and Excalibur fans.

The guys over at Case Mod Blog spotted the Godfather PC casemod at the recent Campus Party event in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The case was made by Omar Majzoub – the same guy who brought us last year’s evil-filled Chucky casemod.

Maybe it’s just me, but I expected more blood.

[via Case Mod Blog and Bahia.com]

The Skyrim Creation Kit will let users create new characters and locations as well as tweak and mess around with the existing game in many ways. The developer says that the kit is the same program that their team used to make the world of Skyrim. If that’s true, this is a very generous gesture from Bethesda. They’re giving the public a chance to see what the pros work with.

Modders will be able to upload their creation to Steam Workshop for the world to see, play, adore and berate. Console (and OS X) users, in case you still didn’t get it by now – the kit and the mods are for PC users only. Watch the video for more on the kit:

Bethesda also put up a wiki page for the Creation Kit as well as a series of online video tutorials for using the kit. The first episode is already up, and thanks to the magic of embeddage, is already here! There. Below.

Steam users, the Skyrim Creation Kit should be available under the ‘Tools’ drop-down menu in your Steam library. If you don’t know what a Steam library is, go here and sign up. But that’s not all! Bethesda has also released the High Resolution Texture Pack free DLC for the game. So many bits!

Before you download the DLC or the kit, make sure your hardware meets the Skyrim‘s recommended requirements: Windows Vista or 7, a quad-core CPU, at least 4GB RAM and a DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with at least 1 GB of RAM and the latest drivers. We await your mods! And don’t even think about making a peen-dragon – Bethesda has explicitly stated that they will ban any “offensive, copyrighted or trademarked material.”

[via The Escapist]

Namely, it would keep me from the daily morning conversation with my seven-year-old about the weather outside. She rolls out of bed each morning and comes in my office and wants to know how hot or cold it is outside. Her little brain doesn’t work in absolutes, so telling her it’s going to be 65° out means nothing to her. She’s also got a lot that fiery Italian in her thanks to her mom, so she gets pretty upset if I tell her she needs long sleeves and a jacket in the morning, and then she gets hot on the playground.

What she needs is this Cryoscope gadget, which lets you feel what the temperature outside is like without leaving the house. An LED glows to give you an indication at a glance if it’s hot or cold outside. The current build actually lets you feel what tomorrow’s temperature will be like, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be used for current weather too.

To build the Cryoscope, Godshaw took a Peltier element and placed it on top of a heat sink with a cooling fan, and a RGB LED on the bottom. The system gets its temperature information from a web-based application, relaying it to an Arduino controller. The controller and the Peltier element then heat or cool an aluminum cover to the appropriate temperature, with a range of 0 to 100°F. Then you simply lay a hand on it and know exactly what it will feel like when you go outside tomorrow. It even compensates the temperature to account for wind chill, humidity and the properties of the aluminum cube itself.

I wonder how hard it would be to build one of these for myself.

[via CNET]

Check out the video. I love the way this thing moves and lights up. This is a hack that any Invaders nerd will want to do, but only a few of us will ever answer the call. Grant Gibson, we salute you.

[via Make:]

The Zen Table has two sizes – a coffee table measuring 56″ x 39″ x 19.5″ and a smaller desktop version measuring 13″ x 9.5″ x 2 1/2″. Both are made of bamboo and equipped with an SD card slot and a USB cable. The SD card slot is for the bundled SD card which will have several programs that instruct the table’s electronics to create patterns, but you can also send commands from a computer to the table via USB.

In addition, the coffee table version can also be equipped with a 3G modem that will allow it to receive new designs, as well as allow the user to control the table from an Android or iOS app that Hallam is currently developing. That means you can have the Zen Table write messages to people at the table or have it draw naughty images when your parents have a visitor. The possibilities are frightening. Here’s a demo of the Zen Table in contemplative action:

Here it creates something more modern:

Fancy eh? Kickstarter supporters thought so as well. Hallam put up a fundraiser on the crowdfunding website and was able to exceed his original target. I’m not sure when and for how much the final products will be sold, but the people who pledged at least $499 (USD) on the project are eligible for a kit containing the parts for the desktop version of the Zen Table, while $749 got them the same model but fully assembled. Two people pledged at least $4,999 to get their own coffee table Zen Table and one rich and lucky person shelled out at least $7,499 to get the 3G version of the coffee table. Meanwhile I’m still waiting for the iZen Garden app to go on sale for less than $5.99.

Head to Hallam’s YouTube channel to check out more videos of the Zen Table in action.

[Kickstarter via The Awesomer]

Matsumura and company call their invention the Universal Earphones. Their secret is surprisingly simple and inexpensive – a proximity sensor piggybacked on one of the earbuds. As you can see in the picture above, the sensor faces towards the left ear and away from the right ear. If it detects that it’s about 30mm away from the ear, it means that it’s on the right ear. This input causes the earphones to switch the channels accordingly.

But that’s not all. By running a weak electrical current through the ear buds, the Universal Earphones can also detect if it’s being used by one person or shared by two people. If the current is interrupted it means that the earbuds are on separate heads. The earphones will then pump out a mono mix of the audio being played so the listeners can hear both channels at once. Genius! I suggest you put on your own earphones – correctly, of course – when you watch the video below.

That was awesome, save for the creepy synthesized narrator.

[via Engadget]

This DIY gauntlet “rolls” the die for you. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 6 sided die or a 20 sided die since no physical die are involved. It’s a wearable cuff that will roll 100, 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4-sided die for you in response to your arm movement, thanks to an accelerometer, an Arduino controller, and a 7-segment, 4-digit yellow display.

This would come in handy for quite a few games that I can think of besides D & D. Just flip the switch, shake your arm, and it works it’s magic. If you want to make your own, follow the instructions found over at the Spark Fun Electronics Blog.

[via The Mary Sue]

This hack comes courtesy of Stacie Grissom and it uses a silk scarf, that needs to be about 60 inches in length, three key rings, and a couple of other odds and ends. The ends of the scarf will need to be cut, then folded over and sewn with the a keyring popped in. Two small leather straps can be added to decorate your scarf-strap to make it look cooler.

The end result is a pretty sturdy and stylish looking camera strap – though you won’t be able to use it to keep your neck warm with that camera attached. Of course, you can really do this with any fabric you want, so you can have your own personal design.

Head on over to Photojojo for instructions on how to make your own scarf camera strap.

The Love Box was created by the Honest & Smile agency in Barcelona, Spain and it was conceived for a documentary film as a simple way of capturing both sides of a conversation in a single shot, using an iPhone. It’s a wooden box which pops open to reveal a tray inside. It’s got a slot for an iPhone, and a carefully positioned mirror which you line up about 1/2 way in front of the camera’s lens. It requires a little fiddling with the angle to get it just right, but once set, it allows you to shoot split-screen videos and stills.

It’s definitely an interesting idea, but you’ll have to shell out €58 (~$78 USD) on Etsy for what amounts to a few blocks of wood and a small mirror positioned in the right spot. I suppose if you’re the DIY type, you could make your own if you don’t want to spend the money.

[via Wired]

The LikeBelt is a concept gadget that lets you update your Facebook status on the go with just a simple thrust. Basically, it employs Near Field Communication (NFC) technology so you can send out updates when you get close enough by thrusting the belt towards an object or a person with the appropriate RFID tag on them.

However, by “close enough,” we actually mean around two inches or so, so be careful where you thrust that belt towards.

[via Wired Gadget Lab via Dvice]

The best part is of course the spinning mini chain gun right in front. It can be turned on and off with military toggle switches, which is a nice detail. Man I wish I had this thing on my desk to chill drinks (and fire bullets).

[via Kotaku]

The most frightening thing though is that this is a real attachment for real AK-47s. So if the zombie apocalypse really does happen, then you’d best order yours, just in case. You can match that chainsaw with the EOTech Zombie Stopper XPS2-Z Holographic Sight, which puts a biohazard symbol on your target instead of a red dot.

DoubleStar’s last zombie-themed DSC Zombie Slayer rifle sold for $1,249.99(USD), and this is a lot fancier, so it will be pricier when it’s released.

[via ArmoryBlog via DVice]

If you would like to mess with this map and help put the finishing details on it, go ahead and contact him though YouTube. He says that he doesn’t have the time to finish it himself.

[via TechCrunch]

On the latest episode of The Ben Heck Show, the famous modder made a spring-loaded container for Hot Pockets that mounts onto the Charge-and-Play port of an Xbox 360 controller. You could do what he did in the beginning and just duct tape your food on your controller, but this ridiculous invention has one practical feature – its base can be raised so that you can still reach the food easily even as it decreases in height without taking your hands off of the controller.

Initially, Ben tried to make the base electrically-powered by using parts from a Charge-and-Play adapter. But the adapter didn’t provide enough power to do the job, so he settled with the spring-loaded mechanism instead. You can skip to about 13:00 in the video to see the final product:

Combine this with a beer hat and you’re good to go. Go be a personification of the perils of convenience.

[Ben Heck Show via Kotaku]

What sets the Material 6 Wood iPhone Backs apart is that they’re available in a bunch of different finishes. Each package comes complete with a the special screwdriver that will allow you to remove the glass back of your iPhone and replace it with this wooden one.

Material 6 sells these from $90 to $100 (USD), so there on the expensive side of things, but they do look quite good. The backs are available for the iPhone 4 and 4S. Custom engravings are available for an extra $5.

[via Uncrate]

The videos were uploaded by YouTuber homer49. In the video below he demos the hack using Battlefield 3. One neat feature of the hack is that lets the user map the L2, R2, L3 and R3 buttons to the rear touch panels. That’s great news because it means all controls are accounted for – something that wasn’t possible with the PSP – making an official version of this feature much more possible.

That said, homer49 says that you can’t access a PS3 game’s online features when streaming to the PS Vita. There is also a very noticeable lag between button presses. Combine the two and this hack is all but pointless for a huge number of games. Then again, this is an unofficial implementation. Who knows what Sony and video game developers could come up with if they set their minds to it.

In the video below, homer49 explains how the hack works. Unfortunately it’s in Spanish so I can’t tell you exactly what he said – and that annoying creaking sound in the background doesn’t help – but he did say in the description that it requires the custom firmware version 3.55 or 3.41 for the PS3 and a jailbreak program called Multiman. You’ll then have to register the PS Vita on the PS3 as a mobile phone in order to connect it.

I am really hoping that Sony would release an official version of this hack, but there are a number of reasons why they might not do it. Aside from the lag, functionality and power management issues, there’s the issue of cannibalization. If this feature was made official some gamers might opt not to buy PS Vita games and use the handheld primarily to stream from the PS3 instead. Why buy NBA 2K13 for the PS Vita if you can stream the console version?

On the other hand, if the PS Vita had a feature like this when it launched, I’m sure it would be flying off the shelves for years. Skyrim on the toilet? Shut up and take my money! Then when the PS Vita games arrive some of those who bought the handheld for streaming will still end up buying those games. Assuming they’re worth buying of course. I also doubt this feature would work via 3G – homer49 was streaming via Wi-Fi and the lag was still there – so it’s not like gamers can stream games all the time. That’s another reason to buy PS Vita games.

You can speculate with me in the comments, or head to homer49′s channel for more videos of the hack in action.

[via The Verge]

The mini sorting plant boasts 7 NXT Intelligence Bricks, 28 motors and 22 sensors. It will sort any 2×4 or 1×2 block that it comes into contact with. After it sorts your bricks, a bot comes along to retrieve the full palette and move it, replacing it with an empty palette. It’s hypnotizing to watch this thing in action.

With the real LEGO factory featured on a recent episode of Ultimate Factories, it’s only appropriate that someone would build their own mini LEGO-powered factory.

[via Make: via Geek]

The controls had to be tweaked a bit and a custom Doom menu was created to make it different from the plain DOS version of the game. This is one small step for games, one giant leap for calculators.

This port is packaged with the Ndless program, allowing you to unlock your hardware and perform your own hacks as well, but you won’t have time since you will be busy playing Doom. In color! On a calculator!

[via Hack a Day via Slashgear]

The boombox is powered by a Pyle Pro stereo amplifier. I could be going deaf, but I’m pretty sure Davis said the amp’s model was “PNA4″, a model that I am certain – based on my exhaustive 5-second research – does not exist. There is a Pyle Pro PTA4 stereo amp though. Bottom line, there’s a stereo amp inside. Davis then used second hand speakers that he got from a thrift shop and some plywood for the front panel. Watch the video below for the full build and some witty banter:

So what are you waiting for? Go grab your stuff, tools, things and ideas and make your own toolbox boombox. Check out Floyd’s website if you want to see his Gentleman’s Boomboxes. As far as I know, he doesn’t have an online store for his products, so if you want to order or commission your own boombox your best bet is to contact him. I bet you’ll have a fun conversation.

The way the plan works is that the buyer is allowed one CPU replacement with no questions asked. The new insurance is called the Performance Tuning Plan and is valid only on certain CPUs. It is in addition to the normal 3-year warranty and costs just a little extra to get.

If the processor fails under normal use, the regular warranty fixes it. If it fails under overclocking, the tuning plan replaces the part. This sounds pretty cool to me. I wonder if AMD will follow suit. Pricing for the plan varies from $20 to $35 (USD) making this cheap insurance for overclockers – especially when spending $1000 or more on a top-of-the-line Core i7-3960X CPU.