Who says Ben Heck only deals in modding the latest gaming hardware? The modder's gone old school this time around, creating a laptop version of the  Apple IIGS computer from the 80s. More details and pics are available in the full article

The PlayStation 3 laptop is the latest project of Ben Heck, hacker extraordinaire. The laptop will soon be up for grabs in an auction, so tough cookies for everyone except for the lucky person who'll get his hands on it. You can watch the 16-pound beauty in action by watching the video in the full article.

If you put pit laptops running on the Mac OS, Windows Vista, and Linux against hackers, which OS do you think would last the longest? Apparently, it's Linux. In this year's PWN 2 OWN contest, no one was able to hack the laptop running on the Linux OS. Which of the other two went down first? Better read the full article to find out.

Hacking the iPhone's EDGE connection for your laptop's net-surfing pleasure? Nate True over at the cre.ations blog points this out as an interesting proposition with the srelay application, which when properly uploaded into your iPhone, turns it into a SOCKS server. Before interested readers can get cracking, however, the hack requires that owners run their iPhone through the Jailbreak app, and have had the phone tethered to their PC.

The instructions should be available in the read link, although readers are warned that using the iPhone's EDGE connection for their laptop may get them into hot water with AT&T terms of service agreement. Furthermore, the instructions that will be provided for were done using Windows only - the author has yet to test them on a Mac. And definitely no word if this may conflict with the previously detected Vodafone exploit.

To give you an idea of how the whole hack will look, we'll also provide for this similar YouTube video we picked up, posted by buzzert1.

Ever had a nasty accident that involves your laptop getting drenched in a bath of beer or wine? Or worst-case scenario, took an untimely dip in a pool of water? Fret not, somebody over at Grynx.com provided some instructions and a video as to what to do.

Disclaimer: If you have no idea what you're doing - instead of opening your laptop and possibly damaging it beyond all hope - rush it to your nearest technician or service center instead. With that out of the way, the video shows that the laptop being drenched with red wine and juice (oh the horror!). "Whoops!" The battery and power sources were disconnected, excess liquid shaken off, and laptop opened to show its guts.

The boards are then washed in tap water, then rinsed in distilled water to get the impurities out. Then leave out to dry and re-assemble. As usual, you've got to be extra careful if you're ever going to do this. Let us count the reasons why: electrocution, explosion, fire...

 

Mods really are exciting things, aren't they? They may turn out to be surprisingly innovative, or downright an excruciating mistake. But that's where the fun lies. Ben Heck, who has already made portable versions of several non-portable systems, came up with this impressive Atari 800 laptop mod.

The Atari 800 was introduced in 1978 as a home computer. It's part of the Atari 8-bit family - the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips.

The Mod sports an 8" screen, built-in Player 1 & 2 controls, 2 Joystick ports, and a QWERTY keyboard. It's also got a compact Flash disk drive storage for roms, a built-in Ni-MH battery.

Yes, having a classic on board new gadgetry can be just as sweet as the real thing. Thank goodness there are enough brave souls out there blending this mix just right.

With the recent happenings of Laptops exploding due to a faulty battery you have to be prepared for the worst. We don't mean to scare you from dealing with everyday mobile devices, but to be frank: Your Laptop could explode at any time. In light of this, here is the top 10 things to do if your Laptop battery explodes:

10. Make your own out replacement battery out of AA batteries and duct tape.
9. Duck and cover.
8. Keep pretending to use the computer so you don't have to help with chores around the house.
7. Run down to the library to blog about it.
6. Forbid laptops on planes.
5. Visit prepareyourownlawsuit.com.
4. Pour your Mountain Dew on your forehead to soothe the burn.
3. Tell the security guys at the airport that there's a recall on those batteries for exploding like that. Hope they don't find the other bomb.
2. Break out your Laptop Battery Explosion Survival Kit. Roast the included hot dogs.
1. Don't panic. Your towel can be used as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from the severed femoral artery in your right leg         and also be used with a snapping motion to keep the lawyers at bay whilst on your way to the emergency room.

This list was created with a humorous view on recent events, and we at QJ.net recommend that you do not blow your laptop up purposely-- to test out this list and return your Laptop to your manufacturer if it has been effected by the Laptop battery scenario, especially if yours is a Dell.

When we see someone giving his PC a rap, we immediately think he either needs a new computer or he needs to enroll in an anger management class. Now there's a third possibility. He could be locking his screen or telling his PC to play the next track on his mp3 player.

The knocking commands are made possible by a Linux program called knockAge. In 2003, IBM rolled out Lenovo, the laptop formerly known as ThinkPad, equipped with integrated accelerometers. The accelerometer was originally designed to protect the HD in case of an accidental collision with the floor. This is where some talented hackers came in. They developed modules for the Linux kernel to take advantage of these sensors.

Using an updated Linux kernel with the Hard Drive Active Protection System (HDAPS) driver and knockAge, you can generate knock codes that will run commands such as screen locking/unlocking, on-screen display orientation, desktop switching, game control and real-time 3D models of the tilt of the laptop. The possibilities are endless.

We prefer to use the keys but hey different strokes for different folks. Check out the video to see knockAge in action. If you want to know how you can knock up your Lenovo you can see the different command codes in the full article.

Bored? Got nothing else to do? Don't think store-bought laptop cases aren't worth it? Guess what...this is your lucky day, as we have a little project for you, and it's a DYI laptop case.

Here are the materials that you'll be needing:

1) A nice pair of scissors (not those kiddie scissors that won't cut through anything)
2) A large piece of closed-cell foam (preferably 3/8 or 1 cm thick)
3) Self- Adhesive Velcro
4) Duct Tape
5) T-square with measuring units
6) A cutter or sharp knife
7) A ruler or triangle
8) Pen or Marker

Now, when you have all of these ready, grab your trusty laptop and take its measurements. Mark your foam accordingly. Leaving some extra room might help, but then it's your call. When you're done, cut it out and score along the corners. Here's how it's ideally done, and this is how your project should pretty much look like:

Cut some duct tape to bind the soon-to-be laptop case, then wrap it around the seams. Lastly, place the Velcro on the laptop case's cover. At this point your project should resemble a laptop cover, but you could design it with sequins, glitters, or whatever that tickles your fancy. Below is a picture of the final product, to give you an idea how it looks like:

Oh yeah, be careful with the sharp tools (don't say we didn't warn ya).  Ask for help, if necessary. And have fun.

Blogger Daniel Andrade (AKA Pastelero) claims that through a process called lapping, your CPU heatsink/cooler (or other cooler) can become more efficient, thereby adding to the lifespan and stability of your hardware. While not a simple process, the potential benefits to be gained from adding cooling efficiency to a critical system will be more than worth it for many detail conscious computer users.

Using several different abrasive levels of sand paper, along with metal polish and even scrubbing with various compounds (including alcohol and toothpaste), the do it yourself-er can turn the cheap coating used by the manufacturer (on the contact point of the cooler) into a smooth, shiny, mirror like surface.

Their are two main reasons for going through the trouble of polishing the contact points of your coolers. One reason is that the increased level of contact between the heat source and the cooler will allow the system to cool down faster, and cooler running components lead to computers that perform better and have fewer crashes.

A second reason is that the overall operational lifespan of the computer is increased in proportion with a lower operating temperature. The only things you'll need to get started are 500, 600, and 1200 sandpaper, polishing oil for metal, cleaning cloths, toothpaste, alcohol, and thermal paste.

Using a slow process of gradually increasing the level of abrasiveness in the sandpaper, topped off with some detail work done with some metal polish, elbow grease and a cloth you can turn a dull grey into a shiny mirror finish. The process can be done with a wide variety of cooling systems, including WaterBlocks and air coolers without fans.

With a little planning and an eye for detail you can have all your systems running with improved efficiency and lower temperatures in one work session.