LordDavon writes "If you are lucky enough to own a Sharp Zaurus or a Compaq iPaq running QPE/OPIE, then nvmax.com has a nice present for you. We have released version 0.011 of NVeeMESS. This is a port of MESS, the Multi Emulator Super System for Linux based portable devices. This is also the first port of MESS to run in the Zaurus native environment. This is a very early alpha, but I have tested GameBoy, NES, C64, Genesis and a few others."

squareBIT writes "I recently found this article on THG about my SmartStep 250N having a desktop CPU stuffed into it. That's all fine and dandy. but when I paid for this thing, nobody told me it would run at HALF SPEED in battery mode. I don't recall there being any mention of this before I handed them thousands of dollars. Shouldn't there be some sort ethical ramifications put into action here? I feel so dirty ..." The least-satisfactory computer I've ever owned (won't even boot now) is a Toshiba with just such a chip -- wish I'd asked about that in the store.

ackthpt writes "A few astute slashdot readers were on to something back when this article was published. After a tip (at e-insight.net) on failing caps over at amdmb I did a little looking around and found this article by Dennis Zogbi on TTI Inc.'s site, which goes into more detail. In a nutshell, many motherboards are now failing due to electolytic capacitors made with an inferior water-based electolyte. Within days or a few months these capacitors build up hydrogen gas and blow the rubber bung out the end of the capacitor, leaking electolyte and causing havoc. The problem may be widespread, as many consumer electronics made with these capacitors may also fail prematurely. Gary Headlee specializes in Abit motherboards, but as his FAQ states, he will work on other makes and the FAQ has more info on capacitor problems."

An anonymous reader writes "Just found a nice review of the Sony DRU-500A" This looks to be damn solid DVD burner. It's amazing how much prices on these things have come down. It might be time for me to make my epic film starring CowboyNeal, Samzenpus and Hemos in a moving story about Love, Friendship, and Growing Up in the Face of Adversity. I probably should write a script or something before I start filming. Or not.

Let's clear out a few of the case mod submissions which tend to pile up in dusty corners of our submission bin: MarkCC writes "An incredibly bizarre sort-of case mod: someone recreated the computer terminals from Terry Gilliam's Brazil, using an old Mac and a 1923 underwood typewriter." We mentioned some Mac case mods the other day. And remember, if it looks fast, it might as well be fast.

Ur@eus writes "Zeeshan Ali Khattak has made a videowall using Red Hat Linux, GStreamer and commodity hardware. The solution was made based on the need to create a flexible and cheap solution for use in Pakistani Schools and Universities using commodity hardware. To find out how this was done and some more details, and of course some cool pictures, check out the Video Whale project homepage."

securitas writes "Many Bluetooth devices have (deservedly) received dismal reviews and we were prepared for the phaser-like Bluetooth Logitech Cordless Presenter to be another toy headed for the trash-heap of history. Instead we were surprised (some might say stunned :) ) at how well it performed. The Presenter combines a laser pointer, an electronic presentation remote control and a wireless optical mouse in one elegantly designed package."

NetRanger writes "C|Net's News.com has a really interesting article to a new display technology that is based on interference of light patterns. The company, Iridigm, has a very compelling case for why their display method is far superior to LCD, including far brighter displays, far less power consumption... but the cool this is that the display actually works like RAM (it retains its state until voltage is applied to reset it) -- so what do you see when the driver crashes?"

An anonymous reader asks: "I was setting up a new system the other day and after trying to find 30,000 different device drivers, it hit me: What's wrong with the idea of having basic drivers for common OSes in a flash ROM embedded within devices, so that when we plug the device in, the driver is then downloaded to the machine in question? You could always update it or override the process, but it would sure save us a lot of scrambling around for disks. Am I the only one who has thought of this?"

Dark Neuron asks: "I work with a PDA software development group, and have been interested in the changes in the Palm Operating System (from 4.01 to 5.0). There are 2 new devices available, the Sony Clie PEG-NX70V and the Palm Tungsten T. The Tungsten has built in Bluetooth, and the Clie has the advantage of an accessory Wireless LAN (WiFi) card. There are some Secure Digital 802.11b cards in development, that could be used by the Tungsten (the power drain of which I do not know) but none available yet but they may be out by 2003. Does anyone have experience with either new device yet, or knowledge of Secure Didital WiFi cards in development? Any feedback on the New OS 5.0 yet?"

nicu writes "Back in April the Pogo device has been regarded with scepticism by many of the slashdot users. People should have a look to see where are they now, as it is the fastest wireless web browser around. The claim for 56k was made for ordinary CSD at 9.6k baud. For GPRS it claims more than 120k and it really feels that way. Customer reviews are available at the Pogo Portal."

stevejsmith writes "The Register has released an article regarding PalmSource speaking about their next OS, PalmOS 6.0. The Register says, 'Version 6.0 will be as dramatic a change for the platform as OS X was for Apple, or NT was for Microsoft...', that it will actually include some source code of BeOS, and that will support Microsoft's .NET platform, among other things."

Tamor writes "As an avid PC games player I'm locked into the perpetual hardware upgrade cycle like everyone else, but one thing really irks me. While other hardware has come down in price, graphics card pricing has spiralled beyond belief. Not only are graphics cards usually the single most expensive item in a gaming PC, they don't seem to be subject to the usual market forces. Instead of new generation cards forcing down the price of old cards, the old cards are simply phased out, and the likes of nVidia have a range wide enough to keep the high-end cards at the same prices for the forseeable future.

Why is this? Why does a top of the range graphics card cost so much more than an entire PS2 or X-Box system? Is it the lack of competition in the market following the demise of 3DFX or are there other forces at work. What do slashdotters thing about this pricing?"

Miles S.F. writes "Thought you guys might appreciate this little project I've been working on. This is what happens when the left and right brain get bored and start talking with each other." Excellent case mods, entertaining reading, good ideas, and a solid site design. Worth a read if only to see the case modded to include a furby.

numatrix writes "The first major stable version of OpenZaurus was released today. The 3.0 build offers the stability of the official Sharp ROMs, the freedom of open source, and a number of features the Sharp ROMs lack. Most importantly, the built-in 16MB flash ROM area of the PDA is read/write, instead of read-only as the sharp ROM uses it. A community effort, the only piece that isn't open source is the SD driver module taken from the Sharp ROM since no OS equivalent exists. The updated ROM also includes the newest version of Opie, the opensource fork of Qtopia, Trolltech's embedded version of QT, and will soon include PicoGui and X support."

davesag asks: "How are people connecting to the net using Mac OS X and a Bluetooth phone, such as an Ericsson T68i? I have to buy a new mobile phone today or tommorrow and so far have not been able to find any details on how i would use a mobile phone as a modem with Mac OS X. I have seen plenty of people use their phones with computers running Windows XP but from what i can see no-one makes Mac drivers for the phones. I have seen plenty of apps for synching phones' address books etc, including Apple's own iSync, but none of these options seem to allow the Mac to take advantage of the GPRS Internet connectivity. I am keen to hear other's experiences, or lack thereof with Mac OS X, Bluetooth and mobile net access before I shell out my money."

Roland writes "Japan Gadgets reports that eminent Japanese animators Masamune Shiro (Ghost in the Shell) and Hajime Katoki (Gundam) have decided to apply their creative design skills to a new line of limited edition optical mice. Due to be released in Japan in late November, each of the two mouse designs will be available in black, silver, and white and come with a special printed insert of an interview with the respective designer." Definitely thinking outside the box... not sure about the ergonomics, but points for aesthetic ;)

Spider[DAC] writes "I just found this site, about a person who modified a Commodore SX-64 to contain a 1.2 GHz PIII system. It appears to be a really cool system, and apparantly requires some specially made hardware to make it all interoperate properly. A well-documented read, and definitely something to dream about doing yourself."

An anonymous reader writes "Individual computers have announced a new version of they're multi-format floppy controller the Cat Weasel. This new version (Catweasel MK3 PCI/Flipper) has a few surprises such as 3 different interfaces to connect it to the host computer and a socket for an original C64 SID chip :). 'The main purpose of the Catweasel has always been to allow access to non-standard disks using normal PC-disk drives, even if you usually need a completely different computer for that. The capacity of the drive does not matter in this case: A 5.25 inch drive with 1.2MByte capacity will read and write a C-64 disk with 170KByte as well as a 3.5 inch drive with 1.44MByte can access a 1,76MByte Amiga disk. Together with a company that has specialized in data recovery, we're working on the implementation of more than 1100 different disk formats, and it does not matter that this has been classified impossible by others before. Even the 800KByte disks from older Macintosh computers can be used in standard 1.44MB drives, although the original drives have rotated their disks at variable speeds.' Find out more at the Catweasel MK3 PCI/Flipper page."

h4mm3r writes "STMicroelectronics plans to announce a breakthrough on Monday in light-emitting silicon that could lead to a new generation of more powerful computing processors and more efficient automobile components as well as potentially higher-speed optical data-transmission systems. (gotta register, free yadda yadda)"