Easy Canon cameras hack that allows time-lapse photography and many more features | http://tiny.cc/SE1Vn | demo: http://ping.fm/id5fd

Robotics and DIY Projects

1. Robotics projects from EDN:
Robotics Project (sound sensing, hardware, soft)
Platforms and development tools
CoroBot - fast robot prototyping (runs Windows) - fast but expensive too!

2. Dogoid - a diesel powered four legged robot that is made to carry load over a heavy terrain. Current application is mostly for military use. The really cool part about it is its very natural movement! The videos on the website show robot recovering from a push, ice slip, walking on snow downhill and other. A must see!
Dogoid on PLDesignline: link
BostonDynamics: link

3. The guys at Gostai.com (France) are working on a Universal Software Platform to allow the reuse of code from one robotic system to another. They've created a language (URBI) that brings together parallelism, and event-based programming, works on Windows, Linux and MacOS and is interfaced with C++, Python, Java, C#, others. There is a number of commercial robots that are now supported and can be easily programmed using the existing URBI code created by the URBI community, including Sony's Aibo doc, Create, Mindstorm, Bioloid, KHR2, etc.
Key innovations: link
URBI's innovations video, small tutorial showing how easily a robot like Aibo can be programmed: link
List of currently supported robots: link

A few DIY project ideas

An idea, DIY rool-up keyboard: http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/diy-project-create-your-own-roll-up-keyboard/

Installing a small camera into sunglasses: http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/prepare-spying-sunglasses-for-secret-recordings/

Fix your iPod, Mac, iPhone yourself!

If your iPod is broken and run out of warranty, do not worry yet. Some problems can be fixed yourself fairly easy. The following website provides parts and tutorials how to change screens, batteries, hard drives, cases and sensors.

Replacement parts for Macs, iPods and iPhone: http://www.ifixit.com/

Cell Phone Hacking

Recently I have become really interested in cell phone modifications. Here is an interesting video: http://www.break.com/index/cell_phone_hack.html

Revision3 Online Shows

I've got a bit addicted to some of the shows on this website. I don't watch too much TV myself, so by addiction I consider one or two broadcasts a week from the following website.

Tech, comedy, music, etc Online TV Show - http://revision3.com/
Example: Cracking open the iPod

Remote control of PC using Sony Ericsson k790

Last night I was watching one of the episodes from Seinfeld from Season 9. I could not stop laughing at the scene when Kramer pretended to be a "wealthy industrialist, philanthropist and a bicyclist" just to get into the washroom of a $1.5 mil apartment that was put up for sale. I was having my dinner at that time and did not want to stand up from the couch to rewind it back. However, I did anyway.
Sitting at work during lunch the following day I was thinking of a way to add a remote control functionality to my PC with minimal expenses. My cell phone has a Bluethooth and an infrared port. There must be a way via software!
A quick search revealed that my SE k790a has the HID (Human Interface Device) feature and all I need is HID profile supporting soft. Here are a few links I found that are worth checking out:

Sony Ericsson Developers Zone: http://developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/home/p_home.jsp
VIAO Zone remote control: http://atinyblip.wordpress.com/vaio-zone-remote-control/
Salling Clicker (commercial soft): http://www.salling.com/Clicker/windows/devices.php

For future reference:
http://www.macncell.com/index_html/archive/2006/08/22/sony-ericsson-k800--k790i-cyber-shot-camera-phone-using-it-with-the-mac

Hardware projects

Dev/Project related
Dev board with a microcontroller

Gadgets, ideas, DIY electronics links
OpenSource gift guide
The Time Fountain (really cool fountain project, which uses strobe light to "freeze" or slowdown and reverse the motion of fluorescent drops).
Lucid Dreaming Mask (by the author of The Time Fountain. He claims his inexpensive hardware triggers lucid dreams... thought I might add this here since I've spent some time reading the experiment).
Hacking Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner

Inexpensive Arduino microcontroller dev/project board

Parallax’s Basic Stamp is the mainstay for hobbyists wanting to add intelligence to everyday devices. A new system called Arduino provides the benefits of the Basic Stamp at a greatly reduced cost, increased speed, and is entirely open-source. (http://todbot.com/blog/2006/09/25/arduino-the-basic-stamp-killer/#more-121)