Mental Hygiene » mac stuff http://mentalhygiene.com the best thing you've done for your brain all day Tue, 22 May 2012 13:29:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 My pressure sensitive iPad stylus http://mentalhygiene.com/my-pressure-sensitive-ipad-stylus/ http://mentalhygiene.com/my-pressure-sensitive-ipad-stylus/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:34:32 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=1253 I’ve been getting a lot of links and traffic for the G4 IIc (thanks, the Verge!) so I thought I’d take a moment to link to the other hardware hacking project that’s been taking up a lot of my time.

PressurePen - pressure sensitive stylus, Beta prototype

The PressurePen is a pressure sensitive stylus for iPad and Android tablets. The plan is to commercialize a more final, refined version as open source hardware. What you see here and on the PressurePen site is the Beta prototype – functionally complete, and ready to put in the hands of developers. The necessary code to incorporate into an iOS or Android app is free and open source also. The goal is to allow others to create compatible products and improve on my designs.

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/my-pressure-sensitive-ipad-stylus/feed/ 0 Meet the G4 Apple //c http://mentalhygiene.com/meet-the-g4-apple-c/ http://mentalhygiene.com/meet-the-g4-apple-c/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:27:25 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=1239 Meet the G4 Apple //c

[Welcome, RetroMacCast listeners!]

This is my latest Frankintosh project – housing a G4 Mac Mini in the case of an Apple //c. From all outward appearances, a stock Apple IIc or //c with a little wear and tear. Inside, it sports a 1.4GHz G4 with a gigabyte of RAM. A far cry from its original 1MHz 65C02 and 128K of RAM.

Everything you see is still fully functional. The original keyboard is rewired and run through an Arduino (Teensy) so it can be used as a USB keyboard for the Mini. I’ve also maintained many of the original ports, and repurposed a couple for updated peripherals. For instance, the mouse/joystick port has been wired up to a USB port on the Mini. To plug into this, an M0100 mouse has been fitted with the guts of an optical USB mouse, wired to the original 9-pin connector.

To attach to the original Apple monochrome display, I built a VGA adapter that outputs monochrome NTSC via RCA. Instructions and pinouts for the adapter were found here. To adjust the sync and refresh rate, I use SwitchResX.

You can see a complete gallery below (via Flickr)

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/meet-the-g4-apple-c/feed/ 35 USB Floppy hack http://mentalhygiene.com/usb-floppy-hack/ http://mentalhygiene.com/usb-floppy-hack/#comments Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:58:39 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=684 Action Shot

see the rest here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charles_mangin/sets/72157625250155063/

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/usb-floppy-hack/feed/ 11 Apple’s new iCrotchshot http://mentalhygiene.com/apples-new-icrotchshot/ http://mentalhygiene.com/apples-new-icrotchshot/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:14:09 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=507 Apple has done it again. Not only have they come up with a really nice looking glass rectangle that does pretty much what all the other big glass rectangles out there do, only… you know… better…

…they’ve also created a whole new way to get strangers to stare at your crotch.

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/apples-new-icrotchshot/feed/ 0 Apple’s Billions http://mentalhygiene.com/apples-billions/ http://mentalhygiene.com/apples-billions/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:40:06 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=483 Dear Apple,

If you’re really looking to spend some of the $23 billion in cash you have on hand, I have a proposal for you.

Rather than buying some shiny new baubles, you could do something that would be both a PR sensation and help your local economy.

Announce that all future Apple products will be Made in the USA. Not just “Designed in California” or “Assembled in the USA” but Made in the USA. If you’ve got all that money just burning a hole in your trousers, buy Foxconn and move their operations here.

Spend a few billion and build – or rebuild – your own facilities closer to home. California could certainly use the help.

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/apples-billions/feed/ 0 the Ars Leopard review http://mentalhygiene.com/the-ars-leopard-review/ http://mentalhygiene.com/the-ars-leopard-review/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:15:34 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=460 ah! the Ars Technica review. i’ve been devouring these since the developer previews, and i’ve been waiting excitedly for the latest installment. for the technically minded (big ol’ geeks like me), John Siracusa digs into the deepest crevices of the Mac and puts the crumbs under a microscope. they’re usually a long read, but worth taking the time if you want the fine grained details.

read it at Ars Technica

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/the-ars-leopard-review/feed/ 0 Conficker probably not a threat to Apple II users http://mentalhygiene.com/conficker-probably-not-a-threat-to-apple-ii-users/ http://mentalhygiene.com/conficker-probably-not-a-threat-to-apple-ii-users/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:06:17 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=400 from A2Central.com:

Conficker probably not a threat to Apple II users. this from their call to Symantec:

“you are probably safe though I really don’t know what an Apple II is.”

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/conficker-probably-not-a-threat-to-apple-ii-users/feed/ 0 hey! i’m on Engadget! http://mentalhygiene.com/hey-im-on-engadget/ http://mentalhygiene.com/hey-im-on-engadget/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:00:38 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=361 my Disk II Mac mod made it to Engadget. sweet.

[update] and gizmodo!

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/hey-im-on-engadget/feed/ 0 my latest hardware project http://mentalhygiene.com/my-latest-hardware-project/ http://mentalhygiene.com/my-latest-hardware-project/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:20:22 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=346 Disk II Mac

in the same vein as the G4 Mac Plus, i recently finished up a quick little hack that combines a Mac Mini and a Disk II floppy drive, ca. 1978.

view the Flickr set here.

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/my-latest-hardware-project/feed/ 2 new artwork for my office http://mentalhygiene.com/new-artwork-for-my-office/ http://mentalhygiene.com/new-artwork-for-my-office/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:31:57 +0000 option8 http://mentalhygiene.com/?p=330 Hello - by Robert Mars

Hello - by Robert Mars

new, Mac-inspired artwork by my friend Robert Mars.

i’m already clearing off a wall in my office, anticipating its arrival.

]]> http://mentalhygiene.com/new-artwork-for-my-office/feed/ 0