MAKE: Blog: Brian and Joel geek out with XO

Brian and Joel geek out with XO

MAKE editor and Hackziner Brian Jepson recently met up with Joel Evans of Geek.com. Like any geeks worth their root access, Brian and Joel proceeded to do whatever they could to brick their respective XO laptops. Joel writes:

After we were done chatting, Brian wanted to show me some other hacking he's done. In this case he built a pressure sensor out of a collection of electronics parts. Here's how he did it: he took a force sensing resistor (you can get one from Trossen Robotics, Parallax, or Solarbotics), set it up with a 10k resistor and an LED for output, using the 5 volt USB port as a voltage source. Then, to protect the sound card from the voltage, he plugged a photo resistor into the microphone jack and pointed the LED at it, and ran the Measure activity that comes with the XO laptop. Each time you press down on the force sensing resistor, it makes the on-screen waveform jump around. Not bad for a $200 laptop.

One of my favorite moments was when Brian almost killed the OS install on both of our laptops. Notice how calm he is?

That's our Brian!

Hacking the XO laptop - [via] Link

Related:

OLPC XO dissection and massive electronics teardown roundup - Link
HOW TO - Make your own XO laptop bag - Link
HOW TO - Upgrade the XO laptop's operating system - Link

Related:

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: Russ on January 19, 2008 at 7:30 PM

brain, eh?

Posted by: Stefan Jones on January 19, 2008 at 9:16 PM

I'd love to see more like this. The XO screams to turned into the heart of a DIY Exploratorium.

I spent the afternoon turning a toddler-sized sweatshirt into a case for my XO. Dollar store dog leash for the handle, buttons for the closure, a layer of aluminized-mylar bubble wrap for extra padding.

Subscribe to MAKE Magazine!

Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.

$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)

Subscribe now

Void your warranty, violate a user agreement, fry a circuit, blow a fuse, poke an eye out... Welcome to the Make Blog!

Features and more @ MAKE!

Stop by the Maker Shed store and check out THE place for open source hardware, Arduino & Arduino accessories, electronic kits, science kits, smart stuff for kids, back issues of MAKE & CRAFT, box sets, books, robots, kits from Japan and more.

Add MAKE to iGoogle - GoogleGoogle.
Add MAKE to your RSS reader - Real simple.
Add MAKE on Twitter.
Add MAKE on FriendFeed & the MAKE room.

Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!

Click here to advertise on MAKE!

Makezine authors!

Suggest a Site!

Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
Twitter / AIM

Gareth Branwyn
Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Collin Cunningham
Marc de Vinck
Kip Kay
Luke Iseman
Patti Schiendelman
Becky Stern
Mike Dixon
Peter Horvath(intern)

Current Podcast

The Best of Maker Faire Austin 2008 Check out all the fun and excitement at this year's Maker Faire in Austin, Texas. People from all over the world came to experience this amazing event. Take a look at some of the highlights and make plans to... More...

Get the Make blog sent via email

Enter your email to receive the Make blog each day:

WOW! Thanks to everyone involved with Maker Faire Bay Area and Maker Faire Austin in 2008: attendees, makers, exhibitors, sponsors, volunteers, and crew...it was an AMAZING year! Over 1,000 Makers and 87,000+ attendees total! Be sure to check out the photos @ Flickr, and our Maker Faire posts for all the action! Check back for dates for 2009 soon!