Whether your passion is modding or playing the Xbox 360, these custom gadgets combine the best of both worlds, aside from the PC. Continue reading to see them all. Check all images:-

xBot

Want an easier way to increase your Gamerscore without having to put in hours of play time? Look no furthur than the xBot, an automated device that "utilizes two rotational solenoids driven by a TTL (Transistor to Transistor Logic) controller." If only this robot worked for all the Xbox 360 games, unlocking achievements would be as simple as the push of a button.

Xbox 360 PC

Xbox 360 owners who have a broken system(s) laying around rejoice; the console can be used not only as a tissue box alarm clock, but also as a functional PC. It features an Intel P4 processor (3.0-GHz), 512MB of memory, 60GB HDD, and 8 x USB ports. By cutting out the rear panels and using the original disc drive cover, this creation seamlessly integrates the Xbox 360 with PC goodness.

SIXAXIS 360 Controller

The SIXAXIS and Wiimote arent the only controllers with integrated tilt functionality. In a nut shell, Ben Heck basically "stripped the innards from a PS3 controller, worked his PCB-bending magic, and somehow ported the functionality necessary for gaming on a PlayStation 3 into an Xbox 360 controller."

Xbox 360 Elite Laptop

Why settle for a standard Xbox 360 Elite when you could build a portable, Halo 3-inspired version? Thats exactly what Ben Heck did. This masterpiece features a 17-inch widescreen LCD display, 120GB HDD, HDMI port, integrated speakers, keyboard, and two USB ports. Though not very practical, it would definitely come in handy when encountered with televisions sporting no A/V input (hotels, etc.).

Source- http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/feature-gamers-get-creative-with-the-xbox-360-build-custom-gadgets

Read More..

If your employer has provided you with a BlackBerry smartphone, you may be accustomed to its built-in email, calendar, and address book applications. The Google Apps Enterprise team has just announced that we will soon release Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which enables you to use these familiar applications with Google Apps.

Google Apps is our hosted solution for enterprise messaging and collaboration. It includes Gmail, Google Calendar, and more. Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server connects your BlackBerry Enterprise Server directly to the Google cloud, and creates a seamless experience between Google Apps and the built-in BlackBerry smartphone applications for mail, calendar, and address book. The Google Enterprise blog has more details about the offering.

If youre an IT administrator interested in Google Apps, you should know that Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server is currently in beta testing with select companies and universities. We are targeting a July 2009 release for Google Apps Premier and Education Edition customers, at no additional cost. This week were at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium, so if you happen to be at WES, come visit us at Booth #105. Well also be talking about Google Apps and other Google Mobile products at our breakout session tomorrow, so we hope to see you there!

Posted by Hong Zhang, Software Engineer

Read More..

If you have a BlackBerry and use the built-in Messages and Contacts apps, you can now search the email and contacts on your device using the new version of Google Mobile App.

Just type (or speak) your query - perhaps the name of the person who sent you the mail or a phrase from the text - and Google Mobile App will search through the emails and contacts on your device and return the results. You can quickly reply to an email or forward it on.



You can also quickly call, SMS, or email contacts by typing the first few letters of your contacts first or last name, and then pressing the corresponding button. Google Mobile App will suggest contacts as you type and you can scroll down to select one. Google Mobile App will promote the people you contact frequently to the top of the suggestions list.



To switch between on-device results (email and contacts) and web results (from Google), click on the link underneath the search box.

If youd rather Google Mobile App not search your email and contacts, you can turn off Phone Search in the options screen. Google Mobile App does not send information about your contacts or content from your emails to Google. This data is only accessed on your device.

Searching email requires BlackBerry OS version 4.5 or higher. Searching contacts is available on BlackBerry OS 4.2 and higher.

The new version of Google Mobile App also includes other improvements, such as the ability to use your BlackBerrys Wi-Fi connection to access the Internet.

To download Google Mobile App to your BlackBerry, visit m.google.com. Learn more in our help center.

Posted by Luca Zanolin, Software Engineer

Read More..

Today, we’re happy to announce Google Maps 5.3 for Android, which lets you see your Google Location History dashboard, check in at “home,” and add your own aspects for places when rating them.

Location History dashboard
If you’ve enabled Location History for Google Latitude, you’ve been able to visualize interesting trends in your location history with a personal dashboard at google.com/latitude on your computer. Now, you can also see your dashboard on your phone by tapping View location history from your Latitude profile. You’ll be able to see right on your phone how far you’ve travelled as well as an estimate of how much time you’ve spent at home, at work, or out.

If you haven’t yet, you can enable Location History from your computer or from Latitude’s Settings menu on your phone. Location History is 100% opt-in and is private to you and nobody else. You can always delete any of your location history from the Manage History tab or correct the estimated work and home locations from the dashboard on your computer.

View your location history dashboard from your Latitude profile on your phone and see estimates of where you’ve spent your time.

Check in at home
Now that you can see how much time you spend at “home”, you might want to let friends know when you’re there. Checking in at places using Latitude is another way to keep a history of places you’ve been and also lets you share when you’re there. I love letting friends and family know when I’m at a cafe or park, but sometimes I want them to know that I’m relaxing at home or made it back safely from a road trip. So now, I can start checking in at “home” in Latitude:

1. Check in from Latitude and tap “Home - Tap to set your location” at the bottom of the nearby places list if you don’t have one yet.
2. Use the estimated current address or enter in your home address yourself.
3. Once you’ve checked in at home once, “Home” will appear at the top of the list when you’re checking in near there.

Like Latitude and other check-ins, checking in at home is entirely opt-in. Your set “home” location is not searchable and only you can check in there. Just like any other check-in, you can choose with whom to share your home check-ins (along with your name and address info).

Add your own aspects for places
When you’re rating places on the go in Maps using Google Places with Hotpot, you could always quickly leave feedback on a specific aspect or characteristic of a place, such as the food or ambiance. Before, we’d automatically include aspects about places that were commonly mentioned in reviews. Now, you can add your own aspects for each place. So if you think a place has a beautiful view or great music, you can add it yourself and quickly share it with the world.

When rating places, you can add your own aspects like “music” for places and leave quick feedback.

To get started, update Google Maps from Android Market on devices with Android OS 1.6+ anywhere Google Maps and Latitude are already available.

Posted by Kenneth Leftin, Software Engineer, Google Maps for mobile team

Read More..

The operators of fakeplastic.net have been charged with selling bogus credit cards and overlays.

All that credit and debit card information that gets stolen when criminals hack places like Target and Neiman Marcus is only worth so much to an ID thief. Sure, one could use that info to place online orders, but you’re just asking to be tracked down and caught that way. The real prize comes when you take that information and create real-looking credit cards with it.

Last night, the Justice Dept. announced that it has charged three Florida men for running a website — fakeplastic.net — that the DOJ describes as a “one-stop online shop selling counterfeit credit cards and holographic overlays,” that could be used by other baddies to either fake their identities or use stolen credit and debit card numbers in retail stores.

Feds say that cards tied to this operation are responsible for at least $34.5 million in fraud.

The 39-year-old alleged ringleader from Palm Bay has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods or services, and conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with authentication features.

His two alleged conspirators — a 31-year-old also from Palm Bay, and a 30-year-old from Melbourne — have been charged with conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud.

The site was actually seized by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service back on Dec. 5, but rather than make a public spectacle of the seizure, authorities continued to allow customers to make purchases.

The DOJ says that, following the site’s seizure, authorities made more than 30 “controlled deliveries” to customers. This means that customers were sent their orders, but those illegal materials never left the control of law enforcement.

These deliveries resulted in 11 additional arrests of alleged fakeplastic customers.

The U.S. Attorney in the case described fakeplastic.net as a “made-to-measure service [that] provided the last link in the chain necessary for criminals to make money from stolen credit card numbers and identities.”

It’s believed that the site’s operator began selling counterfeit cards and related items as early as April 2011. Fakeplastic.net was launched in June 2012. Between the pre-fakeplastic sales and the sales made through the website, the DOJ claims that the three suspects sold materials for around 69,000 fake credit cards, plus another 35,000 holographic stickers used to make counterfeit cards appear more legitimate, and more than 30,000 state identification card holographic overlays.

The alleged ringleader is believed to have personally made around $1.7 million from these sales.

The fraud conspiracy charges each carry penalties of up to 30 years in prison and fines of $1 million. The charges for conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods or services could mean up to 10 years in prison and fines of $2 million. The charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with authentication features comes with a maximum of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Read More..

Despite the massive popularity of the Chromecast, it still isn’t the correct device for everyone. Perhaps that is why were still seeing a host of set top boxes that run Android come out of the woodwork. Like this one that was just unveiled by a company called Satechi. “The Smart TV Box” as it’s being hailed by the company, is a tiny little Android powered TV Box that connects up to your TV and links up to your home network via WiFi or Ethernet, to give you what Satechi is saying is the “ideal solution for users who want to stream digital media onto their televisions.” Although there is already a large number of devices like this one in existence, the Smart TV Box from Satechi just might be the one for you. It boasts some attractive features and specs, and comes along with a matching price point to really sweeten the deal.

Like most other set top boxes, it gives you the power to access all of your home networks local media, and stream it right to the tv. Unlike most though, it uses XBMC(Xbox media center) software for the interface of all your media access, which to be honest is quite possibly one of the best media management apps and sources we’ve ever seen for Android. XBMC not only sports a sexy UI, but it also makes things easy to find, and they even have apps that can be installed onto your other Android devices. Spec wise, the Smart TV Box comes power packed with an unknown 1.8GHz processor, and it also comes with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage to start you off with a place to keep some media, but should you be worrying about breaching that limit, it has two USB ports and an external SD slot for extra storage via the SD and flash drives, limiting your storage space to as much as you’re willing to buy.

To round things out the Smart TV Box houses a quad-core Mali 400-MO4 GPU, just in case you need some intense graphics processing. Its HDMI compatible and has Bluetooth support and Play Store access(WIN), as well as comes with a nifty little remote that isn’t to obtrusive and weird to handle. (At least by the looks of it) You’ll also find the respective audio port, and a micro USB port for service and support updates it seems. Overall, the Satechi Smart TV Box seems like a pretty great little set up if you’re looking for this sort of device to add to your living room, and you can have one for only $109.99. It’s now live for purchase, and you can pick it up either straight from Satechi or from Amazon.

Satechi Smart TV Box Streaming HD TV Digital Media Player XBMC Android 4.2 Quad-core 1.8Ghz 1080P with Wi-Fi (Silver)

Source: AndroidCommunity

Images: Satechi

The post Transform Your TV Into A Little Green Robot With The Satechi Android TV Box appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

via AndroidHeadlines.com | http://ift.tt/KHaukv

Read More..

When a restaurant introduces a new special, they want the name to be memorable. Brothers Pizza in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio have done a masterful job with one coupon that they call their “oddest and most popular offer.” That’s the “12 boners and 4-skins” deal, where customers get a dozen chicken wings and four potato skins for $10.99. What did you think it was referring to?

Lest you think that this is some kind of mockup, it is not. They offered the same deal back in November, and put the coupon on Facebook.

What do you get with your wings? Toppings include the pizzeria’s very own “Raging Boner sauce, which is a culmination of our Bromade hot as [Hades] hot sauce mixed with our house hot sauce.” Sounds hot.

“Boners & 4-skins:” The Pizza Shop’s Penis Pun Coupon [Cleveland Scene] (Thanks, David!)

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Read More..

Data usage can be a frustrating thing these days, especially if you have a limited amount and want to keep from acquiring huge sums of usage fees or running into unbearably slow internet load times due to throttling. The biggest problem for consumers who have issues with data usage on their mobile devices is the lack of knowledge on how much data is actually being consumed. A big contributing factor to this is simply not knowing what apps use what amount of data, being misinformed or just flat out not paying attention. A new CTIA run website titled “Know My App” aims to help consumers combat this problem, and be more aware of applications that can chew through your data.

Know My App mentions that you should pay close attention to apps that offer services like streaming media(Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, Spotify, Google Play Music, etc.) and suggests that you only use these applications while on wifi or at least trying to avoid using them if no wifi connections are available. The reasoning for this is because they eat through data like it’s nothing due to constant streams of high quality content like movies or TV shows. You can monitor your usage of data via your carriers web portal after you login to your account, but using the carrier website to track your usage isn’t as effective as just keeping a close eye on which apps you use while you’re connected to your network. Although this type of a recommendation can vary depending on how long you are using data hungry apps, and you have to consider if you’re someone that even has to worry about this sort of thing at all. For example, you can stream and use your data to your hearts content if you carry a truly unlimited data plan. Not all customers are though, in fact plenty of them aren’t.

Know My App is primarily aimed at consumers who aren’t on these types of plans and have to watch their data consumption every month. The site can also be helpful for those who always seem to go over their data no matter what they do. If this sounds like you, the Know My App site might be just what the doctor ordered to help you keep your data usage under wraps. Check out all the information that Know My App has to offer if you think it could be beneficial. Even if you have a data plan that has no foreseeable limits, you can still use Know My App if you’e interested in knowing which apps use high amounts of data.

The post Know My App Helps Consumers Watch For Apps With Heavy Data Usage appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

via AndroidHeadlines.com | http://www.androidheadlines.com/2013/12/know-app-helps-consumers-watch-apps-heavy-data-usage.html

Read More..