Recently, Gearbox released a new patch for the game Borderlands — patch 1.21. It fixes some of the game’s multiplayer glitches that users were experiencing. The newest, third DLC \ Addon \ Add-on Pack is called The Secret Armoury of General Knoxx. As mentioned previously, it promises to add a higher level cap and will be the longest of all of the DLC’s. A private twitter account will be dispensing information about the upcoming game. No information is available about what the account is so you must find out yourself. Here’s some of the updates listed by Gearbox in regards to what the newest game patch 1.21 does–

* Multiplayer connectivity has been improved; users should no longer be required to forward ports to host or join multiplayer games

* Players who experienced distorted shadows or graphical glitches after update 1.0.1 should no longer experience these issues

* The 3D Vision crosshair has been improved

• Running bleeding edge on Nexus One
We like to run the newest software available. We often encounter problems and things that don’t work because of this, but with open source that just give you the opportunity to contribute and make the package better. Now you can take the fun and daring of bleeding edge to your phone by installing the latest [...]
• Interfacing with an analog joystick
[Firestorm_x1] put together a tutorial about interfacing an analog joystick with a microcontroller. These analog sticks are easy to find; he got his from Goodwill but we’ve got a couple in our junk box right now. The stick uses variable resistors to report its position so it’s just a matter of reading and interpreting that [...]

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• Pre-spun hard drives
This device is lovingly called the SPINmaster. [Linux-works] built it to spin up multiple hard drives before the motherboard starts up. It detects the power-up from the PSU and uses a relay to hold the motherboard in reset, indicated by the red LED. Each of four relays then spins up a hard drive and illuminates [...]
• Pipe heating with an ATMega8
[Viktor] wanted a system to keep his pipes from freezing.  The common method of using heat tape works pretty well, but can be wasteful. Many people just turn it on for the entire winter. [Viktor] wanted to automate the heat tape’s power so that it only activated during times that the pipes could actually freeze. [...]

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• Guitar Hero as an instrument or midi controller
[Robert] wrote a program using Max/MSP that lets him make music with his guitar hero controller. There’s another video after the break where he walks through the various features but here’s the gist of it. This works on Mac and Windows and allows a sort of ‘live play’ or midi mapping mode. In the midi [...]
• Battery holder reuses blister pack
In need of a portable power supply, [Alastair] threw some batteries into an Altoids tin. The problem was he didn’t have a holder for these size A23 cells. Inspiration struck and he realized the blister pack they came in fits them snuggly and just needs some conductors to complete the circuit. He pulled some battery [...]

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• The mechanical diode
A diode allows current to travel in only one direction. With that in mind, [Alex] built a mechanical diode that will only allow gear rotation in one direction to be transmitted through the system. But wait, by connecting two of these devices together he’s built something of a mechanical rectifier. An electrical rectifier converts alternating [...]
• Leapfrog Didj: Followup
Yesterday we mentioned the Woot! sale of the Didj, and we had some comments and emails from readers who had purchased one. We couldn’t resist either, and ordered a couple to take apart and modify. We will probably be following the work laid out by [Claude Schwarz], who seems to be one of the leading [...]

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• USB HDD enclosure to DVD connector
This is a “why didn’t I think of that?” idea. [Alec] needed a way to connect an IDE DVD drive using USB. Rather than order a connector he pulled the circuit board out of an old USB hard drive enclosure and connected to his DVD drive. Bang, recognized and running.
This will prove extremely handy if [...]
• Our favorite XBOX to HTPC hacks
Let’s face it, the original Xbox is ugly. It might have looked cool when it first came out but now most would be embarrassed to display that old beast with the rest of their entertainment hardware. This is unfortunate because the old girl still has some life in her. If you have tools, time, and [...]

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That’s right. I’m posting EVEN MORE free iPhone/iPod Touch games. This one is called Hand of Greed and, like the others, is free for a limited amount of time so get it fast! Here’s the premise: “Welcome to the Hand of Greed.
As a thief of the guild, venture forth and steal the riches before you. Be warned however, the hazards are numerous and relentless. As you challenge a trial, your life is bound to the game board for the duration of the trial.”

• Game controllers using USB host shield
Circuits@Home has put together some libraries that make it easy to use gaming controllers with an Arduino. They interface through the USB host shield. This means that PS3 controllers connect via USB through a cable or a dongle. With the Wii remote things get a little more interesting. A Bluetooth dongle is used to make [...]
• Leapfrog Didj: Handheld Linux on the Cheap
Today our good friends over at Woot! are selling the Leapfrog Didj, a low cost educational toy aimed at little kids. Lucky for hackers out there, the Didj is actually a linux device, and gaining serial console access is as easy as soldering two wires. The documentation out there is a little outdated, with a [...]

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Like poker? Everyone likes poker so I’ll pretend you said “yes”. Have an iPhone or iPod? Most people do so I’ll pretend again that you said “yes”. Like free stuff? I don’t even need to pretend this time…I know that you said “yes”. Get Ultimate Video Poker FREE for your iPod Touch or iPhone! It has lots of poker games!

• 120v switching
[Kenneth] built a 5v controlled power outlet inside of a junction box. We’ve seen plenty of projects that can switch 120v outlets using 5v logic for refrigerator controllers, lighting controllers, or grow systems, but they almost always use solid state relays to facilitate the switching. This iteration uses mechanical relays along with the necessary protection [...]
• Hacking a digital bathroom scale
[Micah] was inspired by projects he had seen of people using the Wii balance board as an input. He realized the balance board was overkill, and pricey for many applications. Since it is basically just 4 weight sensors, he thought, why not just use a scale? Often, only one sensor is needed and they’re really [...]

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