UPDATE: Updating form Library

Hold on folks i'll be back as soon as possable, i've had a massive network failure and been forced to wipe everything off my entire network due to some nasty bugger deciding he didnt like what i was saying and i got the mother of all virus's.

At this time i am reduced to updating here at the local library and attempting to keep my lovely little blogg alive while i "decontaminate" my laptop and desktops and attempt to salvage something from my hardrives.

But fear ye not! i will return to form as soon as I can, keep your eyes open for future updates and news on whats happening.

How To: Ultimate (almost) Free 200" TV

Do Not Throw Out The Old LCD-monitor! - Click here for more free videos

This is the ultimate super hacked monitor, You have no idea how cool it is to have your very own personal cinema in the comfort of your own home and for a few bucks (trust me a 2nd hand school overhead projector isn't that expensive) you too can have a MASSIVE screen.

Now this project took me about four hours to set up properly (and hook up the LCD to the projector) and i have to admit i got the projection screen free but i have been able to project a 20 inch monitor screen up to 200 inches comfortably without too much fuzzing.

For a hell of a time combine this project with DVB-T player (for free Digital TV) , a decent sound system and get an old fish tank (properly cleaned) mix in with last weeks project and a few beers and get yourself a bucket of popcorn and you have a night in to remember. And don't forget this is a PC monitor so feel free to give it a shot with MMORPG's and enjoy gameplay on a whole new level.

NOTE:
#1.This project may be stupidly easy but don't forget to get yourself a dust cover for your LCD as dust can damage it.

#2.The projector glass will get exceptionally warm (especially in older projectors) to try to raise the LCD off the glass itself with a layer of reasonably thick clear plastic (about 1cm) or on a ventilated wooden or plastic frame with an access port for cooling or your LCD screen can and will melt Note in the film the metal interior of the monitor and a cooling fan (left on while the projector is active) were used to stop this happening.

#3.One more thing play all TV and DVD's in as high a definition as you can as the projection process does expand the pixel size and can blur some icons and images at low definition to almost unrecognisable degree.

TOTAL COST FOR BUILD: $53.50 (US) or £22.40 (UK)

Broken AS-IS 20" LCD HD monitor: $25 (including shipping from ebay)

Quill Type 7-20511 overhead Projector: $16 (including shipping from ebay)

1x cooling fan: $5 (new from PCworld)

1x Tin of Matt white paint for Projection wall: $6 (local DIY store)

1x paint brush: $1.50 (local DIY store)

Time and effort for a stupidly cheap 200" TV : Priceless (about 4 hours in the real world)


not too bad considering it costs $2500+ for a standard RGB projector of this size.

Additional:
With a little work and a little effort an XBOX 360 can be hooked up to this thing without too much loss of definition, and believe me there is NOTHING quite like playing Halo3 or CoD4 or even Assassins Creed on a screen this big but dont forget to hook it into a thumping sound system to get the full effect.

WARNING:
One last piece of advice the LCD must NOT touch the glass of the projector as it can and will melt leaving you with a useless pile of melted plastic and a useless project and yourself a little out of pocket.

Daily Blogg: oh boy, a whole new week...

There isn't anything quite like a bloody Monday to ruin your week, Yes i know apathy for the dawn of a new week is nothing new for me but today has been a goddamn killer.

As you know i "fixed" my laptop last week and was unfortunately forced to send it into my local PCworld for extensive reconditioning.

Now fortunately for me i know the guys up there quite well and they are attempting to get my baby back up and working as soon as possible, but having to wait for parts is putting something of a cramp on my social life.

Y'see i normally sit in the Pub or the Library or the local coffee shop or even at work and surf quietly while i do most of my normal writing, reviews & work on the available desktop and transfer data to a 2gig memory stick to my little lappy. Not being able to work on the go is killing me I'm a very social person and i can safely say that being stuck behind a desk is not for me.

Seriously i feel like im missing an arm, i miss the reassuring weight of my laptop in its bag on my shoulder, i miss being able to just work anywhere but most of all i miss being able to play Warcrack at work!

oh well, only a little longer to wait...

...i hope...

Movie Night: 300

So i guess its time to break out the big guns and finaly throw this down.
300 dosent need any introduction but none the less i shall endevor to do so and provide links to Wikipedia so you have a clue what im talking about.

300 is the film adaptation of the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller, and is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film is directed by Zack Snyder with Frank Miller attached as an executive producer and consultant, and was shot mostly with bluescreen to duplicate the imagery of the original comic book.

Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fight to the last man against Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his army of over one million soldiers, while in Sparta, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to rally support for her husband. The story is framed by a voice-over narrative by the Spartan soldier Dilios (David Wenham). Through this narrative technique, various fantastical creatures are introduced, placing 300 within the genre of historical fantasy.

As always links are time limited and can and will be removed if any complaint is noted (as per my standard policy for all films on AriesAntics) so use them while you can!

now break out the popcorn and i'll see you tomorrow!

Links:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Daily Blogg: Mowar fanz?

So I've been looking for a reasonably cheap case mod that will help keep my poor little computer's processor nice and cool.

THIS (see pic) is the answer, well this combined with a case with more holes in it than Swiss cheese (painted yellow of coarse) and with the fans wired up to there own power source THE HUMMING CHEESETM for the fans works so i can access the internal should be the most efficiently cooled computer i will ever build. I swear it WILL look better when i put the cover on it, i just need to make it big enough to fit over the fans and cut the vent holes over the fan locations and put the mesh on to stop dust and crap getting in and make shure the rising swing hinge component has enough free space so I can open the side panel to swap out parts as and when its needed.

Sadly its probably also going to be the biggest and loudest too, but this is the price we pay for functionality. None the less it seems i have turned my Comp into one massive heat sink. If everything go's to plan it should be finished some time this weekend and the new case should be finished around monday or tuesday next week. None the less...

PH33R T3H CH33Z!

How to: Superior Party Lights!

How To Make An Amazing Glowing Ice Bulb - The funniest videos are a click away

OK this is just a very quick How To, and is admittedly a little complex but considering its the first new How To since my comp decided to kick me in the scrotum I'm kinda proud of it.

Remember folks if your gonna give this a shot take into account that water and electricity are not friends with you and do not like it when they are forced to mix so be careful.

DO NOT EVER USE MAINS LEVEL POWER WITH THIS PROJECT, USE BATTERIES ONLY AND DONT FORGET TO WATERPROOF ALL YOUR CONNECTIONS!

Don't worry there will be a better How To next week.


For Your Information:
LED's, balloons and insulated wire will cost you about $2 total and you can wire up about 4 to a pair of AA batterys. They should last about 4-6 hours and they do a fantastic job of cooling your beer.

Daily Blogg: Blue smoke is a BAD thing?

Any way you look at it my laptop is pretty much dead, you can usually tell by the oh so pretty puffs of blue smoke wheezing from its poor cooling ports and the sound of a thousand tiny deaths as each and every partition in your hard drive decomplies.

Oh well, shit happens

So today's post is done using my all new and improved BOX'o'CRAPTM and things are going depressingly slowly. But at least thanks to a RAM injection and a little but of messing about with the processor i was (for the first time in almost a week) able to get my World of Warcrack back.

I am presently attempting to get some of the slightly more unusual programmes like my voice recorder and DivX player on this damn thing while i casually make myself an batch of pancakes on my oh so very hot processor.

oh well wish me luck! peace!