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…The Xbox should be slim?

Xbox Slim

Since Microsoft went straight from the Xbox to the Xbox 360, they didn’t stop to do any revisions to the original like Sony did to the PlayStation 2.

However, this didn’t stop one crafty modder from making his own “Xbox Slim” project, and using it as a media center that can play games.

Xbox Slim And Xbox

The Xbox Slim cuts more than half the weight from the original, weighing in at just four pounds, and adds in advanced features like a DVD/CD-R combo drive, 60GB of onboard storage, a built-in Wi-Fi receiver, and a built in receiver for the Logitech wireless controller.

Xbox Slim Details

Along with the hardware revisions, XBMC has been added for media center capability, and SNES, Sega, NeoGeo, and other emulators have been added for classic gaming goodness.

It might not be certified by Microsoft, but chances are, that isn’t exactly a bad thing.

[Xbox Slim]

[Via: Technabob]

…New gadgets are just a hack away?

Depression

Has the damaged economy managed to crush your new gadget budget?

Instead of sitting around and complaining, why not make your old things new again with a few “creative” hacks?

To help you along the path to recycled gadget goodness, Gizmodo has put together a guide to Zero-Cost Gadget Upgrades, including turning your Xbox, PC or Apple TV into a genuine media center, hacking your iPod with Rockbox, converting your PC into a Mac, flashing your crappy router’s firmware with DD-WRT to turn it into a top-of-the-line piece of hardware, downloading new maps for your old GPS, jailbreaking your iPhone for Wi-Fi Internet tethering, and modding your Wii to create a free emulation machine.

Who said the next great depression had to be so depressing?

[Gizmodo - Zero-Cost Gadget Upgrades For The Next Great Depression]

…Your desktop wallpaper can help you be productive?

Desktop Wallpaper

Your desktop wallpaper is an often-overlooked tool to help you stay organized.

Simple Help has put together a list of five different wallpapers that will help you increase your productivity, and by switching to one of them, you’ll never have to stare at XP’s rolling hills or Mac’s swirly colors again.

[Simple Help - 5 Desktop Wallpapers That Will Increase Your Productivity]

…The Image Fulgurator will mess with your mind?

Image Fulgurator

The Image Fulgurator is Julius von Bismarck’s photo hijacker that uses a flash gun and an old SLR camera to sense the flash of another camera and then project a message (either image or text) onto the surface of whatever is being photographed.

Apparently the reason for the Fulgurator is that Julius wants to challenge the confidence that people have in the accuracy of their photos, though I think that it’s more than a little fun to watch the confused faces of tourists who just can’t figure out what’s wrong with their camera:

[Image Fulgurator]

[Via: MAKE: Blog]

…You should be a Firefox 3 power user?

Firefox 3 Robot

If you were among the more than eight million people that helped Firefox set a new world record on Download Day 2008, then it’s time to start tweaking and tuning Firefox 3 to match your needs.

The first stop on your customization journey should definitely be at Lifehacker’s Power User’s Guide to Firefox 3, which digs a little deeper into the program and uncovers shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter Eggs in the Mozilla monster.

Are you ready?

[Lifehacker - Power User’s Guide to Firefox 3]