Posts filed under ‘Hacks’

Forum member RaZ0R put together a little tutorial to demonstrate how one would gain Administrator privileges on a Windows machine from within a limited user account.

In a few easy to understand steps, you can go from a limited account to power user in minutes.  This can be helpful if your administrator profile happens to be come corrupted, or if you just need to quickly get administrator access, for whatever reason.

Obviously, use this on computers that you own, on which you are permitted to have administrator access!

For those of you unfamiliar with the MyVu Personal Video Device, it resembles a set of sunglasses with video screens and a pair of headphones built in.  It’s a great little product, but forum member RetroPlayer did not like the fact that his MyVu was tethered only to his iPod.  He decided he wanted to liberate the mini-theater to allow it the ability to connect to any video player with a standard CINCH/AV output, aka an “RCA Output”.

He poked around for a bit, then finally ended up calling MyVu in order to try talking to an engineer.  Surprisingly, he was put through to one, and the engineer was quite accommodating.  He gave RetroPlayer a ton of information, which helped him overcome some issues he was having.

The hack works well, but isn’t quite complete yet.  RetroPlayer has posted schematics and all the details of his project, but has stated that he will continue working on it, taking it from the breadboard to an actual adapter.

In an attempt to ensure that all of his digits survive the 4th of July, forum member morehpperliter has devised a simple but elegant replacement to the time-honored tradition of “light the fuse and run like hell!”  Using an Arduino and a bit of code know-how, you too can keep yourself out of the emergency room this 4th of July.  Or you can continue shooting Roman Candles at your friends and hoping for the best…whichever works for you.

Forum member Cerberus (aka Geek-Republic’s Jim) posted a tutorial on how to rig up an always-on USB charging port for your PC using a spare USB port, a resistor, and a few pieces of wire.

It requires a small bit of soldering know-how, but anyone who has used an iron at least one time can pull this off.  It is a great option for someone looking to reduce clutter while saving energy, since it enables and USB device to charge while your PC is turned off without the need for yet another wall wart.

Forum member Cerberus continues to hack away at his Akimbo IP1150, and this time he has added a VGA port to the box.

I can’t wait to see what the final product will look like when he is finished modding it.

Sharing this little hack was just too good to pass up:

Apparently there is a “30 second skip” command that is available to the Motorola DCT6412 III PVR. If you have this version of the Comcast brand (and other cable carriers, to be fair) you can use the following instructions to map the 30 second skip feature to a button.

1. Make sure the PVR is on. Press and release the Cable button.
2. Press and hold the Setup button. Release it after the Cable button blinks twice.
3. Using the number pad, type 994 and look for the Cable button to blink twice.
4. Press and release the Setup button.
5. Using the number pad, type 00173.
6. Press the button that you wish to have the Fast Forward feature mapped to. I recommend a button that isn’t used normally. I used the “HD Zoom” button in the lower right corner.

The best part about this feature is that it’s not a fast forward feature. It literally jumps forward 30 seconds immediately.

It’s great!

[via Vaxcave]

I have this obsession of controlling all my audio video equipment from the comfort of my couch. I have a remote for my TV, audio system, cable box, Xbox 360, original Xbox (soon to include the power on hack) and PS2. Oh, I even have a remote controlled A/V switch which is pretty cool but not in use at the moment.

The real trick here is to get as many devices working with 1 single remote as best as they can. That means turning the TV, audio receiver, and cable box on and off at will with the push of a single button.
Continue reading “Comcast Remote Hack” »