Gearfuse

This ring is so pimp, like a geeky version of Xzibit, or whoever the kids are listening to these days. The 1981 ‘ATARI Ring’ is, as you might be able to guess from the title, a replica of the original chip used in the ATARI gaming system. 18 gold karats of geekdom.

While most men would much rather be playing ATARI than wearing the console’s chip on their finger, we still think this ring is pretty sexy. Dare we say, dope? Yeah, son. More photo love after the jumperoni. (more…)

So over the weekend, one of the bigger topics floating about the Internet involved Apple’s new iPod Shuffle. After dissecting the new set of headphones it comes with, Boing Boing Gadgets discovered a very small chip on the inside of the headphones that was overlooked by nearly everyone. BBG speculates that the chip is some kind of proprietary DRM chip that Apple will use to force third-party manufacturers to pay Apple a fee for making headphones. While it makes sense, I don’t think that’s the case here. If you look at the chip, it’s really too small for any kind of DRM nonsense. I’m thinking it has to do with the new control scheme for the Shuffle. What do you think?

Link

Forget what I said about the Vectrex, I was merely poking fun. It is a goofy looking but awesomely retro gaming console that’s easy to ridicule. If you just so happen to have one collecting dust in your attic because of an obsolete chip, In Choi writes on Programmable Logic DesignLine about emulating the chip with logic design.

Choi proves that there are practical ways to overcome chip obsolescence. Constructing a replacement chip dubbed a RLD (retro logic device), a swap for the broken chip gets the system up and running again. We’re glad he used the Vectrex to prove his point.

Link [via]

Need even more proof that RFID doesn’t improve security? According to a group of hackers who bypassed an ePassport RFID authentication at an Amsterdam airport, RFID passports aren’t as secure as people think. Using software to design custom identities as well as convincing scanners to accept fabricated RFID chips, the hackers got around security without raising suspicion.

They used an image of the late Elvis Presley for their passport and still, no one said anything. The group has even made their method publicly available, so you can attempt to bypass security at your own airport. Though, I don’t recommend attempting it.  You could end up in Guantanamo Bay.

Link [via]

Here’s an interesting little hack that will make those of you in London light up with glee. Some wisecrack DIYer went and dissolved an RFID-based Oyster card for the Underground. The result? A lot of wires and an RFID chip left behind. As you can see in the video above, the card continues to work flawlessly and can now be implemented into your hand, wallet or whatever you want to stick the chip in.

Although the method really doesn’t change anything about the card aside from appearance, it does open the door to some possible . Maybe you could replace the chip inside of a card with a different RFID chip your friend at the government lab re-programmed? The possibilities are (probably not) endless.

Link (via)

Ever heard of the Ninja Team? If not, here’s a quick briefing, they are the subjects of quite a rumor floating around about the Wii and the ability to play “backup” games. There are claims that they have been able to develop a 5-point soldered ship that lets you play the games that you backed up because you knew they would get scratched sooner or later. Another theory is that these backups can be shared via Bittorrent (the more likely option). We’ve seen this happen on the PS1, PS2, Xbox, and the Xbox 360. It seems fairly suspicious that this hack has come out so soon, but it is far from impossible.

(more…)