Mini Mod: Project Hand Baggage

After the tragic breakdown of my laptop I was left with no computer for my travels around the world. I was about to leave for Turkey and I needed some form of PC to keep me entertained and to stay connected to the world. Back in 2004 I bought myself a computer with an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ and ATI X800 GPU and was thinking that maybe that could be brought with me as hand baggage. I went back to my parent’s house, where it was stashed, and saw the size of the case I had bought for it. The Cooler Master Centurion.

It was just far too big. I needed something smaller. While thinking of a solution to this I was also thinking of how to improve on a Socket 939 motherboard without spending too much money. After asking for advice on the Bit-tech forums I got an X2 3800+ and a new graphics card. They told me to get an ATI 5450 but I got a 1GB GDDR5 5670 from a friend for next to nothing.

So new bits, still no case. On returning home to Italy my girlfriend told me she still had a computer that she bought in 1996 and that I could use that case. Ignoring the looks of the case, I measured it up and realised that it was perfect for flight hand baggage allowance. Awesome. So here is the beige goodness:

"It's Not A Computer Mum" Media Player PC - Toshiba U400 Mod

Just after New Year, the backlight on the screen of my Toshiba U400 decided to give up. After 7 countries, over 20 flights, 100’s of trips in my backpack, and 2 years and 2 weeks of use it wasn’t happy anymore. The simple solution to this problem is to replace the light, or if necessary get a new inverter. Boring.

Stock U400 Photo – as usual I forgot to take a picture of mine first

My better half had decided on getting a MacBook Air (I don’t really like it but I can see why some people would absolutely love it, it’s what a Netbook should be, but with OS-X) so she would be giving me her laptop, which was better than mine. Time for a project. At my parent’s house computers aren’t allowed in bedrooms until Uni. My sister is only 16 so still has some way to go. At the moment she uses the internet on the DS Lite I gave her after “Lights out” for important Facebook business. While checking emails etc. on the DS is fine, it’s not really useful. So this project was destined to be a surprise present for her when I got back from Japan.

The idea was to have essentially a media centre PC, something to keep all her music, videos and pictures. I wanted it to play the music and videos well enough for viewing from her bed (her head would be about 2.5m behind the desk) but most importantly give her the internet. Not just so she could check stuff that seems important to her (but really isn’t ) but for Skype. Me and my brother live far away from her so the only real contact we get is by phone. Currently she has to Skype on the family computer which offers no privacy, this way she would be able to talk freely (and watch BBC iPlayer from her room).

Logitech G5 Budget Mouse Mod

A bit of background to start:

One day while bored at uni one of my friends lent me his copy of Custom PC. This is where my problems began. Within a month I had spent my full terms student loan on a new computer. It was beautiful, expensive, and didn’t work. Having never actually seen the inside of a computer before, I didn’t realize that you needed a graphics card and a motherboard. Woops. So out I went to get the latest and greatest graphics card, an ATI Radeon X800. Far Cry looked awesome! Still couldn’t really play it though. My keyboard was a crappy generic PC World home brand. It was time to introduce myself to the world of peripherals.

The funny thing about having no money is that you are more willing to spend it, so out I go and come back home with a Logitech G15. Ooh, light up keys and an LCD! I got instantly better at jumping around like a lunatic. Still couldn’t actually shoot anything. OK, time to get a mouse. Having decided that I like Logitech, and being slightly OCD sometimes so everything must match, I got a G5. Love at first sight. And I’ve been using the same mouse ever since. I’ve always had an eye out for a replacement but nothing seems to suit me better!

Stock G5 image. Got too excited and forgot to take a pic of mine first.