Roulette Computer Inventor Claims Up To 100% Advantage Over Casino

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Misc. Tech, Mods / Hacks,

Inventor Mark Howe, who has been banned from casinos since the 1990’s, claims that his roulette computer can give you an advantage of 20% to 100% over a casino. The result is that the house’s normal 2.7% edge will be overturned. Because the UK gambling industry will be deregulated next year, amatuer and professional gamblers alike are scrambling to jump on the roulette bandwagon by purchasing such devices.

The UK based newspaper Guardian Unlimited reported that, “Keith Tayler, an ex-croupier and gaming inspector, says regulators are unwilling to ban predicting devices because it would amount to an admission that wheels can be biased.”

The gadget itself consists of a clicker that records deceleration speed of the wheel’s rotor and ball. You are then instructed by earphone which zone the ball will land in. In 2004, a group using this device actually won £1.3m at the Ritz Casino in London. At a price of US$5,000, the basic package includes the computer (inside a Nokia cell phone), an electronically shielded data input cable and button or switch, a DVD with footage of a wheel for practice, and an instruction manual.  Let the games begin.

Read More | Roulette Computer Product Page via The Guardian

Bleeding Edge Byte 027: The Time Fountain, Behind The Scenes

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Mods / Hacks, Science, Videocasts,

Unless you dropped off the face of the earth a few weeks ago, you probably ran across our own Nate True’s Time Fountain. In case you missed it, do a quick search and you will find it all over the Internet. We decided to take a closer look at what makes the Time Fountain tick. If you were amazed by the original video, consider this your “behind the scenes” look, explaining how the DIY project works.

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BOSS: Robot Shopping Cart That Returns Itself

Posted by Brian Viele Categories: Design, Mods / Hacks, Science, Transportation,

Cart filled parking lots may soon be a sight of the past.  A new smart cart created by a college student with all sorts of gadgets called “B.O.S.S” - which stands for “Battery Operated Smart Servant” - actually follows the shopper around the store, avoids obstacles, and most importantly, it can be made to return itself! While that sounds cool and all, we will certainly miss the days of the teenage part-timer running around parking lots to collect stray carts in the rain.

Read More | CNN

Bleeding Edge Byte 025: Melting Hard Drives With Thermite

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Mods / Hacks, Science, Storage, Videocasts,

We know many people who are wary of discarding their old hard drives, especially after the drives have died without offering the option to reformat. We know people who have opened them up and scratched up the platters manually, and others who just have a drawer full a bunch of drives. At Gear Live’s Seattle Mind Camp, Pablos of the Shmoo Group asked everyone to bring their old hard drives so that we could give them a proper burial. The result? An 8,000-degree hard drive meltdown, thanks to a little thermite.

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Bleeding Edge Byte 024: The Walluminate, a DIY Light-Up Wallet

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, Mods / Hacks, Videocasts,

In this Bleeding Edge Byte, Nate shows why the Walit doesn’t work when used in the real world, and instead creates his own better, brighter version. The Walluminate (get it? Wallumi-NATE?) was constructed using a standard folding wallet, some LEDs, and a few miscellaneous electronic components. The result? A wallet that brightens up your cash, and only lights up when the wallet is open. Check out the video, and let us know what you think.

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Bleeding Edge Byte 018: The Destruction of a Mac Classic

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Mods / Hacks, PC / Laptop, Videocasts,

Okay, so, we understand that a nice percentage of our readers are die hard Mac users, enthusiasts, connoisseurs, and the like. Heck, we have a few Macs here at the Gear Live Bleeding Edge headquarters. So what would drive us to want to obliterate a Mac Classic by way of rifle, hand gun, propane, fire, and more? We don’t quite know…but it was certainly fun. Enjoy the 4th!

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Bleeding Edge Byte 010: Breakin’ Stuff: Kyocera PalmOS Smartphone

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Design, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Videocasts,

What happens when you create a giant slingshot, and use it to propel a piece of old-school technology into a solid cement wall at over 100 MPH? Find out in this episode of Breakin’ Stuff.

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How To Download YouTube Videos

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Mods / Hacks, Movies,

YouTube has become an overnight Internet phenomenon, with a little help from SNL’s Lazy Sunday video, of course. Still, millions flock to YouTube to upload and view video clips, and are even offered code to allow them to embed said video into their own site. That’s cool and all, but some would much rather just download the content directly to their computer. Sites generally use a flash embed to make it a bit more difficult for users to download the file for their own use, but it is certainly doable with the right tools. Using the website KeepVid, you can tell it the URL of the YouTube video that you want to download, and it will give you specific instructions on how to accomplish that task. Here’s to more webcam girls filling hard drives across the land.

Read More | KeepVid via MediaBlab

The Bleeding Edge 015: Seattle Mind Camp, Melting Hard Drives, Sparky Is Turned Into A Borg

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, Misc. Tech, Mods / Hacks, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Videocasts,

In this special episode of The Bleeding Edge, we take a look at Gear Live’s latest Mind Camp event. Held semi-annually in Seattle, Mind Camp is a gathering featuring some of the smartest tech geeks around. Here is what we have for you:

• How Sparky Became A Dancing Borg
• Bre Pettis Interview, Maker Faire
• Michael Kaltschnee Interview, Hacking Netflix
• Amal Graafstra Interview, RFID Implants
• Breakin’ Stuff: Melting Hard Drives (Literally) with The Shmoo Group‘s Pablos
• What Is Mind Camp?
• Andru Gets A Mind Camp Massage
• Mind Camp 2.0 Video Montage

Best part for me? The massage. Hurt so good, and had me feeling like a new man. One note - the Xbox 360 contest that we mention in this episode is now over, and the winner will be announced shortly.

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DIY LEGO Memory Stick

Posted by John Goulden Categories: Mods / Hacks, Storage,

USB memory sticks are practically a dime a dozen anymore, and when you combine cheap with useful, you give rise to all kinds of fun hacks and mods.  Plus, many off-the-shelf designs are extremely utilitarian and boring, which is why some of the DIY creations can be so refreshing.  An interesting one involves carving up those little LEGO blocks you loved so much as a kid (or may still love as an adult) and cramming some flash memory into them.  Sure, it’s been done before, but the author was kind enough to document the process for those of you who may be, ummm, mechanically challenged.  The author’s creation even has the side bonus of having its activity LED glow right through the LEGO brick.

Hmmm, surely my son won’t miss a few LEGO pieces . . . will he?

Read More | Brickshelf Gallery via Techie Diva