The Hero's kernel is the bottommost part of its software; it's the part that manages basic functions like memory allocation, device drivers and the like. For modders to be able to access and compile this is great news for potential Hero modders, who'll be able to drop this kernel into cooked ROMs with all manner of interfaces, app configurations, performance tweaks and the like. What this won't do is help bring features like the Sense UI to other handsets—though modders are doing pretty well with that on their own—because those components are distinct from the kernel.

While this might seem like a generous move on HTC's part, it's not: The Hero's kernel is a modified Android kernel, which is in turn a heavily modified Linux kernel. In other words, parts of it are irreversibly open source, which means that HTC is legally required to release this code—they're actually kinda late here. [HTC]

Ben, a graphic designer by training, gives plenty of insight into his design philosophy—he calls the process "whoring it up"—and there's plenty of oddmod eye candy to longingly gaze at.

But let's cut straight to it: this is kind of disappointing. Why? Because for every interesting new fact we learn about Ben Heck, a myth is shattered. Fantastic myths, these were! For example, he—Herr Benjamin Heckendorn—doesn't have a German accent. At all! [Engadget]

It's a meticulous, charming mod, complete with woodwork, which is why we can forgive some of the larger omissions, like its lack of a touch display—the most outwardly distinctive feature of the original—and its lone, primitive VGA video output. What is does have is a 900MHz Intel Mobile Celeron processor, a 20GB SSD, 1GB of RAM and Wi-Fi.

It doesn't look like he kept the battery, which would have been a nice touch, but hey! PC in a keyboard! [Eee-pc.ru via Liliputing]

The materials list and building procedure actually appear somewhat manageable, and if you're comfortable wielding a soldering iron you probably won't be intimidated. The most surprising part of this, though, is the price: $200 for a 4.3-inch LCD, and about $10 for a clear MacBook logo replacement. It's not peanuts, but $210 isn't bad for a mod that just a few weeks ago stole the hearts of Mac fanboys the world over. [Eddie Zarick]

Just 7.5 pounds, the mighty pyramid pc's frame was constructed from laser cut, black and silver aluminum before acrylic paneling sealed the system off to grave robbers and historians. Two 80mm fans keep things frosty with the assistance of liquid cooling. And, of course, a few extra LEDs have been added here and there to bring a little glam to the shabby old pyramids.

Specs:
CPU: Q6600 B3 OC @ 3.15 GHz (Max stable OC @ 3.4 GHz) – "water cooled"
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L
RAM: G-Skills 4GB PC2-8000 OC @ 1066 MHz
GPU: 512 MB 8800GT Zotac AMP Editions (700 MHz Core/ 2000 Mhz Memory)
HDD: 500 GB Cavier WD 300 SATA
PSU: 500 Watts Rosewill
Cooling: Thermaltake Tide water plus w/ Swiftech apogee GT CPU block

I do wish Dell/Alienware put out machines that were this bold in design. Because, why not? The world isn't exactly short on tower PCs.[Power Up! via Geeky Gadgets]

If our best guess is correct, not only is the board built on a ceramic underplate, but all of those off-white structures on the board are "micro-porous ceramic" heat sinks as well. But not only do they dissipate heat from board components while looking ever so evil—the ceramic also improves the structure integrity of the board itself.

The only catch to performance clockers may be the inclusion of SO-DIMM slots—small form memory slots generally reserved for notebooks.

As of right now, the Marine Cool is a concept. But like their dual-screen laptop, if Asus actually brings this model to market, we'd all remember that the company is capable of creating a lot more than just netbooks. [Softpedia via Engadget]

The first thing you notice about this mod is its size—it's 8 feet tall, and weighs over 400 pounds. The project apparently took a year to complete, and it shows. Not opportunity for modification is pass up, with everything from the power button (a discreet brass valve) to the air intake (an old church floor vent) gets a neo-Victorian overhaul. While it looks like a wooden mainframe, its guts are pure high-end gaming. The dual Nvidia 8800 GTX system is watercooled throughout, keeping noise to a minimum. This is Steampunk done right—as actual art, not as a fashion statement. Check out gallery below for a few more pics, but definitely click through to Dana's full Flickr set to see the Frankenstein in all its glorious detail. [Dana Mattocks]

The so-called Paradox Mouse has everything a good steampunk mod needs: brass, bolts, gears, woods, and a distinct neo-Victorian flair. It also has a few extras, which the modder refers to as "ironic": a mouse skull, shoulder blades and spine. The skull sits as a sort of ornament on the front of the mouse, the shoulder blades as miniature cattle catchers, and the vertebrae as the palmrest.
I'm not sure what to say about this, especially considering that it sounds like the modder might have some, uh, experience when it comes to repurposing mouse parts:

I had to soak the bone in warm water for 5 minutes to soften the tendons which allowed me to bend it to its final shape.

Neat! Daniel, who just had a mouse skeleton just "sitting in a box" (!!!) says the entire mod only cost him about $40-$50. Check his site for build details. [TheTentacleParadox]

Looks great, but frankly you'd need to wire a giant servo to my feet to drag me out of bed rather than use hack like this, but YMMV. [Hackaday]

The angular, simply-shaped NES controller lent itself well to humongonization, but the rounded sides and shoulder buttons made the SNES a formidable challenge to accurately build at such a large scale. The SCAD guys sure as hell pulled it off though, getting everything from the curvature of the L and R buttons to the fonts used on the control labels almost perfectly right. The body of the controller is cut from wood, and the buttons are connected directly to the guts of a standard SNES controller, preserving the now hilariously small-looking cable and connector. Matt LaBoone, the primary builder of the project, says that videos (hopefully including some gameplay action) are forthcoming. For now check out the full log of the building process at the SCAD Inc. site. [SCAD Inc.]

That pic is of the guts of the beast—it's all glistening plexiglass and copper plumbing. And in my mind that sets off a "steampunk-meets Buck Rogers-style retro sci-fi" feeling, complete with flashing lights and lurid plastic colors, but without Tweaky. But that name isn't catchy enough. Over to you guys...

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Now you should be convinced: if this mod isn't real, that video is a very well-done fake. There's no info on how it's been done, so it's up to you to work out how to follow in their footsteps if you too want a glowing fruit. [iNews76 via Yanko Design]
Update: A reader, and editor of iphones.ru has sent us these photos of the glowing mod in action, in lighted and unlit situations. There's this Giz story showing behind it in the pics... it's real, folks! The mod cost about $300 to do.
Thanks, Arthur!

The project was designed to work on 12V car USB units, and it's pretty neat, hey? Interestingly, with just a few extra tweaks you can adapt it so the circuit works with high-capacity batteries. That'll let you run your iPhone almost anywhere in the world away from power sockets. [Tzywen via Makezine]