If you have a penchant for modifications as well as the time to dabble with DIY projects, then you might just be stoked to know what Dean Gray has just done with an old school Macintosh Plus, removing its innards while replacing them with half a dozen hard drives to touch a whopping 2.3TB of storage space – something the original Macintosh Plus could never do. Of course, to keep up with the times, it will also run on an Intel Atom motherboard alongside a 10.4″ display. Dean intends to continue working on this project by throwing in Wi-Fi connectivity down the road, but for the moment, his beloved project will function as a Time Machine backup destination that is rather similar in nature to an Apple Time Capsule or a Drobo running on OS X. Just what other crazy ideas for a mod do you think you might have up your sleeve?

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The black ghost knife fish is one of the more unique and exotic fish out there where hobbyists are concerned, as these Amazon basin creatures sport a couple of unconventional characteristics – the ability to sense all around them thanks to a self-generating (albeit weak) electrical field, not to mention the ability to move about in any direction courtesy of an undulating ribbon-like fin which runs along the length of their underside. A team led by Northwestern University mechanical and biomedical engineer Dr. Malcolm MacIver has decided to emulate nature’s design in what could possibly be future man-made submersibles through the creation of the GhostBot – an underwater robot which will amble about underwater thanks to a knife fish-like fin. Of course, the long and hard road required to come up with the GhostBot is well worth every effort, as we would be interested to see how this discovery and invention will change the way underwater vehicles are designed and constructed in the future.

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Windows 7 has been one of the big success stories for Microsoft recently after the disappointing Vista run, so it is with enthusiasm and curiousity that we look forward to Windows 8, keeping our fingers crossed that it will be better than what Windows 7 is able to deliver. An Italian website managed to get hold of slides of what looks like a presentation that was given by Microsoft under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). While there weren’t too many new features discussed, it does seem that Microsoft was inspired by Apple when it comes to creating a far stronger brand value and perception that “people will pay for.” Some of the slides do seem to bring us back to the years where Apple mooted their ideas, with one slide explicitly analyzing Apple’s OS strategy. An App Store was also discussed, where the user can run apps in full screen and download any apps that might have gotten lost due to a system crash. Are you stoked yet as to what Windows 8 is able to deliver?

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Ever been in a car accident and ended up paying for damages even though it wasn’t your fault? Wish you had a camera that recorded the whole accident as proof? Well now you can. The iCarBlackBox is an app designed to let you know who is right or wrong in the event of a car accident. It records the car’s speed, date and time, location, road location, and of course a video of the whole incident. The app stores all these details which you can review when filing a report or when debating with the other driver about whose fault it was. In addition to recording the details and video of the accident, the iCarBlackBox can automatically send the details of the accident to the designated emergency contacts (either through SMS, or email) if it detects an accident. It also provides a quick dial to an emergency number (911 is the default) and it can also send an emergency message and call for help in the event the user has been injured and is unable to make the call for help.

The only thing you have to do is set up the device (place it on a phone holder before you start driving) and press start – you’re good to go. The only problem I see with this app is that you’ll have to remember to keep a charger in the car (leaving the video camera on to record accidents will definitely do some heavy battery drainage) and while the app can detect collisions from the side and rear of the car, it can’t record them unless of course you set up the camera to face those directions. Other than that, it sure seems like a pretty useful app that everyone who drives and uses an iPhone. iCarBlackBox is available now for free on the iTunes App Store though it hasn’t been mentioned until when the promotion will last. Check out a video of the app in action:

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Samsung has just announced the launch of their new ultra compact camera, the ST30. This super slim camera was designed to fit inside small handbags or in the pocket of your jeans – it’s the size of an average mobile phone (no, the RAZR isn’t average), so if your pocket holds an iPhone, it should hold the ST30 as well. Not only is the ST30 compact and easy to bring around – it is touted to take great pictures as well. After all, why bother bringing a camera everywhere if it’s not going to take pictures right? The camera packs a 28mm lens with 3x power optical zoom, image stabilization for those of you with shaky hands, and a 10.1 megapixel sensor to give you photographs with sharp, crisp details for those picture perfect moments. The camera also comes with built-in features to help you edit pictures on the spot. Get rid of red eyes, blemishes, dark circles and even out skin tones right from the camera itself. Samsung’s T30 ultra compact camera has a price tag of $99.99 and will hit the stores in March.

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Previous Story: Google TV sets its sights on education

We all know that Google TV didn’t do too well in the consumer market when it was launched last year. The fact that it had trouble securing online content for its services made it even worse. It didn’t sell very well at all and not many people saw a reason to get it. But unlike other Google services that got the axe if they didn’t perform (Google Wave anyone?), Google are determined in making it work. There have been rumors of the company making the set top box cheaper by converting to ARM chips, but in the latest Google TV blog post, they seem to have other plans in mind. Google have just announced Google TV for EDU – a seeding program to support university research. Google plans to have their TV set top boxes set up around selected schools and classrooms in America in a research project. They want to see if the presence of a web TV can help to generate new interest in television engineering, make computer science tangible for students, help in development of smart TV curricula and new educational tools, contribute to in-classroom and distance learning over television, and to reach a wide audience. The Google TV blog states that they will be posting the outcomes of the research as well as information on new educational web-apps over the next few months. What do you think of Google’s move to penetrate the classroom? Could it help shape Google TV’s uncertain future?

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It looks like these open source map charters have been hard at work. MapQuest has just announced the launch of 8 additional maps built using open technology and OpenStreetMap data. MapQuest now supports Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Sweden. Great news if you’re a believer/user of open source projects and/or you’re looking for a free alternative to Google Maps. They have even updated their MapQuest sites with additional features – language selection, map tiles that update every 15 minutes, searches that update every 5 minutes, driving directions updated daily, a new map toolbar for improved searching, an easy ways to share maps (through email/Facebook/embed), draggable routes, and more. How many of you are MapQuest users?

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