The Beta, tbeta for short, is a open source/cross-platform solution for computer vision and multi-touch sensing. It takes an video input stream and outputs tracking data (e.g. coordinates and blob size) and touch events (e.g. finger down, moved and released) that are used in building multi-touch applications.

What You’ll Need

• Webcam – any old working webcam would work fine
• A cardboard box
• Paper – you could use tracing paper or any normal paper
• Any hard transparent material – glass, plastic, etc.
• The tbeta software

How to make the Multi-touch Device

This is the video tutorial that I followed to create my own Multi-touch input device.

Software

The software I used for the Multi-touch input was tbeta, as described above. This is the main interface of tbeta. From my experience, it was not too difficult to configure the Multi-touch to detect your fingers accurately.

Tbeta would work in Window, Linux and Mac. However, these OSes currently don’t have built in Multi-touch functions. Tbeta sends TUIO messages (coordinates of points touched) over TCP/IP, which can be used by flash. Tbeta comes with demo applications which demonstrates it Multi-touch abilities.

To read more about tbeta, you may visit their Wiki or their main website.

Currently the kernel supports:

- Framebuffer driver
- Serial driver
- Serial over USB driver
- Interrupts, MMU, clock, etc.

Currently they are using openiboot and they have:

- Read-only support for the NAND

What they don’t have and need your help to do:

- Write support for the NAND
- Wireless networking
- Touchscreen
- Sound
- Accelerometer
- Baseband support

Baseband support of course is only for the iphone’s.

You can view the progress on the video located here »

The installation instructions can be found here »

You can download the software here »

Rockbox is an open source firmware for media players, including iPod. It has a lot of features that iPod native firmwares can’t provide, such as watching a movie on an 1st gen iPod nano, or even play a GameBoy game on it.

However, it only support iPod models up to 1rd gen nano or iPod VIdeo (5.5G). (No, they don’t support shuffles :P). For a complete list, visit this site: http://build.rockbox.org/

The image above shows the screen of the “Now Playing” screen. Rather amazing, right?

If you want to install, follow this link and find the corresponding instructions for your media player: http://www.rockbox.org/manual.shtml

If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask in here. Have fun with it!

Almost everyone has a router sitting at home. Within just a few minutes, make your router do more that what it can currently do by installing a 3rd party firmware!

After trying out several free firmwares, TechCube recommends the DD-WRT firmware.
DD-WRT was choosen because of its simplicity and functionality. Its nice interface is also a bonus!

Before you proceed, check if your router is supported:
http://dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices

Grab you copy of the latest version from their file repository:
http://dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/dd-wrt/downloads.html

WARNING: Although it is unlikely that this will damage your router, there is still a small posibility that your router might be bricked. Proceed at your own risk. TechCube will not be responsible if you damage your router in the process.

Once you have downloaded the *.bin firmware file, you should be able to install it by going to your router setup page (ususally http://192.168.1.1). Login with your username and password (check your router manual if you don’t already know your password). Look for the firmware update page on your router setup page. Wave goodbye to your old and ugly interface as you upload the new firmware. Cross your fingers and hope your firmware update will be successful!

After the router has installed the new firmware, it will reboot automatically. Once your router has been booted, you should see the new DD-WRT admin interface.

Once you see the new interface, the upgrade has been complete!

You may now tweak your router to your liking. However, remember that certain features such as overclocking can potentially damage your router. With DD-WRT, you can even telnet into your router and run linux commands.

Other interesting features include:

• Live bandwidth monitering
• Advanced wireless configurations
• More options for DDNS
• Turn your wireless network into a hotspot
• Advanced access control lists
• Wireless network visulisation (Wi-Viz)

Of course, this list is just the beginning. The rest is up to you to explore!

Feel free to share with us your success or troubles with this firmware by posting your comments below!

Screenshots: