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the most cool Mac modification ever

it would be good if digitalhipps would do a matrix font keyboard, but i don't know if they have keys for the new PowerBooks yet. in the FAQ it said that the keys only worked for the PowerBook G3s.

i'm also thinking of using some neon cable underneath the keyboard now. i would probably only use 3 volts, but i have no idea of how to make it portable with my TiBook. i could figure something out where i could have it setup on my desk at home, but then i would have to disconnect it whenever i wanted to move my TiBook.
 
Originally posted by cb911
i'm also thinking of using some neon cable underneath the keyboard now. i would probably only use 3 volts, but i have no idea of how to make it portable with my TiBook. i could figure something out where i could have it setup on my desk at home, but then i would have to disconnect it whenever i wanted to move my TiBook.
Click to expand...

I think that there's a box that the cable hooks up to, and the box requires 12V of power, and it's not the smallest thing in the world... Fitting it into a TiBook is probably impossible.
 
ok this might be a stupid suggestion but i thought id see if it helps. how about using usb to power the light? there are plenty of usb lights for powerbooks, but i just dont know if there is a way to get that power inside and under the keyboard (thats the part where i think it might be a stupid suggestion.) if you can access usb from inside then you would be set.
 
glowing blue optics

blue might look cool but it is the hardest colour for your eyes to focus on, remember how the big Chevron canopy seems to glow? Very dificult to look at much if you are not a touch typist.
try and find a Japanese keyboard and rub off the roman charcters! That would baffle a lot of people! ‚¹‚ׂɂɂ±‚±‚¾‚«‚å‚Æ

‚͂Ђقւӂ©‚«‚±‚«‚_

‰Í‡‚Ë‚É‚ç‚ë‚ê‚肳‚¹‚Â

‚©‚í‚¢@‚ˁI

Žè‚¥
the previous is mostly gibberish, except for one phrase.
 
Re: glowing blue optics

Originally posted by kansaigaijin
‚¹‚ׂɂɂ±‚±‚¾‚«‚å‚Æ

‚͂Ђقւӂ©‚«‚±‚«?

‰Í‡‚Ë‚É‚ç‚ë‚ê‚肳‚¹‚Â

‚©‚í‚¢@‚ˁI

Žè‚¥
the previous is mostly gibberish, except for one phrase.
Click to expand...
That's meant to be only readable in the japanese character set right? otherwise it just appears as romanish characters
 
the bit about the power supply really had me stumped.
AmbitiousLemon, that's a great idea. i'd never thought of that before. i'm going to take my keyboard out sometime this week and have a look at exactly how much room i have. anyone have any idea of how much voltage you can get out of a USB connection? the neon cable only needs 3 volts, but that is the lowest voltage and the dimmest light. i reckon there is definitely a way to get the USB to plug in from the back, getting it powered from the inside will be the hard bit.

now i've got to find out how to get the ink off the keys. i also need to know what type of ink to use to put the new letters onto the keys. any ideas anyone?

and finally, kansaigaijin. did you type all that stuff with a english keyboard? theres some really cool characters in there.
theres a phrase in there that isn't gibberish? i can't understand any of it.
 
kanji,katakana,hiragana

I have a j issue keyboard, it has extra keys on either side of the space bar to switch between the three japanese (really hiragana and katakana are japanese, kanji are chinese, but the reading, that is pronunciation, is different usually)
47 hira
47 katakana
20,000+ kanji ! or ‚É–œ‚©‚ñ‚¶@ni-man-kanji
really bad translations maybe.

But it is not the keyboard, you need either a kanji-talk system (J9.x.x) or OSX, you should be able to simply switch your keyboard to J-mapping and type away, hiragana is phonetic, type na you will get ‚ȁA‚ñr‚Ë
jhˆãj‚¶‚¤‚Á
‚Ás@‚«@er
you get kanji by typing its pronunciation, a list pops up and you select from many that sounds the same.
Keyboards are in the international control panel if you didn&t know
now I have messed up, I can&t get the apostrophe!
 
I know how to type Japanese..I'm half Japanese and have the language installed on my computer...I was just wondering if you have to change the character set to read it because it doesn't display correctly in the western set in IE..
 
whoa man!! thanks tjwett, i've been looking for a place where i could buy replacement TiBook cases. now i can get to work on the case after i'm done with the keyboard!:D
and tjwett, one more thing. do you know of any other places where i can get TiBook stuff. i just want to compare prices. thanks.

and a question about the International conrtol panel. you can change the language that the OS uses, right? is it easy to change back? and under the language tab, it has a section for 'script'. what exactly does this do? i want to have a play around with all that stuff, but i'm afraid i won't be able to type apostrophes.....
 
apostophes

go ahead cb and change it, you should have no trouble to change it back, just remember what it looks like, prefs are the third thing down in the Apple menu, International panel is still the UN flag, language the first panel, drag your desired language to the top, keyboards the last pane, and so on, the UI doesn&t change.
log out and in again to change the system, compliant apps will change by quitting and relaunching.

dreg I think you change it,
View, character set, japanese auto detect,

my wife says that is the most reliable
 
i changed the language and almost everything was displayed differently. but when i went to type in Mail it was still english. do you have to change the language prefrences in Mail to type another language?
and is it possible to type in another language with the english keyboard?

now back onto the subject of the Matrix mod. i've been having a look for details of USB powered lights to see how much voltage they use, i haven't found any exact specifications, but i'm guessing that they don't use much at all.
does anyone know of any sites that have details of USB powered lights or other devices? you must be able to power more than a 3 volt accessory because i can plug my scanner in, and that uses USB power.
 
so i can type japanese or other languages with my keyboard...

and i'm still hunting for USB info. need to get the neon cable powered by USB...
 
i suppose i could use LEDs. there are already USB lights. maybe i could change the LED to green and have about 5 or 6 running off the one USB connection...
:eek:
 
I'm pretty sure you can get green LED's from Radio Shack... Since they require much less power, you could probably rig them easier.

If you really wanted to get creative, you could include a pressure sensor for each LED (under every key) so that they only flash when you actually type. :D
 
whoa! hold on a second! a LED under every alphabet key??
that would be really cool, but i don't think they'd all fit in the keyboard. although you could probably get really small LCDs...

i just checked the website where you can buy the neon sheets and cable from. the cable might fit between the keys - it's 2.3mm thick, but the sheet would definitely fit no problems - they're only 0.35mm thick. and i re-read the FAQ again. here's the good bit: EL cable can be spliced with ordinary electrical cable. this means that i could hook up some neon cable with electrical wire and then connect it to a couple of AAA batteries. i could squeeze those batteries into my TiBook!!:D then it would be completely portable, no outside wires!!!!:D :D

i'm not sure about the EL sheets though, i'll have to check that out again...

and all the neon stuff from that website doesn't heat up when it's turned on. how cool is that!!:cool:
 
Where do you think you will be able to cram in those AAA batteries??? The insides of the TiBook are pretty tightly packed with very little unused space.
 
Re: hey, G4scott!!

Originally posted by cb911
i just read your whole 'Best Mac Mod.' thread. it looks pretty cool, but i'll have *genuine* matrix code. i also noticed that your little mod voided your warranty, and that is something i definitely don't want to do.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, but fitting a couple AAA batteries in your TiBook case just might void the warranty :p But that's the fun in mods. It's not fun unless you void the warranty :D (of course, in some cases, some mods turn out to be complete disasters and a waste of thousands of dollars... Don't let it happen to you.)
 
i just had a look inside my TiBook and there isn't much room in there. i think i'll have to use those really small batteries they use in watches. or it might be easier if i have a USB power connection coming from the ports around the back.

it wouldn't do anything to the warranty if i hid a couple of batteries in there, would it? i would just remember to take them out when it has to go to Apple...

anyway, thats a fair way off yet. for now i've got to figure out what ink to use to put the new letters on the keyboard, and how to get the characters all looking crisp and not blurry. i'm thinking about a stencil, but that would be really hard to cut out all the different shapes.
 
If there are any sign shops in your area, see if they will make you a spray mask of the characters. If they do, see if they will make you a few, just in case you f*ck up some of the letters as you either put them down, or paint them.
 
exellent idea!! a professional mask!!:D actually, i know a friend who might be able to do that... i'll see what he says.

any recomendations as to what ink/inks i should use?
 
No idea on the inks... but you could try to use some model paint, since it is made to go onto plastic. You might want to airbrush it on, so that you get even coverage.

I was just thinking, you could make a power plug come out of the lockdown slot. Then just make something to connect it to the USB port, or connect it to batteries after that. You could probably snake the wires fairly easily to the port... and not have to make too many extra holes... Another reason to get a spare keyboard, so that you don't have to worry if you need to drill the one with the mod.
 
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