Tim performs amateur surgery on his Xbox 360 to replace the broken DVD drive. He describes the problems he had matching drive model and firmware numbers.
Valve inspires its fans to do crazy things. Take Eric Ruth, who's made it his personal mission to recreate Left 4 Dead from scratch in the context of a top-down, 8-bit action game. So far, Ruth has finished the first campaign of the original Left 4 Dead, the hospital-based No Mercy, but he's aiming to release a completed product, spanning all four campaigns and including all of the special infected, around January 4. He's pretty much building the whole project by himself.
"Valve doesn't know about it yet," wrote Ruth on his YouTube page, "but I'm sure (with their love of community creations) that they will find this mildly amusing at worst, and hilarious at best."
The world would be better with more 8-bit recreations of modern games.Valve inspires its fans to do crazy things. Take Eric Ruth, who's made it his personal... more
Whether you are motivated by your concern for the environment, your innately crafty inclinations, or even just your woefully depleted financial resources, the notion of cobbling together unique, handcrafted holiday gifts seems to be more attractive than ever.
This is well worth taking a peek at, and even if you lack the time to commit yourself, please pass it along to someone who will!Whether you are motivated by your concern for the environment, your innately crafty... more
There are a number of free ebooks out there that offer just as much great information. Here are a list of 100 you can download and read to work on yourself and your career.
These motivational books will encourage you to walk into any office, look the manager in the eye and remember that you deserve the opportunity to follow your dreams.
There have been a few succesful attempts at using the iPhone to drive a car but most of these have been big budget concepts. This is the DIY version:
"Brake and gas pedals are actuated using a wrench connected to a motor bolted to the floorboards of the card. The steering wheel has been replaced with a gear and connected to a motor using a motorcycle chain. Much like the van we saw last month, an iPhone app has been written to wirelessly control the car of doom. This leads to some car surfing and ghost riding the whip in the video.
To our delight, they’ve also implement the most unorthodox automotive interface yet, Power Wheels. A chain has been added to measure the orientation of the toy steering wheel, and an optical encoder is used to measure the speed of the tiny electric vehicle. It looks like it doesn’t do the best job of translating to a full size vehicle, but it maxes out their style points."
If you want to clean green but don't trust plain baking soda to do all the heavy lifting, here are some simple recipes for homemade green cleaning products that work.
Many folks have jumped on the homemade green cleaning product wagon, only to discover that nothing cleans a bathtub like an old-fashioned can of Comet. If you want to clean green, but don't trust plain baking soda to do all the heavy lifting, here are some simple recipes for homemade green cleaning products that work.
(Pictured above - INK packs the house at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on June 10th, 2009)
We just had Jamin and Kiowa on our Film Courage radio show this past week. Their interview has shattered all records for our show from most listens, most downloads, and most page views. All of this in it's first week online. I believe it is a MUST listen. It is an in-depth case study on the money it took to make INK, their decision to retain the rights to their film and self-distribute and even highlights their deals with Blockbuster and Netflix.
Here is the interview: Jamin Winans and Kiowa Winans on Film Courage (Get interview link at website - Pericles)
So now, just two days away from wide-release on NOVEMBER 10th, 2009, on iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, Blockbuster (they even have Region 0 DVD's where it can be seen anywhere in the world) the pirates come thieving.
This news has been sinking in all day. On one side it absolutely infuriates me and on the other I am completely overjoyed...
Pericles Lewnes
Indie Film Curator
@loopmovie
@pretentiousfilm(Pictured above - INK packs the house at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on June... more
What's more fun than polishing off a bottle of whiskey? Using the empty bottle to make your own server or PC!What's more fun than polishing off a bottle of whiskey? Using the empty bottle to make... more
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) trend is all the rage these days and apparently has been for some time. Nowhere is it more evident than in prison where inmates with so little are capable of making so much and hiding it well. German photographer Marc Steinmetz has photographed some clever creations by desperate German prisoners over the last century. Many of these cobbled together pieces were camouflaged to look like a relatively harmless object – escape ladders appear as chess sets, grappling hooks as deceptive candelabras.
Tuesday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on CURRENT TV on Tues, Thurs & Sats.
In today's show :
YOU CAN NOW SUBSCRIBE TO THE VIDEO VERSION ONCE AGAIN ON ITUNES.UNITED KINGDOM TALK VIDEO.
It's on the other side of the kitchen.
Pub food.
The wires too short.
Product placement.
Things are getting desperate.
Jobs that are not done properly.
Read the instructions.
Still not bought the ticket.
What sort of product should I allow ?
Ding dong.
Recycle the plug.
Why is the video so long ?
Do I need bolts inserted ?
A stupid question.
Susan's roof.
I can't part with the money.
The washing machine story.
Five stars.
Tell me your DIY disasters.
TEXT the show : UK - 078... Int - +44... chris@unitedkingdomtalk.co.uk
WWW.UNITEDKINGDOMTALK.CO.UKTuesday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on CURRENT TV... more
Arin Crumley's new project to set up a cutting edge film self distribution website has succeeded in getting it's initial round of funding through Kickstarter (http://bit.ly/3jvU0).
A lot of filmmakers spend a lot of money entering festivals in hopes of finding distribution. But the reality is that their chances are very slim. Even at Sundance where a few hundred films are selected from about 6000 entries, only one or two are typically funded for distribution. OpenIndie is designed as an alternative to that crap shoot. One thing you do need though is an audience. If your film has an audience of a few thousand, you'll have a good shot at making out with something like OpenIndie. The idea is that you sign people up on a mailing list and they are notified when enough people in their area create the demand for a screening at a theater.But there's a lot more to it (http://blog.openindie.com/).
The website will have the following up and running by March:
# Import emails/zipcodes of their fans so those people can be messaged about near by screenings
# Have a URL for their film where people that they can spread around allowing people to "request" a screening of their film.
# Allow members of OpenIndie to create screenings of any each film complete with RSVP functionality for each film
# Host of a screening can collect donations at the screening and then transfer online to the filmmaker.
# A URL where films can receive donations from audience directly.
# Information about which cities have the most requests for a given film.
Phase two is now in gear which will raise additional funds for the following objectives:
# Filmmakers can adjust the maximum percentage that hosts are able to withhold as their cut.
# Filmmakers will be able to enable certain regions or provide access for screenings to be booked in any region.
# Filmmaker gains ability to auto approve each screening or chose to manually approve.
# A calculation built into the license that describes what an academic or institutional environment must pay the filmmaker based on an assessment of what that institution is charging.
# Filmmaker will be able to list public speakers available to be booked and adjust the fee each person must be paid by the host as well as provide a percentage split of donations collected at the screening that go to the guest speakers.
# Filmmaker will be able to assign percentages that must be shared by the Host on the selling of digitally reproducible physical goods at screenings. For example the host being able to print posters to sell, burn DVDs to sell, screen print the films logo at screenings or sell a USB drive that contains the film.
Got a film project you want to self distribute? Check it out.Arin Crumley's new project to set up a cutting edge film self distribution website has... more
Your children (brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces, etc.) worked long and hard to accumulate all of that Halloween candy, so instead of relegating it to the landfill, please be a good green citizen by trying out a few of these ideas instead :)
Please pass this along to anyone who's tempted to ditch the goodies when the kiddies aren't looking -- there's always a better way to use resources ... even diabolical, cavity-causing candy!!
Have a legal situation but are on the fence on whether or not to hire a lawyer? Then try out these top 20 sites for do-it-yourself law to see if you really do. They can help you with everything from a common legal issue to a rare law.
The Insurance Information Institute estimates a car is stolen every 24 minutes. To help keep your car from ending up like these top ten, we have also included the top ten DIY ways to keep them safe and protected from thieves.The Insurance Information Institute estimates a car is stolen every 24 minutes. To... more
A fun, simple, and easy way to turn turn ping-pong balls and Christmas lights into diffused party lights for your next event.A fun, simple, and easy way to turn turn ping-pong balls and Christmas lights into... more
Unemployment can be quite a predicament. Chances are, you’ll need all the help you can get. Make use of these lifehacks to make your unemployed life just a bit easier.Unemployment can be quite a predicament. Chances are, you’ll need all the help you... more
Not for the kiddies, hehehe. No really if you're a kid get an adult to help you with this. Then YOU TOO can be a Jedi!!! It's so much fun being a geek!Not for the kiddies, hehehe. No really if you're a kid get an adult to help you with... more
According to the FBI, a house, apartment, or condominium is burglarized once every 15 seconds. Don’t be part of the statistics by following these top ten DIY cheap and easy ways to protect your home.According to the FBI, a house, apartment, or condominium is burglarized once every 15... more
From the story: In collaboration with Sonicbids the licensing company is setting up an opportunity with the popular Boston based indie music haven, giving over 200,000 registered bands and any new member opportunities to open up new doors for their careers.
With over 30 years of experience in the music industry, Noteborn Music is an international company that hand picks quality music for use in feature films, indie films, TV shows and advertising campaigns. Aiming to publish, promote, and develop artists professionally and intelligently, the company works with award winning music producers and engineers. To date, Noteborn Music has successfully placed songs with Spike TV, On Demand cable, MTV, ABC, CBS, Lifetime, HBO, USA Networks, feature films and national advertising campaigns.
Mike's comments: So here we go from one extreme to the other. In the last story I posted the writer was essentially accusing unsigned acts of "selling out" if they tried to make a living off of their music. In this story we see another example of the many service companies that are springing up like babies in a rabbit's nest all offering to make artists some money (for a fee).
To me, "selling out" is when a band allows a record label to control their sound, their look, their personality in order to make them more salable. Becoming successful at what you do because people like your music isn't selling out. Making money from what you do isn't selling out. In fact, DIY music success is really how it should have been all along, it is just not what we are used to.From the story: In collaboration with Sonicbids the licensing company is setting up an... more
