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Preparing Builds, Part 1: Terraforming

Throughout this integral guide, I'm going to aid you along the path to bigger and better builds. Often times, people just jump in and build, but we mustn't hurry things if we want our builds to be all the more satisfying when they are finished. Building the actual builings should be the easy (and the most simple step in any great build), but we have to start with what's underneath your pixelated feet.

How To: Make a Prank Stun-Baton

In this article, I'll show you how to make a portable prank stun-baton. Powered by static electricity, simply charge up the baton, and discharge it for a static surprise. The concept behind this device ties in with Leyden jars, and their tendencies to retain static electricity.

Edit on a Dime: The Week Ahead

Happy Monday to all of you out there, thankfully the Consumer Electronics Show is now behind us. It feels quite possible that a cold was caught by yours truly simply by reading the numerous reports of germs being spread from booth to booth on the show floor. I'll do my best to soldier on, in the meantime if you haven't already, you can experience the convention vicariously by reading my 'Best of CES' post here.

How To: Create DIY Filters for Your Cell Phone

In photography, using filters over lenses is a common practice and provides a great way to set the mood or to create an artistic image. The only problem is that they can be quite costly and there currently aren't many available for cell phones specifially. Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this, and all you need are everyday objects that can be found around the house. If you're a purist and don't want to rely on filters provided by camera apps, this is a great way to experiment with ...

How To: Make an Electric Cigar Box Guitar for $25

A large number of the greatest musicians to ever shape the history of sound first learned to play on cheap, dirty, and often times even homemade instruments. There is a very unique atmosphere that comes about when creating music with something made by your own hands—out of what was no more than garbage at the start. There is a sense of accomplishment that inspires the maker, and gives motivation to learn the limits of their creation. Those who have the desire to build an instrument are often ...

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: NOSEGAY

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: NOSEGAY [n] A nosegay is simply a bouquet of flowers, typically given as gifts. It comes from Middle English, from the words nose and gay, which in this case means brightly colored and showy. It does not reference homosexuality; the modern sense of gay.

How To: Make a Mini Cannon From a Lighter

I love this project. It involves fire, projectiles, electricity, and is easy to put together from commonly available parts. This mini cannon fires airsoft pellets, is fueled by alcohol, and is made almost entirely from parts found in a standard BBQ lighter. The total cost is under $5. About half of the BBQ lighters out there have a divide in the gas reservoir which makes them not work for this project. In case you have trouble finding a suitable lighter, the exact one I use in this video is a...

SUBMIT: A Photo with a Nostalgic Theme by December 19th. WIN: JOYSTICK-IT Arcade Stick

It is always a bittersweet moment to find yourself looking back on the fond memories that seem to have taken place in the distant past. When your favorite song from 10 years ago comes onto the radio, or when a sudden scent reminds you of the summers you spent as a child—these types of moments tend to trigger the fondest of memories. For this week's challenge, we'd like to see a photo that captures a nostalgic feeling, whether it be your favorite childhood food, meaningful memorabilia you've s...

How To: Backup All of Your Xbox 360 Data to Your Computer

Flash memory can be a tad unpredictable at times. I have had 4 flash drives die out on me over the last few years, and they usually die without warning. When a flash memory based device dies, the data is likely impossible to recover. Adversely on an HDD, or Hard Drive Disk, even if the disk dies out, someone will probably be able to fix it and get it back to working order—at least long enough for you to back up your data. Hard drives are a bit more forgiving. As you can guess, due to the unpr...

News: Get YouTube's New Layout Today with a Simple JavaScript Hack

As many of you may have noticed, nearly every Google product (i.e. Gmail, Google search, etc.) has gone through a bit of a makeover since the release of Google+. Big blocky buttons and enormous font sizes are apparently the thing of the future, and with a cool JavaScript hack, you can have a goofy YouTube, too! Now, I'm actually just being a bit facetious, the new YouTube is really the only thing that I like out of all of Google's recent redesigns. It looks pretty sleek.

How To: Use the Enchantment Table in Minecraft

Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play on our free server. For about the past month, the folks at Mojang have been leaking pre-releases of Minecraft 1.9 and they've added many exciting things. Additions to the game include: potions, new mobs, a new biome, new realms, and something called an enchanting table. I went over how potions work in one of my previous articles and, while they are fun to play with, boy are they confusing!

Scrabble Bingo Weekly Roundup: Shlemiels, Cynosures and Yanquis

Bingo! No, this isn't the game where balls fly around in machines and players dab their cards with daubers. In a game of Scrabble, bingo refers to the bonus a player receives when emptying their rack in one turn, which gets them an extra 50 points on top of whatever their play was. Even if you had two blanks on your rack and didn't utilize any premium squares on the board, you'd still have an impressive 56-point turn (at least) by using all 7 of your letters.

How To: Use Cygwin to Run Linux Apps on Windows

You'll see a lot of Linux action going down here at Null Byte. We use Linux for hacking-related stuff because it provides a more relaxed programming environment, making it easy to write exploits and tools. Linux has many features Windows is lacking, such as full control over the OS right down to the Kernel and massive availability of mature, open source (read: free & tweakable) tools & projects.

News: Open Your Chakras with Deepak Chopra's Leela for Wii and Xbox 360

Deepak Chopra is one of the last people you'd think to be associated with video games. He's a new age spiritual icon who's built an empire on self-help books and speaking tours, one of which my Marin County liberal parents deigned to drag me to in middle school. Recently, a new outlet for his teachings was announced—a video game project three years in the making, simply called Leela.