With everyone going solar crazy, here’s 2 cool DIYs that show you how to make solar pumpkin Jack-o-Lanterns.

The first one is pictured above and uses a solar torch (the ones used for garden lights).

The second one uses a smaller Solar LED unit.

I think both are great ideas for using existing solar gadgets into the pumpkin.

Well, knock yourself out with these two for the halloween and save some candles!

via unpluggedliving

Here’s a round of of best netbooks you can get from Amazon today from our Laptop Blog:

Eee PC 1000H is probably the top-of-the-line netbook to get right now as it offers a 10″ screen,160GB hard drive, Windows XP, and Atom 1.6Ghz processor.  I like the fact that Eee PCs have been leading the netbook industry and you won’t be disappointed carrying this 3.1 pound beast in your bag. The battery life is estimated at 7 hours but I think as long as you get about 4-5 hours on this, that’s good enough.

There’s other models of Eee PCs, but this one is the that will give you bang for you buck as it has the largest harddrive.

Eee PC 1000H - $479 at Amazon

MSI Wind 10″ netbook is probably the 2nd best choice right now as far as performance and speed goes.  This MSI netbook comes with 10″ screen, 80GB harddrive, 1.6 Ghz Atom processor, Windows XP, and weighs just 2.1 pounds.  I do like it but I’d rather get the Eee PC 1000H which comes with larger harddrive and longer battery life.

MSI Wind 10″ - $549.99 at Amazon

Acer Aspire One 8.9″ netbook is next with 160GB harddrive, Atom N270 processor, Windows XP, and 1GB memory.   I think 8.9″ is too small for any netbook but if you must get an 8.9″ screen, get this one as it comes loaded with features you won’t see on the other 8.9″ netbooks.  The 5.5 hour battery life should last you at least 3-4 hours.

Acer Aspire One 8.9″ Sapphire Blue $429.99 at Amazon

Acer Aspire One 8.9″ White $429.99 at Amazon

HP 2133 Mini-note is also a good alternative if you need a slightly bigger resolution than all the other 3 above netbooks.  The HP 2133 netbook comes with 120GB harddrive, 1.6Ghz VIA processor, and 2GB of memory.  The worst thing about this laptop is that it comes with Windows Vista, power-hogging operating system that’s not a good fit for mini-laptops.  I do like is the 8.9-inch screen with WXGA (1280 x 768) resolution, webcam, and 92% full-size keyboard, which beats all the other netbooks.

But yes, this would still be my last choice as it costs as much as your 15.4″ laptops.

HP 2133 Mini-note - $640.98 via Amazon

Well, there you have the best netbooks Latop Pimp thinks.  If you really must get a netbook, get the Eee PC1000H, it’s the best value and performance for your money.

Now, if you think all these netbooks don’t live up to your standards, get a regular laptop or better yet, wait about 6 months and you should see 5 times better netbooks.

Netbooks are still in the early stages and you need to consider the fact that they are “beta” products that manufacturers are still testing.  After 6-12months, we should expect more netbooks that are faster and better.

via laptop blog

Lady Ada, crazy-lady-hacker I met at Maker Faire 2007, has made a new fun kit that consists of a pencil that will “sing” when you draw stuff.

Our friends at Adafruit have released a fun new kit called the “Drawdio” — adapted from the original Drawdio design by Jay Silver – which lets you create a pencil that makes noisy almost-music via the variations in the resistance of graphite pencil lead. It’s $20 plus shipping. I just ordered one so I can recreate my middle school notebook sketches to literally hear the music of the anime spheres.

via bb gadgets, DIY Kit Page

Well, I did get a little harsh on Palin the other day, our reader Nicole Price from GreatPricesHere.com left a comment that did get my attention and I’ve had enough of this Political drama between Obama and McCain.

Frankly, I take no sides in this political campaign but McCain is too OLD to be President.

I really like how McCain answer gay marriage question, couldn’t he just say that gay marriage should be allowed since if it’s not, it’s a prejudice against sexual orientation, thus against U.S. Constitution?

Here’s a funny clip from Saturday Night Live where McCain says being old is one of the characteristics a President should have.

Well, I think being old has nothing to do with ANYTHING.  Look at Tiger Woods, he beat the crap out of everyone who’s OLD, made a new game out of golf.

Well, I am not taking sides here but McCain is definitely not it, I just don’t want to see another Bush marathon of U.S. economy collapse and $700 billion spent on rich people.  Just think about what happened yesterday when AIG decided to use $400,000 on corporate outing when their company is part of that $700 billion that I might be paying for!  Here’s the protest video.  I even predicted this couple days ago…

Okay, now you can tell me why you want to vote for Obama or McCain.  Let me go on blogging again now.

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GO BAIL OUT BS!GO BAIL OUT BS!GO BAIL OUT BS!

Looking for some new carpet that will spice up your hardwood floors?  Well, FLOR sells some of really awesome modular floor tiles you can get to decorate your livingroom in a whole new way.  Plus, I think this will be great if you have toddlers and hard floors.  With thiese floor tiles, you can easily set aside some room for your kids to play on.

Best yet, this FLOR company also uses eco-friendly, recycled materials for their floor tiles.

FLOR carpet squares let you easily design area rugs to fit any size space or install wall-to-wall in minutes. Available in a variety of beautiful colors, patterns and textures, FLOR’s easy-to-install tiles give you creative control over the largest canvas in your home - your floors!

Eco-friendly and recyclable, FLOR is the perfect combination of style, practicality and responsibility. Proving that green really can be beautiful, easy, flexible and above all else, attainable.

via theinspiredroom, Product Page

I personally do not use green web hosting due to the fact that there’s no green hosting companies that can provide dedicated servers that match my requirements but if you are looking for a cheap shared hosting for your next web project, you might want to consider the Top 7 best green web hosting companies from our sister blog Keetsa:

(The above chart lists green hosting companies in the order of price per month.)

via keetsa eco-friendly blog, Zedomax Blog Network

Here’s a cool DIY showing you how to turn a 1978 Corvette into a Batmobile.  I think you could probably also do this with older Stingray Corvettes too.

Q: What is the original car that this was made from?
A: A brought-back-from-the-dead 1978 Corvette (most likely the limited edition pace car model).

Q: Did you make this from a kit? Where can I get it?
A: No, this is not a kit car. This was handmade using high density foam, fiberglass and a variety of classified materials. A 1989 Kenner toy car was used as the base model for which the modifications were made.

via hacknmod, DIY Page

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Here’s a cool PSP Hack that shows you how to turn your PSP into a second monitor for your Windows XP-equipped PC.

Installation

• Windows application, drivers, etc.
• Download the installer below and execute it.
• When it comes to the display driver installation, Windows will warn you that the driver is unsigned, let the setup program install it anyway.
• After setup has finished, open your display settings and enable the new monitor then move it to the position you like.
• Connect your PSP and copy the files from the “psp” folder in the installation directory to the memory stick.

Download: PSPdisp v0.1 (PC installer)
Download: PSPdisp v0.1

via gizmodo, pspupdate

Well, it looks like the 20 year old David Kernell might be facing some serious charges for what he did, which I see it as harmless from the point of view of a U.S. citizen.

Why? Well, it was Palin’s fault in the first place to let her e-mail account be vulnerable, she should have been smarter to choose a “better” password. Better yet, she should have been using super-encrypted e-mail system, not some public Yahoo e-mail.

What will happen if by chance McCain dies and Palin becomes President?

Yeah, I can foresee Palin accidently clicking on a website with trojans and letting the whole world into U.S. classified information. Maybe this isn’t so serious to most people but I think it’s very serious. If Palin took her current job as Alaskan governor seriously, she would have taken extra 10 seconds to think of a better password not related with her personal information.  This is what computer-illiterates do.

I just cannot see Palin coming out of her soccer-mom , I-am-a-computer-dumbass image.  Well, that’s my 2 cents on this incident, I DON”T CARE IF YOU DON”T VOTE FOR OBAMA BUT PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR PALIN!  JUST DON”T VOTE IF YOU WERE GOING TO VOTE FOR MCCAIN.

Press Release from FBI here:

(KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE)–David C. Kernell, 20, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney James R. Dedrick for the Eastern District of Tennessee announced today. Kernell turned himself into federal authorities for arrest and will be arraigned today before the Honorable C. Clifford Shirley, United States Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of Tennessee.

The single count indictment, returned on October 7, 2008, and unsealed today, alleges that on approximately September 16, 2008, Kernell, a resident of Knoxville, obtained unauthorized access to Governor Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account by allegedly resetting the account password. According to the indictment, after answering a series of security questions that allowed him to reset the password and gain access to the e-mail account, Kernell allegedly read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information. According to the indictment, Kernell posted screenshots of the e-mails and other personal information to a public website. Kernell also allegedly posted the new e-mail account password, thus providing access to the account by others.

If convicted of the charge, the defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a three year term of supervised release. A trial date has not been set.

“Cyber crime is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority. We would like to thank all of the Internet service providers and others who partnered with us to bring this matter to a quick and successful resolution,” said Richard Lambert, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Knoxville Field Division.

The case is being prosecuted by Section Chief Michael DuBose and Trial Attorney Mark Krotoski of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in Washington, D.C. and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Anchorage and Knoxville Field Offices.

An indictment is merely an allegation. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law .