Multiple wallpapers photoshop template

Getting wallpapers for your multimonitor setup can be very hard nowadays. Many sites offer dual-monitor wallpapers, but sometimes we can just not find the right resolution, or we just have more monitors !

I decided to make my own template with the right screen resolutions for my monitors so every time i want a new wallpaper(s) i can adjust the images to my likings.

I know that its not hard for anyone to adjust the images at the size they need but i find it handy to have a single .PSD file that has all the necessary resolution settings i will need to make them.

So feel free to download and use it, and if you have any recomendations or suggestions please feel free to do so (you can find me on Twitter or at admin@88bytes.com).

I am the happy owner of a macbook. What i always found annoying was that the screen was lower than my monitor while i was using my second monitor to view the content in dual screen.
I looked around trying to find a nice laptop stand, but most were really expensive. I looked around online trying to find a good DIY solution, and i did find some really interesting ones, such
as this one. Only problem was, i wanted it for free.

I looked around at my house, trying to find materials that could help my project, and eventually came up with a good and cheap (free) solution.

update: I just discovered that this article has been featured on MAKE! A big thanks to u guys n girls!

DIY no-cost laptop stand

The idea

The main idea was to get the screen vertically aligned with the monitor beside it. Because of that, the monitor had to be fully open. I used to have a carton box on my desk closed, And put the laptop on top of it in order to bring it higher. While i opened it once to check if there was anything inside, i realized that the laptop could fit on the back inlay of the box. That idea started working.

Materials

The materials needed for this project are pretty much very simple:

• Carton box ( i used a shoe box)
• A “Leg” (u need that in order to make the base stand higher. could be anything that can give height. I used an old closet leg i had around here.)
• Stanley knife
• Tie wraps

Step 1 - Cut the box top

The first thing you will have to do is cut the box in order to get rid of the - not so important- parts. To start with you will only need the top of the box. After you cut the top, make sure your laptop fits inside. Keep in mind the openings on the sides for cable connections. If the connections are being overlapped by the borders of the box, remove the borders but leave a small part at the end in order for the laptop not to move.

Step 2 - Prepare the leg and the holder

Now that we got the base of the laptop ready, we have to make the leg and the base for the leg. Start by measuring how far the leg has to stand behind the base of the laptop from the front. This will help making the proper measurements in order for the laptop to stand on the propper angle. After you know the measurements, take a piece of paper and write them down in real-size. In my case the length was 20cm and the height was 6cm. After you write down the dimentions, Take a piece of the box you have left, and cut out a part on the same dimensions as measured before. This will be the connection point for the base and the leg.

Step 3 - Connect the leg with the holder

Now that we have the material ready, we can connect them. To do that, we will put the leg on top of the cutout we just made, and note where the leg’s openings are on top of the holder. Make sure you align them straight. After you have your notes ready, remove the leg from the holder and using a sharp tool (in my case i used a small screwdriver) make four openings in the holder, in order to connect the holder and the leg. After the openings are made, Use tie wraps to connect the holder and the leg. After you connect the leg, you can cut the top of the tie wraps that points out. (At this point i could have used hard glue to connect the leg but for the sake of change i used tie wraps.)

Step 4 - Place a stopping point at the end of the holder

In Order to get the base elevated and maintain it connected to the holder, I used a small stop which i found in my toolbox. The purpose of it is to prevent the laptop’s base slipping down the stand. After you find the middle of the holder point, make a hole and apply the stop point.

Step 5 - Beta testing

At this point you have an -almost- working laptop stand.

Step 6 - Minor details

While i was testing the stability and reliability of the stand, i realized that the laptop base was slipping down, even with the stop point attached. After examining the stand better, i tried to find why the base is slipping down. Eventually i realized that the grip the stop point was applying was not enough. Therefor i added some “safe point” tie wraps in two places, in order for the base to get more stability over the stopping point. The downside of this was that the base was not disconnectable anymore from the holder.

Conclusion

With zero expenses and minimum effort, you can have a laptop stand. i know its not very appealing (maybe if the box was black it would help) but this one doesnt go about its looks but about its functionality. If you prefer looks i think you are better off with a payed version of a laptop stand.

Some last images:

I found out a pen in my drawer empty of ink. i was using it as a stylus for a couple of days and a friend of mine (piksels) was making fun of me telling me he’s gonna buy me a real stylus pen just to stop using old pens :P.

Well tonight i got the crazy idea. Why not make one myself?

I had a spare stylus that came with my phones box, so i decided to play around with the one i was using since the beginning of my phone.

The victim: Silver pen (looks cool), and HTC p3300 stylus

Ok lets start.

Step 1: Take everything apart

The first thing to do is take apart the pen. sounds easy? well who said its not?!

I decided to use a second ink of a pen of the similar shape and size, which had less ink inside.

Step 2: Cut out the stylus hatch

The stylus has a little hatch (grip) on the end of it. I decided to cut it out because it was not that useful in my case.

Step 3: Making the space for the stylus

Ok this part was the most annoying one. at first i had to cut out the front part of the ink bottle. Nothing tricky yet. After you’ve done that, you have to empty, and i mean fully empty all the ink thats in the bottle. This is crucial because you really don’t want ink on your PDA’s screen.

To take the big part of the ink out of the ink bottle ( i know bottle is not the right word but w/e :P) i used another pen’s ink bottle (:P) and pushed away all the ink from the inside. Use some kitchen paper or something to avoid making a mess from the ink.

To take away the rest of the ink, i used a small container, which i filled in with hot water. The ink started floating away from the bottle.

Last, I used some *ear-cleaners* (sorry no clue how these things are called in english and im too tired to google it :P) to wipe away the rest of the ink.

Step 4: Get everything together to assemble

Now after you removed all the ink from the container, its time to start putting everything together. First take the stylus and gently slide the stylus inside the container. After its in, test it out in the front department of the pen. If the stylus is longer, use a second ink container, similar in shape and length, and measure the proper length.

Step 5: Does it fit?

So we are almost there. I noticed a problem, the space behind the stylus and the end of the container was too much. that caused the stylus to move back when attached to the front of the pen. How to solve how to solve…Lets use a screw!

Step 6: Final cuts

So after all, we must finish up. Put the back of the container (the small thingie with the edges that turn when you click the pen’s button) back to it, and put everything back in the pen. Satisfied? -Give yourself a beer (or in my case a cold cola refreshment) and enjoy your creation

ps -1 . I am not responsible for any damage you may cause creating or using the stylus mod. If you are afraid of anything, go at a local PDA resource store or on ebay and buy one.

ps - 2. I am sorry for the picture’s quality but its just shot with my PDA’s camera. I will make a good quality image of the final product tomorrow.

Thank you for reading

The victim: Microsoft Digital media pro keyboard

Step 1: The buttons

The first thing was to remove the buttons. Nothing special about it. Just use a flat screwdriver or anything sharp enough to pop the keys out. Take a bit more care to the “long” keys, such as the spacebar, shift key etc. as they have a metal hook on the back connected with the keyboard.

Step 2: Taking the keyboard appart

After all the keys are removed, its time to take it apart. Start by removing all the screws from the back plate of the keyboard, and be careful not to lose them (in case u want to take it back to work). I used a small bucket to put all of the keys and screws in. After the back plate is removed (all the keyboard cables and touchpads remain on the bottom plate) take the front plate and remove the remaining keys that need to be removed (such as the LED protectors, play/pause, volume etc. After ALL keys are removed, its a wise idea to clean it a bit!

Step 3: Its Spraying time

After you are done with taking everything apart and cleaning them, its time to start spraying it. Select your favorite color, visit a local paint shop and get some plastic spray paint.

I am not going to tell you how to spray a surface (there are plenty DIY projects online - google it!) just that you have to spray it two times, the first has to be done very light, so dont spray it with a huge amount of paint, and the second one is the one that has to go more deep. If you want the best results you can go on 3 passes, but i dont think its really necessary for a keyboard.

Step 4 :  Get everything back together

After you are satisfied with the color result, and you let it dry properly, its time to take everything back. Just go reverse the way you put everything together.

Step 5: Feel free to buy yourself an icecream as an award

Thats it. You got yourself a personalized keyboard to fit your style.

Final Thoughts

I loved this mod. its just cool to have your own personalized keyboard. Just a couple of sidenotes:

• I also wiped away the letters from the keys (just to make it more “geek” like :P)
• Used 150 and 400 sand paper for the wiping
• The project cost around 9 euros (paint and sand paper)
• Take care when using the sand paper not to wipe away any fresh paint
• Do not spray indoors!

If you liked the project or you have already done something similar, please feel free to post some screenies and thoughts

What i want to explain with this post is why people, for their own reasons mod their “boxes” to something different.

Most people with modded cases are called “geeks”. Why? who else would spend time, and eventually money to change the looks of their computer? Something that the average person doesn’t even know whats the annoying *beeeep* sound when the computer boots up. What divides though the urge to change it? What makes the so called *geeks* want to change the appearance of the computer?

First of, it makes them more personal. Lets face it. Someone who spends a minimum of 15 hours in front of a pc monitor and has his unit running 24/7 cant just have a black/grey/white case to call it a personal computer. Modding gives identity to it. Makes it unique.

Second, it serves as a heat reduction solution. Who has a Core2Duo and hadn’t tried overclocking it? But what comes with overclocking? Heat. A good heatsink with an 120mm or even bigger nowadays fans needs alot of space inside the case. Eventually the airflow needs to be more efficient.

What if the computer is water cooled? Who has water cooling on a normal grey case? no way. Water cooling looks way too cool to hide it behind a piece of aluminum.

So so far we have 2 factors. Customizing the looks of it, and performance issues. What about skills?

Making a mod yourself is not as easy as most people think. Many mods out there have custom made parts, either from metal, wood or (plexi)glass. These people, the ones who have made all the parts themselves deserve some respect. Not everyone can manipulate iron, wood or glass. (I am not gonna talk about people buying pre-modded cases because its not worth it).

Where to start?

My best advice: Start by asking yourself: Is this for me?

• Do you spend alot of time with your computer?
• Do you plan on overclocking it?
• Do you have the skills it needs?

If the answer to the questions above in NO, but you just want a cool looking case to show off, go to the closest computer store and buy a pre-modded one (or visit a modding site suck as Thermaltake or Coolermaster or Xoxide. Everything included. No need for skills or anything. (I think they can also put your existing pc in the new case for a small fee :P)

If the answer is YES,case modding heh you got yourself into the modding world. Go on and google “case modding“. You will find alot of information and pictures of peoples work and also forums with guides and information you might need.

Peace out,