I really enjoyed myself and hopefully it wont be another year before I see their faces again

It also really has to be noted that angry italian mothers scare the crap out of me. Because of this, I have decided that going to the TAV at uni is no longer going to happen (I think it's safer that way). I went to the tav with Sara yesterday and shit just went wroooooong, oh so very wrong. The last thing you want to see is the girls mother running up to you looking like an angry bear while her cub is unconscious in your arms.

Suffice to say I should have known far better and I'm determined not to let it happen again, besides I don't think going to the TAV this often is going to help any of my grades either.

Okay so maybe I will go back to the tav.... and I'll probably still take her with me XD

I recently provided someone with a link to an image (on this site) in relation to selling a car, the Toyota Soarer. For what ever reason this person decided to read this site, invading my privacy; in search of making a bargain. Now that's actually a fairly good idea if you're smart about it and I'm aware I left the door open here.

Sadly however the person (Boris) failed to find the correct information and attempted to use it. Telling me you read the page for that very reason, was probably not the best idea Boris. We could have probably haggled out a deal if you hadn't been so presumptuous.

Happy reading Boris and good luck finding a soarer, because I won't sell you one.

PS: Next time I'm using Flickr.

Classes for this semester:
Psychology 124
Interpersonal Communication126
Foundations of Psychological Science 120
Indigenous Australian Health and Culture 162

I'll be taking up ballroom dancing this semester on the side, so that should be pretty fun. I'll be doing it with Peta from uni on fridays, so it's not going to interrupt anything else. I'm looking forward to it, but I swear I remember other people were coming too.. I just can't remember who?! ah who cares, it'll still be fun!

I guess this means it's time to sort out the car problem, so I've listed the whole car for a grand in the paper; I just cannot be bothered parting the damn thing out. With my tax return coming in somewhere from 4-6k, it'll be enough to buy myself a cheap run around and have some cash left over to play with. Time to employ Chris' services at finding cars I think, given he's currently injured and off work it shouldn't be too hard to wrangle him in to helping out

I had my birthday the other week (oh god I'm 25...) and finally caught up with one or two people this week that I've wanted to for a while, it was really good. Though I was a little sad that I had to cut coffee with Bec short, but I guess there is always next time. That and chris won't fall off another roof for a little while I'm sure :p

Fun times, more when things happen.

Awesome results, really happy with them. Two High Distinctions and two Distinctions, I can deal with that. I'd have preferred four HDs though >_< I'll push harder next semester, still I'm happy with the result.

Hope everyone else did well on their exams!

Maybe I should paint something, been a while since I did that and I do have a whole bunch of bare wall here... *ponders* I might just cover it in posters finally (5 years is a while..). I will probably pick up the guitar yet again and that's sure to cause my fingers some grief. I have been drawing and writing again, so I'll be sure to expand as much of that as I can in the time I have.

I have a few things planned at least, probably a few parties here and there and meeting up with a one or two people I miss.

Results aren't until July 14th either, feck.

So at the moment school stuff is going as well as can be expected;
- I know I've passed Psych 123: 84% final grade, woot HD
- I know I've passed HSC 180: looks like 80 - 83% (part of how they calculate the grade is ambiguous) either way, another HD woot
- 115 I know I will pass now without a doubt 48.5% with an exam worth 40% that I'm not so sure how well I did on. I hate exams, even simple ones like that.
- I have two assessments back from FPS 110 (79.5% and 80%) 31.8% with 60% exam to go, I just need 20% out of 60% to pass... come on!
- I regret having to drop a unit while I was still working, but it's made life a little easier and I'll be making that up in the summer! I just have to wait to see how I go next semester now..

I'm still freaking out and praying that I pass everything, but as long as I study my ASS off over the next few weeks I will be okay. I guess I'm not alone in that regard, Soo, Peta and Maddie seem to be freaking out as much as I am, though Ben and Hayley seem to have things under control.

Speaking on people; I'm still just sort of existing while at uni, I haven't really gotten too in depth with most people and I guess I should start. Mostly because it kinda makes me shallow, as in all they usually see is the academic layer of me and not much else. Though I do show a few people a little more I guess.

On a similar note: Whilst I'm still keeping my promise (yes I know I made it last year, I work slowly okay) to remain open to letting a relationship happen; I'm just not feelin' it. I take that back... I did, but I don't see them anymore due to life taking me in other directions. The world is a big place we'll see where is take me and who I meet.

If wishes were fishes we'd all be well fed.

I've been listening to some wonderful pieces by Joshua Radin lately, thank you sooooooo much for introducing me to him Jasmin <3. I was the same when you introduced me to Mae too, so it's a good sign for how I'll be with his music over time. I throw him in with my Jack Johnson, John Mayer and Pete Murray and I'm gone (pop in a bit of Andy Mckee too).

- Matt

Why: because the old macbook is somewhat alive and it is therefore disposable, also screw the iPad that thing is crap.

So step 1: Hardware Dismantling

Time to dismantle the old macbook

Firstly I opened up the old macbook and took out the damaged parts:

Oh dear god, just look a that mess. It really is a wonder this thing stayed on for 3 years and didn't die any sooner than it did.

Damaged parts: DVD drive, power connector, battery and part of the casing

I got the dvd drive out (above), but there was some resistance... oh dear, all those hidden pesky screws.

I took the screen off and tested the connections to make sure it was okay

Look it's an Amiga Keyboard Mac!

The device still works fine without the screen and external video output seems to keep working fine.

The screen is now all marked out on the top cover for cutting:

Next Steps:
- Find a 13.3 inch 16:10 resistive touchscreen [Done]
- Get a dremmel and cut the screen dimensions out on the other side of the top case
- Screen rotation
- Shielding for the parts at the bottom of the screen (foil?)
- A new battery: Rechargeable Battery - 13-inch MacBook (White)

Find a way to re route the cables for:
- Backlight
- iSight
- Airport antennae
- Video out

Update: 17th April, 10pm

The screen has been purchased!

Includes:
4 wire Resistive Touch Screen (Film on Glass.. epic)
Connecting Parts / PBC RJ to usb controller
Operation Supports : Windows 98 / ME / XP / 2000 /Vista windows 7, Linux, Mac OS operation.
Compatible with 13.3"(16:9)-inch Touch Screen Models.
Dimensions / Size: 299 x 195 x 2 (mm)

The dimensions are JUST what I need:

Update 19th of April: On the software front

Drivers:

Just got the driver information from the supplier:

Firstly it is definitely OSX compatible, and secondly it has 4 point AND 24 point calibration. By the looks of the driver and software information it's an eGalax Touch Screen (they are an OEM provider so that's a plus), I also found the company website with the other drivers if I need them.

http://home.eeti.com.tw/web20/eg/drivers.htm

I haven't installed it onto the tablet mac hardware yet though, as currently it's connectivity is kinda limited. Basically I can't find an ethernet cable and the airport antennae isn't connected due to the screen being pulled off at present.

Screen Rotation:

Given it will be a tablet I will need to rotate the screen so I had to find some software. (Thanks to Steve for making me look/think of it)

The program is meant to have some shortcuts (Example: command option 0 for landscape), but I can't get them working so that is something to investigate later. For now I can use the drop down box using my finger to select the option I want.

Software Source: http://www.magesw.com/displayrotation/

On Screen Keyboard

Apparently you cant just whip up an apple script to bring up the keyboard anymore, nor can you just drop the application into the dock. Great. This is where a tip from Alex comes in.

In 10.6 they took away that ability, so I need an app and a script for that.

Download and install keyboardViewer:
sudo install keyboardViewer /usr/local/bin

Script:

tell application "System Events"
if exists (process "Keyboard Viewer") then
click process "Keyboard Viewer"'s window 1's buttons whose subrole is "AXCloseButton"
else
do shell script "/usr/local/bin/keyboardViewer"
end if
end tell

One that is all done I can click an apple script in the dock to launch the keyboard rather than fiddle with the little drop down menu.

Software Source: http://github.com/nriley/keyboardViewer

Up Next... Construction!

Marking out the screen roughly

Screen frame inverted and the cable routing checked:

A few notable issues here:

- The iSight simply will not fit with it's current frame
- The display cable is at risk of being damaged in this configuration
- The silver tape on the airport cables once removed exposed the shielding (what the hell?)
- The inverter board is going to be a serious problem (see below)

I don't see how to re route it without changing or modifying the cable in some way at this point, I'll have to see how it works out. I may do it like this:

And simply make the cable just that bit longer to stretch back to the original position. Once the touch panel arrives I'll be happier to actually cut out the front , but until then I have to wait. At this point it could be friday next week before I see it.

Whilst I wait for the screen it was time to investigate the power button;

The big problem was I did not want to dismantle the keyboard to kind out, just in case. The documentation is also kinda sparse unless you're a developer apparently, that sucks a little. After a quick search I found that the keyboard appeared to be USB based (see below), that's a plus because USB is only 4 pins

But I had to confirm, so I found a project that used one of the keyboards as a USB keyboard and this is what I found:

This confirmed it for me, we had 6 data pins, 1 ground and one isolated cable in the ribbon. This splits out to 10 pins at the ribbon connector:

Excuse the quality, but what you will see is the usb pins (marked in red) and the two unknown pins moving into the PBC in another direction (in green). From what I've been able to ascertain I need to short these two pins using a low-value resistor (100-470 Ohm), but you have to be very careful (oh joy) and you may short something else out if you aren't.

Update: 5th of May - Up Next: The Screen!

The screen arrived and it's damaged, so Im not impressed

Firstly I looked like a crack dealer at the post office:

Secondly because it looked like the fit was bloody perfect, why am I ****ed the fit is perfect?

There is a problem...

With the damage it has it's not fit for use, you can see the marks so clearly with a backlight on

It's not good at all

Note: The screen is awesome, its a glass on film overlay and the opacity is fine. I want to use this as the screen for it, but I can't because the screen is damaged. It's a real shame, but now I have to see what the manufacturer will do about replacing the item, it's in a disgusting state for something that's meant to be new.

I decided to install the thing anyway, just to see how it went...

Just after I installed it:

This was after installing the software for the first time:

For now ignore the rounded corners and that the screen doesn't line up on top, I'll be sorting that out. The backlight works, the airport works and Ill try something with the iSight soon.

Note to any attempting this: At all times wear a mask when cutting the case
I know it might seem stupid to say it, but trust me you want one on.

6th of May: An update on the touchscreen:
The manufacturer said that the peeling material wasn't the screen and it was a double protective overlay. So I tore that off this morning and it's damn immaculate. The screen clarity is obviously better, but there is now risk of the screen scratching against the case.

The plan at the moment is to get some thin adhesive felt and place that on the inside of the case at the margins on the touchable area, this should make sure that the screen isn't damaged if there is any movement. The other thing is I'm going to have to invert the screen frame again due to the felt adding a few more mm of thickness to the touch layer, so my space under the screen just got a little smaller.

6th of May (11pm): An update on the touchscreen (again):
Sorted out the touch response issues (those listed above) and everything is working as it should now, I will have to sort out the internalisation of the usb connection and then it'll be fine to close her up permanently. There is still some case cleanup to go as well (the edges are horrible at the moment).

So I had a little fun:

7th of May (11pm): (mostly) final product:
After spending about an hour sorting out cables and board positions I was able to "close up" the macbook tablet for the first time today.

It is now portable and usable, I couldn't be happier. The mod makes it only a little heavier than it was previously and that should be fine for what I will be using it for. The issue at the moment is still screen rotation, once I have that sorted out everything will be awesome.

See below:

9th of May: Slow progress from now on

Some of the finishing touches are going to have to be put on hold from here on out as university commitments come up (the reason for rapid progress over this week) but as it stands right now;

- The touch functionality is working perfectly
- Only minor recalibration is normally needed (4 point) after being thrown about
- The wireless is properly restored (There were issues with connectivity and only one wire being connected)
- The issues with the inverter board heating has been solved (you can see the hinge cover is partially back below)
- Screen rotation works on horizontal flips (vertical spazzes out)
- It has a new battery and it now fully portable (apple store guy was like "wtf, nice..")

I'm going to use it over the next week and see how everything goes, so far everything has been pretty cool and I'm a lot better at typing on it now after spending time in the IRC using it. I will have to make a clip to hold the cover closed before the weekend is over though, as walking around with it sticky taped shut isn't pretty :p . I will post up the polished version of the case when I get around to it, but for now it'll do the job I want it to.

The Maclet beside it's big brother the MBP during my typing tests on the IRC:

And a quick 360:

14th of May: Slow progress

I finally took off the rear protector on the screen and fitted the little buffers to stop the screen scratching, the screen now has a stupid chemical sheen on the back side. I'm slightly annoyed by this, but I'll leave it as it is for the moment. I will have to get it off using rubbing alcohol or something, but Im checking with the supplier first to make sure I cant bork anything.

I will also add a protective layer of my own over the top, I've tested it out and funny enough a projector slide sits in perfectly :p It's a cheap option but it'll do for now.

I've found a way to lock down the top cover properly using a heat gun (plastic welder) and a clip, so that will be done next. I'm going to do it so that the battery must be removed to open the top cover, for safety reasons.

EDIT: instead of posting again, I'll tack this on here.

Also: Someone found a way to enable ink without a recognised tablet on mac in 2005

Here is how to enable INK on ANY Mac with OS X (tested with 10.4.2) and make use of it using a touch screen display (I use a carTFT 7''):
- Go to /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/

- Double Click Ink.menu. The INK Icon will appear in the tray (upper right area)
- Chose "Open Ink Setting" (or similar, my OS X is German) from the INK icon's menu
- Enable Ink by clicking the according check box. Voilá!

And that still works (10.6.3) so I've been messing with that for a few days works well enough but it can get confused sometimes. It's seriously hard to hold something to video with and actually control a touchscreen; sheesh.

27th of May: On/Off Sleep Switch
I've been increasingly worried about the touchscreen causing the Maclet to turn on during transport and I didn't want to have to make some kind of crummy looking cover. So I found an alternative; I now have the sleep magnet jammed into an old stereo headphone jack. When I plug in the headphone jack (the nub) I gain a "sleep switch", turning the jack upwards and the Maclet sleeps turn the jack downwards and the Maclet turns on.

I have to refine the magnet position so it isn't so particular, but it solves my on and off button issue with less trouble than I was going to have; I call that a win

Also let me say thanks for all the kind words and interest in the project guys, it's been fun to do so far

For tips and comments please visit: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/896998-project-macbook-tablet/

Seemed more than fitting that I provided notice on the 1st of april, SURPRISE!

Now to focus on my studies and earn that degree.

I've been working and going to uni at the same time for just over 4 weeks now and it's not going the best. I'm just very very tired and I really don't have any time to rest at all. It's a 7 day a week haul, split pretty evenly in half. Every day is a Monday and every day is a Friday, I doubt I can keep this up.

So it'll either be reduce to 20 or so hours at work or quit work and go on Aus-Study.
[Post edit: I had to quit]

As for uni; that could be going better too, the group assignment wasn't the best. I'm not here to force people to do their work and as long as I pass, I don't care. That being said it's not just the student's causing issues with assessments, 48 hour assessment today got completely borked by the lecturer and now it's due on a day I can't hand it in. [post edit: we actually managed a great grade 18/20 so nvm there]

Bollocks to the lot of it, we'll see how the pieces fall into place.

So I went looking for a valid medical reason as to why I couldn't be at work, well I found one. My headaches were getting worse and I was pretty sure I knew what it was.

So I asked....

Everything is all bent out of shape again and worse than before, now my nose is completely closed on the left side. I have to physically open it to even pass any air through at all.

Soooooo looks like I have a reason not to go to work on Monday and not even uni either; it's another fucking cat scan.. awesome!

Not only do I not get get to do the thing I was finding an excuse for, but I don't get a medical cert for the cat scan. Brilliant!

EDIT: Scan will be Monday(tomorrow) or Tuesday.

EDIT 2: Okay so at this point surgery might not be option one, I have things to discuss with my specialist. They're going to start me on steroids and pain killers, then just steroids.

If this works them no need for surgery, I'll just have to take steroids until it gets worse.

If it doesn't work I'll be under the knife again within weeks.

I'm trying not to make people worry and there are other tests to go, so I've just told everyone that nothing is wrong. An MRI isn't out of the question at this point, we'll have to see what comes of the next appointment.