Project Enter the USB - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 1st Aug 2007, 14:36

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2007...nter_the_usb/1

Kurtis Kronk takes us through a quick and simple USB key mod which even a novice can handle and which anyone can have fun with.

[USRF]Obiwan · 1st Aug 2007, 14:48

is it friday allready?

Washfordmonkey · 1st Aug 2007, 15:26

Quote:

This article was originally printed at The Tech Lounge and has been repbublished with permission.

someone forgot to check the spelling

The_Pope · 1st Aug 2007, 15:27

You've got 2.5 shopping days to order in your cheapo USB stick before spending Saturday morning in the garage with a Dremel in one hand and epoxy in the other

DougEdey · 1st Aug 2007, 15:37

I'm doing this with my snowman :P

Duste · 1st Aug 2007, 15:43

LOL! That guy's freaking hilarious, especially with the protective gear. :P

The_Beast · 1st Aug 2007, 17:47

cool

pendragon · 1st Aug 2007, 18:16

good to see some Modding articles on here ..especially simple ones for modding-n00bs like myself

thanks!

proxess · 1st Aug 2007, 19:30

OMG! all those pubic hairs! you should just get a black keyboard to do a mod like that, no one will notice the hairs...

completemadness · 1st Aug 2007, 19:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by proxess

OMG! all those pubic hairs! you should just get a black keyboard to do a mod like that, no one will notice the hairs...

or clean away the hairs ...

IMO - this doesn't look amazing, i think its quite a cool idea, but it doesn't look right to me ...
The notch where the USB connector sticks out makes it look a bit shabby, it needed a tiny bit of filling and a bit of paint to hide it

Also, has the board floated up in the glue ? because it doesn't look level to me ...
Also where he sanded the edges to flatten it, now looks opaque, and the whole thing needs a light sanding to make the effect right

Sorry to be so harsh, maybe I'm just spoilt by the generally amazing front page articles .....

timmythemonkey · 1st Aug 2007, 19:45

Personally I would have passed on the transparent epoxy back and used a piece of plastic from the side of the keyboard as a bottom cap, that way he wouldnt have had to worry about matching the colour. ah well each to their own when it comes to modding i suppose

L2wis · 1st Aug 2007, 19:59

wicked mod, thanks for featuring it bit

Might have to make one myself

CollinstheClown · 1st Aug 2007, 20:48

They should make a cap with the ' key.

-CollinstheClown

malcolm · 1st Aug 2007, 22:20

Enjoyable article with a good result, achievable by many. Top marks

Quote:

Originally Posted by CollinstheClown

They should make a cap with the ' key.

An excellent idea

specofdust · 1st Aug 2007, 22:29

That was excellent

Axman · 1st Aug 2007, 22:42

Quote:

They should make a cap with the ' key.

I'm totally passing that one on to Kurtis.

Kurtis · 2nd Aug 2007, 02:20

I'm glad most of you enjoyed the article.

I fully realize my mod isn't perfect, but overall I'm pleased with it for what it is.

"LOL! That guy's freaking hilarious, especially with the protective gear. :P"
--> Thank you, sir!

"OMG! all those pubic hairs! you should just get a black keyboard to do a mod like that, no one will notice the hairs..."
--> I promise those aren't pubic hairs. Not most of them, anyways. I have really thick hair and lots of it falls out on my desk and keyboard. I have no good excuse for all that food in the keyboard, though. Looking back, I would've cleaned it for the photos - I thought it was funny at the time for some reason, heh.

"IMO - this doesn't look amazing, i think its quite a cool idea, but it doesn't look right to me ... The notch where the USB connector sticks out makes it look a bit shabby, it needed a tiny bit of filling and a bit of paint to hide it. Also, has the board floated up in the glue ? because it doesn't look level to me ... Also where he sanded the edges to flatten it, now looks opaque, and the whole thing needs a light sanding to make the effect right. Sorry to be so harsh, maybe I'm just spoilt by the generally amazing front page articles ....."
--> No need to apologize. I'm quite aware of the usual caliber of modding 'skeelz' you guys are used to, so I wasn't really aiming to leave anyone in utter disbelief at my amazing craftsmanship. It was more so meant to be entertaining and hopefully to encourage some people to get creative and mod something, even if it's something simple. Now, I should mention that this USB drive looks a bit cleaner in person than it does when photographed - in those close-ups you can see some flaws much easier than you really can when holding it. For example, the notch looks perfectly fine, no filler material is really needed, though perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to fill it a little to seal it from moisture in case I throw it in the wash cycle, or a rogue bear pees on it or something. I will admit the backside looks a bit crap - I would do a better job of that if I did this over, for sure. Thanks for your feedback, your criticism is certainly warranted. :-D

"They should make a cap with the ' key."
--> You know, I thought about that... thing is, I couldn't figure out a good way to do it without molding a custom key myself, because the keys curve away from each other. So the ' key would have to be facing down or something. If you've got a good idea for how to work that, I'm all ears.

m0ng0lh0rde · 2nd Aug 2007, 03:59

I was about to suggest you should've tracked down an IBM M keyboard, and just popped off the key-cap from the Enter key. Then I thought about it, and popped of the Enter on my M keyboard....

You would've had *more* plastic to clear out, not less. It's only the smaller keys that separate from the actual key, so you could re-arrange the letters....

Cool quick-and-dirty mod, though. I've got a 64MB flash I've been thinking about making a new housing for, might go this route, rather than custom fitting clear acrylic...

The_Pope · 2nd Aug 2007, 10:10

Maybe we should hold a Mod a USB Key compo so everyone can have a go. Not sure what the prize should be though

Tim S · 2nd Aug 2007, 10:39

another USB key?

I'll have a think of something better than that...

1st Aug 2007, 14:36	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,940	Project Enter the USB http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2007...nter_the_usb/1 Kurtis Kronk takes us through a quick and simple USB key mod which even a novice can handle and which anyone can have fun with. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

1st Aug 2007, 14:48	#2
[USRF]Obiwan Ultramodder Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,218	is it friday allready? __________________ Mascleta: "The most accurate simulation of thunder, humans can simulate..." The answer is 42, so... whats the question again? If you know what 'Peek' and 'Poke' represents, then you are probably as old as me.

1st Aug 2007, 15:37	#5
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	I'm doing this with my snowman :P __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

1st Aug 2007, 17:47	#7
The_Beast I am The Stig Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 3,212	cool __________________ Rendering Machine - Gigabyte DS3L P35 - C2Q Q6600 - Antec New Solution Series NSK4480B - Corsair XMS2 2Gb - Sapphire 2600 XT 256mb - Seagate 'Cuda 320 GB - Antec Earthwatt 430 watt - Windows XP Pro -

1st Aug 2007, 18:16	#8
pendragon I pickle they Join Date: May 2004 Location: Massachusetts,usa Posts: 629	good to see some Modding articles on here ..especially simple ones for modding-n00bs like myself thanks! __________________ -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- GCS d-@ s-:>: a- C++$ UL---@ P++>+++++$ L+ E----@ W+++ N o? K? w++>+++++ O---@ M-- V? PS--() PE+@ Y? PGP-@ t+(+++) 5(+)@ X@ R+(++) tv@ b++ DI@ D++ G e++>+++++ h! r(%) y? ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

1st Aug 2007, 15:27	#4
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	You've got 2.5 shopping days to order in your cheapo USB stick before spending Saturday morning in the garage with a Dremel in one hand and epoxy in the other

1st Aug 2007, 15:43	#6
Duste Sierra my delta, bravo! Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: WA, Australia Posts: 812	LOL! That guy's freaking hilarious, especially with the protective gear. :P

1st Aug 2007, 19:30	#9
proxess Victim of AdvancedModernCapitalism Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The town of Love, Funchal Posts: 597	OMG! all those pubic hairs! you should just get a black keyboard to do a mod like that, no one will notice the hairs... __________________ Netbook: Asus eeePC 901; 12Gb SDD; Custom Ubuntu 9.04 Minimal Compiz Standalone. Laptop: Intel Centrino Duo T5500 1.66ghz; 2048mb RAM; ATI Mobility Radeon x2300; Hitachi 120gb iPod Classic 120GB; Maxtor 160GB External; Ubuntu 9.10 x64 and Windows 7 x64.

1st Aug 2007, 19:45	#11
timmythemonkey Monkeymodder Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: UK Posts: 60	Personally I would have passed on the transparent epoxy back and used a piece of plastic from the side of the keyboard as a bottom cap, that way he wouldnt have had to worry about matching the colour. ah well each to their own when it comes to modding i suppose __________________ Core 2 Q6600 G0, ASUS P5K3 Deluxe WiFi AP, 2GB ASUS DDR3 1333 8-8-8-20, XFX GTX280, Antec P182

1st Aug 2007, 19:59	#12
L2wis Hypermodder Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: UK Posts: 659	wicked mod, thanks for featuring it bit Might have to make one myself __________________ Lewis Wells Get Firefox! \| Get Thunderbird! \| Join Bit-tech folding@home

1st Aug 2007, 20:48	#13
CollinstheClown -Xbox Pwner- Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Norwood, PA in the USA Posts: 167	They should make a cap with the ' key. -CollinstheClown

1st Aug 2007, 22:29	#15
specofdust Banned Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Aberdeen, UK, EU Posts: 7,607	That was excellent __________________ Like marmite, only no-one hates it Mmm bop!

2nd Aug 2007, 02:20	#17
Kurtis Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 77	I'm glad most of you enjoyed the article. I fully realize my mod isn't perfect, but overall I'm pleased with it for what it is. "LOL! That guy's freaking hilarious, especially with the protective gear. :P" --> Thank you, sir! "OMG! all those pubic hairs! you should just get a black keyboard to do a mod like that, no one will notice the hairs..." --> I promise those aren't pubic hairs. Not most of them, anyways. I have really thick hair and lots of it falls out on my desk and keyboard. I have no good excuse for all that food in the keyboard, though. Looking back, I would've cleaned it for the photos - I thought it was funny at the time for some reason, heh. "IMO - this doesn't look amazing, i think its quite a cool idea, but it doesn't look right to me ... The notch where the USB connector sticks out makes it look a bit shabby, it needed a tiny bit of filling and a bit of paint to hide it. Also, has the board floated up in the glue ? because it doesn't look level to me ... Also where he sanded the edges to flatten it, now looks opaque, and the whole thing needs a light sanding to make the effect right. Sorry to be so harsh, maybe I'm just spoilt by the generally amazing front page articles ....." --> No need to apologize. I'm quite aware of the usual caliber of modding 'skeelz' you guys are used to, so I wasn't really aiming to leave anyone in utter disbelief at my amazing craftsmanship. It was more so meant to be entertaining and hopefully to encourage some people to get creative and mod something, even if it's something simple. Now, I should mention that this USB drive looks a bit cleaner in person than it does when photographed - in those close-ups you can see some flaws much easier than you really can when holding it. For example, the notch looks perfectly fine, no filler material is really needed, though perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to fill it a little to seal it from moisture in case I throw it in the wash cycle, or a rogue bear pees on it or something. I will admit the backside looks a bit crap - I would do a better job of that if I did this over, for sure. Thanks for your feedback, your criticism is certainly warranted. :-D "They should make a cap with the ' key." --> You know, I thought about that... thing is, I couldn't figure out a good way to do it without molding a custom key myself, because the keys curve away from each other. So the ' key would have to be facing down or something. If you've got a good idea for how to work that, I'm all ears. __________________ Co-Owner http://www.thetechlounge.com Antec Sonata Mod (Project Serenity) Improving Airflow and Style

2nd Aug 2007, 03:59	#18
m0ng0lh0rde Multimodder Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: USA Posts: 141	I was about to suggest you should've tracked down an IBM M keyboard, and just popped off the key-cap from the Enter key. Then I thought about it, and popped of the Enter on my M keyboard.... You would've had more plastic to clear out, not less. It's only the smaller keys that separate from the actual key, so you could re-arrange the letters.... Cool quick-and-dirty mod, though. I've got a 64MB flash I've been thinking about making a new housing for, might go this route, rather than custom fitting clear acrylic... __________________ Jason A. System: Intel Core2 Quad 6600, 8GB DDR2-800, 2x250GB SATA (RAID-0) Maxtor HDs, 1x500GB SATA HD, 1x160GB SATA Maxtor HD, eVGA 680i MB, Saphire HD 5870, Creative X-Fi Fatality, DVD-+RW DL Lightscribe, 16X DVD-Rom, Thermaltake 1200w PSU, Windows Vista Ultimate x64

2nd Aug 2007, 10:10	#19
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	Maybe we should hold a Mod a USB Key compo so everyone can have a go. Not sure what the prize should be though

2nd Aug 2007, 10:39	#20
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	another USB key? I'll have a think of something better than that... __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)