Modding Project Enter the USB

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2007/08/01/project_enter_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.

 

is it friday allready?

 

someone forgot to check the spelling

 

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

 

I'm doing this with my snowman

 

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

 

cool

 

Couldn't you have published something a bit more...original?
What with all the modding talent on here, I sure it wouldn't have been a problem.

 

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

 

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 .....

 

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

 

They should make a cap with the ' key.




-CollinstheClown

 

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

An excellent idea

 

That was excellent

 

I'm totally passing that one on to Kurtis.

 

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. "
--> 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.

 

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...

 

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

 

another USB key?

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