attitude??

[houstondan]

ok...so you don't like your gps map screen turning with the yoke...or,
need a different attitude indicator...try this...




POWERBOOK HACKING | 03.16 08:29 AM
Tweaking the Accelerometer

Apple's latest PowerBook laptops contain a tiny accelerometer--a device
that senses sudden movement, and in which direction--so that, if you
drop the computer, the hard drive instantly parks its own heads to
protect your data.

Now, the hacking community (I mean "hacking" in the fun-loving,
cheerful sense) has been all over Apple lately, turning Mac Mini's into
car-trunk music servers, set-top TV recorders, and more. So I figured
it was only a matter of time before people started finding fun uses for
the accelerometer in new PowerBooks, and I wasn't disappointed.

First, this guy wrote a little free software program that actually
rotates your windows on the screen as you tilt the laptop, so they
always remain "upright"!

Then this guy wrote a tiny program, which you can also download if
you're technically savvy, that switches to the previous or next song
playing in iTunes when you tilt the

laptop in the appropriate direction. Wicked--and clever.

dan

[houstondan]

it's in the new york times highlighted as a blog-type from pogue, i
think.

dan

[Milen Lazarov]

houstondan wrote:
> ok...so you don't like your gps map screen turning with the yoke...or,
> need a different attitude indicator...try this...
>
>
>
>
> POWERBOOK HACKING | 03.16 08:29 AM
> Tweaking the Accelerometer
>
> Apple's latest PowerBook laptops contain a tiny accelerometer--a device
> that senses sudden movement, and in which direction--so that, if you
> drop the computer, the hard drive instantly parks its own heads to
> protect your data.
>
<snip>
>
> dan
>


IBM Thinkpads had had the same inertial sensor for awhile. There's even
an application that comes with the laptop that shows it rotate as you
rotate it in the air. So PC fans can have some luck too. ;)