If your strumming hand for Guitar Hero is becoming a bit worse for wear, then good news: Ben Heck, modder of all that is next-gen, has come up with a way to make your foot do all the work instead. Introducing Ben Heckendorn's own brand of pedal controllers, a peripheral that lets you strum and whammy with the merest movement of your foot. All the details in the full article.

Console modder Ben Heckendorn's apparently decided to do a retake of one of his one-handed Xbox 360 controller from 2006. The new build sports some particularly handy features that should make it easier to use. Details regarding this mod project are in the full article.

Wondering what Ben Heck has been up to lately? The modder recently announced that he's finished work on a Halo 3-themed laptop version of Microsoft's Xbox 360 Elite. This new project hosts far more than just a shiny new skin - you can view the other changes in the full article.

Microsoft's been under a lot of heat because of the Xbox 360 overheating issue (pun intended). To address this, Microsoft came out with Project Falcon, a new Xbox 360 model sporting the 65nm chip, which will offer a significant reduction in heat. Ben Heck, modder extraordinaire, got the new Falcon model Xbox 360 and tested it against the older Zephyr model in a laptop-type environment. He found that the Falcon runs much cooler than the Zephyr. Details in the full article.

  

Just got yourself an Xbox 360, and want to check if your unit is one of the newer ones with that extended heatsink... without voiding your warranty? You're in luck, as Ben Heckendorn found a nifty way of checking if your Xbox 360 will be prone to the dreaded Red Ring of Death, or not.

The steps involve letting your unit stand upside-down, so you'll be able to see all the little holes underneath the Xbox. The get your digital camera with a flash (or a mobile phone with a built-in camera and a flash) and just stick the lens at the bottom of the unit. You should be able to see what lies beyond the holes, without having to void the warranty by opening it.

If your unit has one of the new heatsinks, you'll be see a dark object just beside the DVD player. If your new unit is not that blessed, you'll just see an ominous, empty void.

This method certainly is a big help for those who really want to get a piece of Xbox 360 gaming heaven, but are worried about getting the ring of doom. Of course, you could always check the manufacturer's date instead, but this method will definitively tell you if your Xbox has the new heatsink or not.

For the guys familiar with Ben Heckendorn (aka Ben Hecks), you'll probably remember that one particularly lucrative project he's been up to is the episodic guide to making your very own Xbox 360 laptop Mark 2.

As a follow up to last month's session, Ben has just announced part three of his tutorials. This session will guide follow modders through wiring the unit's LCD screen, installing the parts into the case, modding the keyboard, and attaching all latches and USB ports. Before you get started, here's a summary of what you'll need.    

• USB port, male (full size type A)
  
• VGA port
• Slide switch 3 position
• Slide switch 2 position
• RCA jacks
• USB keyboard with hub
• Green 3mm LED
• (8-10) 6mm tact switches
• Male headers
• Female headers
• Shielded VGA monitor cable
• Dark plastic screen door material
  

Needless to say, this mod will void the warranty on your Xbox 360. The full nitty-gritty details of this last chapter of this Xbox 360 mod should be at the read link below. With that said, we're hoping the guys who've been trying this out will do well once their modding is finished. That's all for the moment, although we're hoping Ben Hecks tries something similar with the Elite...

Teach a man to fish, and he eats for life. Due to the immense popularity that Ben Heckendorn's been reaping for his recently completed PS360 controller mod, our fave mod god has decided to release a Do-It-Yourself guide for the general public's perusal.

Now, before the readership heads off to the actual guide, here's a rough on the materials and tools you will need for the attempt:

• PS3 SIXAXIS controller
• Xbox 360 (wireless) controller
• Perfboard with pre-drilled copper plated holes
• Thin wires
• x(4) T-1 sized LEDs
• x(2) 4.7k ohm resistors and (1) 10k ohm resistor
• Superglue (liquid type)
• x(11) 6mm tact switches
• x(2) 4.5mm tact switches
• x(4) size 3 screws, 1/2-inch long
• Dremel tool with cutoff wheel
• Soldering iron and desoldering iron
• X-Acto knife
• Hot Glue Gun
• Thin tipped magic markers
• Regular small Phillips screwdriver
• Small Torx screwdriver
  

Needless to say, this mod attempt will require plenty of spare time, soldering skills, and sweat. The first few sections will deal with destroying disassembling the 360 and SIXAXIS controllers, followed by instructions on how to transplant the SIXAXIS analog controls to the 360. The full details for this attempt are available at the read link, although we warn readers to once again be careful, if they ever do decide to try this mod out. Godspeed, and make sure to wait up - Ben Heck's making plans to release part 3 of his 360 laptop guide soon after!

 

Yes, and how much heck could Ben Heckendorn heck if Ben Heck could heck heck? The Master of Mod has united with eDimensional to offer a new, inspired-by-the-hardcore gamer product. And they won't say a thing about it. Not a darned thing. They'll never tell.

No. They're so mean they want you to guess what the hell - er, heck it is.

The Read link below takes you to the contest website, What the Heck?!, where you will find where to send your guesses to eDimensional, in the hopes of winning a free signed copy of WhateverTheHeckItIs from eDimensional. One guess per person, per day (no spamming, in other words).

So what the heck is it?! (Fine, the silhouette kind of resembles a 360, but it could also be a red herring, a decoy). A laptop? Deceptive controllers? An actual analog stick for a portable?

Ben Heckendorn, or Hecks, as he's popularly known as here at QJ, had presented the Mark 2 of the Xbox 360 laptop mod, as homage to the Xbox 360 Elite. All sleek, shiny, Xbox...ey and, most importantly, black, the mobile version of the Elite console is perfect for the gamer on the go, but takes loads of hard work to make.

Hecks just released the second part of the laptop mod guide, but since we overlooked the first part (oh noes!), this blogger will take an extra step backward and bring you a short overview of the things you will have to do on parts one and two of the guide.

First up, you're going to have to open that Xbox 360, baby. We know it's tough to pick up that screwdriver and start undressing that Xenon machine, but modding is a point-of-no return once you've decided to go ahead with it. You're bound to break every stipulation in the guarantee disclaimer once you go forth with it, anyway.

Once you've stripped down the Xbox 360 to its motherboard, you'll also have to do a few modifications to the DVD and hard drive so it can fit in a narrower space. The second part will take you into a lay-out design run-through, showing you how the lay-out was designed to maximize space usage and allow air flow for cooling.

Procedures, extra parts and tools you'll need to perform the tasks needed in the Xbox 360 Mark 2 mod are provided over at the first part of the mod guide, reachable through the "Read" link below. Remember, read through the instructions carefully first before doing anything to your vic...console.

We have two interesting bits of news today which will be covering the Xbox 360 mod scene. First, mod meister Benjamin Heckendorn (aka Ben Heckendorn/Ben Heck) has just announced that he's finished work on yet another Xbox 360 Laptop. Aside from its new green trimming and black skin (homage to the 360 Elite?), Beck further notes that the Xbox 360 Laptop Mark II is lighter and thinner than its predecessor, and carries new features that he will be announcing when he brings up his tutorials...which brings us to news number two.

Beck is further announcing that he will be releasing a three-part series on how people can make their very own Xbox 360 laptop mod. As Beck states:

You'll get a behind-the-scenes tour of the construction of this device, along with diagrams, tech specs, and even the original design and art files. We'll also cover LCD screen hacking as well and many of the finer details about this project that aren't readily apparent by the glamor shots we took.

Expect the segments to pop up within the next few weeks. For now, we advise guys to ogle at these sample shots taken of his latest beauty. Happy viewing.

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Update: Cool video of the Xbox 360 Laptop mk. II is now available. Check it out below: