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When it comes to making geeky gadgets and game consoles, even geekier Ben Heck is right up there at the top of the list of modders to watch. Heck made portable systems out of PS3s and more for a long time before he got his own show with element 14. Heck's latest episode had a cool portable conversion for a Sega CDX machine.

Apparently Heck routed the parts used for the case and everything else needed for the project on the episode. The final product looks pretty darn cool, even if it is big by portable console standards today. Heck said, "It was a blast taking something as awesome as the Sega CDX and making it even easier to use with a smaller footprint so I can bring it with me everywhere. Not only that, but I reminisced about Full Motion Video games from the early '90's and a few diamonds in the rough like 'Snatcher' and 'Lunar: The Silver Star.'"

The episode covers everything for the portable though the design to the final construction. If you really like the finished product, you can even register to win the thing at element14. "This latest episode is a must-see, not only for Sega Genesis fans, but also techies at heart," said Alisha Mowbray, senior vice president of marketing, element14. "While the show is aired in English, it caters to enthusiasts around the globe."

Fans of PC shooters will know the Battlefield name and we also know that the next installment of the franchise, Battlefield 3 has been in development for a long time. EA and DICE haven't really said much about the long development cycle and all I can say is that the game had better be good after the long wait.

The first official trailer for the game has surfaced and NVIDIA has the video over on the GeForce site for you to check out. Keep in mind the video is just a teaser and as such, everything is hazy and you can't really make out much detail. What you can see looks realistic.

The game will land this fall and has some cool tech to make it look more realistic called Frostbite 2.0. EA describes the game like this, "One moment you may be marching down a hilltop listening to the hypnotic sound of a firefight in the distance or admiring the way the light reflects off the smoke plumes of ground to air missiles rising from the city you're about to engage. The next you're on an urban street, surrounded, claustrophobic, fighting for your life and looking eight ways at once with all your senses on high alert."

Intel's Sandy Bridge chip problem is causing quite the kerfuffle. Working in retail selling these boards everyday is going to be hard for the next few months. What do you tell customers? As a retailer we're having to explain a huge issue which is daunting to a new customer coming in off the street, however most manufacturers are stepping up to the plate with some great service.

Gigabyte now has a free tool to check 6-series motherboards for their SATA problem. It will check if the installed hard drives are connected to the defective SATA ports, whether the board is prone to the said defect. Not all 6-series motherboards have the issue, so having a tool like this is quite helpful. Nice work Gigabyte!

Superbowl 2011 is one of the most exciting times of the year for an Australian like me. I don't want the football action, but give me those $3 million, 30 second movie teasers that roll around each year and I'm a happy boy. This year is no different, we have the finale of Michael Bay's Transformers movies, JJ Abrams' Spielberg-ian Super 8 and Chris "Flame-On" Evans as Captain America. Check out the first trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon below:

Well, that was just off it's dial wasn't it? Looking forward to that a fair bit for turn-your-brain-off special effects pr0n. Next up we have JJ Abrams Super 8. I personally think it gets the 1980's feel just right and feels like Close Encounters mixed with The Goonies, with an entire new angle I'm sure we'll see from Abrams.

Up until now, the only way to access the Android Market was directly via your mobile device. That has all changed with the official launch of the Android Market on the web.

The new web interface gives you a simple and easy to use way to score new apps for your phone. Search apps, find stuff you like, and after signing into your Google account you can tell the site to download straight to your phone without even having to plug it in. I downloaded an app via the Market on the web and it began downloading on my HTC Desire nearly instantly after clicking the download button. Check out the Android Market in its full PC glory here.

During CES 2011 in Las Vegas last month, we got a chance to get an exclusive video preview of Xigmatek's upcoming Elysium super tower case.

Chris went on video as you can see above and talked about the Elysium and what makes it special. One of the big things about the Elysium is that it was designed to fully and properly support the massive and much spoken about EVGA SR-2 motherboard that supports two Intel Socket LGA-1366 processors, a bunch of RAM and loads of PCI Express slots.

Besides that, the Elysium comes with support for a lot of large cooling fans that should keep things running just nicely. There is support for large radiators on the top and bottom of the case. Not only that, but there is also support for 12 hard drives and even an additional 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drive that can be slotted in easily at the top front area of the case.

Moving forward past that area is two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a single eSATA port as well as your typical audio ports. These ports can be hidden by a sliding cover if they are not in use. Inside the case, there are no less than seven water pipe holes as well as handy cable management holes, which should allow you to build a very clean looking system.

Watch the video above for your exclusive look and there are some pictures below in the gallery, too.

Beware, Verizon data hogs! Hiding behind the announcement of preorders starting for the iPhone 4 was another smaller and less publicized note. A new policy has been found on Verizon's site that states that download speeds are going to be reduced for the top five percent of data users on Verizon's network.

With the large influx of iPhone users expected to begin gobbling up data at a frenetic pace due to the size of the App Store, Verizon is launching a pre-emptive strike at possible network slowdowns by easing up the most egregious data eaters. Verizon stated that "Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren't negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users."

There's no way to tell whether you are one of the unlucky top five percent or whether you've been throttled without doing the checking on your own. With early reviews stating that Verizon's iPhone data service is slower than that on AT&T, those changing brands may not be able to tell whether they are getting regular or throttled speeds. It will most likely be more noticeable for those on other devices being throttled as they will have a better idea of the speeds they have been getting.

Anon is at it again - this type targetting Egyptian and Yemen government websites. Supposedly 500 Anonymous users took down websites for the Egyptian Ministry of Information and the ruling National Democratic Party in Egypt.

As for Yemen, websites targeted included the Yemeni Ministry of Information, the tax office, and the website for Yemen's long-serving president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Anon used their infamous Low Orbit Ion Cannon to take the websites down, the same trick used last year to take MasterCard, Visa and PayPal down.

Back in late December, I mentioned that a company called HEX had a cool silicone watchband in several colors that would turn your new iPod nano into a watch. The only downside to that is that geeks that like to use their nano for working out with the NIKE+ accessory couldn't use the HEX band. HEX has announced that in April it will have a new version of its cool watchband.

The new version of the watchband is called the Sport Watch Band and it is fully compatible with the NIKE+ accessory. The change for compatibility appears to be nothing more than cutting the side out of the case so the little dongle for recording your workout parameters can be installed. I would think if you already own a HEX watchband a sharp knife and a steady hand could mod yours to work with NIKE+ too.

HEX also has a new armband that you wear around one of your guns to hold the cable in place so it doesn't flop around on you while you run. Having cables bouncing on your arm as you workout is irritating after a while. The silicone of the watchband also projects the nano while you work out. Pricing is unannounced at this time, but it should be very close to the $30 the original cost.

There are tons of TVs on the market today that run the gamut from small screens that fit in smaller rooms or for those on a tight budget to massive screens that run thousands of dollars and have all the bells and whistles. If you are looking for a smaller screen LED backlit HDTV to fit in a bedroom or office Sceptre has some really cool offerings and has added some new sets to its Galaxy Line.

The Sceptre Galaxy series TVs are available in several colors including black, pink, red, blue, and chrome. The colors are a nice touch, but the specs are what most people are concerned about. The line has full 1080p resolution for the 24-inch screen and the TVs can be used as a PC monitor as well. The TVs are under an inch thick at their thinnest point and slightly under 2-inches at their thickest.

The dynamic contrast ratio for the screens is 14,000:1 and the panel response time is 5ms. Connectivity includes dual HDMI ports, the sets have a USB port as well for direct viewing of photos, and audio files from a flash drive. The sound system in the TV has a pair of 3W speakers and brightness is 250 cd/m2. The sets are widely available for $399.99.