HyperMac offers DIY solutions after Apple lawsuit

HyperMac's portable charging systems are back on the market with a revamped product line that does not violate Apple's patents. HyperMac was faced with a patent lawsuit from Apple over the company's charging cables, which used Apple's MagSafe and 30-pin connectors. The company stopped selling the infringing cables on November 2, while continuing to produce its line of HyperJuice batteries. Without the cables to connect to your laptop, though, the batteries were more or less useless.

Sanho Corporation, the company behind HyperMac, was back at CES 2011 and showed off two new DIY power cable systems that skirt Apple's patents. One system uses Apple's MagSafe Airline adapter and a special plug provided by HyperMac to daisy chain a HyperJuice battery to your Apple laptop. While easy to implement, this setup powers your Apple notebook but does not recharge your battery.

A second solution requires the user to splice the cable on their MacBook power adapter. HyperMac provides the appropriate connectors to let users attach this modified cable to a HyperJuice battery or to the original Apple power adapter. These modifications require minimal technical skill and do not require any soldering. Though not as easy as the Airline adapter method, this latter solution does provide users with the ability to charge their battery from a HyperJuice battery while on the go.

TUAW's Daily App: Gravity Wars

Last week while we were at CES, I asked our editor-in-chief, Victor Agreda, for one of his favorite iPhone games, and he told me one that I'd never heard of: Gravity Wars. It's a very retro affair -- the idea is that you control a pixelated ship and fire, given an angle and speed, at another ship on a starfield. Your lines are drawn out as you fire on the screen, and the goal is to navigate the complicated gravity to hit the opposing ship. It's simple, but very interesting -- you end up calculating some really complicated shots as you try to take the other ship down.

There's a free and a paid version of the app, but there's no difference between them -- the idea is that if you like the game, you'll buy it from the author for just 99 cents. Note that the app's settings are unfortunately stored in the Settings app on your iPhone or iPod touch, since this is an old school title. And, of course, there's no Game Center integration or any other bells or whistles. This one's still fun, but it's retro in both graphics and iOS features.