Using little more than book knowledge, experience from previous projects, and a healthy shot of elbow grease, a Kenyan kid has constructed a nifty (and perhaps just a little scary) box that attaches to your car to provide a number of unique remote-control features that you're not going to find on your average OnStar setup. The flagship function seems to be the real-time lockout, which can call you as the car is being started; only if you confirm that it's not some baddie trying to jack your ride will the ignition request be granted. That's not all, though -- it'll also let you dial into the car and listen in on any conversations going on within. The young man says he's seeking additional funding to take his project to the next level, but in the meantime, don't even think about making off with a white Mitsubishi the next time you're in Mombasa. Follow the break for a video of the system in action.

[Via AfriGadget]

All sorts of little gems are turning up in the iPhone firmware 2.0 code; first we had scraps of GPS support being tracked down, and now we have another pair of goodies that are sure to turn at least a few heads. First up, sister site TUAW is reporting that the latest release makes reference to some sort of remote control for iTunes installations that Apple appears to be billing as "iControl," allowing iPhone users to browse and play iTunes libraries from afar -- presumably over WiFi.

TUAW's also got the lowdown on code suggesting support for XMPP, the protocol that underpins Jabber, and most famously, Google Talk. It seems that access to the XMPP framework is being kept solidly out of third-party developers' hands, though, meaning that Apple -- and Apple alone -- will be using it to support on-device iPhone chat. At this point, both of these features need to be quarantined in the "rumor" category, because even if the code does exist as TUAW's tipsters are claiming, there's certainly no guarantee it'll make the cut for firmware 2.0, iPhone 2, iPhone 3, or iPhone 10. Looks promising, though!

Read - iControl
Read - Jabber support

The dream of an automated house has never been more achievable, and thanks to DIY software like Cinemar's Mainlobby, just about anyone can roll their own at a reasonable price. Of course, the more you can control with your home automation system the better. Now, in addition to being able to control lighting, security, home theater gear, thermostats, whole house audio and manage all your movies from a wall mounted touch screen, Mainlobby owners will soon be able to use their iPod Touch or iPhone as a remote. The key to making this work is Mainlobby's built in web server and Safari's extensive AJAX support -- sorry Windows Mobile fans. Unfortunately, this is only a first look, but these examples will be included in future versions of MLServer. And considering the lead developer on the project plans to use it as his "primary handheld controller," it should mean lots of future development. More pictures after the jump.

Controlling your domicile's lighting, temperature, and home theater settings from your cellphone is far from revolutionary, but New York-based CLIQK is implanting the aforementioned abilities onto Apple's iPhone. In an admittedly vague press release, the "digital lifestyle services firm" stated that it was "treating" its VIP members to "specially customized iPhones" which enabled them to access "specialized applications and ringtones that are not available from Apple or to the general public." Quite comically, the firm even noted that it had "unlocked" the true power of the iPhone, and that its tweaked version allowed users to take control of their homes' security, lighting, temperature, shading, and even music from afar. Unfortunately, there's no mention of a price nor requirements for joining this so-called VIP clique (ahem), but hey, wouldn't it be more fun to just create your own home automation app?

[Via I4U News]

As the site clearly indicates, "The purpose of this circuit is to make the human life better and easier," and we couldn't agree more. If you've got an ancient Ericsson lying around that would otherwise be ready for the recycle bin, this circuit gives your faithful friend a new lease on life as an SMS-actuated IR sender capable of controlling up to eight devices, depending on how you opt to build it. A simple 8-digit text message to the phone is all it takes to send the appropriate ON or OFF signals, and as an added bonus, the author shows you how to wire the phone directly into the circuit so a battery's no longer required. A better and easier human life, indeed.

[Via Make]