given that is has been over 10 years since i did anything more than a little soldiering i read the whole of the post including all the hackaday post with interest and have a couple of questions/queries

it seems that using a 5v voltage regulator like the lm7805 is recommended over a 5.1v zener diode + resister because "A resistor and zener diode make an extremely poor voltage regulator" (hackaday comment) since the n770 is what i would call sensitive electronics would it not be prudent to use a voltage regulator instead?

As a voltage regulator needs a few volts over the desired voltage what is the recommended amount - i was thinking about using a 9v/7.2v rectangular pp3 (alkaline/rechargable) as it would be smaller (and cheaper?) over 6 aaa rechargeable (6*1.2=7.2) i suppose i could use 4x1.5v aaa but i dislike non-rechargeable solutions and i am not sure if 6v is enough for a voltage regulator setup.

now if only there was a way to easily connect more than one device at a time - i think plugging a mini usb hub into one side might enable n770 + usb keyboard + usb mass storage device

augur