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MacMods of the Year for 2008 announced
MacMod.com has announced their honorees for the best mods on Macs that they saw last year, and you can see all of the hacks and mods over at their site right now. Most of the mods are case modifications, like the very slick iPhone custom, and the "Xbox G4," as seen above, which is a Powerbook G4 modded into the case of an Xbox 360 (with working ring of light!).I find it interesting that despite all of the slick case designs and gadget melds, the winner ends up being a software hack (well, it's actually more than a software hack, but still, you won't find any neon tubing in this mod, just a beige case): Leopard running on a PowerMac 8500. The mod itself ends up being a fine trip over the history of Apple's current software, its past machines, and all of the gooey chips and hardware inside. Very cool. Kudos to all the modders for their work -- we can't wait to see what 2009 brings to the mod community.
PowerBook G4 Titanium inelegantly modded into desktop
We're all for taking lemons and making lemonade, but at least clean up the mess before you showcase it to the world. All kidding aside (sort of...), Sir Bibin and Nick Lee found something better to do with their jacked up PowerBook G4 Titanium than fetch a few pennies on eBay. When the hinges finally cracked, they decided to just fold 'er on over, epoxy a pair of totally lackluster speakers on the side and add a wired Apple keyboard in to create a makeshift PowerMac (er, iMac, we suppose). Truthfully, we'd be way more into this if not for that very apparent spitball and the circa 1991 telephone cluttering up the masterpiece, but you know what they say about an artist and his / her studio. [Thanks, Michael and Nick]
Infectious offers discount for TUAW readers
I am a huge fan of Gelaskins, and my iPhone has boasted one since I discovered a display at a small Toronto store back in May. Adhesive art for your iPhone, iPod, and Mac is a fantastic concept and a great way to express yourself beyond the typical hardware case. Infectious is another site that offers art for laptops, cars, and more. They have recently launched a line for the iPhone. The site currently has 38 different pieces of art for the iPhone, and is currently on sale for $9.99. The Infectious stickers will fit both generations of iPhones. You will get a large piece of art for the back of the phone, and a smaller one for the front that goes over the Home button. The artwork for the front of the iPhone is a fantastic feature that Gelaskins doesn't have, and one that I find very attractive. It makes it easy to spot your phone without having to flip it over to check the back or activate the screen to check the wallpaper. Art for laptops is starts at $29.99 and will fit the Powerbook G4, iBook, MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The artwork is made on 3M vinyl material and can be easily removed to put on another piece. Infectious is currently offering a deal for TUAW readers. Use discount code TuawRocks for 10% off from now until December 31.
Scattered Shots: New and improved abilities
Scattered Shots: noun. 1. (Scatter Shot, singular) An ability used by Marksmanship hunters, especially to annoy other players in PvP. 2. (Scattered Shots, plural) A column at WoW Insider about anything even loosely related to hunters, except for high-level raiding and completely improper, sometimes libelous personal commentary.Hunters are getting quite a few changes in Wrath of the Lich King, but so far haven't covered them all. Today I'd like to go through the newest abilities and discuss them in greater detail.New Baseline Hunter Abilities:Nope, no Camouflage. We talked about this before, but it looks like the devs read our article, "Do hunters need Camouflage?" and decided the answer was no. So, instead we have a couple other new abilities to look forward to:Kill Shot: This is the new level 80 hunter ability, and it provides us with a bit of utility that help us to stand out and perform better in various situations:
Corkboard Mac gives push-pins new purpose
Best we can tell, the Corkboard Mac was constructed from critical parts of an older PowerBook and gets held up by a series of colorful push-pins. Legend has it that the actual casing was destroyed in an unfortunate cooking accident, but thankfully, all of the vitals -- LCD included -- were left intact. Peep one more shot in the read link, and pay your respects as you enter.[Thanks, Steven]
FastMac releases external charger for Mac notebook batteries
FastMac announced a new line of Mac notebook chargers today. FastMac found a work around for Apple not licensing the MagSafe chargers. TruePower U-Charge allows you to charge your notebook's batteries externally. Note that this does not power the Mac, it only charges batteries.This charger will charge iBook G3/G4 12", PowerBook, MacBook, and MacBook Pro batteries without skipping a beat. FastMac also has plans for a 14.4V charger that would charge batteries for the clamshell iBook, iBook G4 14", and Ti PowerBook 15". The TruePower U-Charge comes in 2 different colors (black and white) to match your machine better. The prices for these chargers start at $69.95. You can purchase the U-Charge on the FastMac website.
Apple settles on iPod batteries, power adapters
Owners of yesteryear Apple products (and consumer advocates) had a pretty solid week. Friday it came to light that more than two million 2001-era PowerBook owners could be eligible for refunds between $25 and $75 in a class-action settlement (which is set for final approval on September 8th) over faulty, sometimes even sparking power adapters. But that's not all: Apple is also offering up $45 credits to any Canadian iPod owner that bought before June 24th, 2004 as part of a class-action suit claiming Apple misrepresented the advertised battery life of the players.Read - Power adaptersRead - Canadian iPods [sub req'd]
MacBook Pro gets laser-etched with a Dark Portal
A few times now, I've had the opportunity to laser etch some of my tech stuff, and yeah, I've always thought it would be cool to get a neat pic on my iPhone or my old Powerbook. But I've never had a good enough idea to etch into metal. Of course, if I'd seen this Dark Portal laser etching, though, I might have thought of some Warcraft-y ideas.It's done by a company called Austin Laser Art. Justin, who owns the definitely Epic (or maybe even Artifact?) MBP, says that it took about 20 minutes to etch the laptop itself, though they did a few test etchings on paper to make sure it worked out all right first. The result looks pretty cool -- tons of detail and some really good looking shading. Plus, now we know what's behind that far portal in Nagrand: an Apple store.[Via Wonderland]
Jibe Audio's Sound Machine iPhone dock -- designed by Apple alumni
Have you heard of Jibe Audio? No worries, the San Francisco based company doesn't have any product... yet. That will change at CES with this, the Sound Machine iPhone docking station. Designed in part by Robert Brunner who led Apple's design team from 1989-1996, an era which birthed the Newton and the first Powerbooks. The Sound Machine is said to support Bluetooth audio, iPhone synchronization over USB, and unspecified audio input for other audio sources. If this is the same device first mentioned as the "iPhone Station" back in October, then it will also feature DVD playback and streaming internet radio. We'll find out soon enough. CES is only a few weeks away. [Via Gizmos]Read -- Brunner's iPhone Station Read -- Jibe Audio
Making yourself heard with the right headset
Mr_elenganza has a great question over on the WoW LJ-- what headset do you use for voicechatting in WoW?Me, I use two different audio inputs. On my Mac Powerbook, the built-in microphone actually works really well (and I hear from others who've used the new Macbooks that those work even better), so whenever I'm raiding with Teamspeak on, I'll have it on there, and just use that mic to talk.But when I need something a little clearer, I use the cheaper Logitech headset-- there are more expensive gaming headsets out there, but the headset is really just for voice (I've also got a nice set of 5.1 speakers on my PC), so it works just fine for my purposes. To tell the truth, if I went for another headset, I'd probably try and get something Bluetooth (the fewer wires running around, the better), but I haven't shopped around too much for that-- anyone want to recommend one?At this point, headsets are so cheap and so commonly used that "I don't have a mic" isn't really a valid excuse for not voicechatting any more (of course, it's always a good excuse if there are other reasons you don't want to speak). A nice USB headset will help you hear what's going on, and will make the experience better for people playing with you, too.
The DS Life: Our Digital Yard
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.The electronic blips and chirps, mingling with the crickets and other evening harmonies, are what draw you in at first. Against a building wall, a projected game of Super Mario World plays, but it's not any level you've ever seen. Nearby, a group of people sit around a Powerbook, one of them shaking a Wii remote while the others watch. Above them all, eleven Game Boys and a tangle of wires hang from a tree. What could be going on?
FastMac reveals slimline 2x Blu-ray burner for Mac laptops
For those who look at their PowerBook, iBook or MacBook Pro and long for a Blu-ray optical drive, FastMac's got you covered. Of course, some Macs were already on its list of compatible machines, but the firm is now announcing that the trio of aforementioned systems have joined the fray alongside the iMac and Mac mini. The slimline drive writes to BD-RE at 2x, DVD±RW at 8x and CD-R/W at 8x, and provides up to 50GB of storage on a single disc. The unit is slated to ship within 30 days and is available for pre-order as we speak for a stiff $999.99.
Rig of the Week: PowerBook with USB cooling fan
TUAW reader and Flickr user sninesix posted this snapshot of the USB CPU fan he rigged up to cool his PowerBook. When the original fan died, sninesix found an old fan he had lying around, removed the wires and hacked a USB cable onto it. He then removed laptop's keyboard and positioned the fan just above the CPU. With a USB keyboard connected, he was back in business. Well done! You can watch a video explanation here.If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. Each Sunday we'll comb through the most recent entries and declare a "Rig of the Week!"
Shawn Blanc interviews Brent Simmons
Brent Simmons, creator of the beloved NetNewsWire RSS app, is a talkative guy. We've chatted with him quite a few times about various Mac issues, and late last week he gave another interview to Shawn Blanc over at his website.The interview is mostly about NetNewsWire-- the inspiration for its various features, and the development process Simmons goes through (he writes way more code than he ever uses, and calls himself an "anti-packrat"). There's also a picture of Simmons' workspace (above)-- he works on a Cinema display hooked up to a 17" iMac, with a 17" PowerBook around for PPC testing. He also has a HappyLite Sunshine Simulator right there-- I would think shining a light in my face every morning would wear me out, but he says it helps his Seattle existence, and if it gave us NNW (3.1 is on the way, we're told), I won't argue.Always a good guy, that Simmons, except that he's a little indecisive-- he told us his favorite feature was the Attention Report, and now he says it's the spacebar. Make up your mind!
The DS Life: The many faces of Noah Tsang
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.This week's model, like all of us, has more to him than what can be seen in a single snapshot. He can be a young boy sitting idly on carpeted steps or a confident face on the street with mischief in his eyes, depending on the day. Join us past the post break, and see if you can recognize a bit of yourself in Noah's many faces.
Tilt Scream Pong makes you look insane
Want to install a game that makes you look as crazy as the poor woman in the video above? Look no further than Tilt Scream Pong, a game that utilizes both the Sudden Motion Sensor and the built in microphone in your Powerbook, iBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro. The basic game is really a solitaire pong game (like Breakout without the blocks), but the ball apparently moves faster and faster. Oh, and your paddle grows in size the more noise you make-- that's why this woman is screaming at her computer while flailing it around awkwardly.Anyway, it seems a lot like Wii Sports in that you look like a dork while playing it, but it's actually fun to play. The game and source are available for free, and future plans hint at maybe eventually a two player game, or even two player network play. Check it out-- but do it behind closed doors or risk people thinking you're strange.[via Videosift]
Scrobblepod hooks your iPod up with Last.fm
I haven't gotten into social music database Last.fm much, mostly (I'm ashamed to say) because I'm worried about some of my musical guilty pleasures being browsable by the Internet audience at large. Also, because I listen to my music in all kinds of ways, not just simply through iTunes.One of those ways, of course, is my iPod, and if you've been trying to figure out how to get your iTunes listens scrobbled into Last.fm, worry no more: Scrobblepod is here to save the day. It's a go-between for iTunes and Last.fm, and allows you to sync your iPod listens up with Last.fm before your iTunes listens get entered, ensuring everything gets listed just fine. Now, people will be able to see that you've listened to Mamma Mia whether it's on your iPod or your iTunes install.Of course, I still haven't seen a way to track the other way I listen to my music-- I keep all my actual music files on my Powerbook, and share them directly to my desktop through iTunes. That way, I have access to my music no matter where I take my laptop. Unfortunately, neither iTunes or Last.fm treats listens through shared libraries as if they were "real" plays, so no matter how many times I listen to that Timberlake Justice remix, it'll never show up on my "Recently Played" list, or in Last.fm.But anyway, my problems are complicated. If all you want to do is track your iPod listens into Last.fm, Scrobblepod's got you covered.
Letterman's head writer faces sparking, smoking PowerBook adapter
Granted, we've seen our fair share of Apple products getting a bit hot under the collar, and while the PowerBook AC adapters never were truly regarded as top-notch pieces of equipment, it seems that this particular one chose the wrong guy to get all sparked up on. Justin Stangel, a head writer / producer for the Late Show with David Letterman, was presumably writing up the night's monologue when he was uncomfortably faced with a sparking AC adapter. As any true professional would do, he actually filmed the volatile device getting its spark (and smoke) on rather than evacuating the area, so be sure and click on through to see what the fuss is all about.
Wicked cool Pismo picture frame
We've seen laptops modded into picture frames before, but this one really caught our attention. Flickr user theducks used parts from two Pismos, some plastic and a bit of creativity to make this photo frame. It has a real cool mod look that we love. The only thing is that theducks is a little skimpy on the details (hint, hint, theducks).Remember, you can add a shot of your Mac(s) to our Flickr pool at any time.
Macferno: Cable Modem explodes destroying PowerBook
On November 16, an OnDeckTech 24x7 help desk technician received a call from a distraught PowerBook owner whose laptop had just been destroyed, trying to see if she could recover any of her data. Her 80GB 15-inch PowerBook, her two Maxtor external 300GB drives and her 160GB LaCie Porche drive had all been affected by the explosion of her new cable modem. The details described by the technician, who posted both pictures and a detailed account of the explosion, reminds us that proximity--or a lack thereof--can be an important component in safeguarding your backup drives. The data, fortunately, survived. Thanks Andrew
