Nicole Martinelli - page 57

“Welcome to Macintosh” (subtitle: the documentary for the rest of us) features a mix of history and cult with interviews from ex-Apple employees, engineers and community members, shedding light on the company’s innovations, failures, cultural impact and what the future holds post co-founder Steve Jobs.

As we noted, it was announced out on DVD this fall, but the delay makes this a good bet for the Mac fanatic on your Christmas list. (Word to the wise: pre-order, since it won’t ship until mid-December).

On sale from the official site, the DVD, which costs about $20, offers three hours of extra content including extended interviews, a “making of” feature, trailers and photo journal.

The doc features a number of Macsperts including CoM’s Leander Kahney. In the trailer he speaks on design: “That’s what makes these products so beautiful, that level of comittment and dedication to the thing. To make it the best thing possible.”

Pretty things, we like.

The first Apple reseller is as good a reason as any to fly through Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport.

The recently-launched Boutique iStore, a petite 225 square feet, offers free Wi-Fi, an iPod bar as well as a few useful accessories, like the power cord you left in the office in a hurry to dash.

It’s the sister store to an Apple retailer in central Montreal, which gives some assurance that the operation isn’t fly-by-night — and that if you need to service on something you bought at the airport, you don’t have to trek back out there.

ifoAppleStore, a site dedicated to keeping an eye on Apple stores, said that Apple retail execs once mentioned the mini-store prototype might move into airports, but the concept was never expanded beyond the original nine stores.

With long layovers the norm, this is an idea whose time has come.

Via Softpedia

If a woman plays soft jazz when you come over but the top 25 played songs on her iPod are death metal, she’s not showing her true self.

The warning comes from psychologist Sam Gosling, author of “SNOOP: What Your Stuff Says About You.”

In this guide for men who want an excuse to pry, Gosling reckons her playlists will reveal whether you’ve hooked up with a potentially dangerous harpy and haven’t noticed yet.

His advice:
“Look for variety not quantity. Also note the differences between the music on her iPod’s top 25 most played list vs. the music she has playing when you visit. Jazz, classical or blues suggests openness; country, pop and soundtracks suggest she is more extraverted and possibly nicer.”

George Sawyer, who describes himself as “raised in a wood shop,” fashioned the Podbark case from flexible veneer adhered to wood-look paper with a protective screen sandwiched between. They wrap around the iPod with a finger joint, adding an authentic touch.

Sawyer started making them a few years ago, when the fifth gen iPod came out. Podbark currently fits those and the iPod classic 80gig, a comfort to those of us who have older models hanging around. They cost $15-$18, available in your choice of maple (pictured) or walnut.

iPhone (iBark?) and newer iPod models are in the works.

Podbark at Etsy

Depending on your point of view, Ben Stiller’s “Tropic Thunder” was either a bladder-threatening comedy, a hodge-podge of offensive stereotypes or just plain stupid.

After earning $100 mil at the US box office, it was recently released on DVD. The movie, about a ragtag bunch of actors forced to become real-life heroes, is a triumph of product placement. TiVo plays has a decisive role in the plot and everything from the newly-sexy cherry Chapstick and, yes, the iPod have cameos.

When Stiller’s character Tugg Speedman gets lost in the jungle, he soothes himself by watching Star Trek on his iPod, which was prominently placed in a giant gift basket in an earlier scene.

Not to spoil the plot, but after he’s attacked, he loses his cool and starts wearing his iPod as part of pseudo tribal fetish costume.

Guessing the iPod wouldn’t work with beads strung through it, but it’s a nice idea.

iPods provide welcome respite from annoying incidental music in stores, since retailers don’t understand that no one over 10 wants to buy anything while listening to Britney Spears.

There’s no bringing your own acoustic oasis in a bar for drinks, though.

Enter the WXYZ bar at hip Aloft hotel in Minneapolis, where customers can bring their iPods and blast personalized playlists over the venue stereo while they imbibe. Birthdays, anniversaries, 80s theme nights with office mates, the possibilities are endless.

Manager Amy Phillips said the plug-in-your-iPod idea was meant to provide “a connection to why they are there.”

The only catch? You do have to show them the playlist before hand. Which sort of rules out my favorite, though admittedly disturbing girl’s choir cover version of “I Touch Myself,” but I think it could be worked out. Or maybe I’ll have to sign up for this bring-your-own iPod night instead.

Photo credit: Metro Mix Twin Cities
Via Twin Cities Eater

Artcoustic has come up with a clever solution for small spaces or people who like music but want speakers to be good-looking or at least unobtrusive. It looks like a painting but this iPod dock with speaker blasts your sound without any of the bulk, the only thing not super cool about it is the name — SUPERSTAR iPod Music Centre.

The makers assure it’s a plug and play setup for these state-of-the art speakers with built-in
2x150watt Amplifier.

The front panel of the SUPERSTAR (what were they thinking?) comes in solid colors, jaunty stripes, a ton of patterns and even a series of Buddha portraits. And if you get tired of the look, move or repaint, you can always change it. Available in 2009, no word on price.

Via Smarthouse

If you liked the red-white-and-blue look of the Barack Obama “Hope” poster designed by street artist gone viral Shepard Fairey, Dubi Kaufmann has made a plug-in for Photo Booth that allows you to “Obamafy” your photos.

With over 4,450 downloads and counting, just about any photo you pop into it will take on iconic status. Still, Obamafying yourself won’t get you elected. As Kaufmann says, the free app is “an exercise in pop culture and is not part of any campaign nor it is an endorsement for either candidate.”

Download zip file here, then expand it. Copy the file Obamafy.qtz to /Library/Compositions, then launch Photo Booth and enjoy the Obamafy plugin.

Via Tech Side Up

Pirates are back. If you’ve been reading the news you know we mean the bad-ass high-seas kind, not the frilly-shirted guyliner ones from the movies.

It’s likely that aught-age pirates who have been terrorizing ships off the Horn of Africa recently have better tools than the odd rusty compass, at the very least iPhones with Google maps.

With this new breed in mind, Glenn Jones, a graphic designer and illustrator from Auckland, New Zealand designed this Modern Pirate T-shirt, yours for $20.

Those thigh-high boots do look good accessorized by an iPhone, we find.

Via Nerd Approved

There’s an idea you have for a killer iPhone app that no one has made yet. Trouble is, you have the idea but aren’t a developer. Step in iPhone Freelancer, a site that aims to pair idea-happy luddites with the tech people to make those apps happen. Employers post projects, then freelancers bid on them. It just launched a couple of days ago, but there’s already one project for a game with a budget of $250-500:

“I am looking for someone to develop an iphone app in the spirit of ibeer. You will have to know the SDK development kit provided by apple or some mobile phone equivalent. The app is meant to be a simple form of entertainment. If you start with an existing game and can just change the images, that would be fine too. I just don’t have the skill to do it on my own.”

Given the recent spate of stories on of developers making big bucks on iPhone apps, the idea is good, though savvy programmers are sharing iPhone-related gigs already.

A Long Island woman stabbed an attacker in the neck with her iPod charger, then managed to pick the twice-convicted rapist out of a police line up — he still had the prong marks from the charger on his neck.

According to a local paper, at 2 a.m. the rapist approached an 18-year-old as she was walking home from a friend’s place. He made a pretense of asking for directions, then put her in a chokehold and pulled her behind a church.

In the struggle, she stabbed him with an iPod charger which didn’t prevent the rape but became key in identifying her 23-year-old attacker.

Sources told the paper that by the time police rounded him up as a suspect, about a week later the rapist still bore “two prong marks on the neck from the charger.”

Wondering whether the European iPod charger with rounded prongs would come in as handy for impromptu self-defense.

Via Macenstein

Inspired by our previous post on an iPhone stand from a standard binder clip, CoM reader Rich Sipe took matters into hand and fashioned another one, a bit more complex than the first one but it looks like it’ll give you a sturdy stand out of pinched office materials.

More on Instructables, too.

Fashion czar Karl Lagerfeld, who put his hand to an iPod casehimself once for Italian fashion house Fendi, owns a custom iPod trunk to support his professed love of Mac.

Lagerfeld totes his gear around in a handcrafted custom trunk from Louis Vuitton. Well, probably some bedraggled assistant has to pack his wardrobe of 20 iPods, one charger (what just one?), JBL iPod speakers and a subwoofer.

Too cool even to even carry the LV monogram (but they do have Lagerfeld’s initials near the handle) the trunk is made in trademark Taiga black leather with a microfiber interior.

Custom cases like these take from four to six months to make and run upwards of $10,000.

Via Luxist

Can see this iPhone power charger, a prototype by a Tokyo designer who goes by the name Mac Funamizu, in the hands of irate Hollywood agent Ari Gold from Entourage as he channels Gordon Gecko.

Via cyanatrendland

Last month, the Texas LEGO User Group included a model Apple retail store on main street for the Austin Maker Fair. You can also take a look inside the store, though Lego for Lego, we prefer the interior of this mini Apple store, though the logo roof on the Texas model is pretty sweet.

Via TUAW

Italian priest Father Paolo Padrini came up with the idea of a free prayer app for iPhone and iPod Touch users. This virtual breviary, or book of hours, gives the morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayer or complines for the day.

Right now, it’s available only in Italian but Spanish and English versions are on the way.

It certainly looks less clunky than the iRosary.

Via American Magazine

A free app from magazine Consumer Reports available on iTunes may help harried shoppers decide in a hurry which model is worth it in the coming holiday season.
Categories include: cars, electronics, home and garden, babies and kids. Early adopters have a few complaints (centered around the search function, or lack thereof), it could still come in handy.

If you’ve ever wondered what your MacBook looks like through an X-ray, here it is, courtesy Jason. Looks pretty amazing.

Via The After Mac

The quirky brand born from a Toyota Camry trunk in 1989 (known for T-shirts and, no, they don’t make cupcakes) has just added its crossbone-cupcake logo to these cases for the iPhone and iPhone 3g. They come in silver or hot pink and cost $24.99 from the online store.

Via Ctothejl

In about 10 days, Mapflow will launch a free iPhone app called Avego for car pooling. (The home page says they’re waiting for Apple Push capability).

The nice thing: though the Avego app exploits smartphone capabilities, you don’t have to have an iPhone to hitch a ride.

Tech makes cheating more, not less complicated. Case in point: a desperate wife, going by the name of Susan042764, asked on the Apple forum whether raunchy photos of her husband could have automatically attached themselves to an email (send to a woman’s address) due to an iPhone “glitch.”

Honey, for your sake, we hope that’s the only “virus” he catches.

Via Inluminent

After the bacon scarf, tiara and bicycle comes this whimsical (and mercifully faux) bacon case for the iPhone. According to German designer Antjes, the felt case really looks like a piece of bacon. “You can feel the irregular (texture) and the illusion is perfect.”

Bringing home the iBacon will set you back €25 (circa $32) plus shipping…

Via Nerdgrind

These apples with Apple logos and products are the handiwork of a Japanese Apple fan (more pics on the site) who covered Fuji apples with custom Apple stickers, then waited a month them for to mature.

For the finishing touch, they added a leaf in afterwards in graphics. Wonder if these would be ripe for copyright infringement…

Via Teche Blog

Designer Dmitry Zagga kept his iPod speakers simple: all you need for his CupSpeakers, dubbed the “iPod Ghetto Accesory” are four white paper cups (preferably from the company cafeteria) and a couple of toothpicks to hold them together.

By his own admission, “the increase in volume, of course, is radiculous, (sic?) but hey, you get stylish iPod accessory out of nothing!”

Via Yanko Design

Basketball star LeBron James took out his iPod in front of reporters to prove it’s not all Jay-Z. The much-tattooed forward, pictured here with Mac user Gisele Bundchen on the controversial Vogue cover, has some Barry Manilow on there, too, namely “Copacabana,” “Mandy” and “I Am Your Child.”

Go figure. Just like Tommy Hilfiger listening to Jimi Hendrix or John McCain listening to Abba, it goes to show there’s a little bit of the unexpected in everyone’s playlist.