The mildly entertaining redemption story of The Rocker hinges on a Mac. Serial-geek actor Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from The Office) plays an almost-been heavy metal drummer called Robert Fishman. His niece, annoyed that she can’t do her homework, uploads a video of his sweaty practice session from her iMac. It goes viral. The rest is history.
Photographer Russ Croop has been creating art on his iPhone using an app called NetSketch that allows you to draw using your fingers, like the above “Point Lobos.”
Croop’s colorful creations look more like art (check out his online gallery, where you can also watch them being made in video form) and less like displacement practice than most, but local galleries have not yet signed him on to show them, according to iArt Mobile.
Maybe art on such a small screen underwhelms them, assuming the idea is to show works on the iPhone, but it’s probably just a matter of time. iPod art has already found its way into galleries.
Image courtesy Russ Croop.
Love this clear stand for the Mac Mini to make it look like a PowerMac G4 Cube. The only slight flaw in handiwork of Trademarklaser is the upside down Apple logo (due to the position of the optical reader) but an etched and painted acrylic cover that would set things straight is on its way. No word on price, but they are for sale.
Via Make
When the office manager says your new laptop will be a PC for “cost cutting purposes,” there’s only one way to prove you’re still a Mac.
Via Apple News
iPhone developer and model rocket enthusiast Michael Koppelman performed a hobby mash-up by launching an iPhone rocket.
He used the packaging the iPhone came in to develop a cradle that fit inside the rocket. The iPhone had its own parachute, just to be on the safe side.
Koppelman developed an iPhone app to monitor the iPhone’s GPS and accelerometers, logging them to a file and sending GPS data over the Web so that the unit could be easily located if it became lost.
The airborne iPhone didn’t break or go missing.
Check out his site for the data or the video of the launch and an interview at Make…
The trailer for Nim’s Island, a Jodie Foster movie about a house-bound adventure writer, starts off with her character Alex Rover dancing a jig in front of a Mac and shows her computer about five more times in the space of a minute or so.
Apparently, the movie is Product Placement a go-go for 12 companies, so much so that at least one pundit complained. The Mac count? Three different computers show up a total of 10 times. Still, if you’re going to be a bogus travel writer, better do it with a Mac.
Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16Ms, recently unveiled in all their Batmobile-meets-James Bond glory, will have an optional iPod built in to the dashboard.
The 16GB touch, black with the prancing horse logo, will come loaded with Ferrari images and sounds — the famous engine purr, maybe?
This is the kind of kit Ferrari owners will love, since the detachable iPod allows them to take the brand with them in places (like the gym, shopping) where it wouldn’t be obvious otherwise that they were Ferrari owners. (I once worked briefly on the Ferrari owners’ site. As a person who let their driver’s license lapse and uses a bicycle to get to work, it was a challenge). And the iPod can keep you company when the car is kept safely in the garage for more practical transport or serve as a memento when you sell it.
The base price for the limited-edition car is $277,000, no word on the extra cost for the iPod upgrade.
Via iPod Nation
Proving that Macs are the computers of kings, here’s a shot of
Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud with an impressive 30-inch cinema display. It makes Medvedev’s laptop look a little modest.
Via TUAW
Now that Tina Fey can abandon her rock-hard chignon and go back to playing Liz Lemon on 30 Rock, we can admire the view from her boss, Jack Donaghy’s desk, namely his 24-inch iMac.
Wonder if it’s a coincidence Alec Baldwin is on the phone here. Be nice!
Via MacSmack
Artist Catherine Forster began examining the world through a microscope as a biologist, now she uses technology to talk about the world.
Her installation “Golden Oldies” features four silent videos inspired by pop songs (“Karaoke classics” she says) played on iPods.
These visual landscapes are inspired by “Tiny Bubbles” (Don Ho, 1966), ‘Under the Boardwalk” (Drifters, 1964), “Spinning Wheel” (Blood Sweat and Tears, 1969), and “Starry Starry Night” (Don McLean, 1971).
“Golden Oldies” was meant to be a humorous take on how people cut themselves off from the world by creating iPod retreats.
Right now, it’s part of a Biennial show in Kentucky, but Forster says the ongoing project include new videos from the 1960s to the 1990s. You can check out the videos up close from her site.
Danny Hutton, founder of rock group Three Dog Night, credits his successful 40-something years in the band because of what could be described as shuffle music.
“We basically were doing iPods in the 1970s,” Hutton said. “Our songs were all over the place. We’d go from ballads to hard rock to country songs to an R&B song.”
Not sure they embody the eclectic iPod mentality (Beck? Girl Talk? 2 Many DJs?) but It’s better than blaming the iPod for ruining your music.
Via Mlive
This iPhone robot (moves forwards, backwards, turns) from Japan was made using an Arduino CPU board with a TA7291P motor. It runs on four AA batteries.
The Demonstration video is worth a watch just for the techno background music…
Via iPhone World
Not exactly hot under the collar to see this movie, since by most accounts it is a rom-com gone wrong, but Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a hotbed for Apple product placement.
The trailer features an ailing iBook, showing us exactly how desperate our two young friends are for cash. The movie also has a part for Justin Long, “Get a Mac” Apple adman as a gay porno star, leaving at least one person to suggest the actor is an Apple endorsement, too.
Xgoes.mob is the first iPhone-only porn cam site.
Those who have tried the subscriber service are reluctant to give it the thumbs-up due to sluggish loading times and the quality of the flesh on offer.
For more hot scrolling action: here’s the site (uh, NSFW).
Via GizModo
President Dimitry Medvedev governs Russia from what looks like a Mac Book Pro, if photos released by the Kremlin are any indication. Something about a guy with an open shirt, no tie and a manageable pile of papers running a country doesn’t look right to me. It looks like the Russian government uses plenty of PCs, if the equipment in the background is any indication.
Medvedev, not new to the Apple world, has been also seen with an iPhone, before it was available on the local market.
16-year-old Nick Fala runs a thriving repair business for all things Apple from his parent’s home in Westerville, Ohio.
At age 10, he started repairing Macs for friends and relatives. After the iPhone debut, he had enough customers to start a business. Now his company NF Technology Services, fixes Apple computers, iPods and iPhones for corporate clients as well as his aunt, cousins and neighbors.
Not bad for a kid who probably just got his driver’s license.
If you’re going down under, or know someone who is, have them pick up an iPod for you. The free fall of the Australian dollar has made it the cheapest place to buy one.
A survey of 62 countries found that an Apple iPod 8gb nano, measured in US dollars, cost $131.95 US dollars in Australia. That’s five percent cheaper than in Indonesia, where the same iPod would cost $138.47.
In Hong Kong, which used to top the cheap iPod scale, the same MP3 player now costs $148.36, almost exactly what it retails for in the US, $149.
Ok, so a “currency discount” of about 14% percent isn’t enough to warrant consumer electronics spending spree down under but it’s interesting to see how the iPod indicator/Big Mac idex on these prices fluctuates.
Via AFP
In this dark, puzzling British comedy starring Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean, the original The Office series) as a tube driver who has to kill someone to fulfill his dream, the plot twist is underlined in one of the final scenes when a Mac shows up.
Official site: Three and Out
Designer Gopinath Prasana has concocted this wireless MP3 player that would keep your tunes handy, no hands required. And despite the girly name, it looks pretty unisex.
The prototype metal bracelet has a blue inner band that fills with air for a snug fit and a multi-touch track pad for easy navigation.
Nothing to keep you from discreetly turning it up or down in front of your boss.
Via Yanko Design
If you want to know how much money you’re spending on espressos, latte and the like (and gauge how much you’re buzzing), this is the iPhone, iPod Touch app for you.
CoffeeNut costs a buck. Which is still less than a cup of coffee, these days.
Via Geek Sugar
After Style.com, which is reporting over one million ads served via iPhone in a month, companies are launching iPhone fashion apps faster than a pop singer can add extensions.
A few that caught our eye:
E! Entertainment channel. Yes, this means the Fashion Police have made it to your iPhone. More for ogling those red-carpet horrors than reading, though, since scrolling is required for catty comments.
Perez Hilton. Love him or hate him, now you can get the snark and gratuitous photos on your commute.
Ralph Lauren, who began his career as Ralph Lipschitz, tie designer is now putting his latest runway creations, plus backstage clips and a look book on the must-have accessory of the iPhone.
Victor Vetterlein designed this slick prototype speaker dock to power iPods. The speaker base has rechargeable batteries that can power the stereo system for hours.
Vetterlein plans to make the dock capable of using a renewable energy source such as solar power, wind power, or hydroelectricity to charge the battery packs when the stereo is not in use. Each speaker is wireless and can be removed from the base unit.
Though this would look great in a living room, the rods between the speakers act as handles so you can carry the YO out for al fresco entertainment.
Via Dezeen
Now you can clip on your favorite songs in metallics: blue, green, pink and red. The original silver is still available for purists. It’s about time the iPod Shuffle got a color update, though I still miss the first gen design with the USB connector.
iPhone stands don’t get much simpler, or cheaper, than a standard binder clip. We like.
Via To Darrin Hudson
Good news: you may already have the black mock-neck, 501s, New Balance sneakers and an iPod Touch in your wardrobe.
Bad news: any costume you have to explain a few times until everyone is too drunk to care isn’t your best bet.
Unless maybe you drum up interest on your Fake Steve Facebook profile beforehand…
Via iPhone Savior