October 13th | Posted by Dr. Macenstein

So, I was at Disney World last week, and it being one of the few times I have ever left my house, I figured it would be an ideal chance for me to test out the WikiMe iPhone app. WikiMe is designed to use your iPhone’s GPS to figure out where you are and then use Wikipedia matches to give you information about local points of interest. Well, I certainly found this result interesting…

Being an animation major at school, I had of course heard the rumors that Disney was a Nazi sympathizer in the 30’s and 40’s, although I was pretty sure those rumors have been proven false (there was also a separate Disney/Nazi rumor dealing with a mural at the Grand Floridian Resort). Still, I think it very odd that WikiMe came up with that listing (even giving me a distance which seemed to match Disney’s Swan and Dolphin resort) when the actual Wikipedia listing for “Swastika” does not have the word Disney or even Florida in it.

This is “X-Files” caliber stuff here, people…. or least National Treasure 3 caliber stuff…

October 11th | Posted by Dr. Macenstein

Well, despite Apple’s invite making it very clear that the “focus would be on notebooks” at Tuesday’s special event, word is now trickling out that we may be seeing some token updates to both the iLife and iWork suites. Mac Soda, the same folks who brought us the nVidia graphics card in the new MacBooks rumors claims to have knowledge of a joint notebooks/iApps announcement set for Tuesday.

I’m not a big fan of joint special announcements outside of Macworld where Steve has time to really go over the changes to all the new goodies. To my mind a joint announcement means either the new notebooks will be somewhat underwhelming, or the iApps will be of the incremental and “big featureless” variety. Those of you pumped up about the new portables will be happy to know that based on the past two iWork/iLife updates, I am leaning towards their updates sucking, and the laptops being reasonably impressive. First, the invite specifically mentions the notebooks, which means Apple at least thinks they have something worth talking about. But more importantly, aside from ruining iMovie, the only changes to the iLife suite Apple has made since 2005 is more and more .Mac integration to the point where I expect iLife ‘09 to pretty much require you pay $99 for MobileMe in order to even boot iPhoto or listen to iTunes.

We happen to be close interweb friends with the Mac Soda crew, so we’re actually pulling for them on this one (and the nVidia thing). It would be nice to see another rumor source on the scene with some street cred. Of course, if they totally blow this, then they are dead to us. We’re extremely disloyal like that.

October 10th | Posted by Dr. Macenstein

Anyone looking for further evidence of Apple’s rampant neglect of the Mac mini (aside from, you know, the obvious signs like the whole “431 days since an update” thing) need look no further than the Mac mini’s product page.

Oh sure, the web guys tried to freshen it up with a new keyboard and headphones, but check out that 5th gen iPod! If the mini were a Simpsons character it would be living in a shack with an chain-smoking alcoholic mother and wearing a tattered blue vest.

Thanks to our friends at Mac Soda for the tip!

October 9th | Posted by Dr. Macenstein

Hello faithful readers. Like just about everyone on the planet, I have come up with an idea for (what I feel is) an incredibly important iPhone application that I would love to see made. No, it is not another Sudoku game or tip calculator – at the risk of sounding melodramatic, I feel my app could potentially save lives.

Unfortunately, I don’t yet have my C and C++ skills up and running yet, so I am looking for a brainy reader to come to my rescue. The app in question would rely heavily on accessing information from a website and then plotting that information on a Google Maps display based on the iPhone’s current location (GPS) or Zip code (sort of like a restaurant or movie finder app, but slightly more involved).

What’s in it for you?

Not much, other than that you would be making the world a better, safer place (for iPhone users, anyway). As I envision it, this app would be given away on iTunes for free as a public service, although on the odd chance we decide to sell it, I would split any profits 65%-35% in your favor. I would handle any graphics and marketing needs the app would require, and all programming would be done by you, our most brilliant of readers.

If you are at all interested, please shoot me an e-mail and let me know your credentials, iPhone programming experience, and availability. If you personally don’t know how to program for the iPhone but know someone who does, please pass this along to them. Thanks!

-The Doc

October 9th | Posted by Dr. Macenstein

Apple has finally (unofficially) confirmed the release of new MacBooks on October 14th via one of its trademarked “mysterious special event invitations that we never seem to get”.

While conventional wisdom has it that the image on the invite is that of the back of the new 13-inch MacBook Apple will be selling us, faithful Macenstein reader Payton decided that everybody is being a little too lazy in taking the invite at face value. So he came up with a different (and more speculation-friendly) take on the image.

While looking at the invitational graphic that Apple sent out for the event they’re holding on October 14th, I noticed that it would be the correct size for the rumored glass trackpad. So I opened Photoshop and placed the image on top of the “leaked photos” of the new next-gen MacBook Pro. I think the rumors are true. Makes sense that other companies couldn’t duplicate what Apple could do because of the patents it holds on multi-touch.

Nice Job Payton! And I really want to agree with you, although that Apple logo on the back placed exactly where the current one is on laptops is just a little too hard to ignore. Still, since the glass trackpad would be the most noticeable/marketable rumored change to the devices (despite the hubbub, we doubt Joe Lunch Pail gives two hoots about whether the MacBook is carved from 1 hunk of aluminum or 6) it might make some sense that Apple might hint at it in the invite.

October 9th | Posted by Dr. Macenstein

OK, looks like I was wrong when I assumed the reason Kirsten Dunst and Justin “I’m a Mac” broke up was that Kirsten was a PC. Here she is practically waving her MacBook Pro around around for the paparazzi, as if she knew I would find this picture.

We actually spotted Dunst with a MacBook Pro once before, but she was on the set and in some weird 16th century costume, so we couldn’t be sure it was her MacBook Pro or a PA’s, but it looks like she’s the real deal folks.

[via UseMyComputer]