Macenstein

The Contra Code will outlive us all

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A. The equivalent of a secret handshake for video game nerds, the “Contra Code”, as it’s known, is the most famous cheat code of all time, and therefore it should not be surprising to find that it has made its way onto the iPhone. The puzzle game FLIP by eBattalion has adapted the infamous cheat to the iPhone’s touch screen interface – the trick being you use finger swipes for the directions, and... Read More

Know when to fold ‘em with Dollar Origami

Finally, a new way to piss off your waiter other than that thing where you put an upside-down glass of water on the tip. Dollar Origami is a new iTunes application that shows you step-by-step instructions on how to fold your paper money into a wide variety of shapes that ALMOST resemble things. From elephants to tie-fighters, you can now leave your tips in a range of crumpled up shapes. Above: Trust me, these look about as good as they can without some sort of cheating. The app... Read More

Take THAT, Jonathan Ive!

Photographer Steve Lee got fed up with Apple’s “two-color” color scheme on all its devices (black and silver, white and silver) so he decided to “fix” Apple’s design mistakes. “Combine my pedantic taste for minimalism with nerdy touchtyping abilities and a cheap can of white spraypaint, and you end up with my keyboard – possibly the most pretentious keyboard in existence. “ I don’t think this keyboard is pretentious... Read More

Well, that was fun

Yeah, I know it was starting to look like Macenstein‘s 12 Days After Christmas Spectacular would never end, but it looks like after a stellar 35-Day run, we’ve run out of free stuff to throw at you. But don’t worry, we’re always looking for new ways to buy your love and trick you into coming back each day and reading Macenstein, so we have a couple things lined up in the near future. And remember, there’s still time to enter the last 7 or so contests... Read More

The netbook Apple would never make

I am apparently one of the few people on the planet who couldn’t care less if Apple were to release a netbook, but because you guys seem to care about such things, take a look at these 3D concepts of what designer Isamu Sanada thinks it might look like. I don’t know… This looks like something Toshiba might make, Leopard wallpaper not withstanding. I just can’t see Apple building anything with two hinges. Anything more than one hinge feels like unfolding... Read More

Celebrity Mac Chick Sighting re-revisited: Blake Lively

Well, she’s not wearing her Catholic School girl outfit, or her bizarre futuristic hooker dress, but you won’t hear me complain about the dress Gossip Girl‘s Blake Lively is wearing here. Besides, it’s not what you wear, it’s how you accessorize, and as Blake apparently knows, the iPhone goes with anything. Thanks to faithful Macenstein reader Justin for the tip! [via What Would Tyler Durden Do?]  Read More

“The 12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaway: Day 35

On the Thirty-Fifth Day After Christmas, Macenstein gave to you (or, more accurately, gave you a chance to win…) an Epson WorkForce 600 All-in-One Printer from Epson! Cute girl NOT included. Copy and print at 38 pages per minute? – check! Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking?!? – check! Double-sided printing, Scanning, faxing, OCR conversions, and laser quality prints? check, check, check, check, check… um… how many “checks” is that?... Read More

Video: The Macintosh Software Dating Game with Bill Gates (1983)

I once told a friend that I got “douche chills” watching a comedian bomb on stage. He had never heard the term before, and asked me what I meant. I wish I had had this clip then… “Apples are Red, IBM’s blue, if Macs gonna be the 3rd milestone, I need all of you!” Yes, douche chills are that odd, physically “chilling” sensation that runs between your shoulders and down your spine caused by feeling incredibly embarrassed for someone,... Read More

“The 12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaway: Day 34

On the Thirty-fourth Day After Christmas, Macenstein gave to you (or, more accurately, gave you a chance to win…) A MIMOBOT of you choice! Still crying because you didn’t win one of our first two MIMOBOT giveaways? Well, cheer up, because our good friends at Mimoco have given us a third AND FINAL MIMOBOT to hand out to a lucky faithful reader. Yes, everyone loves MIMOBOTS, those super cool USB2 thumb drives that not only make moving data fun, but also let the world... Read More

Apple releases iPhone firmware update 2.2.1 with tons of new features!

HAHAHAHA… OK, here’s what it really does.. This update contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following: - Improved general stability of Safari - Fixed issue where some images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll Well thank GOD! I knew that when Palm announced their new touch screen Pre that the healthy competition would light a fire of innovation under Apple’s ass, and I was right!  Read More