These pint-size acrylic Apple gadgets from LiLu are exactly the right size for setting scenes with those googley-eyed Blythe dolls. The Li Lu series of miniature electronics are perfect for geeky dollhouses everywhere.

The LMax (iMac Mini) measures just under 4-inches wide, and sells for $14 (USD), while the teensy 0.67 inch tall iPhone sells for just $3 bucks. While the iMac’s proportions look pretty accurate, the tiny iPhone looks a little thick for it’s size. Well what do you want for $3 bucks? At least this one doesn’t require a 2-year contract from AT&T.

There’s also a miniature MacBook Pro- rebranded as the Lbook Pro, which sells for $14 (USD). I can only find the shiny black one for now, but they have also made a white version before. And I have photographic evidence to prove it!

Originally available only in Thailand, you can now find these awesome miniatures over at Etsy’s LiLushop.

Modder Klaus Diebel of Kiwidee built this whimsical all-in-one computer using the shell of an old iMac, and loaded up with a full Mac Mini, a JBL Spot sound system, and a WMF1 single-cup coffee maker, punched through the face of the computer. Amazingly enough, the Mac Mini required NO mods at all, and the dvd slot lines up perfectly with the old iMac slot – go figure.

The only real downside to the iMac CS? The monitor no longer exists, so Klaus has to plug it into an external display if he wants to actually use the computer and enjoy his morning cup of joe. If you’re interested in having one of these for yourself, Klaus would gladly build you one if you contact him here.

Of course, I won’t be truly impressed until he can figure out a way to cram all this stuff into one of today’s svelte LCD iMacs.

[via TUAW]

Berg encountered a couple of problems while modding the G4, the first being the proprietary connector that the iMac monitor uses to connect to its controller. He remedied it by installing a shelf on the back for the new connectors. He then installed a surface acoustic wave touchscreen, saying, “its high resolution does not distort the image at all.”

The second problem was the lack of real estate in the base of the iMac: “I initially wanted to make it a Core 2 Duo all in one. Unfortunately, there is a lot less space in there than you think. Its very impressive how Apple constructed it. because it was convection cooled, the parts literally stacked on top of each other. They fit together like a puzzle. The disk drive alone probably takes up 70% of the volume in the base.” He states the solution to this problem more vaguely though: “I decided to keep the computer separate.”  But if it’s proof you need, don’t worry, Berg’s got it all on camera:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Although we all know that a conventionally oriented desktop touchscreen monitor would be a pain to use for more than a few minutes, I think Berg still deserves a round of applause. And major plus points for the Blu-ray drive. But wait!

He had some leftover parts and decided to use them to build a “big touch screen remote equipped with Windows 7 Media Center and a convenient blu-ray player hooked up to my HD TV.” This time he used a 17-inch HP monitor and painted the whole thing black. The touch screen is resistive, which according to him is less sensitive and operates at a lower resolution, but that’s okay Mr. Berg. You turned a white iMac G4 into a black touchscreen Windows Media Center remote control. If that’s not modding then I don’t know what is.

[via Hacked Gadgets]

While Apple zealots will no doubt deem the classic gray PC as too ugly even for the old iMac, it’s actually Windows & PC fans who will be more insulted in the video. Watch it and look at Mic’s (that’s the PC) third wooing gimmick to see what I mean.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I bet that last kid’s name is Psystar.

[via BB-Blog]

Wedgie Wedge Partners also thinks that Apple will have another round of price cuts along with the release of the new Macs, as a response to the impending release of Windows 7, Microsoft’s well-received OS, this October. Apple does follow a fairly regular hardware update cycle, so I guess the first part of the rumor is no surprise, but  price cuts?  Want. Maybe Apple will release a 13″ Unibody MacBook with a removable battery for $1,000. Hah! I wish.

What would you like to see in the next Macbook & iMac? What the hell does “organic design” mean? And what exactly does a “research firm” do? So many questions.

[via Tech Trader Daily via MacRumors]

In very simple terms, a set of physical disks can be linked using RAID technology for the purpose of having backups and/or increased disk performance. Which gets us to our dear Mr. Olson, who happens to work for Y-E DATA, a USB floppy drive company. He tried setting up his “very important scientific feat” in WIndows XP, but the OS had more common sense than he had, and would not allow the FDD RAID. (Un)Fortunately, OS X 10.2.4 was more accommodating. The rest was a simple matter of plugging everything in and using Disk Utility to create the array.

So what can his army of floppy disks do? Store 4.22 MB of data, that’s what. It can also transfer a 3.6 MB file in 32 seconds. “Turbo lightning speed” indeed. For his next project – I swear this is still all true – Olson has totally left the boundaries of sanity and wants to create a 125 USB floppy disk drive array. My god. The drives will probably fill up his room, and will most likely have a total capacity less than 256 MB.

[via Every Joe]

By removing the bulky screen, DVD drive, USB, firewire and display ports, it’s the thinnest iMac ever. Just a svelte layer of brushed metal with a power button. Plus, you can take control of all of your applications using Apple’s VoiceOver technology and a pint-sized remote that replaces the need for a keyboard or mouse. Oh yeah, they did leave in the bottom-facing speakers so you can actually hear the voice.

I can’t wait to try editing Photoshop files with this bad boy.

[iMac Shuffle via Nowhere Else]

The iCast is a Sega Dreamcast combined with an iMac (with the CRT screen converted to LCD). Plug in the controllers on the front of the machine and you’re good to go for a little Jet Grind Radio or Rez. And look, even the controller matches.

Not impressed yet? You can see the iCast in action for yourself in the video below.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[cgcc via CrunchGear]

That one costs €7,900 ($10,554). While all Sonic Chairs have input jacks, for €7,880 ($10,527) you can also have one with a built-in iPod charging station, like the one below.

And the one below is what Sonic Chair whips out if a customer’s thinking, “Meh. Not crazy enough.”

Yep, that’s a 20″ iMac. What’s really absolutely amazingly surprising about it is that for €10,450 ($13,960), it only comes with 1 GB of RAM. Also Sonic Chair claims that it’s touchscreen.

The fact that it only has 1 GB of RAM really struck me. More than anything else.

[sonic chair via chipchick]

Mac modder Napes took an original bondi blue iMac, built it into a custom cocktail-format arcade cabinet, and transformed it into a full-fledged arcade gaming system. Thanks to the scan lines on the iMac’s bubbly 15″ color CRT, it’s the perfect display for that retro arcade feel.

The arcadiMac runs on a 233MHz PowerPC 750 (G3) processor, which may not seem like much by today’s standards, but it’s plenty powerful to run most classic arcade games (other then NEOGEO) using MacMame emulator software.

To get all the real arcade buttons and joysticks to work with the iMac, Napes wired them through an iPac USB controller interface, and set up all the key mappings with QuickKeys. The total cost for the entire project was under $200 bucks (plus several months of blood, sweat and tears).

Ready to build your own arcadiMac? Napes plans on posting a build guide over on MacMod so you can make one for yourself.

The Averatec All-in-One (AIO) PC looks much like an iMac dressed in black. But under the hood, it’s all about Windows. The system sports a built-in 22-inch LCD monitor and houses all of its brains inside the box, which is only about 2 inches deep.

The AIO is powered by a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 CPU, and comes pre-loaded with Vista Home Premium. The standard config also includes a 320GB hard drive, 2GB of DDR2 RAM and an nVidia GeForce 8400 GPU. There’s also a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam, and the system includes a wireless keyboard, mouse and MCE remote control in the box.

Expect the Averatec All-in-One PC to start showing up at retailers in the next couple of months, with a MSRP of $1299 USD, $100 more than Apple’s bottom-of-the-line 20-inch iMac.

[via Crave]

The mutant offspring of an old G3 iMac and a VHS deck, Cory Baker’s iVHS casemod is one of the ugliest Mac designs I’ve ever seen. Heck, even the original iBook toilet seat design was more attractive.

I guess the only good news here is that this bastard child didn’t get its start as an actual iMac. Cory actually purchased an a la carte iMac motherboard off of eBay (for about 20 bucks) and modded it to fit into the case of his old VHS deck. With the addition of an ATX power supply, a few cables, a VGA connector and some electrical tape, this Frankenstein’s monster of a Macintosh was born.

At least he could have used a Betamax deck, couldn’t he?

The Choppers plan on offering over a dozen different plating options, including gold, rose gold, white gold, platinum and more. (Can I get mine plated in Illudium Q-36? Please?)

If you’re interested in giving your iMac its own shiny metal ass so it can tell you to bite it, head on over to this contact form. Now if they’d only work some of their wizardry to get rid of those annoying URL watermarks all over their photos so we could see what they really look like. Thanks to Alex over at Computer Choppers for the updated photos!

[via BornRich]

The patent application describes a modified Apple Cinema Display with a docking slot in the side for a portable computer (presumably a new, slimmed down MacBook). Specifically, they’re attempting to patent the idea that the computer would be concealed by the LCD monitor once docked.

It’s really a brilliantly simple design concept, and would eliminate the need for bulky docking stations on the desktop. The way things look in the diagrams, it looks like some progress will need to be made with the thickness of the LCD panel before we’ll see these in the market.

…but I want one NOW!

These covers from ChroMac wrap around the outside of your white plastic iMac, giving it a dramatic new look. The metal-plated cases come in a variety of finishes including chrome, black chrome, 24k gold, antique gold, platinum as well as several other rich colors.

ChroMac uses high-end plating techniques to coat an aluminum body, resulting in a really striking look for your iMac. At $400 to $500 a piece, they’re not exactly cheap, but they’re worth a look if you want to give your iMac a visual update without buying a whole new computer.

[via SlipperyBrick]

The new models’ industrial design is a beautiful combination of aluminum and glass, making them look more like Apple’s gorgeous Cinema displays that past versions of the iMac. All models come with a slot-loading SuperDrive, and a built-in iSight camera too. You’ll also be able to easily upgrade RAM up to 4GB, or up to 1TB of disk.

They’re loaded with just about every connection you could need: USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Firewire 800, and mini-DVI for video. There’s also built in 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless connectivity.

Apple also showed off a cool new keyboard design that includes direct access to media control features and screen brightness/dimming too. The new keyboard measures in at a ridiculously svelte 0.33″ thick, more than 60% slimmer than old models. I’m am a bit concerned about the Chiclet-like ergonomics of the new keys though. There’s an optional Bluetooth wireless version available too (without the numeric keys, though.)

Base configurations of the aluminum iMacs are as follows:

• $1199 configuration: 20-inch widescreen (1680×1050), 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 250GB SATA Hard Drive, Radeon HD 2400 XT Graphics, 8X SuperDrive
• $1499 configuration: 20-inch widescreen (1680×1050), 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 320GB SATA Hard Drive, Radeon HD 2600 Pro Graphics, 8X SuperDrive
• $1799 configuration: 24-inch widescreen (1900×1200), 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 320GB SATA Hard Drive, Radeon HD 2600 Pro Graphics, 8X SuperDrive

All the new iMac models are available immediately, and should be on the Apple Store shortly.

Well after you clear away all the bragging about selling over 2 billion songs and 1.3 million movies on iTunes, and how the Zune only captured a 2% market share in November, here’s what really has been revealed today:

• New iTunes Movie Download Partner: Paramount Studios, should take iTunes to over 250 movies available for download

• Apple TV (formerly “iTV”)
• Design looks the same as original announcement
• USB 2.0, Ethernet, WiFi (802.11 b, g & n) Connectivity
• HDMI, component, RCA and optical outputs
• 40GB hard drive
• 720p widescreen high definition video (surprise!)
• Stream audio, video, photos from up to 5 computers
• Can automatically sync content in the background and store to hard drive for immediate playback
• Ships February 2007
• Price: $299

• iPhone, a gorgeous, unified device, featuring:
• Widescreen iPod
• Mobile phone (GSM, EDGE, Quad-Band)
• Internet communicator (seamlessly switches between EDGE and WiFi)
• WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
• Easy to use touchscreen interface
• No stylus required, use your fingers!
• Multi-finger, gesture-based controls (truly amazing)
• On screen keyboard for chat, e-mail, dialing
• Runs OS X with desktop-class applications!
• Syncs using iTunes, including contacts, calendars, notes, e-mail accounts, web bookmarks, etc..
• Full-fledged Safari web browser, no crappy WAP browsing

• E-mail: any POP or IMAP account, rich HTML messages
• Free BlackBerry-esque “push IMAP” e-mail from Yahoo!
• 3.5-inch 160 pixel per inch (320 x 480) high resolution color display
• 2 Megapixel digital camera
• Only one button on the whole device
• Motion sensor and accelerometer automatically detect when you switch from portrait to landscape modes
• Music automatically fades out when a phone call comes in
• 4 GB or 8 GB flash memory
• Dimensions: A svelte 4.5″ x 2.4″ x 0.46″ (not much bigger than a 5G iPod)
• Battery Life: 5 hour talk/video/browsing, 16 hours music playback
• EXCLUSIVE service partner: Cingular
• Ships June 2007
• Price: $499 (4 GB), $599 (8 GB)
• 2-Year Cingular Contract Required

Now that’s some news! The iPhone sure packs a wallop, but it’s a bit expensive, considering the 2 year Cingular contract commitment. That said, it is really an entire Mac packed into a portable device, so you have to give ‘em some slack on pricing. Would I like more memory for my tunes and video? Sure. But overall, it’s a pretty impressive little piece of innovation.

Check back often to see if the Apple Store has been updated to showcase today’s latest wares.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

The first system in the series is the TouchSmart IQ770, featuring a fast, dual-core AMD Turion 64-X2 TL-52 CPU, 2GB of DDR RAM, a 320 GB hard drive and a SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe capability. The system comes with Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed. Also included are a wireless keyboard and mouse, and built in WiFi and Bluetooth network interfaces.

The TouchSmart’s robust media capabilities include NTSC and ATSC tuners for both standard and high-definition (yay!) over-the-air television broadcasts. But the real unique feature of the show is the touch-sensitive 19-inch widescreen LCD screen (1440 x 900 resolution). This allows many of the features of the TouchSmart to be controlled without a mouse or keyboard. The system also integrates a 1.3 megapixel web cam, microphone, stereo speakers, and an 8-in-1 memory card reader.

The system’s dimensions – 18.88″ (l) x 21.77″ (w) x 11.37″ (h) are pretty comparable to those of the 20″ iMac, and unlike the iMac, the display can be adjusted in both angle and height. Apple still may win on styling and OS elegance, but in terms of on-board hardware, the TouchSmart might actually give the iMac a run for its money, with its powerful processing capabilities and more robust on-board media capabilities than the iMac currently offers.

The only real question is whether or not the TouchSmart will be priced competitively, since pricing has not yet been announced.

The user claims he took this photo on his iMac Core 2 Duo, when he installed and ran Windows Vista RC1 on the machine. It clearly shows that Windows thinks the built-in wireless adapter is a “next generation” Broadcom 802.11n chipset. Current versions of Mac OS X do not recognize this fact, but it is possible that the chipset is in there for future functionality after the protocol is officially approved.

802.11n is a draft specification which shouls allow up to 10 times faster speeds (up to 540 Mbit/sec) over today’s 802.11g wireless networks, and up to 50 times faster speeds than 802.11b. The standard isn’t expected to be approved until 2008, but “certified” products are expected as early as Spring 2007.

[via MacRumors via The Register]

The new model features a substantial widescreen display running at 1900×1200 resolution, a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 250 GB hard drive, and 1 GB of RAM for $1999.00.

The system also features an 8x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL, DVD