We're not sure what someone has been putting in the water lately, but two separate vendors pinged us with case giveaways within minutes of each other. They're both using Twitter as the entry mechanism for the giveaways.

The first giveaway is from our buddies at Evernote, who want you to win one of ten Griffin Clarifi iPhone 3G cases every Friday in March. The Clarifi is pretty sweet, with a built-in closeup lens for taking snaps that are perfect for Evernote.To enter, all you need to do is send a Twitter message containing the #EvernoteClarifiGiveaway hash tag.

Not to be out-cased, RadTech is doing a giveaway of 5 NeoCases. These are sweet form-fitting sleeve cases for MacBooks, iBooks, and PowerBooks. How do you enter? Tweet @radtech with a clever statement including the word "Neocase", and you're entered. The drawing will be held Monday, March 9, 2008, and you'll be able to choose the size of NeoCase for your favorite Mac notebook.

What are you waiting for? Get tweeting and win a case!

When researching this week's Ask TUAW I ran across a nifty little utility for reclaiming the function keys on a Mac portable or recent Apple external keyboard. Basically, FunctionFlip allows you to set the individual function keys to be regular F-keys instead of those special control keys (brightness, volume, iTunes, etc.).

While the Keyboard Preference Pane will let you flip all of the keys one way or the other, FunctionFlip lets you individually choose which ones you want. That way you can preserve whichever of the control functions you like, but regain access to certain of the F-keys without having to hold down the fn key. It can be a handy way to have your cake and eat it too.

FunctionFlip is a free download (donations requested) from Kevin Gessner.

I am a huge fan of Gelaskins, and my iPhone has boasted one since I discovered a display at a small Toronto store back in May. Adhesive art for your iPhone, iPod, and Mac is a fantastic concept and a great way to express yourself beyond the typical hardware case.

Infectious is another site that offers art for laptops, cars, and more. They have recently launched a line for the iPhone. The site currently has 38 different pieces of art for the iPhone, and is currently on sale for $9.99. The Infectious stickers will fit both generations of iPhones.

You will get a large piece of art for the back of the phone, and a smaller one for the front that goes over the Home button. The artwork for the front of the iPhone is a fantastic feature that Gelaskins doesn't have, and one that I find very attractive. It makes it easy to spot your phone without having to flip it over to check the back or activate the screen to check the wallpaper.

Art for laptops is starts at $29.99 and will fit the Powerbook G4, iBook, MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The artwork is made on 3M vinyl material and can be easily removed to put on another piece.

Infectious is currently offering a deal for TUAW readers. Use discount code TuawRocks for 10% off from now until December 31.

Like virtually all mobile computer manufacturers, Apple recommends that users calibrate their laptop batteries every few months, as Scott pointed out a couple of years ago. Unlike many manufacturers, however, Apple does not include a utility to automatically perform a calibration. Given Apple's uncanny ability to make things user-friendly, this seems like a bit of a glaring oversight.

What are the benefits of calibration? Primarily the goal is to ensure that the microprocessor in your battery provides an accurate estimate of how much time you have left on the battery. Over time it can lose track of just how much juice your battery has in it, and calibration gives it a very accurate reading on the battery's health.

Older battery technologies also benefited from a process called conditioning, which was typically performed the same way as a current battery's calibration process. In a nutshell, you fully charge the battery, fully discharge it, then fully charge it again. It's unclear whether modern lithium batteries gain anything in an actual capacity perspective from this process, or if it is simply a calibration of the microprocessor for the purpose of providing accurate time estimates.

Want to install a game that makes you look as crazy as the poor woman in the video above? Look no further than Tilt Scream Pong, a game that utilizes both the Sudden Motion Sensor and the built in microphone in your Powerbook, iBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro. The basic game is really a solitaire pong game (like Breakout without the blocks), but the ball apparently moves faster and faster. Oh, and your paddle grows in size the more noise you make-- that's why this woman is screaming at her computer while flailing it around awkwardly.

Anyway, it seems a lot like Wii Sports in that you look like a dork while playing it, but it's actually fun to play. The game and source are available for free, and future plans hint at maybe eventually a two player game, or even two player network play. Check it out-- but do it behind closed doors or risk people thinking you're strange.

[via Videosift]

How we love enterprising geeks. "This machine isn't dead," they say, "it's prepped for re-purposing!"

Thus was Jonas' thought process (maybe not verbatim) when he came across this 500mhz G3 ibook with a busted display. Other than the screen, the computer functioned perfectly, making it a good server candidate.

He removed the display, optical drive and battery. Next he whittled the case down to the bare minimum that would contain the remaining parts. Finally, he went to a used book store and found a hardcover book that was slightly larger than the resized laptop and cut out all of the pages.

He then used some plastic and velcro to secure the 'book in the book, put it on the shelf and the iBooklet server was born. He claims that there have been no heat issues. Still, I wouldn't go to sleep with that thing running.

[Via Make]

Mark at Geek Technique received a 700mhz G3 iBook with video issues. The machine would boot, but produce no image on the display or when connected to an outside source. In fact, the issue he was experiencing has been documented by Apple, and a repair program was put in place. However, the program had expired by the time Mark received his 'book. What's he to do? Set that sucker on fire, that's what.

Mark found an article that describes how the video chip becomes detached from the logic board, and how it can be re-soldered back in place. Lacking the proper tools, he tried a tea light, which didn't reach the required temperature. Finally, he burned some alcohol and White Spirit on the board, rebooted the machine and it worked! The video chip had been re-attached, and the iBook was functioning perfectly.

Well done, Mark.

Remember when Apple ditched the clamshell iBooks and created the sleeker "icebook" form factor? My wife calls them Chiclets. Well we have 3 of them: a 500 MHz G3 from 2001 with a 10GB drive, a 800MHz G4 with a 60GB drive but a busted optical drive, and a 1.2GHz G4 with a 30GB drive but working CDR/DVD drive. The 800MHz machine is still my old personal machine, although between hacks and apps and data overload it is very slow. The other two have found new life.

The oldest iBook actually has the best build quality, I think. The keyboard feels good, and none of the keys have rubbed off. It is fast and solid. However, since it is so old, I decided to use OS 9 as the primary OS. We inherited a bunch of old educational CD's from the 90's and the iBook plays almost all of them better than the PPC-based Mac mini in the den. Perhaps the biggest drawback? The smell of burning plastic that is emitted from the possibly-not-covered-by-recall motherboard. Oops.

The newest iBook is zippy enough to handle video from apps like VLC (for the playlists) without a hitch, so we're using it as a video jukebox of sorts. Connected to the network I can either stream or move videos to it for the kids, plus it runs all the OS X educational software we've got. Oh, and TuxPaint, which also runs on my personal machine in case they both want to draw at the same time. The working optical drive on the 1.2GHz came in handy at the beach recently, when the TV in the kids room didn't work. So we used the iBook as a DVD player.

Of course, if you work in primary education this is probably a snoozefest to you. Apple sold quite a few (though not nearly enough) iBooks to the educational markets back in the day. So it should come as no surprise that my wife and I recycle our old work machines as kid machines. What makes the iBook so special is the ability to run OS 9 natively and the form factor. Sure, iMacs are great, but you can't take them on vacation. The old clamshells are OK as well, but a little bulky. Then again, maybe I just can't bear to throw anything away.

UPDATE: Added a gallery.

I'm pretty sure we've all experience the same hesitation when buying new Mac: snap one up now, or wait until a new model arrives? And when will that new model arrive?

Mactactic tires to eliminate some of the guesswork by estimating a model's shelf life. For instance, right now the Airport Extreme is rated a "buy," as it's brand new, and the Mac Pro is rated "Caution: May be updated."

It's all based on guessing, of course, but still fun.

Thanks, Brady!

Making your own laptop stand out of Legos is cool and all, but not all of us have kids of our own to steal toys from. So we turn to more accessible materials like wood. That's what Erik did. Using wood, lacquer and some copper wire, Erik created his own very elegant iCurve knockoff: The WoodStand. He shared it with us, so we're sharing it with you. Nice work, Erik!

Enjoy the pics - and if you make your own, tell us about it!

I have finally found the perfect laptop sleeve! Monster laptop sleeves are handmade to order and available in sizes accommodating 12-inch to 17-inch laptops. They are fuzzy and cuddly and cute... and isn't that all you need in a laptop sleeve? Sure, you might choose something with serious protection but for the casual schlepper a laptop sleeve needs only to make a statement. And this one says "I'm goofy. So what!"

They're a little pricey at $65 a pop, but the look on your boss's face when you whip it out at the next big client meeting is totally worth it. They come in pink, blue, orange, purple, green and white - and when you open their flap to remove your laptop it looks like your pet monster is yawning. I am soooo getting one of these.

To keep the gag going you might want to pick up a matching Monster mini pouch (9.5 x 6 inches) to tote your AC adapter and assorted cables or go all out by ordering a Monster Laptop Bag which includes a shoulder strap.

[via Boing Boing]

Although I'm a Mac Geek by trade, I tend to avoid the terminal unless I'm out of other options. I'm a GUI kind of girl. It's the Mac OS that I love, not its Unix underpinnings. I appreciate the power of the command line - I just don't want to spend all day there. Still, once in a while I come across a tip like the one, which Glenn Fleishman posted in the most recent TidBITS, and I find myself unable to resist the urge to fire up the Terminal.

This tip solves a problem that I've experienced myself and many of my clients have complained about - laptops waking from sleep while in their cases because the latch won't keep the lid closed. This can cause overheating, which can lead to a variety of other problems, like hard drive failures, etc. My solution is, of course, to fix the latch! But there are times when that isn't convenient and even if it's convenient it doesn't happen often enough for some people to even bother stressing about it. By harnessing the power of pmset, the command line app that controls power management settings, you can fix it so that your sleeping beauty stays asleep, even when the latch isn't doing its job.

The command is an easy one - a single line. Ready for it?

sudo pmset lidwake 0

By setting the lidwake value to 0 you prevent the machine from waking until you tap a key on your keyboard, and since the value gets written just to a plist file, it takes hold right away. Of course you'll need administrator privileges since you'll be asked for an admin password before the command is executed.



For more pmset options, have a look at the "man" pages at Apple's Darwin Reference library, or open your Terminal and type "man" (without the quotes), hit return and then type "pmset" (without the quotes.)

Bribing us by displaying TUAW on four screens doesn't work, but having a cool iMac setup on the day that Apple announces new iMacs will get you featured. I was cruising the TUAW pool looking for a good candidate for Rig of the Day when I came across this setup. An Intel iMac with a flat screen on a desk mounted arm, an iBook, a Wacom tablet, and a Nokia 770 are the ingredients for this sweet rig.

"My Current Setup" Or "How To Bribe TUAW to Feature Me As Rig of the Day" by shrimpdesign.

If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We select one image to highlight each week day, and crown a Rig of the Week on Sundays.

Alternate title (and moral of the story): A good backup saves the day.

When I'm not gleefully blogging for TUAW in our secret, undisclosed location (Scott's livingroom), I'm working as the "Computer Guy" for a large, Mac-friendly company (yes, I'm essentially Nick Burns). On Sunday I received an urgent email regarding an iBook that would not boot. It held mission-critical files that would be needed on Monday (today). So, its owner dropped it off to me and I checked it out.

More after the jump...

If the white glow of the Apple logo in your notebook isn't touching your heart the same way anymore, iColours might be just the touch-up you need to rekindle your love of all Apple things that glow (of which there aren't many). These 'high quality' filters come in a wide range of colors, and as you can see from our screenshot - they're customizable. They have a decent gallery of custom designs, and they offer installation instructions for iBooks, PowerBooks and even MBs and MBPs [Update: turns out MacBook/Pro instructions are still brewing. Take a look before you place an order if you're an MB/MBP owner.]

Base price for a solid color is $3.99, including worldwide shipping. While custom designs are available, they ask that you contact them before ordering. Needless to say, installing these most likely blows any warranty you might have out of the water, but that hasn't stopped you before, right?

Thanks Jason P