OddsAndEnds Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Lost hiker saved by iPhone flashlight app

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jan 4th, 2012)

One time when I was day hiking Mount Washington, I took a wrong turn at the top and went down the wrong way. I raced down the mountain, but still had to navigate some rough terrain for a few hours in the dark. This was the late nineties. I had a phone, but it didn't get coverage and phones back ...

Apple's founding contract sells for nearly $1.6 million

by Dave Caolo (Dec 14th, 2011)

Last month we learned Sotheby's would auction off an original Apple contract signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Experts expected it to fetch around $100,000 - $150,000. Turns out they were way off, because the document sold for almost 1.6 million bucks. When the auction ...

iPhoneography exhibit opens in Denver tonight

by Steven Sande (Nov 4th, 2011)

Denverites looking for a fun way to spend Friday night need look no further than their local art galleries, which are open late tonight as part of Denver Arts Week. One exhibit opening this evening, Siobhan Keleher, iPhoneography, will be of special interest to iPhone fans and TUAW ...

iPads, Angry Birds to travel to International Space Station

by Mel Martin (Oct 26th, 2011)

iPods and iPhones (in Airplane Mode? Spaceship mode?) have traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) via American and Russian launch vehicles. Now you can add the iPad to the list of iDevices that have left the planet. That's the word from Collect Space, which reports that 2 iPads will ...

Cool off with an "iPhone 4" fan

by Dave Caolo (Jul 27th, 2011)

Most fake Apple products make us roll our eyes, but this one is cute. Mostly because it's not trying to be an iPhone. The "shockingly thick" device is actually a personal cooling device, or "fan." To use it, slide off the real panel and remove the thin blue sponge inside. Get it wet, wring it ...

Guinness world record for iPad typing set by 15-year-old

by Dave Caolo (Jul 6th, 2011)

Nimble-fingered 15-year-old, Eduard Saakashvili, has set the Guinness world record for fastest typing on an iPad. Eduard isn't your average teenager; he's the son of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Eduard earned the title and record by typing the alphabet on an iPad in just 5.26 seconds, ...

Conan O'Brien blasts Final Cut Pro X

by Dave Caolo (Jun 24th, 2011)

Apple released Final Cut Pro X this week. Despite the price drop, many users were disappointed with this version, and others were downright upset. Heck, even host Conan O'Brien blasted the software on his late-night TV show. Conan notes that this update is "so different," that editors are having ...

Webcam antics with Rita and Frank

by Dave Caolo (Jun 13th, 2011)

Here's an unintentionally amusing and decidedly sweet video of an older couple, Rita and Frank, trying to photograph themselves with their computer, referred to in the video description as "their new Mac." According to YouTube, the couple wants to take a photo commemorating Frank's 84th birthday, ...

Richard Dreyfuss offers a dramatic reading of Apple EULA

by Dave Caolo (Jun 8th, 2011)

License agreements are dull...until they're dramatically performed by an Academy Award-winning actor. The folks at CNET asked Richard Dreyfuss to read sections of an Apple EULA in dramatic fashion, and he obliged. The result is silly, hilarious and enjoyable. Don't miss the last section, ...

iPhone 4 survives 1,000 foot fall from Air Force plane

by Dave Caolo (Mar 23rd, 2011)

Late last night, we received an email from U.S. Air Force Combat Controller Ron Walker, who wrote to tell us an incredible story about his iPhone 4 and a minor workplace mishap. Staff Sergeant Walker's duties as a jump master require him to ensure that his aircraft is in the proper location ...

BBC comedians have fun with tech talk

by Dave Caolo (Dec 21st, 2010)

Here's a bit of levity for your pre-holiday enjoyment. Comedians Harry Enfield and Ronnie Corbett elevated the play on words to a sublime level with this skit, reminiscent the famous "Fork Handles" bit. A befuddled shopper turns to his grocer for help with his Blackberry and Apple. We won't spoil ...

MacBook Air powers four screens simultaneously

by Dave Caolo (Dec 17th, 2010)

We're going to be agreeable and assume this picture of a MacBook Air powering 4 displays isn't a Photoshop job (It's Friday and we're in a good mood). From right to left, we've got: An old-school, 20" Apple Cinema Display A 7-inch Mimo 720-S USB display The MacBook Air itself An ...

Police hunt down stolen iPhone in chopper

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 16th, 2010)

Police in Australia take iPhone theft seriously; so seriously, they will not hesitate to employ the use of a helicopter to nab a thief who has made off with one of Apple's prized mobile devices. The story begins in a hospital in Heidelberg, Australia where an iPhone was stolen from an unsuspecting ...

iPad portrait light array for photographers

by Dave Caolo (Nov 9th, 2010)

Here's an interesting way to use 9 iPads. Photographer Jesse Rosten mounted the set on several pieces of plywood, maxed out the brightness on each and had assistants move then around while he shot his model. In fact, the iPad arrays were the only light sources for this particular shoot. Was it a ...

The first Presidential iPad autograph?

by Dave Caolo (Oct 22nd, 2010)

At a recent rally at the University of Washington in Seattle, President Obama signed a well-wisher's iPad. As far as we know, this is the first presidential autograph captured with an iPad. Sylvester Cann attended the rally with Adobe Ideas running on his iPad. He tells TechCrunch that at first ...