The team down the road from me at Carsonified have been doing it, and you can do it too.

Fluid is a fantastic free app that turns any web site into a self-contained application on your Mac. If you want to keep your webmail outside your normal web browser, Fluid is what you need.

Thing is, all the apps it creates need icons, just as any app in your Applications folder does. By default, Fluid grabs the .ico files it finds on web sites and uses them as icons, but they don't scale well. Where can you find decent alternatives?

The answer is the Fluid icons pool on Flickr, where a busy community of Fluid users have been busy making a selection of beautiful icons that work perfectly with any Fluid SSBs (Site-Specific Browsers) you've created. The icons in the pool might look weird to start with, but that's because the PNG originals have been converted to JPG format by Flickr's brain. To make use of an icon you like, make sure you view and download the full-size original, which will be the PNG file you need.

This might be the Mac-geekiest thing I've ever seen, but this is TUAW, so here you go. Sharp-eyed reader Morgan W has a flickr pool up of signs around the Apple campus in Cupertino, and notes that three of their newest building signs (at Bandley Five, Six, and Eight) have an updated logo with no 3D effect, and use Myriad for the font instead of Garamond, which the old signs used.

Will Apple's stock prices jump around at the news? Probably not. but as Morgan says, just like the missing Open Apple, it's another sign that we're moving further and further away from the "rainbow and serif Apple of yore."

We've heard about them, and now Ian sends us his Flickr tour of the "Apple shop" inside a Best Buy. It's a weird combination-- Apple's elegance with Best Buy's garish discount electronics warehouse look-- but from what we've heard, it works.

Would you buy an Apple from Best Buy? Ian says the nearest Apple store is 15 miles away, so for actually buying and purchasing a Mac, I'd rather go to the Genius Bar. But of course this store isn't meant for me (even though I do buy games and electronics at Best Buy)-- it's meant for Windows folks coming in to get a new PC, and reconsidering for the purchase of an iMac.

The problem with that is that Apple doesn't compete on price, and Best Buy does (ironically enough, Ian points out that Best Buy's plans are actually more expensive than AppleCare). Apple competes on the pleasure of the UI and usability-- that's why Apple stores work so well, because the whole transaction is designed around using the item. Still, making their computers accessible and open like this even at Best Buy (as much as possible, anyway-- the place looks a little cramped) is a start at reaching the unwashed Windows masses and enticing them into a better world.

TUAW reader Matt Laurie whipped up this fun desktop pic. Show the whole world that you are anxiously awaiting Apple's latest OS offering, in style. I have to say that I am OK with this delay. What's 4 months between friends? That being said, if Apple delays Leopard once more that will spell trouble and make me think of a certain often delayed OS offering from a little company in Redmond.

Update: It looks like Matt removed the pic for some reason.

Here at TUAW we have unusual hobbies. Some of us like walking and biking. Others of us like spotting Steve Jobs' special three-legged stool. Chacun à son goût and all that. In honor of our very own Dan Lurie, loyal TUAW reader Judson has spotted The Stool™ on the recent Jobs/Nightline interview and sent us a Flickr link to said sighting. If stool hunting pales for you in the greater scheme of things, consider Wozhunting instead. Twitch. Twitch.

We're not sure if kmcculler even lives in California, but there's no mistaking the birthmark on that baby. Yes, that child has the mark of the beast best. What do you think, folks, have the parents of this child Photoshopped him for fun or is this The Second Coming of Steve Jobs?

Thanks, Barb!

DIYer Extensor posted pics of a self-built iCurve replacement over at flickr. Created to support his (or her, the page doesn't say) 15-inch Powerbook, the do-it-yourself-Curve is made from spare legos and a $7 Container Store wire shelf. The shelf is colorfully made, surprisingly attractive and looks sturdy enough to handle the weight of the Powerbook. We at TUAW love to see this kind of initiative and welcome your DIY Mac submissions. Drop us a line at our Tips form.

What would you do with 50 iMacs? That's the question that a classroom of kids wants your input on. They have 50 iMacs (mostly G3s) that are running a mix of OS X and OS 9. They need some ideas on what to do with 'em. The first thing I thought of was, of course, a Beowulf cluster. What classroom couldn't stand to use a Beowulf cluster?

If that is too much they can always make 50 Macquariums.

[via MAKE: Blog]

What better way to end the day than with some Mac mini art? These 11 Mac minis are destine for greater things, but first TriangleJuice artfully arranged them and shared them with us.

If you have any Mac art be sure share it in our TUAW Flickr Pool.

Flickr user sreindl.net had some trouble with their MacBook's keyboard, and needed a loaner (I don't know why). The local Apple store happened to have a white keyboard for their black MacBook and the Two Tone MacBook was born (or the Al Capone Special Edition)!

I think a black keyboard on a white MacBook would be pretty sweet myself.

Thanks, Stefan.

Somewhere in a San Francisco hotel, California, there's a vending machine stocked with snacks, beverages, and some stale iPod shuffles. Let's hope the consumables are refreshed more often than the iPods!

I wonder why we aren't seeing more of these? iPod vending machines, I mean. For a while there it looked like every airport, hotel and assorted lobby vending machine was going to be filled to the brim with iPods. I hardly ever see them myself, though.

Oh, the things one can find on Flickr. It seems that a co-worker of sabellachan's had her 4th Gen iPod die. What do you do with a dead iPod? Why, give it a funeral of course! There are three pictures for your amusement here, here, and here.

Holy cow, that's a lot of icons. Head on over to this photo and help identify all the apps shown. I mean, what else are you doing on a Saturday afternoon?

[via the uber geeks]

Update: loudscreamer points out that this was generated using Todos 1.0. So check it out.

It seems like today is Apple portable pain day. Nathan Makan sent along this picture of his MacBook Pro that sadly died. I assume that Apple replaced it for him, but still his MacBook Pro was so young.

TUAW reader Glenn has sent us a link to these pictures that purport to be Apple's Dashcode. What's Dashcode? The rumored Widget development application that many say Apple is working on. If these screenshots are legit it would seem that Dashcode is almost ready for prime time.