funny posts

Filed under: Hardware, Humor, Hacks, Cult of Mac, MacBook, Found Footage

Ice-T repairs a Mac, his way

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Aug 7th, 2009

I don't think this is anything I would have ever asked to see, personally, but now that it's here, I can't look away. Above, you can click through to see a NSFW (language) video of the star of stage and screen, Ice-T, doing some "repairs" on a broken PowerBook -- the kinds of "repairs" you can only do with a clawhammer. As he says in the video, "if any of you people out there really have a love affair with Macs, this'll be hard to watch." In Apple's defense, that Mac gives him quite a bit of trouble... until he really starts swinging the hammer.

Ah, the Internet. Where else can you watch B-list celebrities destroy expensive electronic equipment? Everybody have a great weekend!

Tags: destroy, funny, hammer, humor, ice-t, mac, macbook, nsfw, repair, weekend

Filed under: Humor, Multimedia, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store

Giant Bomb makes an app (and, more importantly, a commercial)

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 6th, 2009

Unless you're a fan of their website, you probably don't need the Giant Bomb iPhone app. It's a pretty limited use piece of software. While it does offer easy access to everything on their site, including videos, reviews, previews, and so on, it actually costs $1.99, and we can't really justify a purchase like that. Isn't browsing sites what Safari is for?

But we are thankful that they made the app, because, at the very least, it encouraged them to make the commercial above. It features a few spot-on parodies (the first one overstays its welcome, but stick with it), and even has some nice iPhone-related humor. I don't know about you folks, but I winced when Apple's device went in the drink during the ShamWow parody. The app itself might not be worth the price, but the commercial is definitely worth every penny.

Tags: app-store, apple-device, funny, giant-bomb, humor, iphone, parody, price, purchase, video, videos

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Odds and ends, Freeware, Apple

Channel Four on Demand: Sorry, Mac users

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Apr 8th, 2009

Mac users in the UK have been waiting a long time (like, years) for Channel 4's Video on Demand "Catch Up" service to come to their platform, and finally, after long last, the day is here. And they're sorry, Mac users -- they say so with the cute video above. Of course, the reason why it's now compatible is because it's the Flash-based web version linked above, and not actually the desktop app that Windows users had. But late and web-based is still better than never, right? Right?

At any rate, it's nice to know they care enough to make a funny video. The site features Channel 4 content for up to 30 days after broadcast, so if you happen to miss Hollyoaks, Skins, or Fat Pets (I'm just kidding -- being an ignorant American, I have no idea what those shows are or if they're any good), there's your chance to catch up.

Tags: british, broadcasters, channel-4, fat-pets, funny, guardian, hollyoaks, mac-users, on-demand, skins, sorry, streaming, television, video, video-service

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Developer

Sway releases a free version

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Mar 25th, 2009

If you haven't yet tried Sway, the game from Illusion Labs and ReadyFireAim, now's the perfect time to do so. They've released a free version of the game that limits you to three levels and just two characters, but it's enough to try out the really unique control scheme. Back when I first posted about the game, I hadn't tried it yet, but it's now been on my iPhone for about a month, and it's excellent. Each of your thumbs is a "hand" on your characters (i.e., to grab something with your left hand, in game, you just touch your thumb to the left side of the screen), and then once you've grabbed something, you can swipe that thumb back and forth to sway the character around. It gets pretty complex, but practice makes perfect, and a few stages in, you'll be swinging from grip to grip with the greatest of ease.

The full version still costs $4.99, and if you enjoy the free version, I highly recommend it: there are many more characters that you can pick up and choose from, and the stages actually get really tough, as there's a lot of precise swinging that you'll have to do to explore the whole area and find everything there is to find. Sway might be a sleeper hit for the iPhone -- it took me a little while to figure it all out, but once I did, I found a control scheme that's delightfully original. If you haven't tried it out yet, definitely take advantage of the free version.

Tags: control, delightful, demo, free-version, funny, games, illusion-labs, iphone, ipod-touch, physics, scheme, sway, test, thumbs

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

iLaugh for iPhone gives you the giggles

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Feb 24th, 2009

Recently updated, iLaugh [iTunes link] for iPhone is the go-to application for all things jokes. This simple application gets jokes from several different sources and allows you to get your laughs anywhere.

You can choose from either gcfl.net, which allows you to read some clean jokes; jokes.com, which can include some explicit jokes; there's also bash.org, which allows you to read funny IRC (Internet Relay Chat) quotes.

If you're looking for a fun application that could provide you with unlimited chortles, then this is the application for you. You can choose between a lite version and a paid version. The lite version provides you with the same functionality, except it includes some ads. The paid version is $1.99US.

Update: The developer has let us know that today there were two new sources added to both the iLaugh paid and free apps. The two sources include Chuck Norris facts in both English and French.

Gallery: iLaugh for iPhone

Tags: App Store, AppStore, funny, iLaugh, jokes, jokes.com

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor, Apple, The Woz

Woz is set for his Dancing with the Stars debut

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 20th, 2009

ABC has released a promo picture of Woz and his dancing partner in the upcoming series of Dancing with the Stars, and it is amazing. Woz is looking good. I thought about photoshopping a pimp hat and a cane into his hands, but frankly, he doesn't need it. That man can rock a pink shirt like no one else. That's professional dancer Karina Smirnoff hanging off his arm, too -- she apparently came in second place on the show a few seasons ago dancing with Mario Lopez, but she's definitely upgraded this time around.

I stay away from reality television, and talent shows usually give me hives, but I just might have to tune in for this. Our favorite Chief Scientist strolling across the floor showing up the likes of David Allan Grier and Steve-o might be too much to miss. The series premiere airs March 9th.

Tags: abc, apple, chief-scientist, cult-of-mac, dancing-with-the-stars, funny, humor, pink-shirt, promo, steve-wozniak, television, woz

Filed under: Humor, Switchers, Cult of Mac

Perspective, courtesy of Joy of Tech

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Jan 21st, 2009

There's a bit of a celebration/commiseration hangover here in the US of A today, with the exact taste depending on your point of view. As always, the fine duo behind the Joy of Tech comic have distilled the Internet's mood down to a four-panel screenful of truth. Regardless of your political persuasion or your technology history, it's high time for us all to reach across the aisle and recognize that we really do agree on what's important.

Aside from laughter, that is. (Is the guy with the pocket protector supposed to remind us of someone in particular?)

Thanks Snaggy & Nitrozac

Continue reading “Perspective, courtesy of Joy of Tech”

Tags: funny, humor, joy of tech, JoyOfTech

Filed under: Humor, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, Found Footage

Found Footage: Good grief, NCIS, do you take us for fools?

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Jan 13th, 2009

I don't really watch NCIS, truth be told -- my wife does, and I nod appreciatively when the situation calls for it. I was half-watching tonight's episode when a familiar shape caught my attention... and then a jolt of ~~cognitive dissonance~~ surprise made me sit straight up on the couch and exclaim "What did he say?!?"

Resident NCIS geek Tim McGee (the same character who, in a past episode, managed to download a taxicab security video directly onto his iPhone) unpacks a boxful of his childhood computer gear; he proudly announces the computer you see above as his "Mac SE," when you don't need HDTV to know that it's a Mac Classic -- but if you do have an HDTV, you can clearly see "Macintosh Classic" printed on the front of the machine. McGee either can't read, or he has a delusional disorder of some kind that prevents him from properly recognizing vintage Mac gear. Later in the episode, he gets taunted for his childhood Macloverdom. It's just trouble from Jump Street on down.

McGee also unloads a PowerBook Duo and a nondescript PC laptop from his magic box. You can see the entire video, including the SE/Classic flub, in the continuation of this post.

Continue reading “Found Footage: Good grief, NCIS, do you take us for fools?”

Tags: classic, found footage, FoundFootage, funny, ncis, SE

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, Flickr Find

The sun-stamped Apple doesn't fall far from the iTree

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Nov 22nd, 2008

Some forms of Apple fandom are quick and simple -- the button, the tote bag, the temporary tattoo (not to be confused with the more permanent variety). Some forms, however, require commitment and patience. I don't speak the predominant language over at useloos.com, but I can guess that the translated caption for this photo gallery might be "How do you like them apples?"

Update: Per Cult of Mac, It looks like the source for the tattooed apples is this Japanese site -- translations welcome.

Yes, one very patient apple tree owner applied icon stencils for the Apple & iPod logos to a treeful of apples, and then let the sunshine do the work. The results can be seen to the right and at the gallery -- a bushelful of neatly logofied fruit, ripe for the munching. Talk about living your brand.

Thanks Tim!

Tags: apples, flickr, fruit, funny, ipod, logo, photos

Filed under: Humor, Software, Freeware, iPhone

Dial your iPhone with Bakelite

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Sep 18th, 2008

Anyone who is as ancient as me will remember when "dialing" a phone meant putting your finger into a little circular hole in a rotary dial, dragging it to a small metal stop, then pulling your finger out of the hole to dial that number. Rotary dial phones disappeared in the 1970s, but now MildMannered Industries is bringing back the fun with Bakelite 1.0 for iPhone.

As the screenshot indicates, Bakelite provides a rotary dial interface for dialing phone numbers. It even has a feature those old dial phones didn't have -- the ability to delete the last number if you mis-dialed it.

Bakelite isn't very practical, but it's fun! The price is right, too. Bakelite is available from the App Store (click opens iTunes) for free.

Tags: app store, AppStore, breakingnews, dialing, funny, iphone

Filed under: iTS

Down with this sort of thing

by Giles Turnbull (RSS feed) on Aug 13th, 2008

Look Dougal, we've done it!

Done what, Ted?

We're on iTunes, Dougal! In the UK store! Look at all the happy people waving at us! Wave back!

What people are you talking about, Ted?

The people out there with their Apple Macs.

It's not even raining, Ted.

Just shut up and wave, Dougal!

Are you imagining things again, Ted?

What do you mean, Dougal? When have I ever imagined things? I'm very rational, you know.

Well there was that time with that money...

It was just resting in my account, Dougal, I've told you before...

(Addendum, for the mystified: Father Ted was a hugely successful 1990s sitcom, broadcast by the UK's Channel 4, about three mad Catholic priests and their equally insane housekeeper, all living in peaceful chaos on a remote Irish island. If you've never heard of it before, just move on to the next TUAW post and pretend this one never happened. Any further questions will be answered by Father Jack: "That would be an ecumenical matter!")

Tags: comedy, father ted, FatherTed, funny, itunes store, ItunesStore, uk

Filed under: Humor, iPhone

PerversionTracker returns

by Giles Turnbull (RSS feed) on Jul 30th, 2008

Oh yes. The site that hates Mac software -- all of it, without exception -- is back to hate some more.

PerversionTracker has returned after a long, long hiatus, and now it has iPhone software in its sights. (For the uninitiated, the old PerversionTracker took Mac apps and ripped them to pieces while screaming with joy.) No word on whether the folks at VersionTracker are irked, peeved or fuming.

Why has it returned now? What could possibly have got those hate glands working again? After all, everything in the App Store has to be approved by the gods of Apple before it goes live. There won't be anything worth hating. Will there?

UPDATE: The PerversionTrackers got in touch to remind me that they don't hate all Mac software. Only the bad stuff. My apologies for the misrepresentation, and thanks to the 'Trackers for their laid-back approach to correcting over-excited journalists.

Tags: funny, hate, humor, perversiontracker

Filed under: Humor, Tips and tricks, Cult of Mac, MacBook Air

MacBook Air: It's a good thing

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Mar 21st, 2008

America's favorite ex-con (that's Martha Stewart, not her dog Sharkey, as seen above) just loves her new MacBook Air, according to her blog. Like most MBA owners, she's "amazed" by how thin it is, and is thrilled that the trackpad "works much the same way as the Apple iPhone" -- in fact, her whole writeup reads exactly like an ad from Apple, complete with the link to the Apple Store at the end. Who knew Martha was such a Mac-head?

Although she does settle that debate about whether the book counts as a laptop or a laptop support unit: Martha still keeps her HP right next to the Air, not only because she likes to keep up with both platforms, but apparently because when aides come by her desk to work, she wants them to have choices. And we all know what choice is: a good thing.

Tags: funny, hp, humor, iphone, laptop, macbook-air, martha-stewart, sharkey

Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, Found Footage, iPhone

Found Footage: Calamari retro

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Aug 11th, 2007

So, say you're watching Pirates of the Caribbean. Mmmm... Did somebody say, "Calamari?"

Before there was the iPhone, there was iHome. And strangely enough, it worked pretty much the same-- just a little slower, and you could only do it from home, and you had to decide who was going to get the phone book out and look it up. My only question is what exactly he's doing at the beginning. Is he pretending to drive the ship?

Thanks, Stephen!

Tags: ad, calamari, funny, humor, iphone, parody, thatmusic

Filed under: Hacks, Tips and tricks, Apple, Retro Mac

Turn your Apple IIe into a Linux terminal

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 15th, 2007

As he even points out, this isn't the first time this has been done, but Quag7 has written up a very detailed, simple, and often hilarious (I feel the same way about Michael Bay!) guide for converting that old Apple ][e you've got sitting around into a Linux serial terminal. In this case, he runs a serial connection between a modern (everything is relative here) Gentoo distro and the ][e using ADTPro as a go-between. Hook up ADTPro on both, get the serial hooked up and running on both, install a term program on the ][e and then make sure everything can talk to each other (at 9600 baud-- remember baud? Oh those were the days), and voila, you've got an Apple ][e that can run a Linux distro. Why would you want to do this? No idea.

But why else do we do this kind of crazy stuff (like hook an Apple ][e up to a game machine, or even an actual Mac)? We do this, my friends, because we can.

[via Waxy]

Tags: adtpro, appleIIe, baud, funny, gentoo, guide, hmor, humor, linux, retro

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