Mod Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

iShred, a snowboard inspired by Apple and Steve Jobs

by Kelly Hodgkins (Nov 17th, 2011)

Signal Snowboards hosts a regular series about snowboards called Every Third Thursday on Mpora sports website. In a recent episode, the crew at Signal Snowboards built the iShred, a snowboard tribute to Steve Jobs. The Apple-inspired board has all the right touches - an LED-lit Signal ...

iFixIt releases transparent iPhone 4 rear panel

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 26th, 2011)

If you like to see the innards of your handset, then you have to check out this latest offering from iFixit. The repair company known for its detailed teardown analyses has released a transparent rear panel for the GSM/AT&T iPhone 4. Unfortunately, the Verizon iPhone 4 has a slightly ...

Have an old iBook? Turn it into an iPad case

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 20th, 2011)

Gary Katz is at it again, this time gutting an old iBook and turning it into an iPad case. To create this one-of-a-kind case, Katz gutted the body of the iBook, then used a Dremel to remove anything left inside that was sharp or could put pressure on the iPad's glass screen. Next he fastened ...

Apple TV clock mod makes up for the lack of an iPad clock

by Steven Sande (Jan 21st, 2011)

Do you have an old first-generation Apple TV lying around collecting dust? Would you like to turn it into something useful and attractive? TUAW reader Antonio Worrall had purchased a second-generation Apple TV, and his old unit had gone to "join the choir invisible," so he decided to put the ...

iFixit releases iPhone 4 liberation kit for Pentalobe screws

by Dave Caolo (Jan 20th, 2011)

The good folks at iFixit have noticed that iPhone 4s taken in for service often return without their original Phillips 00 screws. Instead, they're being replaced with Apple's own proprietary Pentalobular screws. These are the same screws that are in the current-generation MacBook Air. Here's a ...

Fantastic transparent iPhone 4 case mod

by Dave Caolo (Jan 20th, 2011)

We love a good mod, and this one is stellar. An enterprising iPhone user got his hands on a clear case mod kit for the iPhone 4, (Google translation) put it together and posted the fantastic results online. It's wicked geeky, and reminds us of the clear Newton MessagePad prototype, though not as ...

Apple G4 turned into a mailbox

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jan 17th, 2011)

We love mods of older Apple hardware and the resurgence of this oldie but goodie is no exception. Spotted and photographed in the Te Atatu suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, this classic mailbox features a gutted G4 that has been modified into a mailbox, complete with a front flap and address numbers. ...

DIY white iPhone 4 has a few rough edges

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jun 28th, 2010)

Engadget just couldn't wait to get a white iPhone 4, so they took a page from Dr. Frankenstein and whipped up their own using a couple of "spare" white components. Unfortunately the mod now lacks a white Home button, the tiny mesh grille in the earpiece and covers on the camera and LED on the back, ...

"iPad in iBook" stand merges past and present

by Michael Grothaus (Jun 10th, 2010)

An enterprising Japanese iPad owner, who blogs under the name Dark General, decided to take matters into his own hands when he couldn't find an iPad stand that he liked. He took an old iBook G3 clamshell case and gutted it, replacing the LCD screen with the iPad and the iBook's keyboard with Apple's ...

iMac goes steampunk

by Michael Grothaus (Mar 23rd, 2010)

Brian Chen over at Wired came across this sweet Victorian iMac mod. If you're a steampunk fan, it's a must have. The owner of Old Time Computer makes all the covers by hand. This iMac's cover is hand crafted oak with brass and gold trim accents. A hand painted faux marble finish base covers the ...

Found Footage: The Powerbook snowboard

by Mike Schramm (Feb 26th, 2010)

Ok, we'll admit it -- the recent snowpocalypse may have driven some people nuts. But probably not this nuts -- these two German guys wanted to go snowboarding, but didn't actually have a snowboard around, so they did what most of us would naturally do in this situation: take two old PowerBooks, ...

iPhone modded with titanium back

by Mike Schramm (Feb 24th, 2010)

Everyone's saying that the next version of the iPhone will have a case upgrade, but Martin Schrotz couldn't wait -- he encased his iPhone 3GS in titanium, and Engadget has a gallery of pictures of the ubercool mod. I thought he had actually put the titanium cover over the plastic back, but ...

Turn that old Mac into a functioning clock

by Aron Trimble (Feb 22nd, 2010)

Let's say you have a Mac collecting dust in the corner of your garage. Rather than succumb to your spouse's demands and send the old friend to computer heaven, why not re-purpose that Mac into something both functional and beautiful? Cult of Mac points us to one enterprising hardware modder who ...

Found Footage: Bose headphones grafted onto Apple inline remote

by Steven Sande (Jan 6th, 2010)

Our buddies over at Engadget turned us on to this short video, in which modder Freddy Deeble created a sonic hybrid -- a pair of Bose headphones using an Apple inline remote. If you're handy with a pair of wire cutters, a small screwdriver, and a soldering iron, then you can mimic how Mr. ...

Power Mac G5 turned time-teller

by Mike Schramm (Dec 31st, 2009)

This is great, and highly appropriate for the tick-tocking away of the year -- Japanese modder Nobon had an old Power Mac G5 (case, it looks like, though this would be cool on a working Mac as well) sitting around, and he wanted to know what time it was, so he installed a little clock in there. As ...