While browsing Flickr this afternoon, we came across a shot of a Nintendo DS running Macintosh System 6 in emulation on reader Ken Fager's Flickr stream. Of course, we contacted him to ask how he did it. Here's what he had to say.

First, grab a DS flash card and install MiniVMacDS onto its root directory.

Once that's done, place the Mac Plus ROM into the "vmac" folder along with a System 6/7 install disk (you can make a blank disk image using Disk Utility).

Finally, turn on the DS and select MiniVMacDS. It will boot the disk images. From there, install (minimal) System 6 onto the blank disk image.

Ken notes that it's a bit pokey, but hey, this wasn't done for speed! Have fun if you try this for yourself. Thanks for sharing, Ken! We love it.

In this edition of Ask TUAW we've got questions about using an iPod without iTunes, hotkey managers, iTunes locking up, getting rid of persistent iCal calendars, Open Firmware passwords and much more.

As always, your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X, as certain answers will vary between different Macs and Tiger vs. Leopard, etc. (we'll assume you're running Leopard if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Phishers -- in their sinister attempts to bilk you out of your time, money, and personal information with bogus emails -- are becoming more and more clever. Luckily, with a little critical thinking and up-to-date software, you can keep yourself safe.

Typically, to avoid falling victim to phishing, check the URL that the email is asking you to click. Does it look right? One popular façade for phishing attempts is PayPal, and there's a new technique that makes it look like the request is coming, securely, from paypal.com. For the technical among us, it exploits a flaw in one of PayPal's screens that allows a phisher to include a redirect URL in an address that begins with https://www.paypal.com. Sneaky. Thankfully, Firefox blocks it on the rebound.

Also, emails that ask you to verify or enter account information (that you've already entered) have a high degree of poopiness about them. Reader Allan noted that because Apple is in the process of switching people to Mobile Me, some phishers are using the confusion to send people emails asking them to enter new billing information for the new service. That, of course, isn't necessary, and if you get that kind of email, you should delete it.

Another good way to protect yourself is to use an up-to-date browser. Firefox includes protection against known phishing sites, and warns you about them before letting you proceed. Safari, currently, does not, but 1Password does, and it works seamlessly with Safari. Installing one of these options is especially important for parents and grandparents that may not be as familiar with these attacks as their kids.

Lastly, there's a great overview at macphishingprotection.com, which notes, "Phishers win even if you make only one mistake." Truer words never spoken.

Thanks, Allan, Fernando and Aviv for the heads-up!

Our own Christina Warren will be helming the Starship Chitchat tonight, with a review of this week's top Mac topics! Tonight, we'll be talking about the slow (and unsteady) transition to Mobile Me, and the Mac OS X 10.5.4 update. And hey, did you hear there was some new product coming? I think it's this coming week. I can't remember what it is, though.

Feel free also to catch up on past shows by visiting our page at Talkshoe.

Listen live, tonight at 10 eastern! Follow the jump for details on how to join tonight's call.

You hate Entourage, and you're not particularly fond of iCal. You've waited endlessly for Nighthawk, Contactizer Pro is too complicated, and you want a native app instead of using Google Calendar or another web calendar. And, since you're saving money for an iPhone 3G, you don't want to spend any money on a calendar app.

Maybe it's time to look at Mozilla Sunbird 0.8 for Mac OS X. It's developed by the same people who brought us Firefox and Thunderbird. It's almost identical to the Lightning calendar plugin for Thunderbird, but doesn't require that email app to run. Upon first startup, Sunbird will import events and tasks from your existing calendar application.

The UI is plain and simple, probably because this is a multi-platform application (Windows, Linux, and Solaris in addition to Mac OS X) that shares a lot of code between the different flavors. Sunbird can tie into CalDAV servers such as the one in Mac OS X Server 10.5, and can subscribe to any .ics format shared calendars. In limited testing, Sunbird felt responsive in searches and was quite stable for betaware.

Sunbird, of course, is free. If you are searching for a new calendar app, give it a try.

Welcome to the latest installment of TUAW's best of the week, where we gather up our favorite posts for your easy clicking enjoyment. Next week will undoubtedly be a big week for Apple fans as the iPhone 3G will be released in the US and other countries on July 11th.

Me.com email addresses online?
Most .Mac users received a big surprise this week as their username@me.com addresses suddenly started forwarding to their username@mac.com address. We can safely bet that MobileMe will be released in the very near future. Here's to hoping it's a little more stable than .Mac.

Apple Notebook Shipments Skyrocket 61%
We can only guess that this is due to recent Mac sightings in movies.

Happy Birthday, iPhone
Join us in singing a round of "Happy Birthday." Oh wait, that's copyrighted?Oh well, I guess we can sing it TUAW style ... "Happy Happy Birthday, it's all the same to you, Happy Happy Birthday, get over it there's a new one coming soon."

10.5.4 is in Software Update Now!
Early this week, the much awaited 10.5.4 update became available for download. Oddly enough, it did not boast any new "visible features." It also didn't boast any mention of MobileMe.

AT&T posts iPhone 3G information
Join Christina as she tries to go insane with all of the iPhone information that Apple/AT&T gave us this week.

.Mac Bookmark webaccess going away July 6th
Be sure to backup by July 6th, or the bookmarks get it!

Mac market share nears 8%; Safari tops 6.3%
Are we finally on the map? Oh well, at least we still have the iPhone launch to look forward to.

iTunes: Free Tuesday
Get some free tunes.

With the release of the iPhone 3G, Apple will be in a completely new cell phone market in Japan. Apple recently posted a new iPhone 3G Guided Tour on the Japanese Apple website, undoubtedly to get the Japanese warmed up to the iPhone. While there are no new apparent features shown, Apple does show off the character recognition (which is really slick when you see it in action).

It is still neat to watch, even if you don't understand Japnese. You can view this video on the Japanese iPhone website.

[via MacRumors]

Our good friends over at Engadget posted an exclusive interview from the line that is forming outside of the 5th Avenue Apple Store. In the video, they interview the first three people in line and ask them what they're doing. According to Daniel, the group leader, they are trying to "break a world record for most time spent waiting in line to buy something."

GearDiary is reporting that a lineup of about 10 people started queuing up Friday for the iPhone 3G launch at the 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York. You may recall last year's 5th Avenue store queuing started about a week early as well. The iPhone 3G goes on sale at 8 a.m. on July 11th.

The first people in line are a man, his wife and their young child. According to GearDiary, the couple told security that they're trying to set a record for time waiting in line and possibly having a baby waiting with them. Police are allowing the 10 people to wait in line and currently have no plans to use barricades.

GearDiary has posted some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Update: Engadget, our sister blog, has posted more pictures and an exclusive interview with the people in line.

[via MacNN]

Last month, I wrote a post about Apple certifications in general. Today, I'll focus on Mac OS X certifications.

If you're a Mac geek who wants to make a living troubleshooting Macs, these are the certifications to get because they are your ticket to becoming a member of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN). ACNs can build a relationship with their local Apple store and get references for work that can't be performed by Genius Bar techs, and they're listed on the Apple Consultants Network website. The rest of this article is after the break.

TUAW blogger Steve Sande is an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator and volunteers as the South Central US Regional Champion for the Apple Consultants Network.

Apple has posted a Support Document that explains exactly how to replace your original iPhone with a new 3G iPhone. Basically there are two tracks: 1) In the US you don't need your original SIM as your original "account information will be transferred to iPhone 3G's included SIM when you purchase iPhone 3G." 2) Outside the US, "you can use your original iPhone's SIM with iPhone 3G."

Once that's done it's just a matter of backing up your original iPhone to iTunes 7.7 and then restoring that backup to the new iPhone 3G. This should transfer all your saved SMS messages as well as email accounts, notes, etc. Once that's done you just need to erase the old iPhone with the new secure erase option.

[via Daring Fireball]

Nate True, iPhone developer extraordinaire and friend of TUAW (but who isn't, really), has sold off his Tap Tap Revolution game to a company called Tapulous, and they're renaming it Tap Tap Revenge and are going to try selling it in the iPhone's (and iPod touch's) App Store. The game isn't much tweaked from its jailbroken incarnation, but there is a chaotic two-player mode, seen above, that could be a lot of fun. I've never played the original version, so I have no idea what's up with the shaking, but it looks like it incorporates some accelerometer fun as well.

If you're a super TTR fan, Tapulous tells us that they've got a wallpaper to download on their site right now, and that more videos will be coming out over the weekend, so stay tuned. All these games are looking terrific, but of course the one thing we haven't heard confirmed from any of them is when and if they'll be showing up on the App Store. That, it seems, is up to Apple. It doesn't matter how many games you've got ready to go -- if Apple doesn't have them set for download right away, both the devs and iPhone owners will miss a nice opportunity.

Axel Springer AG, Germany's largest newspaper publisher, is moving its entire organization -- 12,000 computers -- to the Mac platform. Axel Springer will become Apple's largest corporate customer in Europe, and second largest customer worldwide. (Google is number one.)

The article is only available in German so far.

Axel Springer owns Bild and Bild am Sonntag, tabloid-style dailies (not unlike The Sun in the UK or the New York Post in the U.S.) and several magazines sold under the Bild brand. The company currently uses large-scale publishing solutions from WoodWing Software and CCI, both of which support Mac clients.

In a video message to employees, CEO Matthias Döpfner cited ease-of-use, appearance, and total cost of ownership in the reason to switch. Employees can start buying and using Macs and iPhones this month, though the entire organization will be migrated over the course of a year or two five years. (Hey, I took French in high school.)

Thanks Alex, Rouven, and bimbum for the tip (and the help with the German)!

On this long weekend (for some of us), how about some outdoor activity? TrailRunner updated its route planning software for runners, bikers, and hikers that works with your iPod nano and Nike+ sport kit.

TrailRunner 1.7 is the latest release of the software, which can now import workout data from the Garmin ForeRunner 50, and from nikeplus.com. It also improves the diary history chart.

This new version is 4.3MB, Leopard-only, and donationware. (Version 1.6 still runs in Tiger.) It's also available in French and German.

The Apple Expo is Europe's Apple conference -- similar to the Macworld expo in the US. Apple Expo '08 has posted details about the expo, including dates for this year's conference: Wednesday, September 17 through Saturday, September 20, in Paris, France.

Currently, there are only two iPhone events scheduled out of the over 30 planned events. It is a nice change to see that the iPhone will not "steal the show" in Europe like it does at Apple conferences in the US. You can see all of the details, exhibitors, and scheduled events on the Apple Expo website.

As we noted earlier, Apple will not be attending this year's Apple Expo.