Building A Mac Out Of An Xbox

The lengths that some people go to in order to create one of a kind computer cases is totally beyond me. There was a time when I actually kinda-sorta enjoyed tinkering with the insides of my computer, but that time passed long ago, and the tinkering that I did never came anywhere close to what Will Urbina did in creating the OS Xbox Pro, a dual-boot Mac/Windows computer housed inside a heavily-modified Xbox case.

The making of video I’ve embedded above (also available on YouTube) features an occasionally NSFW soundtrack, but is definitely worth a look if you want to see a case-modder getting his geek on.

Thanks to TUAW for linking this up.

Apple Joins AT&T in the Fight Against Verizon

Without naming names, Apple has released two new ads that take the fight to Verizon, whose Land of Misfit Toys ad (the one that attacked AT&T’s piss-poor 3G network coverage) kicked off the early holiday season’s most amusing and biting war of words. It kinda makes me wonder what’s coming next, and who, eventually, will land the knock-out punch.

Geek Force FiveCast 264: Lost, Apple & Live Piano Karaoke

In which ECC geeks out about the announcement of the Lost premiere date, the unveiling of the Nashua Apple Store, and live piano karaoke.

Geek Force FiveCast 263: iPhone Apps

In which ECC geeks out about the Harry Potter Spells app, the Voices app, and an anti-buying guide from TUAW.

Geek Force FiveCast 262: iPhoto & Facebook

In which ECC geeks out about iPhoto, Facebook, and the integration between the two.

Geek Force FiveCast 261: Apple Store Nashua

In which ECC geeks out about the impending opening of the Apple Store in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Cast Spells With Your iPhone, Harry Potter Style!

A new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch emulates the wand-wielding action of the Harry Potter film franchise, and we think it looks mighty spiffy. The Leaky Cauldron was the first to point it out to us, and we thank them for that.

Verizon’s iPhone as Misfit Toy Ad

In this brief post about Verizon’s “Misfit Toys” attack ad, iPhone enthusiast Website First & 20 writes, “If Verizon wants to sell the iPhone in the future, I’m not sure this is the best way to go about it,” but I’m not sure that Verizon’s making any bad moves here. In fact, I think they position themselves rather well to be a potential iPhone savior. Nobody hates the misfit toys themselves. No, no, no. Who we hate are the people who made them misfits in the first place, the people who abandoned or abused them.

Verizon’s attacking AT&T here, not Apple. At least that’s what I think. How about you?

NBA Live Comes to iPhone

As sucky as I am at it, I’ve really been enjoying Madden 2010 for my iPhone. And, now that EA is releasing NBA Live for the iPhone too, I’m beginning to think that the device might totally eliminate my thirst for a gaming system of my very own. After all, back in the day, when I played games on a regular basis, it was Madden, NBA Live, The Sims, and Sim City. I can now get all of those games on my phone. Maybe they aren’t the full versions, but they all seem pretty damned close. And that, that’s exciting to me. I love having one device that does everything.

How about you? Do you play a lot of games on your mobile device? Or are you still a console person? And if you’re a console person, which console? Let me know.

Marvel Comics on the iPhone

Rounding out today’s Geek Force Five, here’s a nifty story from Mashable on the arrival of Marvel Comics on the iPhone. This latest bit of awesomeness comes to us courtesy of the fine folks at Comixology, who are selling select Marvel books from the archives at $1.99 a pop.  And we’re not talking about the terrible motion comics bullshit they’ve been pulling all year—no, now we’re finally talking about the real deal.

Here’s their announcement, if you’re curious. Titles on offer include Astonishing X-Men, Captain America, and Marvel Zombies. I’m actually tempted to pick up an issue or two of Cap, just to see what the big deal is, as I never picked up the issues they’re selling back when they were on newsstands.