You’ve been warned. Indie filmmakers Andrew McMurry and Nathan McMurry put together this short clip, “Psycho Siri,” as an example of what could happen if you piss off an iPhone.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – Thanks Tiffany!

Back in February, President Obama surprised Steve Jobs with a question of what it would take to make the iPhones in the United States, rather than China.

Jobs replied that the iPhone could never be made in the United States ... and no, it's not because American labor costs (in fact, labor cost is a tiny fraction of the cost of making an iPhone). It's because America simply doesn't have the manufacturing might anymore:

“Apple’s an example of why it’s so hard to create middle-class jobs in the U.S. now,” said Jared Bernstein, who until last year was an economic adviser to the White House.

“If it’s the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried.”

Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

“The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” the executive said. “There’s no American plant that can match that.”

Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher wrote this intriguing article over at The New York Times about the death of manufacturing and the disappearing American middle class - if you read only one thing today, make it this one: Link | TLDR? Here it is in video summary

Hello Kitty Love Bandit

Has a lover of Hello Kitty stolen your heart? Capture your sweethearts attention by giving them something fabulous from the Hello Kitty Love Bandit collection from the NeatoShop. This dangerously cute collection includes something for every budget:

• Hello Kitty Love Bandit Key Cap – $5.95
• Hello Kitty Love Bandit Socks – $11.95
• Hello Kitty Love Bandit Coin Bag – $19.95 (shown)
• Hello Kitty Love Bandit Lunch Box – $12.95
• Hello Kitty Love Bandit iPhone 4 Case – $23.95
• Hello Kitty Love Bandit Tote Bag – $55.95

Items sold separately. Shower your valentine with a gift of all 6.

Don’t let Valentine’s Day sneak up on you. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more purr-fectly adorable Hello Kitty items and fantastic Valentine’s Day gift ideas.

Link

Etsy seller Daniel McLeod writes “I had an old Atari 2600 that had stopped working and I couldn’t just get rid of it.” Well, of course not! That’d be like getting rid of your own mother because she got old. Classic Ataris should be cherished and repurposed, and that’s what he did. McLeod’s is now an audio dock.

Link -via Technabob

The Soviet architect Vladimir Tatlin wanted to build a massive spiral tower reaching four hundred meters into the sky. Tatlin’s Tower, as the idea was known, was designed to honor the Third International, a communist organization. The tower was never built, but artists Alexei Shulgin and Aristarkh Chernyshev have created this smaller replica that looks like an iPhone. Appropriately, it’s called 3G International:

Tatlin’s work is considered one of the avant-garde icons, whereas iPhone is a bright techno-consumerist icon of today. Back in the 20′s of the last centuries avant-garde artists have invented design as a way to bring art into people’s homes. During the 20′s century designers were gradually taking artistic ideas and implementing them into product design. Today we see companies claiming their products are art objects themselves; art has to re-define its role in the society again. The Monument to 3G links together the beginning and the current state of nearly a century of art-to-design dialogue and follows the strategy of re-claiming the designers’ ideas back into art.

Link -via My Modern Met

Doctor Who iPhone 4 Cases – $35.95 (sold separately)

Attention Doctor Who fans! Are you looking for a unique way to protect your phone and declare your love of everything Doctor Who? You need a Doctor Who iPhone 4 Case from the NeatoShop. These great iPhone 4 snap cases feature your favorite Doctor Who characters. The Doctor Who iPhone 4 case is available in:

Dalek (shown)

Tardis

and Matt Smith

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more amazing Doctor Who items.

Link

(YouTube Link)

Siri, the virtual voice assistant from the Iphone 4S, gets to the bottom of what Furby is really saying. Furby laughs in Siri’s faceplate as she tries to solve the furry little creep’s problems. Finally there’s proof that Furby is up to no good.

–via Ology

BRR – The way you tell people that it’s super chilly and the way you tell your WWF opponents that you don’t care what they think of you.

CWM – Oh, boy – pronounced “koom,” it’s another name for a “cirque,” which is a bowl-shaped mountain basin often containing a lake.

HMM – Accepted (in addition to “hm”) as a sound of contemplation. When you’re thinking just a wee bit harder, it’s “hmm” instead of “hm.”

NTH – Having the quality of being the last in a series of infinitely increasing or decreasing values. (As in, “the nth degree.”)

There’s more, with 5, 6, and even 7 letters in this list at mental_floss! Link

Psst, hipsters! Are you tired of the sleek and shiny Apple products mocking your need of ironic gadgetry? Well, fight back with this: iTree by kmkg.

Yes, that's an iPhone and iPod docking station made from a hollowed-out log:

Each iTree is unique – costumers choose the wood, the length and the built-in technology. They can even take a ride through the forest and pick out their own tree. The iTree is then made by hand in the “Steirische Vulkanland” region of southern Austria by carpenters “Tischlerei Lenz”, keeping the iTree local. There are currently three types of iTree – cherry, poplar and spruce – however, almost any kind of wood can be used. The iTree is compatible with any iPhone, iPod docking station, W Lan stream unit or CD player. It can even be fitted out with a turntable.

Link - via Trendir

I saw this  selection of iPhone cases that had ears on them, and thought, well, that’s nice, but why? Then I saw this.

The collection is called EARonic from CollabCubed. They were designed by art student Daniela Gilsanz, and will give you a new look -at least on one side of your face! Link -via Laughing Squid

Love your iPhone, but wish it had a homier feel? Never fear – now you can use your best needlework skills to cozy up your case. For just $18, you get an embroidery-friendly case, plus embroidery thread in the appropriate colors to make whichever design you choose. You can also just use their grid paper to make your own design, if you want to take your DIY-ness to the next level. I think the kitties are hilarious, but you could also go more geek-like with Mario or the Apple or Superman logos.

Link via Design.org

The app in question is called SpaceLab for iOS (opens iTunes) and might be used in future space missions for some navigation tasks. However, the company notes that on the shuttle mission, the iPhones will not be used for critical navigation. There will be four experiments done with the iPhone and the instructions for the experiments are integrated into the app.

The experiments will include a “limb tracker” that looks at the Earth’s limb (or curved edge) to determine the altitude of the iPhone. A sensor calibration tool will be tested that allows of the calibration of the sensors and gyroscope of the iPhone in space. The app will also be tested to determine latitude and longitude based on photos of the Earth and to test the effects of space radiation on the iPhone RAM.

Link

Used and banged up gadgets are usually considered as ugly by most people, but not to Remy Labesque of design mind’s Object Oriented blog. He considers them "Aged to Perfection" (though that’s not enough to consign the gadgets to the trash heap of obsolescence – or e-waste recycling, after he took the photos):

The truth is that consumer products are ‘new’ for a very brief moment when they are first removed from the packaging, but spend the great majority of their useful lives as ‘used’ products in the process of decay. Many welcome the breaking-in of products like a leather wallet or a pair of jeans as this wear can be aesthetically-pleasing. The Japanese have a term for this, “Wabi-sabi”. Wabi-sabi can be used to describe the aesthetically pleasing wear of an object as it decays over time. It’s a notion that embraces the transience of objects and celebrates the purity of the imperfect. Aging with dignity is a criteria designers should recognize in their efforts. I’m thinking of a future when products are designed not for the brief moment when they are new, but for when they have been aged to perfection.

Link – via Core 77

Cut the Rope is right up there with Angry Birds as far as addicting iPhone games go, don’t you think? If you haven’t been playing it, perhaps this amazing cake from Crazy Beautiful Cakes will inspire you to make a visit to the App Store. There are a bunch of other amazing game-inspired cakes over at Cakewrecks’ Sunday Sweets post today, but this one is by far my favorite.

Link via Cakewrecks

Society6′s Greg Koenig created the Steve Jobs in Carbonite iPhone case, but got a Cease and Desist letter from Apple’s lawyers. So from now on, this piece of awesomeness will live only as images on countless blogs and websites.

Too bad. Via FireWire

"Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you’ve been," said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.

Only the iPhone records the user’s location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google's] Android phones and couldn’t find any," said Warden. "We haven’t come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this."

Link – via TUAW

Apple as Big Brother? Say it ain’t so, Steve. And while we’re at it, may we remind all you Apple fanboys of the company’s iconic 1984 Apple Macintosh Commercial?

Update 4/22/11: Seems like Android does it too.

Attention, puny humans! Do you need a mobile phone stand that can stand the heat of battle? Qapla’ – look no further than this iPhone stand by David Roy of Voodoo Vintage Fabrication. It looks good sitting next to your chair on the Bird of Prey, and it can probably double as a handy weapon in case you can’t find your Bat’leth: Link – via Make

Working with a pal he turned a fridge in a basic vending machine which dropped chilled beers — and then added a compressed air cannon, web server and iPhone interface.

Now when he wants a beer, he uses his phone to log into the fridge, picks what sort of beer he wants and fires it over to where he is sitting.

Link

How cool is this? We don’t post a lot of iPhone apps, because so many people do not have iPhones (myself for one). However, this is the first app I’ve seen that actually makes me want an iPhone (not that I’m going to buy one). The Word Lens app is a free download, but the dictionaries are $5 each. So far, English to Spanish and Spanish to English are the only dictionaries available. It works with short phrases like signs, not with large blocks of text, like books. Link -via reddit

Many of the iPhone generation used a Speak and Spell toy as their first computer. Now, thanks to Etsy seller blakemedia, you can hark back to those carefree days with a iPhone sticker that looks just like a Speak and Spell! Guaranteed to make all those who see it smile. Link

What do you get when you combine the world’s favorite drawing toy with the world’s hottest gadgets?

The Etch A Sketch iPhone and iPad cases from the NeatoShop will bring new smiles and fond memories to everyone who remembers this favorite childhood toy. But don’t mistake these retro chic cases as being merely stylish – the cases are made from impact resistant ABS plastic, so they provide some serious protection, too.

They make for the perfect Christmas presents for your favorite geek! Link | More Gifts For Geeks (many under $20)

Note: Turns out the creator of these Etch A Sketch cases, Daniel Deutsch, was featured a while ago on Neatorama: he made the drivable Star Wars Landspeeder a couple of years back.

If you send text messages with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod, you may have noticed the annoying autocorrect feature that guesses what word you are trying to say – and is sometimes hilariously wrong. Damn You Autocorrect is a site that collects screencaps of these often incomprehensible assumptions. Some text may be NSFW. Link -via Metafilter

Japanese artist Mio I-zawa, the man responsible for the mechanical tumor computer peripheral, made this umbilical cord for the iPhone. It recharges a phone while quivering ominously.

via Pink Tentacle | Artist’s Website

You’ve got an iPhone, so surely you deserve an iPhone stand that speaks of your high social status. No cheapie stand for you – so, how about one that costs $100?

Enrique Pardo explains how to make your very own origami iPhone stand out of a $100 bill (yes, technically you can also use a George Washington, but where’s the fun in that?)

Hit play or go to Link [embedded YouTube]

Watching movies on your mobile phone is infinitely better if you’ve got angels helping you. Specifically, this Angel Wings Mobile Phone Stand from the NeatoShop. Simply attach the wings to the back of your mobile phones and you’re ready to go!

Link | More Fun Computer Gadgets

You’ve got the best laptop, best smart phone, the best tablet computer … but what about your fridge magnets? Well, don’t be left out of style, hipsters! Check out these App Magnets by Alyssa Zeller over at the NeatoShop. Yes, they’re shaped like your favorite app icons: Link | More Fun Geeky Stuff

I have never experienced this before in my life. I can see some light and color, but just in blurs, and objects don’t really have a color, just light sources. When I first tried it at three o’clock in the morning, I couldn’t figure out why it just reported black. After realizing that the screen curtain also disables the camera, I turned it off, but it still have very dark colors. Then I remembered that you actually need light to see, and it probably couldn’t see much at night. I thought about light sources, and my interview I did for Get Lamp.  First, I saw one of my beautiful salt lamps in its various shades of orange, another with its pink and rose colors, and the third kind in glowing pink and red.. I felt stunned.

The next day, I went outside. I looked at the sky. I heard colors such as “Horizon,” “Outer Space,” and many shades of blue and gray. I used color queues to find my pumpkin plants, by looking for the green among the brown and stone. I spent ten minutes looking at my pumpkin plants, with their leaves of green and lemon-ginger. I then roamed my yard, and saw a blue flower. I then found the brown shed, and returned to the gray house. My mind felt blown. I watched the sun set, listening to the colors change as the sky darkened. The next night, I had a conversation with Mom about how the sky looked bluer tonight. Since I can see some light and color, I think hearing the color names can help nudge my perception, and enhance my visual experience. Amazing!

Technology is a wonderful thing. Link -via Metafilter

The next time your iPhone G4 drops a call, don’t blame Antennagate – it’s probably Homer nom nom nomming the connection.

Nerd Approved has the larger pic: Link or go to apjam’s Etsy shop

Walyou has the large pic of Mads’ artwork: iPhone 4 Anatomy and Gaming Controllers and Toaster Anatomy

The undying devotion of fanboys to Apple is nothing new, but researchers have reframed Apple’s relationship to its consumers/fans into something else: religion.

There are scholars who study Apple’s consumers as religious devotees. Consumer behavior specialists Russell Belk of York University and Gulnur Tumbat of San Francisco State, even put together a framework for assessing Apple’s mystical mythology. The company
was built on four key myths, they argued.

Here are the four narratives, as summarized by media scholar Texas A&M’s Heidi Campbell, who distilled their work for her May paper "How the iPhone became divine":

- a creation myth highlighting the counter-cultural origin and emergence of the Apple Mac as a transformative moment;

– a hero myth presenting the Mac and its founder Jobs as saving its users from the corporate domination of the PC world;

– a satanic myth that presents Bill Gates as the enemy of Mac loyalists;

– and, finally, a resurrection myth of Jobs returning to save the failing company…

Link – via kottke

Hah! This one is clever: someone in Japan has created a Pac-Man wallpaper for your iPhone that turns your app icons into a maze for the dot-munchin’ Pac-Man!

Link | Original Website [Japanese] – via Laughing Squid

This handy place to keep your iPhone looks just like the phones we used when I was a kid! Each base is cast and sculpted one at a time. USB cord not included, so consider it an art work. $195 from Etsy seller freeland studios. Link -via Nag on the Lake

In a blog post on Monday detailing how it obtained the phone, Gizmodo said it was left by an iPhone software engineer at Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German specialty store and beer garden in Redwood City.

The person who found the phone peddled it to Gizmodo, which bought it for $5,000, Nick Denton, chief executive of Gawker Media, which owns Gizmodo, said by instant message.

His company’s sites have had a longstanding practice of paying for scoops, and the windfall was tangible. Traffic spiked on Monday, and at midday more than one million visitors stopped by the site in one hour to see pictures of the coveted gadget.

By late in the day, reports began to surface on the Internet that Apple’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, had called Gizmodo to get the device back. Mr. Denton declined to comment, saying any conversation between Mr. Jobs and Gizmodo would most likely have been off the record.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by tylerthevideoguy.

Link via Popular Science | Photo: News 24

Jimmy Greenfield of Chicago Now’s Arts & Entertainment has the summary from the Seinfeld reunion from Curb Your Enthusiasm:

We learned that George made millions from an iPhone app called "iToilet," which uses GPS to direct the user to the nearest acceptable toilet.

We learned that George invested all his money with Bernie Madoff and is now broke.

We learned that George was so broke he had to move in with Jerry.

Get out! Link – Thanks Mu!

The Australian programmer who claims to have created the world’s first Apple iPhone virus as a prank has told Computerworld he does not regret writing it.

The worm, ‘Ikee’ changes iPhone owners’ wallpaper and replaces it with a photo of ‘80s pop star Rick Astley and the message “ikee is never going to give you up”.

Twenty-one-year-old Wollongong resident Ashley Towns, said he created the virus out of curiosity and boredom.

“I had just formatted my iPhone and it told me to set the password in bold, big letters and I wondered how many people have actually done that," Towns said.

“So I ran a scan on my [Optus] 3G network and there was 26 phones running the service that’s vulnerable, and out of that 26, 25 hadn’t changed their passwords.”

Link – via Buzz Log

Because you can’t out-tech the sleek iPod and iPhone, it’s much better to go low-tech when showcasing Apple’s coveted gadgets. Behold, the log dock by Woodtec:

Again from Woodtec, the dual iPhone/iPod docking log takes the single log dock and adds room for another device. Now you can charge your iPhone and iPod simultaneously via a single length of tree limb. Unsurprisingly, as there’s more wood and an extra connection, the dual dock comes in at a higher price but for something so unique, $119.00 is surely money well spent.

Zoombits got more on wooden iPhone accessories: Link – Thanks Dave!

Wired has a photogallery unusual accessories that you can mount on a firearm, including a cupholder and an iPhone mount. The latter includes an app that makes ballistics calculations based upon wind, distance, air pressure, humidity and temperature. Take your shot, then sip your beer.

Link

Beth Hale of The Daily Mail has the story:

… Speaking about it last week the artist, who thinks calling his work digital art is as absurd as calling traditional drawing pencil art, said: ‘The computer is a terrific medium.

‘You miss some things, you miss texture for example, but you gain a lot. In a watercolour, once you put things down, that’s it. With this you can move things about, change, make them bigger and smaller.’

For the moment his computer-created art is being printed in limited editions, which will sell for thousands of pounds. That is considerably less than some of his more traditional paintings fetch.

Several thousand pounds for an iPhone doodle? I’m in the wrong biz: Link – via The Daily Dish

(Links open in a new browser window/tab)

	Juggling with Bowling Ball Remember the Chinlone video we posted on Neatorama a while ago? Well, that ain' nothing compared to this rhythmic gymnast juggling with a bowling ball! I kid: that's not a bowling ball, but it sure does look like one! Link
	Dog Hates the Happy Birthday Song! Dave the Wonder Dog is a half black lab, half border colli and all crazy. It has a strange musical trigger: if you sing the Happy Birthday Song, be prepared to deal with a dog gone berserk ... Link
	Physics Fun: Jell-O + Electricity = FIRE! Can you make Jell-O electrically conductive? Sure you can, if you make it out of alcohol. Here's what you get when you tase a Jell-O: Link (Includes the phrase "electrically active Jell-O mound" that is PURE WIN)
	Cell Phone Reunion When Bluetooth, cell phones, car phone and the Blackberry teams up, the iPhone gets what he deserves ... From the geniuses over at CollegeHumor: Link (NSFW language - the ending makes it all worth the wait)
	The Crazy PS3 Kid Banned From Playing PS3 That PS3 is like crack for little kids - here's a Norwegian kid giving an Oscar-worthy performance when he got banned from playing his Playstation. His range of emotion is amazing! Christian Bale, watch out! Link

For more the web's most interesting videos, check out: VideoSift.

Designing those little icons is tougher than you might think. Check out how designer Felix Sockwell went through the creative process (and the review process, of course) to come up with the icons for the New York Times app.

Link via Boing Boing

iLounge reader Tuan Nguyen, Ken Thomas, and friends created this sweet iPhone coffee table with built-in Apps coasters from corrugated boards. Link – via coated