Part of what makes Apple's fandom so rabid is the act and art of opening up a new Apple product. Like mainlining heroin, it's a quick high that the buyer can never reach again no matter how long or hard they use the doohickey itself. Apple is smart like that. A first look at the new iPad being unboxed, touched, and caressed comes to us from Vietnam, where users got their hands on an LTE-capable model days ahead of Friday's official launch, notes Apple Insider. more ›

Using LED Lucasian swords, the Golden Gate Knights teach lightsaber courses each week in San Francisco. Headed by a former choreographer for George Lucas' Star Wars films, the classes (for kids-at-heart 17 and older) teach saber choreography that will help budding jedis become experts at "spins, flourishes and a whole lot more." The classes are broken up into four parts: more ›

Debunking locker room stereotypes, we're getting word that the black iPhone isn't as big as the white iPhone (the latter of which recently became available at your nearest Apple store). NBC Bay Area reports: "The white iPhone 4 is finally out and guess what? Just like the black one, it sold out (at least in China and Hong Kong). This is a smartphone that's 10-months-old we're talking about. One last thing: it's also a hair thicker thicker — your old iPhone 4 case might be screwed." According to AppleInsider, the white iPhone 4 is 0.2mm thicker than the black one. So, there you have it. [NBC] more ›

It is done. A new victor emerges from the ashes of our modern day Catholics v. Protestant war. After a bloody feud spanning decades, Apple has now proven victorious over Microsoft, profit-wise. TechCrunch reports: "Microsoft has just announced their Q3 2011 results. The numbers appear to be good, beating analysts’ expectations. But with net income now at $5.23 billion, Microsoft now comes in well behind Apple, which had a net income of $5.99 billion last quarter." This comes after Apple beat Microsoft in market cap last year and in revenues in October. All hail the king and queen. more ›

Aside from publishing what history will look back on as the single most misguided and thoughtless arts & entertainment article ever written, we almost always respect Slate. So when they post a piece called "Why Steve Jobs Won't Return to Apple, we listen. more ›

The MacArthur Foundation named 23 MacArthur Fellows for 2010 today. That is to say, 23 smartypants learned from the Foundation that they will each land a cool $500,000 in "no strings attached" financial support over the next five years. We're jealous. more ›

New dating site helps Apple fans find love with other Apple die-hards. more ›

From what little your editor knows regarding the sexy world of comic books, we had heard about a divide between Marvel Comics and DC Comics fans similar to that of the Catholics verses the Protestants. However, it turns out the difference between the two isn't that great an issue. "It's like Bing versus Yahoo, who gives a fuck," a comic book-reading friend tells us. But for you die hard Marvel fans, you will definitely want to check out Mrs. Vera's Massive Marvel Comic Book Sale, happening this Saturday. more ›

There is a 75% chance that physicists analyzing tests results from a Minnesota mine found dark matter particles. The rumored substance is believed to make up 80% of the universe, but heretofore evaded capture more ›

Nerds the world over are reveling in the fact that today, 5/7/09, is the third of 6 days this century in which the date happens to be made of three odd numbers that are also numerically consecutive. The previous two in this century would have been 1/3/05 and 3/5/07 and the last one prior to that, in the 20th century, would have been 11/13/15, or November 13, 1915. Got that? Yeah, anyway, we suppose this is actually just an American nerd obsession, because in Europe they reverse the month and the day and the shit just wouldn't be the same. Anyway, you can learn more about it here, and possibly win a $579 prize for being the biggest nerd on your block if you write an Odd Ode or have an award-winning Odd Celebration. more ›

In case any slimy, green Maritans appear, brandishing pointy laser guns--and all experts agree that there will be--keep track of them and the Mars Phoenix Lander on Twitter. It's scheduled to land on Mars this evening at 4:53 p.m. (PDT). Or so. more ›

According to the Scarborough Research -- an institute that measures the lifestyles, shopping patterns, media behaviors, and demographics of unholy, evil American consumers -- San Francisco was ranked as one of the top markets for people who read or contribute to blogs. Yay. And, duh. more ›