Police busted a middle school boy for renting out his iPod Touch packed with sexy photos and videos of underage girls.

The iPod Touch’s large storage capacity and big screen were put to use for an increasingly common kind of extracurricular activity. The boy’s business was halted when a renter of the illicit images was caught last week at Pyle Middle School in Bethesda, Maryland.

Students id’d the girls in photos as fellow students — sixth to eighth graders — as well as some from a nearby high school. In a letter to parents, school officials said that their investigation revealed the girls posed willingly and that the photo and video sessions took place outside school grounds.

For the next three weeks we’re going to be publishing a series of posts called “My Close Encounters with Steve Jobs.” Written by David Bunnell, the founder of Macworld magazine, it’s a bunch of great stories about Jobs and the launch of the Mac. It’s a excellent, insightful read with a ton of previously unpublished stories and details. Starting Tuesday — Part 1: Meeting Steve.

We start out another week with more deals on Apple items. A number of iPod touch models are on the block, starting at $169 for an 8GB model. Deals on Intel-based Mac mini desktops are also on tap, starting at $499 for a 2GHz Core 2 Duo unit. We wrap up our top trio with the latest batch of App Store freebies, including WalkJogRunning, which lists running route recommendations. (I hope it includes routes marked by the slowest-running dogs.)

We’ll also check out other Mac-related hardware and software, such as MacGourmet and a Clock Radio for the iPod and iPhone from Sony. As always, details on these and many other items can be found on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYVIHf9KBSE

This mini Apple store is the latest awesome creation from Gary Katz, who has been turning shoe boxes into iPhone theaters.

This time, it took him a weekend to make a store mock-up, and this one requires two iPhones for the full effect. One iPhone slots into the back wall, playing a loop of the iPad intro and Apple ads and another iPhone provides the Apple logo to light the store sign.  The minuscule iPads, iPhone and iMacs are the fruit of long hours with an Exacto knife.

Katz put tiny versions of his own business cards in here, too, in case computer engineer Barbie has some tech dilemmas.

This is a one-of-a kind labor of love to avoid tussles over trademarks, but his other clever iPhone theater kits can either be bought or downloaded, including this drive-in version.

Gizmodo on Monday dropped THE bomb: the site has a pre-production model of the iPhone 4G, due to be launched in June.

The new iPhone was found “lost” in a Redwood City, Calif. bar, according to Gizmodo, which published its findings, along with numerous pictures of the device. Apple, taking a page from Detroit’s practice of camouflaging unreleased autos, made the phone appear like an ordinary iPhone 3GS.

The Speck CandyShell iPhone Case is a brightly-colored protective case that not only provides first-class scratch protection, it really makes your iPhone pop.

The 3G version of Apple’s iPad tablet device will ship “By May 7th,” the Cupertino, Calif. company is telling online buyers Monday morning. Apple, however, appears to be sticking by last week’s statement pre-ordered 3G iPads would be shipped in late April.

In a statement e-mailed to customers who took advantage of the early pre-order opportunity, Apple said the 3G iPads would ship in late April “as communicated at the time you placed your order.”

My esteemed colleague John Brownlee wrote earlier today about the excellent article at Ars Technica which explains in detail why the new 13″ MacBook Pro doesn’t have a speedy i5 or i7 chip, while its bigger brothers and sisters do.

What interests me more, though, is the discussion that follows the Ars article.

Think you can do a better job running a 3G network than AT&T. Here’s your chance to prove it: Telecom Tycoon HD is a mobile broadband network sim for the iPad that allows you to roll-out a 2G, 3G and LTE network across a virtual city.

The latest MacBook Pro refresh finally brought Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs to Apple’s line-up of laptops… but only the 15 and 17 inch models. If you want a 13-inch MacBook, you need to satisfy yourself with the Intel Core 2 Duo chipset.

Steve Jobs claims that the reason Apple went with the Intel Core 2 Duo chips for the 13-inch MacBook Pros because a 20% CPU increase was outweighed by giving the 13-inchers a much better CPU and 10 hour battery life.

But Ars Technica has a more in-depth explanation: price, graphics performance, battery life and the laws of physics.

The Touch Pad App is in my opinion, Edovia’s best application for your mobile Mac devices and now the iPad. For those of you who use a Mac Mini for your home entertainment and digital storage set up in your living room or bedroom, you must get this application. Basically, it turns your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad into a touch pad similar to the one on the Macbook. It can also act as an Apple remote. There have been some glitches and movements that didn’t work like the touch pads on the Macbooks, but Edovia just came out with their latest version of the app (3.1), and they cleaned up a lot of those issues. Still, this is a great app to have, and guess what, we’re giving it away for FREE today!

We’re doing something a little different today. In order to get this app, you gotta be on your “A” game with your Cult of Mac knowledge. We’re going to ask you trivia from articles published since last Tuesday (April 13th). Make note that the app codes we’re giving away are only good for the United States version of iTunes. Sorry to all of our international readers, but when we get sent promo codes, they’re usually always the U.S. version. We’ll try to ask for some international codes in the future.

1. Become a fan of our Facebook page if you aren’t already.
2. Throughout the day, we’ll post a trivia question, and the first person that answers correctly will win one of the Touch Pad app codes. We have six codes to give away, so we’ll be doing six different trivia questions.
3. To redeem the app code, you can do so through iTunes or directly no the device you want to install it on. For instance, on the iPhone, you can go to the “App Store” app, scroll down, and tap on the “Redeem” button, then type the code in that we provide you and it will automatically download on your phone.

This is a $3.99 app, and if you’re like me, I hate paying for anything over a $1, so have some fun with this one, make sure you’re up to speed on what was going on with Cult of Mac last week, and keep refreshing our Facebook page every now and then today. Good luck!

It’s been a content rich morning from the Chinese gadget sweatshops, but this latest handset will undoubtedly give the true Mac faithful the vapors: the TEG W3000 is the spitting image of the unholy, cross-species union of an iPhone and a Nexus One.

Despite common consensus and Apple’s own “Get a Mac” ad campaign propaganda,, Macs certainly aren’t immune to the threats of viruses and malware: they’re just less likely to be infected by them, thanks to OS X’s excellent security measures and the operating system’s relative low market share compared to Windows.

As OS X rapidly gains in market share, though, Apple computers will continue to plumpen in the eyes of malware programmers as a juicy, ever more low-hanging plum. Now comes word from computer anti-malware firm Integro that a new variant of malware, dubbed HellRTS.D, could soon hit the wild.

We were pretty confident that the iPad-like, unibody-looking iPhone 4G leaked in grainy pictures last week was utterly bogus. Heck, we still think it was probably bogus, but bogus or not… maybe the renderer of those images was on the right track.

You probably remember the picture above. It was leaked to Engadget a day before Steve Jobs announced the iPad, and it was our first look at Apple’s much-rumored tablet. At the time, no one really paid much attention to the iPhone-like devices to the right of the iPad and captured in the iPad’s reflection: what people really cared about was the tablet itself.

Now, though? Those two pointing arrows seem to provide strong indication that Apple will extend the iPad’s design to the iPad 4G, with further confirmation provided by these MacRumor shots of alleged iPhone 4G components.

At this point, we seem to know what the iPhone 4G will look like and what it’s specs will be. What will Apple surprise us with when it’s officially unveiled in June?

The latest in a long and veritable line of Chinese iPhone knock-offs is this button cute Leady Apple… although we think they probably meant “Lady Apple.”

As the name implies, it’s like the iPhone 4G redesigned by the Powerpuff Girls.

Congratulations, yankees! Apple has just updated its online store, listing the shipping date for the iPad 3G.

When will you be able to hold one in your greedy little hands? If you ordered an iPad 3G, prepare for it to be delivered on May 7th… hopefully hand-delivered by UPS as opposed to being smashed through your mail slot.

For Europeans like me, this is something of a bitter pill: it means you damn cowboys will be browsing the mobile web on the iPad a full three days before Apple even announces the European pricing and release dates. The only solace? This hopefully indicates that the WiFi and 3G models will be available simultaneously in Europe.

Update: Apple is assuring existing pre-order customers that their existing iPad 3G orders are still coming in late April. The May 7th date only applies to new orders.

Thank you for your recent order of the magical and revolutionary iPad 3G.

We would like to confirm that your order will be shipped in late April as communicated at the time you placed your order. You will receive a confirmation notice when your order has shipped.

[via Engadget]

A variety of circumstances, all of them terribly uninteresting, have prevented me from commenting on the recent introduction of iPhone OS 4 hot on the heels of the iPad launch. Since I’ve missed the window, I’ll keep the big picture thinking short: I think Apple has done exactly what it needs to maintain its lead in mobile operating systems. I wish I had it now. I will be annoyed if paid apps get over-run with iAds, but I don’t think such paid apps will sell well enough to survive.

But there’s a lot more to discuss in the details, and here, I have one big quibble with iPhone OS 4 – and it’s also a strength of WebOS and Android. Why haven’t notifications been fixed yet? If you own an iPhone, you know exactly what I mean. As you browse the web, or play a game, or even compose an e-mail, a blue box with white text pops up in the middle of the screen, letting you know about an imminent appointment, an incoming text message, a bill due through Mint.com, or even a Facebook friend request from your high school nemesis.

Looking for something to play this weekend? The amazing rogue-like RPG, Sword of Fargoal for the iPhone and iPod Touch is free to download for today only. I bought it for $4.99 a month ago, and it was worth every penny.

Fargoal going free is serendipitous, since this is an especially good time to grab the game: a new patch adding a chunk of new content is imminent, and the developers have been firmly committed to not just expanding the existing game, but evolving it in fresh new ways as well.

Mid-way through what turned out to be be a pretty weak episode, the third in the latest series of Doctor Who broadcast by the BBC this evening, we were treated to something unexpected: new Daleks.

And not just any old Daleks, oh no. These ones sport sleek curves, unibody enclosures, and come in a range of fashionable bright colors. They are, unmistakably, iDaleks, designed by Apple in California, built in a BBC warehouse on the outskirts of Cardiff.

It wasn’t just me that thought so. Within moments of their appearance on screen, Twitter was buzzing with iDalek comments. This gallery of concept art has more iDalek pics; and this PDF of an old-school Dalek in full Second World War attire is worth downloading. Weak story aside, the episode was worth watching for the best line – a wartime-green Dalek yelling: “WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME TEA?”

After one of the longest waits in the Intel era, the MacBook Pros were updated Tuesday complete with a migration to the new Intel i5 and i7 architecture. In addition to the CPU update these new top-end notebooks feature better battery life, and the ability to switch from integrated to high performance graphics on the fly. We here at the Cult managed to get our hands on one of the top-dog 17 inch i7 models on Wednesday have have been putting it though it’s paces.

Follow us after the jump for out first impressions and a detailed rundown of the King of the Hill’s real world performance.

From Too Big To Fale.

A clever Craigslist capitalist is selling these cool iPad stands for $10. Says the ad:

This is a nice elegant portable durable plastic iPad stand to use either when using a Bluetooth keyboard or when watching a video or photo slideshow in vertical or horizontal position. The stand can easily be packed to take with you, unlike cumbersome wire stands or docks. It puts the iPad at a great angle for viewing and has a nice contoured shape which will not scratch your iPad. The beautiful black color blends in with the iPad the best out of any stand we have seen for a sleek professional look.

Made in the USA!

$10. cash. and I have a few of them available.

But here’s where to get them for just $0.69:

Note: This is a guest column by David Yoken, founder of Macuity, a Boston Apple consultancy, who discusses the joys of providing IT and repair services to machines that “just work.”

Just got off a call with an architectural firm for whom we set up a brand new server last week. The typical conversation I have with clients is amusingly formulaic, and this one was much of the same:

Me: How’s everything going with your new server?

Customer: It’s really wonderful. We haven’t had any problems, and the transition has been nearly seamless.

Me: Super! I’m glad things are working out. I suppose now would be a good time to talk about a service and maintenance contract and schedule for your new equipment.

Customer: Well, we probably can handle most everything on our own. Apple makes it so easy, so we’ll be fine!

Me: Oh, umm…, absolutely! How about remote monitoring or help desk services?

Customer: Yeah, sure, but you probably won’t hear from us much on that end either. I think we can take it from here, but thanks!

Above: Mark Fiore’s “Learn to Speak Teabag” cartoon, which Apple considers too objectionable for the App Store.

Thanks to a stink in the press, Apple has called Pultizer Prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore and asked him to resubmit his rejected app, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Apple initially rejected Fiore’s political satire app because it ridiculed public figures, which is against the App Store rules.

Although a few small, private colleges have rushed to adopt the iPad — pledging them to incoming students before they were even in stores — several big universities have delayed adopting them for at least a few semesters.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Princeton, Cornell and George Washington universities have deferred admission of the iPad for students.

Princeton and George Washington decided to wait over security issues; Cornell is concerned over connectivity and bandwidth.