Here's an update iPhone fans might really enjoy. ZodTTD has posted a new video on his website, showcasing a controller mod he's set up. It's an SNES gamepad adapter modded to work with the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Specifically, it's an SNES gamepad used to control snes4iphone. See the video after the jump!

A dev team from Scotland's University of Glasgow has released a proof-of-concept application that will enable you to "feel" the buttons on your iPhone every time you use its keypad for your routine activities. It's still highly experimental, though, so we advise you to view the full article for details on this matter

Download: HapticKB v1.0

Harmonix's iPod rhythm game called Phase has been getting a lot of coverage lately. Why wouldn't it considering that it allows users to use music from their own personal collection. Well, did you know that this was originally designed for the PlayStation Portable? Check out the full article to find out more about this.

Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler, founders of 2D Boy, are the creators of the 2008 Independent Games Festival finalist (IGF), World of Goo. In their interview with Gamasutra, they talk about how they were able to create such a game, their opinions on the state of the independent game developers, and their thoughts on the game itself.

What they had on their minds after the jump!

Apple's new hobby is being tailed by other hobbies, and the iPhone might be more the gaming platform than Apple would have originally conceptualized. A search at Google Code, a project site not very different from SourceForge, revealed a project entitled "iphone-sdl-mame," which was created to port SDL MAME to the iPhone.

 

MAME, or Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, provides a machine the capability of emulating arcade game hardware using just software. It has been ported to several platforms already, be it proprietary or open platforms. Personal computers are a favorite target platform, but even consoles have had their share of MAME ports.

But now, it appears even the multi-capable iPhone will get to emulate arcade games, although issues of control interfacing and performance will undoubtedly come to mind. Not to worry, however: the project hasn't touched that stage yet, and the MAME prototype is still 'coming out of its shell' - in a manner of speaking.

As of press time, only kasiersoze staffs the project. Here's to hoping other MAME encoders appear from the Internet undergrowth and lend a helping hand.

By way of the US Patent & Trademark Office, we've picked up some interesting info on a prototype Apple gadget that the company has just filed a patent for. The new patent is for what appears to be a "Mouse with optical sensing surface":

A configurable mouse with an extended sensing surface, which provides the mouse a customizable, programmable or adaptable way of generating inputs, the mouse including an arbitrarily shaped grippable member having a 3D shape, a position detection mechanism that detects the movement of the mouse along a surface, a multi-point touch detection mechanism that detects one or more objects that are contacting or in close proximity to a substantially large portion of the grippable member, and a controller for processing signals generated by the position detection mechanism and multi-point touch detection mechanism.

In layman's terms, this means we're looking at a possible multi-touch mouse in the near future. Not much else is said about this new design patent - we'll just have to wait it out until Apple decides to provide more details for this news. A most timely patent announcement, given that Microsoft recently released information on their very own touch table...

 

It seems that an Xserve prototype found its way to through Apple's tight net and landed on the lap of an unsuspecting AppleInsider reader. And what does he find out? Lo and behold: It's a SATA RAID prototype!

Well, particularly striking is the six fiber-channel interface right behind the Xserve chassis which confirms the six indicator lights available in front of the chassis. Unfortunately, the unit is only half complete, as it is missing one other RAID controller for seven additional devices and six more fiber-channels.

The mysterious machine, dubbed as "Q57," is only known to hold as 512 MB of RAM and 1 Terabyte of storage space either over four storage drives or 1 TB multiplied by four, plus 2 Gigabit fiber channel. The prototype firmware is recognized, but somehow not activated for configuration. SATA will provide for better RAID performance and cooler temperatures but Apple may forgo the release of a SATA RAID option and head right to a Serial Attached SCSI-based prototype.

The Xserve, having served Virginia Tech in their supercomputer initiative, might get the right overhaul over their fiber channel weakness. And it's right about time it did.

You may read more on the details of the leaked prototype by clicking the Read link below.

Come mid 2007, expect the launch of the Apple Mac Tablet PC with Docking Station. According to reports, the company researchers have now built a full working prototype of the product.

This soon-to-be newest addition to the Apple family tree is designed to handle third party application, like home automation software. This will enable the user to control the lighting, audio, entertainment devices and security feeds, as well as having a wireless linking for a new generation of Wireless Hi Fi speakers. These are also said to be still under testing by Apple.

The docking station accompanying the tablet PC will allow it to link to screens with HDMI input. Also, it will have an additional memory capability, thereby allowing you to stream content to the tablet PC. Or, you can also stream to the docking station, or straight to a media center.

For now, there are no other details regarding this product. But rest assured we'll keep you updated, so just keep it posted here.

There's been much talk about Apple's big media event on September 12. And yes, there have been rumors, lots of rumors, about what they're going to reveal next week. What will it be, really? A new product in the whole iThis, iThat, iFranchise? American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu has an idea.

Their research has shown that an Apple smartphone has moved from concept stage, to prototype, to testing, and to what could now be nearing completion as a production unit. An Apple smartphone? Yes, it seems as if its already been under development for twelve months now, with Apple trying to produce the right blend of cell phone and media player. And Wu has provided us with a rather detailed account of what we could expect:

"The design will be an iPod nano-like candy bar form factor and come in three colors (we are not certain of the exact colors but we suspect black, white, and platinum, similar to Apple's current color scheme of iPods and iMacs)."

Errr... "Candy bar form?" Well, it definitely sounds intriguing, and all we can do is sit and wait patiently for Steve Jobs to finally spill the beans by next week. Still, an iPod-phone will definitely revolutionize the mobile-media-device arena, and we're definitely keeping our fingers crossed for this.

A new service has launched by Wrappers called "Arty". Arty will let you screen your favorite images on the front of an iPod cover. The service is simple: email your picture to the company, and it will be converted to a stitched pattern. They will then email you back with a prototype in which you will have seven days to approve it, and a price tag from£32.

?iPods are personal and I liked the idea of a cover being closer to a tattoo; something I could think about for a while before deciding what I wanted and that I wasn?t going to swap, in the same way that I wouldn?t swap my iPod,? says Wrappers owner Freddie Procter.