This is the kind of attention-grabbing nonsense reportage that gets picked up and passed around the net so much because of its amusing nature that it enters the public consciousness and becomes common knowledge despite not having any basis in actual fact, changing the image of the subject forever. That said, this one’s too good to pass up, so we mention it here too. Heh.

I’ve read reports that complaining of the harsh edges of its top case, but this is a first. Someone actually got cut by the sharp edge of, allegedly, a Macbook Air.

This used to be one of those well-worn jokes going around after the MBA was introduced, but somehow it’s actually happened. A user named Bajuware from a German Mac user group reported that his arm got cut up by the edge of a Macbook Air, although it doesn’t seem too clear if it was really an Air or a regular Macbook Pro that attacked him, which changes the whole issue from poor design to just a defective user. (The original post is here, if you sprecken sie Deutsche.)

This now brings up a wonderful opportunity for reactionary alarmists to try and get the Air banned or taken away from, say, kids and clumsy German Mac users.

The fact is, anyone can get cut by anything, if he tried hard enough. I mean, a No.2 pencil can poke an eye out, but it’s still in the hands of billions of children the world over, right?

Even if the Air is eventually deemed dangerous for public use, I think I’ll risk it. Mainly because my Mac is my main tool for breadwinning these days, and I’m not about to let it go. Besides, it’s also great to know that I can actually slice the bread with it as well.

I was expecting this, but not in this way. Not on the iTunes Store, for goodness’ sake.

American Idol aspirant Renaldo Lapuz, a Filipino who caused a riot of sorts with the hosts of American Idol Season 7 by WilliamHung-ing his way into the spotlight with his white feathered costume and self-composed ode to Simon Cowell, is now a free music video on the iTunes Store.

Oh dear God.

It was amusing at first to the MacADoodlers in the Philippines, where MAD is made, and where Lapuz was originally from, but it was particularly amusing for the Doodler himself, as Lapuz’ previous job for 13 years prior to moving to the States, he discovered, was as a public tricycle driver in Sikatuna Village, where the Doodler lives. No wonder he looked familiar.

AI gave him lots of airtime, and Simon himself predicted sarcastically that Lapuz’ song, We’re Brothers Forever, would be the next hit. Well, it’s here. A free 7-min video, all of an 83mb download, from the iTunes Store. Get it while it lasts.

Another sign that the end times are nigh.

I’ve always wondered about the people endlessly tinkering around with the demo units at Apple stores. What the heck are they doing? Playing games? Surfing? Emailing?

Well, we know what one person was doing - writing a book.

Isobella Jade, an aspiring commercial model, has actually written her memoirs without owning her own computer. She’d write bits and pieces on demo units inside an Apple Store in Soho, New York, saving the files to her Yahoo account in email form, day after day. Isobella says she’s too poor to buy her own iMac, so she mooched off the Apple Store until her book, Almost 5′ 4″ was finished.

I remember one of my favorite writers, Harlan Ellison, who as a publicity stunt wrote one entirely while inside a store display window where you could watch him work from the street. Isobella’s stunt is more sneaky, though.

Her book has been self-published, but she has signed over the world rights to The Friday Project in the UK, and a commercial version of Almost 5′4″ will be available next year.

How she did it, and an interview with the author, is over at the Mental Floss blog.

(And man, here I am with 5 computers, and I can’t even finish one. Sheesh.)

No, it’s not exactly a phoned-in thing.

Engadget reader Claude M. proposed to his girlfriend Doris by painstakingly producing a faux-Apple iPhone iProposal ad and then showing it to her. She said yes. Don’t you just love geeks?

Watch the iProposal here.

A portrait of Steve Jobs at home during leaner, meaner days 25 years ago. During this time in his life the Apple ][ was king, and he would appear for the first of his (so far) six appearances on the cover of Time Magazine.

Of this portrait, Steve said

This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that’s what I had.”

(via The Digital Journalist; photo by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Diana Walker from her book The Bigger Picture: 30 Years of Portraits)