Tablets, iPads and eReaders are so ubiquitous, nerdy owners are employing extreme acts of graphic personalization to imbue their devices with unique geek chic.

Faaaalkooorr!! Almost every child of the Eighties holds a special place in their heart for The NeverEnding Story. The 1984 film spawned a pair of sequels and a TV show, cementing its hold on once-youthful imaginations and imbuing all who watched with the urge to ride a giant flying dog – OK, “luckdragon”, whatever.

Fans of the endearingly clunky, West German-produced fantasy film have grown into jaded adults but as Falcor famously advised, “Never give up and good luck will find you.” Yeah, tell that to Artax. Anyway, you can look up that and more on your tablet, ideally if its encased by a NeverEnding Story iPad / Tablet / EReader / Kindle Cover. Note the faux Auryn medallion affixed to the cover. Hey, it’s better than Nothing.

Hit The Button, Frank

Designed ideally for an Apple product like a Macbook or iPad and size-customizable by the seller, this MST3K adhesive vinyl decal features the familiar – to those in the know – silhouettes of Tom Servo, Mike Nelson and Crow T Robot in full-on movie-riffing mode. Now that Mystery Science Theater 3000 has been revived for a new run on Netflix, your robot roll call is as timely as ever.

Ultimate Zelda

The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s most successful gaming franchises though considering it debuted way back in 1986, it’s had plenty of time to accrue legions of devoted fans. This “Ultimate Zelda Fan Package” from Etsy seller SkinzNhydez includes a Zelda book cover, Zelda wallet, Zelda iPad case, even a Zelda belt buckle. All you need now is a girlfriend named Zelda… oh, wait.

Time McFly’s

Channel your inner Biff Tannen with this Back To The Future 2 iPad case, featuring the cover of Gray’s Sports Almanac 1950-2000: the book that brought our heroes from BTTF2 so much Griff, er, grief.

Seller Firebox kindly advises potential purchasers that while “this book tells the future,” it’s “not to be used to create a series of paradoxes that destroy time.” Besides, since November 8th of 2016 we’ve already been living in the darkest timeline, amiright?

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Cover Ups Geeky Ipad Tablet Ereader Case Covers

NYC subways are strange, dark and oft-overcrowded places where many people retreat into themselves and avoiding engagement, at least until these unusual (and invisible) creatures come along.

Artist Ben Rubin uses candid everyday photos of passengers as a canvass for an exotic cast of fictional characters that seem right at home in the public transit system of America’s largest city. His work is complex and detailed, but all rendered on a portable iPad device using the Procreate app.

One could easily imagine that the off-putting noises and smells found on subway trains would be tied to such a strange set of monsters and aliens.

In some cases, they seem to intrude on those seated next to them. In others, they unobtrusively wait in stations for a ride or look at maps, apparently puzzled about getting from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

For the artist, these works started as a way to pass the time on the commute but have become a method of engaging and layering ideas onto photographs outside of the subway as well.

Passengers engrossed in a book, listening to a podcast or zoned into a mobile phone game may not notice them, but these Subway Doodle creatures are there, at least in one man’s imagination. One has to wonder: if any of these really appeared, would the zombie humans around them even notice?

The Nolli Map of Rome is one of history’s most famous works of cartography, and now a new iPhone and iPad app lets you use it to navigate in realtime, helping you both lose and find yourself in one of Europe’s most marvelous ancient cities.

Finished in 1748 after 12 years of research  by Italian architect and surveyor Giambattista Nolli, this innovative map represented a novel approach to figure-ground representation. Streets and open public spaces were, for instance, predictably depicted as voids against a backdrop of solid hashes, but so to were enclosed civic spaces like the Pantheon.

The original engraved city map consisted of 12 copper plates spanning 40 square feet, and, at the time, was the most accurate representation of the city to date. Honoring that tradition, this digital experience replicates many original features and details from the vintage original.

So why would you want to tour modern Rome with a centuries-old map? Its creator, Martin Koppenhöfer, explains that “despite its age, this map is still very valid for most parts of the Roman center.” He also notes that “it is quite entertaining to find your way with this app. Pedestrian navigation is very different … you don’t have to know every street or turn, just go into the right direction.”

Think of it as part walking tour, part adventure and part historical education. Using an old map to navigate a city lets you find things that might have otherwise escaped your attention. It also allows you to distinguish between more permanent fixtures of the historic built environment and more contemporary changes and additions. If you lack a compatible device for the app, you can also check out an online interactive (but less mobile) version of this iconic map.

“In designing the present edition,” Koppenhöfer elaborated in and interview with WebUrbanist, “we have spent great care with the aim to be as close to the original as possible regarding the labeling and the structure of the directories. Therefore the app reproduces in the indices on the left side of the map exactly those types in the exact order and (to the contemporary reader occasionally appearing outmoded) notation as provided by Giambattista Nolli in his indices. By selecting an entry you will be led to the corresponding location on the map. You can also browse by tapping on one of the numbers on the map to see what it is about.”

The original version is meticulously adhered to, providing an updated digital experience while maintaining original notes and styles. “The explanations of the signatures and line styles,” says Koppenhöfer, and “hatches and selected abbreviations are reproduced in their original form (see “Legend”). You can access Nolli’s original spelling of the indices, legend, and other signs at the bottom of the English version in Italian language.”

Fantasy architectural structures inspired by M.C. Escher provide a playful setting for a fun iOS puzzle game called Monument Valley. Even if you aren’t big on playing games on your phone or iPad, it’s worth checking out just for the dazzling structures alone. Each architectural landscape is like a painting you can interact with.

The object of the game is to solve sculptural puzzles to rescue Princess Ida, a little girl who needs to reach the top of the monuments. “There was once a princess who fell in love with geometry,” reads the press kit that comes with the game. The makers of the game include programmers with an interest in art, and artists with knowledge of programming, bringing these two worlds together to create a game that’s truly a visual wonder. Everything in the game works mechanically, but also looks incredible.

“The idea of the project was that every screen could be a work of art in itself,” says designer Paul Wong. “And so we work really hard – I think it’s a different way of approaching making a game. Every screenshot could be printed out and hung on a wall.”

The more of the puzzles you solve, the more of Ida’s story and that of the abandoned Monument Valley you unveil. Some of the individual levels of the game are so complex, they took months to complete. Monument Valley is available via iTunes for $3.99.

Technology comes full circle thanks to an iPad and a creative usage of Lego blocks. Oslo-based designers Jason Kinsella and Charlotte Bakken recreated a classic 1984 Macintosh computer with a modern twist, turning the light and sleek tablet into a bulky retro monitor.

The stop-motion film above shows how the technology/toy mashup was created, complete with a floppy disk slot and old school Macintosh logo.

The iPad simply slides in from the side, making the Lego housing a cool-looking place to dock the iPad so you can read or watch a movie.

The project brings Apple back to its early years, emphasizing how the brand has evolved over the past three decades. Of course, the Lego monitor is actually much smaller than the original, since it has to accommodate the comparatively miniature screen of the iPad.