It’s no secret that Apple struggles to keep new product and software releases under wraps, often going to great lengths to ensure that employees don't leave the building without signing a binding contract that forbids them from even uttering a word about a project they're working on. Despite rumors circulating various tech sites and fastidious bloggers posting overly Photoshopped pictures of what they claim to be a brand spanking new Apple product, the company has always managed to keep its blueprints under wraps and away from the media (at least until it’s time for a keynote).

This type of business strategy has only kept the faithful wanting more. And they’ll try to get more, even if more may not exist. “Apple Anticipators”, as we’ve so endearingly dubbed them, cause chaos and commotion among a variety of Apple blogs and websites, claiming to have the first evidence of the company’s most recent endeavor. Just days ago, Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com, pulled this same stunt, lifting photos from various websites and claiming to have “exclusive” knowledge on the brand new 4GB iPod nanos. The result? Mass pandemonium. in spite of of Rose’s history with spreading deceptive rumors, bloggers and fanatics everywhere were left wondering What if he’s right?

It’s safe to say that anyone can come up with his or her very own Apple rumor. That’s why we’ve comprised “How-to Create Your Very Own Pre-Keynote Faux-Pod.” And if you succeed in this attempt, maybe you’ll even become an internet celebrity!

 

1. Before you begin concocting your rumor, you’ve gotta make sure the product is something that Apple fanatics have been anticipating—nay—yearning for. Something ridiculous like an iCar (preferably manufactured by a high performing German automobile maker) always makes for a seemingly outlandish claim (as long as it gets “Dugg”!).

Or perhaps, if that is a bit farfetched (as it is obviously improbable), go the preferred route and announce that Apple is releasing a lightning fast 20GB iPod nano with spy shots from the Apple headquarters.

 

2. The next step is to produce the photographic evidence of your discovery. This could be difficult to procure especially because the discovery does not actually exist. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll stick with the iPod rumor prototype. This should be easy, since everyone has an iPod (well, everyone except for Mac|Life’s intern...).

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Find yourself an off-white, light colored desk; taking a picture of the device in an area as thus suggests that you were in an actual lab. Place the iPod peripheral on the table (a 3rd generation Nano works well), making sure to include things like an Apple keyboard and an Apple mouse, or any other Apple product you have laying around the house. This will make it seem like you were at Apple headquarters, snooping around for the scoop!

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Snap a few pictures with a digital camera (the fewer the megapixels, the better). Upload the photo to your computer and open it up in an image-editing program (Photoshop or Gimp works best). Begin lacerating! Take the marquee tool, selecting only the scroll wheel, then copy and paste it as a new layer. Go back to your original layer and select the body of the iPod, stretching it out so that it resembles an older-generation Nano. Merge the layers.

 

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3. Hopefully, your cell phone is a camera phone (preferably an iPhone—and if you don’t own one, you have to seriously get with the times. Seriously.). Launch the photo capture utility on your phone and take a photo of the screen.

Upload the photo of the “photo” to your computer, and save the image as a JPEG at the lowest possible setting. That way, the image will appear warbly and blurry. If anyone questions the legitimacy of your photo, explain that it isn’t an “official” photo. No one can question the validity of the photo, because they know that Apple wouldn’t even release official photos to the media. You are clearly a badass for succeeding at such a feat.

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For extra points, use the application PhotoInfoEditor, to add geotagging data so that it looks like your picture was taken at Apple Headquarters.

 

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4. Post your faux-Pod on a forum you've spent some time on. Someone who posts a spy pic in their first post, raises a lot of flags. Now get every high-traffic Apple blog to show off your investigative findings! Get your friends, grandparents, second cousins, and your LARP brethren to “digg” your news article. How exciting! Now you can show everyone what you’re really made of. That is, manipulation and deceit…

 

5. All for naught! Your find has obviously earned you an official “internet celebrity” membership. You can gloat about it for awhile, but remember that your Apple find will eventually get bumped out of the roster (see also: RSS feed) with the real thing.

 

Got a sweet image you've created you want the world to see? Post it in the comments below, or shoot us an email.