You'll Think I'm Nuts

What I’m about to write is totally true. It’s also, I think, impossible. But I have screen shots to prove it.

I ran this by my Mac guru, Will Collier, first, and he was just as perplexed as I was. So what’s the big mystery? My iPod controls my laptop. Magically. Let me explain.

A few weeks ago, I picked up Sims Pool for my 5th generation iPod. A fun little time killer, I thought. It’s also possessed or something. Plenty fun, but it has a minor bug. After I exit a game and go back to regular iPod mode, whatever font Sims Pool uses (it looks like “Calibri”) becomes the system font on my iPod. Which is kinda cool, because I like it better than the default font.

But then I noticed something really strange. If my Macbook is running nearby when I play Sims Pool on the iPod, then the fonts all change on the Macbook, too. Click the thumbnail image there to see the full-size, completely unretouched version.

Look. I don’t sync the iPod to the Macbook — I keep my music library downstairs on the iMac. I don’t even ever plug the iPhone into the Macbook. The Macbook is on the wireless network, but Bluetooth is switched off to conserve battery power. And anyway, the 5th generation iPod has no known wireless connectivity.

And yet it happens. I haven’t tested for distance yet or other things yet. Does the iPod need to be the same room? Does it just need to be within range of the household wireless router? What if the Macbook is asleep? Don’t know the answer to those questions. I know only two things: It’s not possible, and it happens every time.

Any Mac experts out there have an explanation? If you don’t believe me, I’ll snap more screenshots and send them your way. It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen a computer do, and I’m including that time my old Commodore 64 managed to pummel the keyboard right off a TI-99.