Whether you love it or hate it, can you neutralize the hallmarks of a brand? That's what designer Sebastian Müller asked as he molded this concrete creation meant to bring Apple's pH levels to 7.

The ZeroMac, a 10 cubic inch concrete block, is an enchantingly useless size that's "too big to carry but too small to sit on" (as summed up by Core77). It can't download music, and its edges are too rough for one of those close-up hands-on commercials. The ZeroMac is good for no single purpose and it could be mass produced by absolutely anyone with a few pieces of wood and an hour of time.

But maybe the design was a bit of a failure, because while the ZeroMac may be useless, I think an actual (functional) computer suspended in a seamless concrete cube would sell like hotcakes, from Apple or anyone else. [Sebastian Müller via Core77]

It's impossible not to love the concept of doubleTwist, the all-devices-welcome quasi-iTunes music manager, but up to this point the software has been pretty barebones. Now, things are gettin' ser-i-ous: doubleTwist has a built-in music store, courtesy of Amazon.

To put this into context, doubleTwist debuted not just as an alternative music manager for people with or without Apple players, but as a giant, coded jab at iTunes, Apple, and the way they do business. After launch, DVD Jon, who created doubleTwist, spent a few months waging a small-scale PR war, hanging Apple-baiting banners in San Francisco and parodying their famous "1984" ad. With Amazon MP3 store integration, that ad's promise—to "bring you choice"—has come true, and it's worth a thousand PR stunts

As has been the case with every other aspect of doubleTwist, the music storefront looks like a simpler version of the one in iTunes. Navigation and searching are about as simple as they could be, as are downloads, which only take a few clicks. The whole experience will be familiar to anyone weened on Apple's bloated beast, apart from a few things: Amazon's album prices are often lower than iTunes', and of course, you can immediately sync any music you download—there's only music, by the way—to practically any device you own, be it a Pre, a BlackBerry, a Sandisk, an iPod, or whatever.

The first version is Mac-only and tied to Amazon's US store, but Windows (and international) versions are on their way. [doubleTwist via Techcrunch]