Laser-etching to hit big with MacBook-toting hipsters?

Having trouble standing out while conspicuously using your PowerBook or MacBook Pro in public lately? It used to be that the glowing Apple logo was all it took to announce to everyone at your local Starbucks that you "Think Different." But times are changing and as the Apple brand becomes more mainstream, Apple laptops will only become more ubiquitous. What's an OS X-loving hipster to do? Adafruit Laser Services in New York has a solution: use a high-powered laser to etch an image onto the lid of your MacBook, the back of your iPod or any other metal surface. You might remember the girl who had ads etched into the top of her MacBook Pro in order to help pay for it, well, this is essentially the same procedure that she used. Check out CNET's photos of some newly-etched laptops--including Kevin Rose of Digg fame's MacBook Pro--to scope the head-turning results. If enough laser-etched laptops start popping up, it might even spur a new trend. As Kevin Rose puts it,  "It feels like a tattoo, and now I feel like I need to get more."

For more on the next big thing, see:
- CNET's photo spread and article
- and Adafruit's website