The recent East Coast earthquake that caused the evacuation of the 5th Avenue Apple Store acts as a convenient backdrop to a cool new app from Suitable Systems called SeisMac, which uses your MacBook’s various built-in sensors to monitor vibrations and display them in real-time.
Although not able to reach anywhere close to the level of precision that an actual Seismograph can reach, using your Mac’s sudden motion sensor to measure vibrations is nonetheless an interesting concept, and it is rather sensitive, capable of even seeing your heartbeat if you lay your laptop on your chest.
Cool stuff – I have given it a brief try and found it to be interesting, though ultimately not terrible useful. You can get more information or try it out for yourself at this link.