1) The Ultimate Case

iPad cases are already a dime a dozen, but Happy Owl Studio has come up with some of the best I’ve seen. The Wallet Deluxe ranks so high because it succeeds in making the iPad the center of your life, adding an accordion portfolio with room for folders and just about anything else you want to carry. It also happens to be a very attractive product, available in blue and red (known as the “Clutch” model) for ladies, or brown and black for men. No pricing is available yet for this one.

2) The Artist’s Best Friend

Sketchers and painters already love the Pogo Sketch from Ten One Design, and the company is touting it now for iPad users, too. It’s easy to see why this stylus is so popular: it glides smoothly across any capacitive touchscreen, offering multiple levels of pressure. The Pogo Sketch turns your iPad into a sweet pen tablet, and it’s the best one on the market. Price: $14.95.

3)  The Eco-Friendly Frame

If you have a pretentious house right out of Architectural Digest, Vers’ hand-crafted wooden iPad frame gives you just the right way to turn your tablet into a stylish coffee table accessory. The back also doubles as a TV dinner tray. (Not really.) Price: $79.99.

4) The Ball Speaker

Behold: the GrooveBassball, or as I like to think of it, the world’s best way to annoy every other passenger on an airplane. This little bauble, which looks not entirely unlike a yo-yo, hooks into your iPad to output dynamic sound and, as the name implies, bass. It recharges via USB and will play continuously for three hours. Assuming your flight lasts that long. Price: $29.99.

5) The Aquatic Assistant

You know how it is… You work in an aquarium, but you need easy access to your iPad without you know, drowning it. Enter the WaterGuard waterproof case. It’s a plastic bag that guards your iPad, that you can still use your device through. Plus, for a guaranteed appointment with the office bully, wear it around your neck using the adjustable strap. It’s like a pocket protector for the 21st Century. Price: $19.99.

6) The Bouncing Balls

If there are far too many women asking you out on a regular basis, just attach these four rubber iBallz to the corners of your iPad, and your very essence will scream, “I am a genetic dead end! Do not bear children with me!” Price: $14.99.

7) The Grandma Sweater

Remember the iSock? This knitted beauty is the same basic idea, just a larger size. Bonus points for cleverly resembling an iPad, both front and back. Price: $50.00.

It’s a nice video, anyway. Highly impractical, but then who said that experiments like this had to be practical? We’d never have “will it blend” if that was the rule.

So, who’s going to try it with potatoes? Or, hum, apples?

Click to see the video. If you can’t wait to see the answer, it takes 2,380 orange slices to charge an iPhone (slowly).

The older Apple notebook computers may not have been the most environmentally friendly on the planet, but some resourceful types have created a functional timepiece from their defunct iBook G4 instead of just chucking it on the scrapheap.

In fact, I wish I’d seen this before I had to get rid of my iBook.

As you can see, the screen portion, with iconic Apple logo, is the clock face, while the mouse is the pendulum.

Assembling clocks in this manner isn’t too difficult, so you could probably use any old laptop screen to achieve this. However, there’s something special about using an Apple machine.

More useful and long-lasting than the funny little transparent Apple logo stickers you seem to get with every Apple product.

Via

A few highlights of the iPad:

• iPhone apps work on it.
• Full screen mode
• 10 hours of battery life
• Apple’s own processor; 1GHz Apple A4

When the presentation was done my Twitter stream sprang back to life with lots of comments, mostly people questioning the lack of Flash support, lack of multitasking and just overall complaining that the iPad is below their expectations. My opinion on this is, Apple makes great products but they are not almighty, they cannot satisfy everyone’s need in one product and still keep the price reasonable.

The biggest complaint against Apple products has always been “they are too expensive” well now they are giving you the so much awaited tablet starting at 499 dollars. You get a superior design, a super fast tablet according to John Gruber who had hands on experience at the presentation. You can browse the web, listen to music, watch movies, read e-books, create documents, presentations, e-mail, play games, etc.

Lets take the Kindle DX for example, for 489 dollars you can browse Amazon’s bookstore, buy books, read them and take notes. That’s it, for 10 dollars less then the cheapest iPad you get to do those four things on the Kindle with no touch screen. Apple will compete with Amazon with their own iBooks store. Five of the six major publishing houses; Macmillan and Hachette Book Group, Harper-Collins, Penguin and Simon & Schuster have signed a deal with Apple. Only Random House hasn’t…yet. You will get the same shopping experience in the iBooks store as in the iTunes store and a nice library on your iPad.

The iPad will also be supporting the open ePub format in contrary to Kindle who have their own proprietary format. This opens the door for smaller publishers and individuals to sell their e-books in the iBooks store if Apple allows them, which seems the logical thing to do. It would open the market more for Apple against other e-book readers.

Did I mention that the iPad has the ability to manually drag a page like you do with real books? Beats clicking a button to browse pages.

Then you have the HP Slate of which we don’t know the specs of, we only know what it looks like, that it runs Windows 7 rather then Windows Mobile and that it also has a full multitouch screen. The design is nothing as sleek as the iPad. I would rather walk around with the iPad that weights 0.68 kg than with a boxy HP Slate that looks like it weights 1 kg.

Considering the HP Slate will be running Windows 7 it will probably run MS Office on it. Now I wonder how fast that could be? Even on a regular computer you need quite some RAM and CPU to run Windows 7 and the latest MS Office smoothly, keyword here people, “smoothly”. And you would probably multitask too on the HP slate so I predict a remarkable slow down of the system and fast battery drain.

Apple’s prime reason for not offering multitasking is to prevent the system being slow and to keep the battery from running out too fast. They even re-did the entire iWorks suite to be intuitive and fast on the iPad, this shows that they really invest in speed, intuitive interface and long battery life.

Then we have the issue of 3G. The iPad will use the newest sim card, the Micro SIM also known as 3FF-card. In the US only AT&T offers the Micro SIM which makes the fact that the iPad is SIM lock free a moot point. But T-Mobile will probably introduce the Micro SIM soon in the US and thus be competing with AT&T. This is only a temporary setback, it’s not hard for providers to start using Micro SIM so my guess is that before the year’s end AT&T will have competition for data plans on the iPad. I find it too soon to already form a full opinion on this. Right now it’s an AT&T market only but with still two months before they start selling the iPad anything can happen.

My conclusion on all this is that Apple released a great product, not perfect but pretty great for a first generation release. The apps that will be released will make the experience of the iPad better, just think about all the times you cursed the small screen on your iPhone when trying to read or do something.

As for the Apple users being underwhelmed by the iPad I subscribe that to being spoiled by Apple, they keep wanting more and more. Some people were so disappointed I was like “What? do you want the tablet to be able to cook for you and make your bed?”.

Regarding the lack of video and camera I quote Franky from Blogging Pro

“Do you want to be the moron recording video outside, holding a 10″ high tablet in your hands? I know I don’t.”

So people get some perspective, we are still two months away from sale. If you paid attention during the presentation Steve Jobs demoed websites with Flash on it showing a clear plug-in missing icon I find this suspicious. Software wise a lot can change between now and in two months. Even so with the hardware specs they aced it pretty much with this first release. It can only get better from here on with new app releases and software updates.

And closing up do read about the accessories that will be available for the iPad, especially the keyboard will be very useful.

Apple iPad product page

It displays 15 common knots, but instead of using rope it uses various bits of iPhone cabling, including the headphones, dock and USB connectors.

Are you a lucky person who has never had a pair of headphones tie themselves up in knots? It tends not to happen with more expensive headphones with slightly thicker wires, but smaller earbuds and thinner wires always seem to get caught up in themselves, no matter how carefully they’re put away.

Ford’s point is that Bluetooth comes with every new Ford car. While this isn’t Ford’s only ad, it’s interesting that the influence of the iPod is so strong that it has deemed it worthwhile to make a point of it.

I rarely use my original iPhone buds any more, and I’ve got one of those little clips that you can wrap the wire around to stop it getting tied up. I don’t recall my cabling ever getting tied up quite as neatly or as identifiably as the pics in the ad.

Via

Yes, it’s a much more closed system than the likes of Android, for example, but an iPhone user’s experience of purchasing apps via iTunes, either from the phone or on a Mac or PC, has still been much better than many other systems.

What has let the side down is the quality of apps available in the Store, made worse by the sheer quantity of them.

New analysis from the Facebook mobile app store Mplayit has found that consumers don’t really care how many apps a certain platform has, but what they are and whether they’ll fulfil a certain need.

‘How many apps?’ is the wrong question,” said Michael Powers, CEO and founder of Mplayit. “People just want to get the job done. It doesn’t matter if there are 50 different to-do list apps on iPhone, because Android or BlackBerry just need a couple of good ones to make consumers happy.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, apps that can work across various platforms tended to do particularly well in the popularity stakes, with top apps including Evernote (Lists and Notes category) and Pandora Radio (music category).

mPlay it, which uses Facebook to display a range of applications available on each smartphone platform, is aiming at those people who may wish to switch mobile platform without giving up their favourite types of application.

It seems many consumers just want to do a few things on their phone, and to do them well. Sure, us geeks probably tend to examine every aspect of a phone and its software, but the masses maybe care rather less.

Apple may try to convince the general population that there’s an app for just about anything on the iPhone, but most just aren’t after that many.

The handset itself is still pretty important. I’ve used similar apps on an iPhone and a BlackBerry, and let me tell you the BB experience was horrendous. That’s why manufacturers need to ensure their hardware and interface is as good as it can be so users get a good app experience.

The Steve Jobs-led Cupertino-based company pushed out a number of products, and while not all were raging commercial successes, they all exuded that certain “Appleness” that fanboys love and competitors try not to admit to but are secretly green with envy about.

So here, in no particular order, are my top ten Apple products from 2000-2009.

You’re bound to disagree with some, if not all, of them, so please leave your own thoughts in the comments below.

iPod

Although it feels as if the iPod has been around forever, it was in fact introduced in the October of 2001.

The beginning of the decade saw a wave of white earbuds being worn on public transport, increasing as Windows-compatible iPods became available and as the number of different iPod models increased and popularity soared.

Though criticised for tying users into the iTunes software and for heavy DRM on tracks bought from the store, there’s no denying that the iPod has been one of Apple’s biggest successes of all time, propelling it into the mainstream consumer electronics market where before it had relied the small market share of its line of computers.

There have been six generations of standard (now referred to as classic) iPods, with an increasing feature set including larger colour screens, video and downloadable games.

Additionally, a range of other media players were spawned off the back of the iPod, including the Shuffle, Nano and Touch.

Typically expensive, other media players often offered more features and better sound quality for less money, yet the Apple faithful (and many new converts) continue to buy iPod in all its variants. Many even stick to the standard white earbuds.

iPhone

A top Apple product list wouldn’t be complete without the iPhone.

Rumoured for ages before its eventual release in the summer of 2007, it has arguably done to the mobile space what the iPod has done for portable music players.

While many well-established cellphone manufacturers continue to push out a myriad of different handsets, hoping to appeal to a wide section of the population, Apple has to date launched just three iPhone handsets: the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS, all with increasing functionality, network connectivity and speed.

Though Apple has been criticised both for some hardware decisions (non-removable battery, initial proprietary headphone socket) and business ones (locking to one mobile carrier) the iPhone has been a phenomenal success for Apple.

Power Mac G4 Cube

The Cube was not one of Apple’s greatest successes but it was certainly an eye-catcher when it launched in the year 2000.

The Cube measured just eight inches cubed and was suspended in a ten-inch tall acrylic enclosure.

This wasn’t a machine you bought if you were going for the highest specification G4 available, as you could get more powerful (but visually less interesting) Macs for less money.

However, in a world of beige PC boxes (and let’s not forget that Apple itself made some pretty lousy-looking boxes in the ’90s) it was a breath of fresh air.

Not the only one, of course, as in the 2000s we also saw the…

iMac G4

The iMac has been through a whole host of changes, from the all-in-one G3 iMacs in a range of colours through to today’s Quad Core iMacs, but for me this was the first iMac that had me drooling.

It featured a fully movable display and a hemispherical base in which all the other components were stored, plus a front-facing optical drive.

Not only did it look fantastic but it also had its own range of Pixar-created TV ads.

The iMac G4 was definitely the Mac to be seen with, particularly if you were working in a design agency or other creative profession.

Power Mac G5

Though Apple has come under fire for its claims surrounding the speed and performance of the various chipsets it has used, it’s hard to deny the power of the Power Mac G5 line of computers.

Definitely aimed at the power-hungry professional, and including a dual core version, they were 64-bit computers with a rugged, anodised aluminium chassis.

The Power Mac G5 was the last in the line of professional Macs based on PowerPC architecture, superseded by the Intel-based Mac Pro.

Cinema Display 24″

Apple has created some fairly impressive displays over the years, but the 24-inch LED-backlit model, designed to complement modern Mac laptops, is one of the best.

Yes, you can get the incredible 30-inch cinema display, but this display not only features the latest LED display technology but also a range of complementary features such as iSight camera, MagSafe connector, USB hub, speaker system and built-in microphone.

A great display when you’re ready to work at a desk, or hook it up to a Mac Mini and use it as a TV.

Mac Mini

Ahh yes, the Mac Mini. Perhaps the evolution of the Cube, it has spanned the PowerPC and Intel gap, first released in 2005 with a G4 processor.

It was always promoted for its small form factor, and while it wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as some of Apple’s other Macs, it could certainly be hidden away or placed on a small section of desktop.

It is fairly well suited for use in a home theatre setup and is an interesting machine for users to upgrade.

OS X

The big cats of the Unix-based Mac OS X began roaring in 2001 (1999 if you include the Server version) and have progressed through Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard.

Moving to OS X for the new millennium was a far from pain-free process, not least for many users who were used to System 9.x (or earlier) operating systems and whose software relied on it.

However, it’s probably been one of the best software moves Apple has made. It has made transitioning to Intel-based hardware a lot easier, offers a high level of reliability and security, and allows easier Windows compatibility for those that need it.

With OS X, Apple has created and continues to develop an OS and variants that can be used across a range of its hardware including the latest iPods, iPhone, Apple TV, as well as its line of desktop and laptop computers.

iMac Quad Core

I’ve picked the latest iMac because it’s both powerful and beautifully designed.

I must be honest, I’m not a great fan of all-in-one systems, despite having picked two of them for the top ten, but I’m going to make an exception for these babies.

Grab a 27-inch LED-backlit display and a 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and put it all in a seamless aluminium casing and you have one heck of a computer.

Apple has proved that, while the really power-hungry user may still want to invest in a Mac Pro, prosumers will still get an amazing system with the latest display and processor technology with an iMac.

MacBook Air

Touted as the thinnest, lightest notebook of all time when first launched, the MacBook Air has been imitated and criticised, but it continues Apple’s commitment to seamless, visually appealing design in both its desktop and notebook computers.

Granted, you have to pay a lot more money for a less powerful system than you’d get from a MacBook Pro, you don’t get an optical drive or a lot of expansion options, and Apple continues its policy of non-removable batteries, but it’s still not hard to fall in love with the Air.

So there you are. That’s my selection of ten Apple products from the last decade. What’s your favourite?

Get your daily Apple fix at the Apple Gazette.

I succumbed for a short while and used a crappy outdated version of Microsoft Office on an old iBook I’d inherited, but other than that I’m MS free.

I’m glad Microsoft shunned the Mac when it comes to browsers — the last version of Internet Explorer I used on a Mac was so appalling it made me cry.

Depending on what mood I’m in when people send me Excel and Word documents, I’ll either tell them to send a PDF or I’ll just open it up in Google Docs.

My Mac has no trace of Redmond-based trash on it, so why on earth would I want my iPhone littered with it?

OK, I did install Seadragon Mobile but, quite honestly… what the hell is all that about? Nice concept, maybe, but it never worked.

Microsoft has a grand total of two applications in the app store, and that’s a couple too many as far as I’m concerned.

Now there are rumours of Microsoft bringing MSN to the iPhone. (Yes, I know that article uses the word “confirmed” but it also uses the phrase “sources close to” which in my world means it’s still speculation)

That’s not all, either. A whole host of Windows Live apps could be winging their way to the iPhone in 2010.

Microsoft might herald the wonder of its Windows Mobile operating systems (of which there are two versions — typical Microsoft simplicity…) but it still wants a big slice of Apple pie.

If I really want to IM on MSN, I can use a third-party app. After all, “there’s an app for just about anything” — and it’s already been developed by someone who isn’t Microsoft.

Hey, I never said I hated Microsoft, OK? (I can tell you don’t believe me).

Anyway, do you let Microsoft near your Apple products?

A West London school is trialling the use of iPhones to aid in teaching, and good luck to them I say.

A group of student volunteers have been lent iPhones and have to pay around £10 ($15) per month for the cost of calls. They are then able to use them in the classroom to aid in group discussion and learning.

Thanks to the range of applications, plus access to the Internet, it’s possible to learn all manner of things via the iPhone. The news report I watched showed students enthusiastically viewing the Periodic Table and the works of Shakespeare on screen.

It’s a far cry from when I was at school (not that long ago, thanks very much).

We were lucky to get one computer between two or three — and that was in the IT Lab. Computers in every classroom? Forget it.

Oh, and mobile phones hadn’t been invented.

Many schools ban mobile phones from the classroom, or even the school, because it can be distracting, but it’s definitely well past time to see the benefit in using mobile technology to aid teaching.

One unnamed critic believes that “learning by computers has not yet been proven”. Funny, that. I’ve been using computers for twenty years and I’d say I’ve learnt a great deal. Much of that time was pre-Internet, too.

It’s very easy to look at the negatives of technology and the Internet, but far more beneficial to spend some time creatively looking into helping kids learn using the gadgets they’re already using every day.

Don’t burn the books, or close the libraries, or stop kids visiting historic sites and going on field trips, or teaching them how to write, or add up without using a calculator — but don’t use poor excuses to stifle innovation.

Kids that want to learn will use the technology well. Those that don’t want to learn are going to use gadgets whether or not it’s sanctioned. At least this way, they might still be educated.

(Photo credit: LizMarie)

Firstly, you can forget about using your iPhone or iPhone 3G because, for whatever reason, the camera just can’t do video.

Let’s face it, it can barely do photos.

Even if you’ve got the iPhone 3GS, you’re still stuffed, because the camera is in the wrong place. It’s on the back.

As if the Apple faithful hasn’t put up with enough from Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile lovers, we’re now forced to look on and drool at those with handsets that are actually built to allow two-way video communication.

(Forget the fact that not many people really care about video chat, except those who are trying to sell themselves — when did you ever see anyone except Steve Jobs using or even demonstrating OS X’s iChat video conferencing?)

Yes, fring announced today that they’ve upped the game with a new version of the software that allows video calling over Wi-Fi (not 3G, of course, partly because 3G coverage and speed is generally so poor).

The company obviously thought iPhone users wouldn’t want to suffer the indignity of using a handheld mirror in order to initiate a two-way video chat. Perhaps the idea of your friends and family seeing you in mirror mode would freak them out. It would certainly look weird when you’re sat on a crowded train trying to conduct a two-handed video chat.

I’m sure the concept of using a mirror with the iPhone for this reason was already discussed early on in the handset’s life, which begs the question as to why Apple hasn’t yet built in two cameras — one on the same side as the screen for conferencing use and the other for shooting video and photos.

We might even get a decent primary camera out of Apple.

Fring.com

The iPhone has had its fair share of criticism from those who say the virtual keyboard is too difficult to type on, or that people with fat fingers or long fingernails have difficulty using it. It’s not the only large screen phone to suffer this kind of feedback, but it certainly gets a lot of it.

Since Apple introduced the landscape oriented keyboard across more applications in a recent firmware update, things have got better, but it seems a solution is still needed for those who love the iPhone but don’t get on well with the keyboard.

Enter 4iThumbs, a clear overlay that sits on the iPhone’s screen and acts as a tactile keyboard. Its makers say that it can stay on the screen all the time, even when the keyboard is not in use (which is a lot of the time, the way I use my iPhone), and it increases the speed and accuracy of text entry, and allows for ‘blind’ typing.

It also acts as a screen protector, if you don’t already have one on your iPhone.

You can decide to buy either a portrait, landscape, or dual mode version, for between $14.95 and $19.95.

If you’re already used to the iPhone’s keyboard you probably won’t need this device, but it’s not a bad idea if you’re transitioning from a phone with a real keyboard.

What I’d really like is an external keyboard that can be docked, or operates wirelessly over Bluetooth, much like the one I used with my Palm PDA many years ago.

4iThumbs.com

Good thing for us, we can find all sorts of gadgets and toys to lessen the headache that traveling can bring. Here are some of my favorites – some I have and more on my wish list.

1. Apple iPod or any mp3 player. I was having second thoughts about writing “any mp3 player” as most people I know will not accept anything but an iPod, but the point is to have music to soothe you or to pump you up while waiting for your flight or while you’re trying to get over your fear of flying.
2. Kindle or any other e-book reader. I do not have a Kindle, although I wouldn’t mind getting one this Christmas. What I use is the PSP, and it works perfectly well. There’s nothing like reading to pass time!
3. Netbook. A MUST. It combines the functions of items 1 and 2 plus more. Having a netbook handy can help you tune out the crowd as you watch movies, surf the net, write, listen to music, or play a game. I also like to lug around my USB wireless Internet dongle with me as I have no assurance of access to the Internet everywhere I go.

And what’s on your geek travel bag?

You’ll need:
2 vanilla pods
500ml double cream
70g sugar
3 egg yolks
How to make it:
1. Cut each vanilla pod down its length and extract the precious seeds. Add the pods only (not the seeds) to the cream and boil it.
2. When the mixture is boiling, add the sugar and stir.
3. Find a large bowl and whisk three egg yolks.
4. Stir the double cream mixture into the egg yolks.
5. Now take the mixture and pour it into another bowl, through a sieve.
6. Stir in the precious vanilla seeds.
7. Find a dish suitable for the freezer, and place the mixture in the freezer.
8. Wait 2-3 hours.
9. Take the ice cream out of the freezer. Take a flat knife and chisel the Apple logo into the top of the frozen ice cream. Announce it to your guests with the phrase, “One more thing…”

Up there’s the recipe from Crave, which apparently is part of Steve Jobs’ effort to get better after his much talked about illness. I wish I could be given these kinds of recipes for health reasons as well!

For more geek recipes, visit the whole article by clicking on the link above.

Alright! Marvel fans. This it, bring some of your favorite Marvel Comics characters without worrying about accidentally folding or damaging you Marvel collection. The iPhone App Comics has just gone public and is now a free download from the iTunes Store, and it brought along some of your favorite Marvel Comics available for in-app purchase from the iTunes Store.Some of the great titles that are currently available include – Joss Whedon’s 24-issue run on Astonishing X-Men, Robert Kirkman’s five-issue Marvel Zombies miniseries, Ed Brubaker’s first 30 issues of Captain America and two other X-men related books, X-23 and six issues of X-men:Age of Apocalypse . Comic prices ranges from $1-2.

If you want some other sources of Marvel Comics for your iPhone there are to others out there including two “motion comics” which are sold directly on iTunes. These include Spider-Woman and an adaptation of Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men.

via

Call it sheer geekiness or simply the lack of anything productive to do, but these two guys certainly deserve some credit for working on thees iPhone costumes. You might want to emulate them and create one that you can wear on Halloween. Who knows you might scare away your friends or neighbors who are still using the BlackBerry or Android Phone.

Incidentally, these two were the same guys who did a similar iPhone costume in 2007. So, definitely it was a 1st gen iPhone costume and lacks the current version of the costume’s LCD TVs plus actual car batteries to power-up them up.

And like I said, despite the lack of productive purpose, these two guys still deserve some accolades because those costumes weighs 85 pounds. You can just imagine how burdensome it would be to wear those costumes.

In case you’re wondering, those LCD screens are not touchs enabled. It would been great if they are.

via TUAW

I guess it will appeal to those who still use paper and pen for some things, or perhaps for those who want to design some funky new app backdrops while on the move and without their Mac laptop and iPhone SDK.

Considerably cheaper than the gadget itself, you can get it for $18 for 300 sheets. This gets you decent quality 80gsm paper. Sure, you can buy cheaper notepads, but that’s never the case when it comes to anything Apple related, is it?

Product page (via)

If you’ve maxed out buying the iPhone 3G S and a heap of other gadgets, and have barely any money left to protect them, then the recession case claims to be the answer.

It’s made from cardboard, so when it falls off your iPhone it’s easy to recycle.

If you want to be even more environmentally friendly (or cheap), why not visit your local shopping mall and see if there are any old cardboard boxes going for free, then make your own. It’s not like you have to custom fit the cardboard to the nearest millimetre, after all.

Now, a bit of padded cardboard might protect your iPhone from minor drops onto softish materials, but it’s going to be literally rubbish if it gets wet, and as you can’t see through cardboard, don’t bother trying to use it as a screen protector.

I think I preferred it when people used their socks to protect mobile gear.

Product page (via)

OK, we know it’s just a really cool bit of animation from Manuel Eder, but what a concept if it was ever invented. It would almost certainly never happen because not only does Apple love the touchscreen keyboard so much, but it’s already squeezed in a hell of a lot into the iPhone casing, and there’d be no room for this keyboard.

Of course, using the internal circuit board as a screen stand might also not be the best method.

Never mind — this is a great piece of work. For anyone who really wants a keyboard for their iPhone, let’s hope someone brings out an add on.

Of course, Microsoft has been dissing Macs for a long time, mainly on the basis that they’re too expensive. Thing is, it’s hard to do that with Linux, given that it will run on exactly the same hardware (and in fact, less powerful hardware, too) as Windows bloated OS, and yet is available for free.

I guess consumers who are happy to go to Best Buy on their search for a PC aren’t really too fussed, and perhaps are more willing to trust the viewpoint of the sales staff.

Though Windows 7 is looking a lot better than its predecessors, Vista has really hurt Microsoft. I suppose it has to do all it can to ensure regular consumers don’t consider switching to an enemy system.

Via

The two devices have a similar shape, so were disassembled and then the iPod’s circuit board was connected up to the Apple Remote’s buttons.

There’s also some other clever stuff going on in there — without headphones it functions as the Apple Remote, but when the headphones are connected the device works like an iPod and automatically shuts off anything playing in iTunes on the associated Mac – though apparently it still functions as a remote which could get a tad annoying.

Anyway, it’s a cool little hack if only for its own sake.

Via

That space around the back of your iMac: what is it good for?

Not much, so why not put a BackPack on it: a sturdy little shelf that could hold a hard drive or even a Mac Mini (apparently).

They can be stacked up and rely on gravity and a couple of clips, so no damage will be done to the computer. There’s also the added benefit of ventilation for devices that need it.

Available for $29.99 each, or $149.99 for a six pack.

The MacBook Touch will be a fusion device, a mix of MacBook and iPod Touch/iPhone with a 9″7 touch screen.

There will be an iPhone emulator, functioning as Desktop widget. This will allow users to buy and use AppStore applications, but there wil be no option to make phone calls or send text messages. The first doubtful detail in the leak is that there will be no camera, which seems very unlikely considered how long Apple has been integrating the iSight in its devices already;

Downloaded AppStore applications will be allowed to be duplicated on the iPhone 3GS and only on the iPhone 3GS. Only one iPhone 3GS per MacBook Touch will be allowed to be synched in this way;

(Obviously) The MacBook Touch will ship with Mac OS 10.6, Snow Leopard. USB keyboards and mice will be functional, additional to the tactile keyboard;

There will be 2USB ports and 1 SD card reader. The MacBook Touch comes without optical drive but the SuperDrive known from the MacBook Air will be compatible
Further connectors are the MagSafe, audio port and Kensington lock;

Two different models will be available: 80GB hard drive (€849) and 120GB (€999);

Battery life will be 4hours which seems reasonable comparing the size of the device with the new MacBookPro and its autonomy. Obviously our mileage will vary deeply from Apple’s test;

A MacBook Touch dock will be announced as well at €79.

Disclaimer: This comes from the rumour kitchen and no confirmation has been made by Apple. The image is only for display purposes and the MacBook Touch may look totally different. Or may not be launched or have entirely different specs.
Sources can be labelled as a trustworthy little bird

Watch this little robot, apparently something that’s available to buy (somewhere) coupled with an iPhone 3G S. Let it wake you up, teach it movements, and watch it “dance”.

Not sure whether this big-eyebrowed smiley robot will ever make it into production, but it’s a cool little experiment.

Via

While not everyone might have a fascination for dictionaries, I suppose that we can all see the value in having one handy, especially for students. And for those who do not care much for the traditional “paper” dictionaries, the Oxford University Press is making an effort to reach out and share their expertise.

The Oxford UP has gotten together with WhiteParkBay.com to create versions of some of their most popular dictionaries for the iPod Touch and the iPhone. Some of these dictionaries are:

-Oxford Dictionary of Politics
-Oxford Dictionary of Law
-Oxford Dictionary of Computing
-Oxford Dictionary of Music
-Oxford Dictionary of Business and Management.

You can see the complete list of specialized dictionaries at www.dictionaryapps.com.

The interface of the dictionaries is pretty cool, making full use of the features of the iPhone. For instance, turning the device horizontally or vertically allows you to have different views – either a list of entries or the main entry plus detailed information.

These dictionaries are available at the App Store for $14.99 each. Not bad! After all, you can’t put a price on learning!

There’s not much to say about the game other than that it allows you to show off your bacon baking skills on your iPhone. And it’ll rip you off for $1.19. Dept. of Uselessness as far as I am concerned, not because we don’t like bacon here at FG. we love bacon, if used interestingly but this is just another stupid money costing app.

My finished wood ipod mini. This has been such a fun project for me. It’s handmade (with special thanks to my 8yr old dremel) from Australian red cedar, Camphor Laurel for the clickwheel, brass plates, brass screws and the guts from the first ipod i ever had.
I was given a new ipod mini for christmas and I just couldn’t leave my trusty old mini to sit unused somewhere. So I decided to finally try a wooden shell mod on him that I had wanted to do for a long time.

More photos at the Wooden iPod Mini set on Flickr.

Tomorrow, June 17th 2009, Apple servers will probably crumble under the huge amount of downloads when the iPhone 3.0 OS release is published. The hype around the new operating system for Apple’s Jesus phone is big. For the first time since the iPhone was released the phone will offer more standard features, features as we know them from competitor phones. Basic features such as BlueTooth and MMS.

I have been playing with OS 3.0 GM since almost a week now and must say that I enjoy the update. Sadly Apple’s phone will continue to be a crippled device and make my colleagues laugh at me whenever they want to share pictures or multimedia files with me.

Apple, get your act together and offer me decent, fully compatible BlueTooth features!

Unlike many you will not hear me complain about the update prices, I do tend to use my phones longer than only 12 months. I still am bound to a contract and to be honest it makes more sense to me to wait some more months than to upgrade immediately. If I buy a car now and the manufacturer updates the model next year, I will not buy the new one the day it comes out either.

What I do expect from my Jesus phone is to finally be able to connect to other phones and share files. I am aware of the possibility to send photos via email, or MMS at final last, but I also want to be able to finally send/share my music library. I did understand why BlueTooth was no option as long iTunes DRM’ed was, but now iTunes is DRM free. And many of us paid to upgrade our media to DRM free format.

I really wonder if these basic features are asked too much, especially now the new model, iPhone 3GS with video camera comes and even a compass on board has! I do not really care about a compass or voice control, what I want is fully fledged BlueTooth, FFS!

Note the new Voice recorder app.

More pics after the jump.

New icons for SMS, Phone and iPod

Horizontal orientation also in Mail.app

Copy and Paste

Shake to undo

Spotlight search phone wide.

MMS option for pictures

About this iPhone

Amazon UK has made a move that just might spark a “war” between online music stores. Yesterday, Amazon UK slashed its pricing on songs! We all know that one of the most popular online music stores is iTunes. In fact, I don’t think I have ever bought music from Amazon. That is why a lot of people are saying that this move by Amazon is actually a bid to attract some customers from iTunes.

With their current promo, Amazon is selling some of its top music downloads for a mere 29p! Compared to iTunes, you can make up to 70p savings on one song. Add that savings up if you buy lots of songs, and you make really considerable savings! Imagine having to pay only 3GBP for an album. Now isn’t that really cheap???

This move is really making waves everywhere. The Guardian even ran a feature on the promo, which by the way, is running indefinitely. Here are some of the tracks that you can get for 29p:

…Lily Allen’s The Fear and Lady GaGa’s Poker Face – to 29p.

On the bargain list, which spans pop, hip-hop, rock, classical and jazz, music fans can also find older tracks such as Oasis’s Wonderwall, the Dambusters March played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World.

I guess I am outta here – have to check the other tracks!

VRI Technology built in Logitech’s force feedback wheels and pedals to the smart seat chassis constructed from polished stainless steel, anodised aluminium fittings and a fully-adjustable seat.

It should work with Xbox, PS3 and PC and a variety of racing games. The rig is available now in the UK for ?699.99, with add-on accessories including the VR3 Gearshift Mount, VR3 LCD Stand, Logitech G25 Racing Wheel and Logitech Driving Force GT.

Take a closer look at the rig in our gallery.

Sold at about US$11.50 (and so cheap!) right here, the iPhone Stylus and Touchscreen Cleaning Kit cleans your touch screens with a special cleaning fluid from an internal (refillable) reservoir. You just flip the cap open, motion the sponge tip in a firm swirling action and see those fingerprints and other grime “wash” off.

Now if after cleaning you feel a little guilty using your fingers… this unit comes equipped with a courtesy stylus too. It also includes an indispensable nifty pin to help remove obstinate iPhone SIM cards. It just keep getting better.

This is a perfect spring gift for friends who are so clean with their stuff.

With today’s Apple’s iPhone 3.0 event and the wildest guesses about an Apple tablet circulating again, rumours the FG HQ does not believe in, no matter how many caffeinated drinks we enjoyed already this morning, we thought it was more important to announce Apple’s newest upgrade to an even simpler UI, thus simplificating the switch from Windows to Mac more even day.

The iMac Shuffle

No price has been announced yet, but we expect the price to be competitive with the new unibody MacBooks. Features and specs after the jump.

Amazingly Uncomplicated
Taking out the screen allowed us to make the iMac even thinner. Seriously, if we turned it to the side, you nearly wouldn’t be able to see it. We’ve also built in our latest technology – VoiceOver. We liked moving the iPod controls out of the iPod shuffle so much that we decided to replace the keyboard and mouse with the same elegant input device…our inline remote. With the combination of VoiceOver and the remote, you’ll never miss your old screen. Who needs all those colors anyway? We’ve enclosed a complete 72,000 page manual that will tell you everything you need to know about navigating using the remote. Using just those 3 buttons, remote, you can easily jump to any window, launch any program…edit multi-layered Photoshop documents, anything your heart desires, you can imagine doing.
Ports? Who needs those?
We’ve also taken out all of those unnecessary USB, Firewire and display ports. We always remove at least one useful port/storage device at random from each new Mac revision, so we figured that we’d just get a jump on ourselves and remove them all this time. Normally we replace them with a newer port/device (Floppy to CD-ROM, or DVI to Mini DisplayPort), but since we’re so far ahead of ourselves, we honestly just don’t have anything to replace them with yet. After removing them, we found that we enjoyed the clean lines of this smooth metal chassis so much that honestly, we just might not bring any ports back.
What’d we leave in? The power button and the bottom-facing speakers. That way you can hear the amazingly impressive Mac startup chime and VoiceOver in all its glory.

It’s the same iMac you love inside, with nothing to get in your way on the outside.

Any color you want…The choice is yours!
The new iMac shuffle is available in any color you want, as long as it’s silver on silver.

iMac Shuffle

Here’s a refreshing way to put the Mac Mini to the colorful road. A company online is offering to skin it for about US$199. I know, quite a little on the expensive end is it?

For those who don’t know, anodizing is a scratch resistant finish applied to aluminum that comes standard on most Apple computers. The only problem is, they don’t offer this finish in different colors. So to fix that problem, we now offer anodizing in a rainbow of colors and styles. Similar to plating, anodizing can be finished in a flat, brushed, or a polished look designed to make any color you choose stand out of the crowd. Mac Mini’s start at $199 USD.

Now we understand why it’s so expensive. If you need or are in the urge to color-up, I think this is the best you can get out there.

Claims about Steve Jobs’ health and the decision of the shareholders to re-elect the Apple Board throw a weird shadow on new releases and their _special_ features such as yesterday’s iPod Shuffle update.

With every new release it seems as if the actual Apple team decides to develop less and less for Joe Average but once more opts for their own little nice, a nice of hardcore fanboys and adepts.
The iPod Shuffle headphones conundrum and choice for the glass screen for the MacBook, as well as the decision to drop FireWire on the MacBook and the solitary position of the 17″ MacBookPro seem a clear message to its userbase.

Could it be that Steve Jobs has accepted that his days as CEO are counted but wants to leave Apple, Inc. leaving a battlefield behind: at one side the shareholders who obviously expect that Apple tackles the larger market now and from the other side, the products Steve Jobs and his team want to develop.
Why would Apple decide to launch the new iMac with the small keyboard and lock itself out of the corporate culture, the world of spreadsheets?

Will the new, planned, joint single Blu-ray license be the next step of separation? Can we expect an update to the MB and MBP or will only the MBP receive a BD-RW update after summer?

Their is no doubt that the corporate structure of AAPL split is at this moment. Shareholders obviously want the company to grow, continue it’s market share growth, but does Steve Jobs have the same aim? Does Jobs want to become the next Dell, biggest computer manufacturer and seller, or continue to develop high quality niche market products for a small group of users?

One is sure, Apple lately has decided to take things in own hands again and continue to force the user to be restricted, and _follow_ as Christopher Breen notes

But I’m not the target buyer for this device. If you walk along any city street, ride a subway or bus, or wander through the local gym, you’ll see that nearly everyone uses the stock Apple earbuds. It’s not that their ears are any more ideal for these things than mine, it’s just that most people don’t care or know any better. This is what I got, this is what I’ll use.

And what they get is what Apple decides they get, is what Steve Jobs decides you get. Get on with it.

Until the re-election of the Board.

Apple seems to be making raves around the tech video blog these days because they have just released their new version of the iPod Shuffle with a refreshing new design and one unexpected feature. Loaded with Natalie del Conti has scooped-out Cali Lewis of Geekbrief.tv with this release (though I’m sure they’ve got a quite different following anyway), but knowing Cali she’d bounce back with a fun take and a close-eye on the new iPod Shuffle. I wouldn’t be surprised if she would clip it to her nose as a gleeful gesture. She’s a Mac. :)

Well, ok… it’s still a clip-on (and I wouldn’t have it any other way) yet this time it seems to follow the shape a small clothes pin. I can tell you the iPod Shuffle has not seen any product revision and yes, it is really due for a re-design. Great for Apple because if they waited a little more, this product line may have seen the end of its life.

It comes in two colors only, as a debut, silver and black. It’s literally “faceless” except for the Apple logo because the usual controls were moved from the iPod itself to its wires. Hmmm… not too sure about this Apple, it may have been better off placed in the iPod Shuffle itself. Question now for everyone is… “so does this mean I always need to buy a replacement earphone set from Apple?”

Well, what’s really interesting is this new “Voice Over” feature. Somehow, Apple has squeezed a “voice” inside the new iPod Shuffle that can audibly tell you what the song’s title is and the artist name.

“Musically speaking, the new iPod shuffle is brilliant, thanks to an exciting new feature called VoiceOver. Say you?re listening to a song and want to know the title or the artist. With the press of a button, VoiceOver tells you as the music dips down. It even announces the names of your playlists. And when your battery needs charging, VoiceOver tells you that, too.”

It begins selling at Apple.com right now, at the moment they are accepting reservations. Unit price… about US$79.

Check out the features below:

- Smallest iPod shuffle ever
- 4GB of storage (up to 1,000 songs)
- Easy access controls
- VoiceOver – tells you song titles, artists, and playlist titles through your headphones
- Durable, anodised aluminium case with stainless steel clip