iPod designer Tony Fadell takes on thermostats with Nest Labs

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="250" mce_src="http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5608/nestthermostatshot.jpg" mce_style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;" src="http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5608/nestthermostatshot.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 8px; max-width: 640px;" width="225" />Tony Fadell, Apple's former Senior Vice President of the iPod Division, oversaw iPod and iPhone development between 2001 and 2009. Ten years after his most iconic project first saw the light of day, the "father of the iPod" has a new product: Nest, a home thermostat that's smarter than the average bear.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Nest is a new breed of home thermostat that Fadell has developed with partner Matt Rogers, who led an engineering team at Apple's iPod division in 2009. Mike Matas, formerly of Delicious Monster and Apple, contributed to the design.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> "It's a thermostat for the iPhone generation," says Fadell. Aside from its striking looks and color-coded, digital display, the Nest thermostat boasts impressive features. For example, a motion sensor notices if there are people in a room and adjusts its temperature accordingly. It also learns your habits and preferences, so there's no programming to be done.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Even fine-tuned adjustments of just a few degrees can make a big difference for consumers and the environment. The New York Times notes that each degree cooler (in winter) or warmer (in summer) a house is kept translates into a 5 percent energy savings, according to experts. John E. Bowers, director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency at the University of California, Santa Barbara, likes the idea of using an smart device to monitor those adjustments. "There is a huge amount that can be gained in homes, and an intelligent thermostat could be a great opportunity," he told the Times.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Nest will ship sometime in November at US$250, via the company's site and Best Buy's website. It certainly looks cool, but what would you expect from "the father of the iPod?"</div> </div> </div>

iPod designer Tony Fadell takes on thermostats with Nest Labs

Tony Fadell, Apple's former Senior Vice President of the iPod Division, oversaw iPod and iPhone development between 2001 and 2009. T...

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Griffin TechSafe Locking Case + Cable Lock keeps your iPad 2 secure

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="185" mce_src="http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/1615/techsafele.jpg" mce_style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" src="http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/1615/techsafele.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 8px; max-width: 640px;" width="456" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Mobile devices like the iPad, the iPhone, and the iPod touch have one unfortunate trait in common -- they're very easy for someone to steal. With the great demand for the iPad 2, you will want to keep it locked away somewhere or take it with you everywhere just to keep thieving hands off of the device. Now Griffin Technology has announced the TechSafe Locking Case + Cable Lock for the iPad 2 (US$79.99), a way of locking your iPad to a desk or table to make it much more difficult for it to be stolen.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Design</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Compared to some of the beautiful cases I've had the pleasure to review, the TechSafe Locking Case is very plain. But it looks and feels sturdy, and that's what you want when you're using the case and the included cable lock to keep your iPad 2 from walking away.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Gallery: Griffin TechSafe Case for iPad 2</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <a href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511881" mce_href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511881" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" mce_src="http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3025/techsafe1thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3025/techsafe1thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a><a href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511880" mce_href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511880" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" mce_src="http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/2447/techsafe2thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/2447/techsafe2thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a><a href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511879" mce_href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511879" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" mce_src="http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/8426/techsafe3thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/8426/techsafe3thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a><a href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511878" mce_href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511878" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" mce_src="http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3182/techsafe4thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3182/techsafe4thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a><a href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511877" mce_href="http://www.tuaw.com/photos/griffin-techsafe-case-for-ipad-2/#4511877" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" mce_src="http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/1612/techsafe5thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/1612/techsafe5thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a></div> </div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The case slides apart for easy installation of the iPad 2, with the top frame sliding off of the bottom frame. You drop the iPad 2 into the bottom piece, then slide the top frame back on. The result is a very solid case. On the back of the bottom piece are two rectangular bumps. These not only add an area to help you grip the iPad 2, but each has a small indentation that can be used to expose a fold-out stand. One of the stands props the iPad 2 up vertically in landscape orientation for watching movies, while the other is useful when typing on the iPad.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The lock is the niftiest part of the setup. Griffin's TechSafe Cable Lock design makes it possible to secure laptops like the MacBook Air that don't have a Kensington lock port. To do this, Griffin created a hardened steel "LockBlade" that slides into the small opening in the hinge area between the screen and keyboard of the MacBook Air. The included cable lock has a hook on it that fits into a hole in the steel LockBlade, securing the laptop to the cable and to a large, immovable piece of furniture.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> On the Locking Case, the LockBlade slides into a slot on the case. That keeps the case from sliding open and connects it to the cable lock. It's a smart way to reuse the Cable Lock technology on a different type of equipment, and it wouldn't be out of the question for Griffin to even extend this to a Locking Case for iPhone 4/4S and iPod touch. In situations where you want to keep those items from walking away, a case like that could come in very handy.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Functionality</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The TechSafe case is very well made. All of the pieces in this puzzle need to fit together perfectly, and the case slides onto and off of the iPad 2 easily. If you have another case that you love to use with your iPad 2, but you'd like to secure your iPad in a hotel or conference room while you're eating dinner or partying with friends, just slip off the other case, slide the iPad 2 into the TechSafe, slide in the LockBlade, and clip on the combination lock.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The stands are very usable and well placed on the case, and I found the "bumps" on the back of the case to be perfect for getting a good grip while carrying the iPad 2 around.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Now, my one concern. Although this is a security case and it's a pretty good one, it would take a determined thief with the right tools only a few seconds to get the iPad out. What tools? A small pocket tool like a Leatherman with a built-in saw would rip right through the plastic, making it a cinch to pull out the LockBlade and walk off with the iPad. However, in most situations a thief may overlook anything that has a lock attached to it simply because it takes time to work on it. This deterrence factor will probably help you more than the plastic than the case is made out of.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> I do recommend that buyers look at one more piece of equipment that Griffin has developed to work with the cable lock and case -- the $19.99 Locking Security Clamp can help you in those situations where you can't find a suitable piece of furniture to lock your iPad to.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Conclusion</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Griffin's TechSafe case and the cable lock are the right product at the right time. For those who need a way to secure an iPad to a table or other piece of furniture, it's a reasonably-priced solution and a heck of a lot less expensive than replacing an iPad.</div> </div> </div>

Griffin TechSafe Locking Case + Cable Lock keeps your iPad 2 secure

Mobile devices like the iPad, the iPhone, and the iPod touch have one unfortunate trait in common -- they're very easy for someone...

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Millennial: Android beats iOS in ad impressions, Apple top manufacturer

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" border="0" class="aligncenter" height="146" mce_src="http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/8307/millenial812.jpg" src="http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/8307/millenial812.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="274" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Millennial Media is a mobile ad network that has tracked mobile ad impressions for the last few years. The company released its Q2 2010 statistics which is its 50th overall report. To commemorate this achievement, Millennial compared quarterly statistics with a look back at the mobile industry since 2009.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Similar to other metrics, Millennial's ad impressions in June 2011 show that Android is the top platform with 54% of total ad impressions. iOS is in second place with 26% of ad impressions and RIM slides into third place with 15%. This is a reversal from March 2010 when iOS was leader with 70% of ad impressions and Android had a mere 6%. Regardless of whether you like Android or not, that is a huge swing in Android's favor in little over a year.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> On a manufacturer basis, Apple is the leader with 30% of ad impressions. Samsung is in second place with a 14.9% share, and RIM is in third with 11.7%. These numbers are much different from 2009 when Samsung held a commanding lead with 21.6% of ads. LG was second with 12.5% and Apple was third with 11.3%.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> For individual devices, the iPhone was the leading device in 2009 with 5.8% of ad impressions and it retains its title in 2011 with 16.1%. Surprisingly, the BlackBerry Curve is #2 in 2011 (it was #3 in 2009). The remaining 2011 handsets are dominated by Android with the Motorola DROID (2.95%) and the Nexus S (2.71%) as the reigning Android champs.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Another little snippet shows that the iPod touch and the iPad are the top two connected devices on the mobile ad network. The Galaxy Tab is #3. Touchscreen devices are also growing in popularity, rising from 33% of all devices on the ad network in 2009 to 60% in 2011.</div> </div> </div>

Millennial: Android beats iOS in ad impressions, Apple top manufacturer

Millennial Media is a mobile ad network that has tracked mobile ad impressions for the last few years. The company released its Q2 201...

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Nintendo shareholders revolt, demand Mario & Co. on iPhones

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="239" mce_src="http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/8706/051303warioworldwario05.jpg" src="http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/8706/051303warioworldwario05.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="270" />Bloomberg is reporting that Nintendo shareholders are growing irate with the company and its president, Satoru Iwata, after shares of the company hit a six-year low. Nintendo has seen slouching profits in recent years as mobile phones like the iPhone and other devices like the iPod touch have quickly become must-have portable gaming devices. Shareholders say the company should begin porting its catalog of titles to devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Android phones, something Iwata says won't happen as long as he's in charge.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Nintendo's attempt to push back against smartphone gaming -- the Nintendo 3DS -- flopped causing the company to cut its price by 40% in Japan. With smartphones selling more than ever, and a majority of apps for the iPhone being games, there's no sign of smartphones as the new mobile gaming platform of choice abating. That spells bad news for Nintendo and other makers of dedicated portable gaming platform like Sony.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Another way out of Nintendo's slump if Iwata continues to refuse to port Nintendo's game portfolio to non-Nintendo devices would be for the company to acquire a successful iPhone game developer. That way Nintendo could at least have a presence on the iOS platform while keeping its classic portfolio of games and characters for Nintendo-only devices. Short of doing either of those things it doesn't look like even a real life Mario can save Nintendo's future.</div> </div> </div>

Nintendo shareholders revolt, demand Mario & Co. on iPhones

Bloomberg is reporting that Nintendo shareholders are growing irate with the company and its president, Satoru Iwata, after shares of th...

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Apple quietly rolls out updated recycling program

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-83854" height="82" mce_src="http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/4310/applerecyclebanneraug11.jpg" src="http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/4310/applerecyclebanneraug11.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="apple_recycle_banner_aug11" width="336" />Apple has prided themselves in doing something for the environment, such as making sure that their products are made from materials that do not harm the environment, such as the lack of certain chemicals. They have also a recycling program, which until recently required the user to pay $30 if they sent in a product for recycling, or for free if they bought a Mac at the same time.,</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:yIl2AUoC8zA" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:yIl2AUoC8zA" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3316/36671758.gif" src="http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3316/36671758.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:qj6IDK7rITs" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:qj6IDK7rITs" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/8831/13129410.gif" src="http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/8831/13129410.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:gIN9vFwOqvQ" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:gIN9vFwOqvQ" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/443/67946795.gif" src="http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/443/67946795.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:-BTjWOF_DHI" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=-bGzIiEpOow:Ql15W3B7D9c:-BTjWOF_DHI" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6651/45081366.gif" src="http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6651/45081366.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a></div> </div> </div>

Apple quietly rolls out updated recycling program

Apple has prided themselves in doing something for the environment, such as making sure that their products are made from materials that...

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EA founder rehashes 'Apple will falter without Steve Jobs' and other memes

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="135" mce_src="http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/483/stevejobsipad32811.jpg" src="http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/483/stevejobsipad32811.jpg" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; height: 225px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 8px auto; max-width: 640px; width: 300px;" width="180" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> In a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Electronic Arts founder and current Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins gave his opinions on Apple's App Store and the company's post-Steve Jobs future. In the process, Hawkins managed to cram several tired Apple-related doom-and-gloom memes into only a few hundred words. Let's do a checklist and see how many we can find.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Apple is "closed," and closed is bad:</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Yep, right in Hawkins's opening remarks.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> "I think it would be an incredibly positive thing for the industry if Apple decided to support all of the web standards, because then Apple could be the best about everything. Right now they make a conscious choice. They want you to be in the App Store rather than the browser, so they cripple the browser."</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Odd, my iPad doesn't feel particularly "crippled" when I use it to browse the web. Neither does my iPhone. Hmm, what could Hawkins possibly mean?</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Apple is a big meany boo-boo head for not supporting Flash Player in iOS:</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Ah, there it is.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> "Flash can actually make a really good game, and with HTML5 you can't do that. But give HTML5 another few years to mature, and that could solve the problem. Or Apple could be more generous about deciding to support more de facto standards like Flash, or at least let it run its course."</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Look at the statistics for mobile video and try to convince me Flash hasn't already run its course. As for games, I'll take a native app that doesn't slow my iPhone to a standstill and chew through 2/3 of my battery in an hour over a Flash-based in-browser game any day. The idea that Apple's ditched Flash because it wants to control the iOS experience is correct, but not for the reasons Hawkins and others have provided. In an interview with Adobe's CEO a couple months ago, Walt Mossberg pointed out that he hasn't used<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">one</span>smartphone that provided him with a positive experience with Flash Player, and Mossberg has pretty much used them all. Apple's "generosity" only goes so far, and anyone who expects the company to sacrifice positive user experience to placate third-party vendors is fooling themselves.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> But that's far too logical of an argument, and logic has no place here, because...</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Steve Jobs is a tyrant, and Apple is a dictatorship:</span>Variations on this constitute the bulk of the Edge interview's excerpt. Hawkins is certainly in a position to know about Steve Jobs's personality traits -- he used to work directly with Jobs -- but where this crosses into meme territory is Hawkins's insistence that Apple as a company is directly tied to the whims of a tyrannical dictator. It's the same story we've heard thousands of times before: Apple is the Chocolate Factory, Steve Jobs is Willy Wonka, and every other soul in Cupertino is a faceless Oompa Loompa without any input into the direction of either the company's products or its overall future. Sure, that's<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">exactly</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>how a business consisting of thousands of individuals becomes the most successful tech company in history. Right. Speaking of which...</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Apple's growth is unsustainable:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>This is the kind of thing that people used to thinking about Apple as a scrappy underdog like to repeat like a mantra. Hawkins isn't any different.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> "If you look at any institution in history -- look at the Roman Empire -- anything in history, and what it looks like when it's peaking. Look at Apple, and how can you say it's not peaking? The CEO is still alive, let's start there. They invented this tablet thing that's going to be really big. They've done really well by reinventing the phone. They breathed new life into the Mac. They've got this super-high marketing. All these things are about as good as they ever can be -- how much better can it really get?"</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> I'm no history major, but even I know that the Roman Empire was already in a centuries-long decline before the Visigoths trashed the place. And if Apple is peaking as Hawkins says, I'd love to see which numbers actually support that theory. Virtually every quarterly financial statement from Apple over the past year has had the word "record" somewhere in the first paragraph. Apple takes in the majority of profits from the smartphone industry while having a relatively small slice of overall market share. It's the same story with PCs; Apple dominates profits in the $1000 and up category. The iPad dominates the tablet market to an even greater extent than the iPod ruled the mp3 player market.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Apple's overall worth as a US-based company is second only to Exxon, and Apple's even closing in on them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Exxon</span>, the company responsible for pumping liquid gold out of the ground and transmuting into the life's blood of modern society. And as a widespread meme from last week points out, Apple's cash reserves recently bypassed those of the US Treasury.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> You might look at all this success and conclude that Apple has nowhere to go from here but down. But the only way to do that is to completely ignore the past four years of financial data. If Apple was truly peaking, the influx of dollars would be slowing down, and its profit graph would be either plateauing or declining. The thing is, that's not happening at all. Not even close. But what about the future? Get ready for another meme.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Without Steve Jobs, Apple is doomed:</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>How many times have we heard this one? I've lost count. But here we go again:</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> "The thing is, it may take another year or two before it starts to decline, but it has to -- everything does. Everything revolves so much around Steve, and no matter how good his lieutenants are, they're not Steve. None of us is going to live forever, though I hope he lives for a really long time."</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Steve Jobs got the ball rolling on this, yes. But even while he's been on extended medical leave, Apple's momentum hasn't slowed. Like Hawkins, I hope Steve Jobs will be around for a long time, but Apple will not wither on the tree without him. Apple as a company is nothing like Microsoft, where all the forward-looking vision and drive to succeed went out the door with Bill Gates. Steve Jobs has surrounded himself with fellow visionaries, and that's the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">real</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>key to Apple's business success. The idea that one man and only his ideas has made Apple what it is today might make for a compelling David Fincher film someday, but it doesn't jibe with reality.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The only way I see Apple facing the kind of decline Hawkins talks about, even without Steve Jobs at the helm, is for someone to start<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">deliberately</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>mis-managing Apple and its assets. How else is a company sitting on a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">$76 billion pile of cash</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>supposed to decline? Don't answer that.</div> </div> </span></div>

EA founder rehashes 'Apple will falter without Steve Jobs' and other memes

In a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Electronic Arts founder and current Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins gave his opinions on A...

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Apple patents flat keyless keyboard

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="90" mce_src="http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/7201/applepatentapplicationk.jpg" src="http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/7201/applepatentapplicationk.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="120" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Apple has patented a new flat keyless keyboard concept, which promises a future of computing in which we will never have to actually physically<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">press<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>a key ever again.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Apple's new idea for a virtual, flat keyboard is clearly a development of the current keyboard design on the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad. Yet what will speedy touch-typers think of the promise of a future without hard keys?</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The latest patent filing from Cupertino shows the idea for a virtual, flat keyboard for Apple's Mac laptops and iMac desktop lines.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Piezoelectric wizardry</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The patent details how the flat Apple keyboard will be constructed from metal, plastic and glass, using piezoelectrics, haptic feedback and acoustic pulse recognition.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The new Apple keyboard will also feature an LED-lit display (for typing in the dark) and capacitive sensors for your fingers to enjoy Apple's various multi-touch functionality.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Website Patently Apple was first with the info on Apple's new keyless keyboards, noting that the new flat surface keyboard might include a haptic or tactile feedback mechanism to let the user "feel" something on the tips of their fingers when they have hit a particular key, to take the place of old-style mechanical switches or buttons.</div> </div> </span></div>

Apple patents flat keyless keyboard

Apple has patented a new flat keyless keyboard concept, which promises a future of computing in which we will never have to actually ph...

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Diamonds plus nano plus watch equals this $18k monstrosity

<!--CONTENT START--><br/><br/><img alt="Zshock iPod Nano bling bling bling" src="http://img863.imageshack.us/img863/6382/nanodiamond.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 8px; width: 585px; height: 439px;" /><br/><br/>There is, it has to be admitted, a market for diamond-encrusted Apple products. Having the good taste to buy something magical and revolutionary doesn't necessarily mean you have good taste full stop.<br/><br/>So, for those of you with more (way, way more) money than sense who live at the blingier end of the Apple marketplace, we present the ZShock Lunatik iPod nano watch case (the clue's in the name). Yes, for a mere US$18,000 and a three- to four-week wait, ZShock will "hand-set the diamonds into pave settings on the white gold watch case" of your iPod nano watch, Boy Genius (who seems to quite like this, strangely) tells us.<br/><br/>Is it just me or does the nano in this picture look sort of embarrassed?

Diamonds plus nano plus watch equals this $18k monstrosity

There is, it has to be admitted, a market for diamond-encrusted Apple products. Having the good taste to buy something magical and revolutio...

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