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SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD / iWORLD 2012 — Talking on stage about her love of technology and gadgets, New Yorker writer Susan Orlean rhapsodized her iPad, and told how she converted her husband to Apple technology.

A self-confessed geek, Orlean told how the iPad solved all the problems she had with working and traveling with technology. She had a Danger Sidekick, but would go nuts taking notes on it. She finds her MacBook too heavy to carry all day.

She also not afraid of losing or damaging her iPad. “I can it take with me to take notes but it won’t have my life on it if it gets lost or stolen,” she said. “It solved all of my problems.”

And her favorite app?

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/IWORLD 2012 — If your iPhone videos are so lame that even your loved ones won’t watch them anymore, we’ve got some advice for you.

Cult of Mac talked to Matt Dessner, co-founder of the Original iPhone Film Festival (OIFF),  about choosing a subject, keeping it steady, getting enough b-roll and what he calls the Golden Tip of Editing.

The OIFF is about to announce 2012 winners here; with a little practice you might win next year’s competition and a MacBook Air.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD / iWORLD 2012 — There are no shortage of iPhone cases being showcased here at Macworld/iWorld 2012, but only one grabbed my attention at last night’s media preview. It was a case called Flygrip, and it promises to keep your iPhone in hand so you can do other things without worrying about dropping your valuable device.

Macworld/iWorld marks the launch of FlyGrip, and I was given a unit to test out.

Ever wondered how you take a screenshot on your iOS device? It’s actually a lot simpler than you may think, with no need for third-party software or unauthorized tweaks.

In fact, this is one of the simplest tips we have. But seeing as though yesterday’s simple tip went down so well, we thought another one wouldn’t hurt. Here’s how to take screenshots on an iOS device.

The march just continues on for Apple’s entry into the enterprise. New numbers show 46 percent of large companies now provide Macs to staff with more than half of those companies planning to support the iPhone. As for Android, well, we’ve already heard that story, right?

As a bit of a productivity nerd, it was great to see a couple of apps that revolve around that niche having a presence at the Macworld/iWorld media preview. One of these apps was Pocket Informant, which looks both elegant and compelling. And its available for both the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. For those looking to get a little bit more productive and want a pleasurable-looking experience while doing so, this might just be the app for you.

Pocket Informant fully integrates your calendar, tasks, notes and contacts into one spot, which allows you to focus on everything you’ve got going on in a day. This is a bit of a departure from other productivity-type apps in that they tend to put the emphasis on your tasks and let everything else fade into the background. Pocket Informant keeps everything close at hand and visible so that you don’t miss out on somewhere you’ve got go, someone you need to get in touch with or something you have to do.

The App Store is a morass of to-do list managers, but there’s reason to perk up your ears about Clear. It might seem like just another to-do list manager from another new studio, but it’s neither. Clear is something special.

Is it time to retire game consoles? That’s the question buzzing around in the wake of Nintendo announcing its first yearly loss, forcing a downgrade of the 3DS future. The creator of Super Mario said it lost $575 million (45 billion yen), surprising experts forecasting a $52 million (4.2 billion yen) deficit. The unspoken push over the precipice: the iPad and iTunes App Store games.

One of my favorite developers, Spacetime Studios, has announced yet another great project they are working on. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re the guys behind the hit cross-platform MMO Legend Series. From Pocket Legends to Space Legends, they have done everything right in the realm of true cross-platform gaming, and are pioneers in what I believe will be the future of gaming. Their latest project falls in line with the Legends series, and is entitled Dark Legends.

You know that moment when your iPhone slips out of your hands and begins its slow tumble to the ground? Time slows down, as it does in the milliseconds before any horrific accident, and you absolutely freeze with a sort of full-body shudder of anticipation at the shattered glass screen you just know will be the end result of its 32 feet per second per second fall towards the concrete.

In a recent episode of Fred Armise and Carrie Brownstein’s Portlandia, they did a skit that documents the internal monologue of such a reverie. The end’s a bit surreal (and a little weak), but as an iPhone owner myself, I can relate. Looks like it’s time for Brownstein to buy a bumper.

Since the Absinthe jailbreak tool was released for Apple’s A5-powered devices last week, we’ve seen all sorts of tweaks that maximize Siri functionality on the iPhone 4S. The latest is one of the most impressive. It’s called Lingual, and it provides quick and easy voice translation to over 30 languages, using Microsoft Bing Translate API.

Last August, Spotify launched a public API for mobile developers to piggy back off of their system and release their own apps. The hope was the abiogenesis of a series of cool new music apps that pushed the boundaries of how we discover music, with Spotify’s library of 15 million tracks as the lifeblood.

The first app to really come from Spotify’s initiative and impress? SpotON Radio, a Pandora-like service built upon Spotify that allows you to create custom tailored music stations, share them with friends and sync them across the iCloud. Plus, it’s got a really swank visual aesthetic that just sings on iOS devices.

While Apple has been actively seeking to improve the working conditions for employees at the Chinese factories manufacturing its products, a former executive for the Cupertino company believes it could do more. The trouble is, Apple’s infamous secrecy is getting in the way.

“We’re trying really hard to make things better,” said one former Apple executive. “But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.”

Despite losing its exclusive standing with Apple, AT&T announced selling 7.6 million iPhones, comprising 20 percent of Apple’s 37 million smartphone sales during the fourth quarter of 2011, which ended Dec. 31. Even more impressive: Apple’s handset accounts for 80 percent of all smartphones the carrier sells.

While Apple has been slow to fix the battery issues plaguing its new iPhone 4S and other devices running the new iOS 5 software, it seemed the jailbreaking community had come to the rescue. A tweak that hit Cydia earlier this week claims to fix your battery life woes under iOS 5, but it wants $4.99 for the privilege.

As it turns out, the tweak does nothing; it’s just a complete scam to steal your cash.

It’s a great time to be an Apple employee. Not only is it the most successful company on the planet right now, but it’s also slashing the price of some of its most popular products as a thank you to its employees. According to one report, the Cupertino company’s CEO, Tim Cook, announced at an internal Town Hall meeting that staff could enjoy $500 off a new Mac, and $250 off a new iPad.

A Microsoft spokesperson has revived rumors that its Xbox LIVE platform is coming to iOS after they revealed the company’s plans to provide the Xbox experience and its titles on other platforms. While iOS users already have access to a basic Xbox LIVE app, Microsoft is expected to introduce a more in-depth experience including Xbox LIVE games like that available to Windows Phone users.

A new jailbreak tweak by the name of Sireet has surfaced in Cydia. Developed by Tyler Nettleton, Sireet lets jailbroken iPhone 4S users tweet natively with Siri.

Above: Macworld organizer Paul Kent on why the show is being rebranded as iWorld 2012.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/IWORLD 2012 — In an era when trade shows are almost extinct, Macworld is a dinosaur. And that’s in a good way.

Now in its 28th year, Macworld has survived when other trade shows haven’t. That’s largely because the show has been quick on its feet, switching focus and venues as times have changed. It’s transformed from a business-to-business show into a consumer-oriented one.

This week, the focus is entirely on end users, as Macworld attempts to rebrand itself iWorld. It will be about the Apple-oriented lifestyle, highlighting apps, art and music. Attendees can see what people are doing — or they can do themselves — with their devices.

In the video above, organizer Paul Kent talks about the transformation into iWorld. Below, he explains what to expect at the show this week.

Motorola Mobility sued Apple in a Florida court on Wednesday for violating 6 wireless technology patents found in the iPhone 4S and iCloud. The patents in question relate to antenna, software, data filtering, and messaging technology.

Google recently acquired Motorola for $12.5 billion and is in the process of merging with the company. While Google is not directly involved with this specific case, Motorola’s lawsuit can definitely be seen as another attempt to protect patent ammunition for the ongoing legal war between the top smartphone manufacturers. In fact, this is the closest Apple and Google have ever come to fighting in the courtroom.

We love Jeff Broderick’s work here at Cult of Mac. We’ve told you about some of his web app projects, like QuickWiFi and QuickContact, and his latest creation is called Photogram. As the name implies, you can use Photogram to view Instagram in your web browser. The app is beautiful and optimized for both the desktop and mobile experience.

Zynga Games is a company that has made most of its many millions on games “inspired” by other titles. And by “inspired,” we mean “shamelessly ripped-off.” Mafia Wars was a rip-off of Mob Wars. Words With Friends is a rip-off of Scrabble. Cafe World is a rip-off of Restaurant City. And so on.

So when Zynga came knocking and wanted to buy up NimbleBits, developers of Tiny Tower (which Apple recently named one of their games of the year), it didn’t take a genius to figure out that if the deal didn’t go through, Zynga would rip-off NimbleBit’s games anyway. And — shocker — it turns out that’s just what happened.

Sometimes the simplest tips are the most helpful ones, and that’s certainly the case with today’s, which will show you how to enable orientation lock on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Following Apple’s incredible sales numbers from yesterday’s quarterly earnings report, the iPhone has taken the number one spot in U.S. market share from Google’s Android OS, according to the researchers at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. 37 million iPhones were sold in the fourth quarter of 2011, making Apple the top smartphone manufacturer on the planet.

Based on the last 12 weeks of sales in 9 countries (including the U.S., U.K., and Australia), the iPhone is growing faster than Android. The tides are turning.

Sick of the boring old gray linen background on your Siri? If you’ve got a jailbroken iPhone 4S, why not try the new Custom Siri Background Cydia tweak, which allows you to apply a picture from your Camera Roll as Siri’s background wallpaper.