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An iPod Touch or iPhone is now considered necessary equipment for journalism students at the University of Missouri.

As of fall 2009, an iPod Touch is the minimum requirement (an iPhone is a plus) for incoming freshmen to j-school, providing orientation information and course materials.

It’s not the first time universities have adopted Apple devices, but it may be the first time they approach something like mandatory. (Would-be Woodwards and Bernsteins won’t have to flash their iPods at the door and there will be no penalties for not having one, the requirement stated.) The journalism school has also required students to have laptops with wireless capabilities since 2005.

Brian Brooks, associate dean of the Journalism School, said the idea is to turn the music player into a learning device.

“Lectures are the worst possible learning format,” Brooks told the Missourian. “There’s been some research done that shows if a student can hear that lecture a second time, they retain three times as much of that lecture.”

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computers and one of the most recognized engineering geeks in the world, joined the Board of Directors of TechForEducators.com – a Sausalito, CA-based purveyor of goods and services designed to improve the performance of educators – the company announced Wednesday.

“Woz inspired a generation of technologists – including myself,” explained Matt Spergel, President of TechForEducators.com. “The Apple II was an engineering tour de force and an amazing learning tool. We are deeply honored to have Steve contributing his infectious optimism and creativity to our company.”

Wozniak has a strong record of support for children and education, having been a founding sponsor of the Tech Museum of Innovation and the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. He also “adopted” the Los Gatos School District, near Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA, providing students and teachers with hands-on teaching and donations of state-of-the-art technology equipment.

In partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation, TechForEducators.com provides exceptional value to education: for every $1 a customer spends on product at TechForEducators.com, $1.25 worth of free school supplies is also provided to impoverished students. The company carries quality products at competitive prices, all with a money-back guarantee.

“TechForEducators.com represents the best in trying to do good things for our students and teachers,” Wozniak said. “I’m looking forward to the great things they have planned for education.”

AdWhirl, a platform for iPhone applications that allows developers to switch between ad networks on-the-fly, has released a report indicating that applications that crack the top 100 in the Free Apps list can make between $400-$5000 a day in advertising revenue.

Sam Yam, co-founder of the company formerly known as Adrollo, says AdWhirl has signed over 10% of the top 50 applications in the App Store to the platform and is serving 250 million ad impressions per month. AdWhirl’s platform gives developers access to multiple iPhone ad networks at once, allowing them to compensate when one network doesn’t have enough ad inventory, something Yam says happens as much as 40% of the time.

Having launched only in the last month, AdWhirl reports going rates of $1.90 eCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) and 2.6% CTR (click-through rate), numbers that should make both advertisers and free app developers optimistic about the viability of the ad supported free app business model.

[TechCrunch]

Apple got top marks all three laptop categories in “Consumer Reports” special computer issue.

Five Apple laptops made the cut. In the 13-inch category, MacBooks took all three top spots:
The 13-inch aluminum MacBook ranked No. 1, the solid-state MacBook Air No. 2 and the white plastic 13-inch MacBook came in third, in a tie with the HP Pavillion dv3.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro came in first in the 14- to 16-inch category.

In the 17- to 18-inch category — the same category where Lauren of “Laptop Hunter” ads chooses an HP over a Mac — was taken by the 17-inch MacBook, which scored 80 out of a possible 100.  (The HP Lauren opted for ranks fourth.)

The results amount to “embarrassment of plaudits,” (Apple polishing?) for Fortune mag —  perhaps to avoid looking gushy, Consumer Reports put a PC on the cover in question…

Microsoft’s controversial Laptop Hunter ads were probably conceived, pitched and perhaps created on  Macs, if these office snaps of the ad agency behind them are anything to go by. They show the desk of Alex Bogusky (with two Macs) at Crispin Porter + Bogusky plus the surrounding office space, also full of Macs.

I wouldn’t mind getting paid to sell PCs, as long as I didn’t have to work on them, too.

Via rixstep

We have more images that will take time to process and details about the provenance of this device we must parse, so bear with us until all can be revealed.

To advertise it’s recycling chops, a Canadian home improvement company has cleverly recycled a giant Apple billboard in Montréal.

Canada’s version of Home Depot, Rona, hung a banner underneath an Apple billboard with a line of multicolored iPods dripping colored paint.

Rona’s banner shows the paint being collected in paint buckets. The clever mashup advertises the company’s paint recycling program.

“Nous recuperons les restes de peinture,” the tagline says, which translates to: “We collect leftover paint”

Link to Cyberpresse report in French.

Thanks Hypersky.

Following rumors that Apple and Verizon are wooing each other, Wired.com is asking, “Which cellphone network is the best?”

To answer that question, Wired.com is asking for your help testing the speed of U.S. cellphone’ networks.

The test is open to all smartphones on all networks. Simply:

1. Ensure Wi-Fi is turned off and 3G is enabled on your smartphone (not the slower EDGE connection).

2. Load your smartphone’s browser and visit https://inetworktest.com/wired.*

3. The test will run automatically as the page loads. When it’s done loading, tap your carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint), and your results will appear.

4. Add your details to Wired.com’s results map here: https://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/3gstudy

Wired.com’s study follows up on an iPhone-only survey last year, which concluded connection problems were AT&T’s fault, not the iPhone’s.

As Wired.com notes, “A carrier’s network performance is a dealbreaking factor for consumers shopping for a smartphone, whether it’s the iPhone, the HTC G1, or a BlackBerry Storm.”

The test is .

UPDATE: Reznor states on Twitter that the app has now been approved—unchanged.

Once again, the App Store is in the news for the wrong reason. We recently covered its bewildering rejection of the South Park app, but things really came to a head with Tweetie, which had an update booted because some App Store approval person found a rude word in that day’s Twitter trends.

Well, Apple’s at it again. Trent Reznor of NIN fame posts that the ‘nin: access’ app has been rejected on the grounds that it enables access to a podcast that has a song with a rude word in. As Reznor notes, using rather colorful language, Apple’s own Mail app lets through emails with rude words, and Safari can be used to access questionable content. But his app, which enables access to a podcast that can be streamed to the app, featuring the song The Downward Spiral, apparently enables access to external content that Apple thinks will warp fragile little minds.

It warms the cockles when we hear of games coming to the Mac, but a more recent addition is older than most. Qwak, released late last week, has a lengthy pedigree, having first appeared on the BBC Micro way back in 1989. Now, 20 years later, this indie production has made it to Mac OS X, and we tracked down the game’s developer, Jamie Woodhouse, to ask him about the conversion.

The original version of Qwak, running on a BBC Micro home computer.

Cult of Mac: What is Qwak?
Jamie Woodhouse: Qwak is a super-playable, cute, arcade coin-op-style puzzler/platformer. The current version is the fourth incarnation of the game—it was preceded by BBC Micro, Amiga, and Gameboy Advance versions.

The object of Qwak is to make your way through the game’s 70 levels, spread across six visually unique worlds, collecting fruit, gems, and power-ups as you go. On each level, you collect all the golden keys, and then calmly make your way to the exit door! Simple, huh? But look out for baddies (you can throw eggs at them) and raining spikes of death as you go!

You can play alone, or with a friend. In two-player mode, you can co-operate and work as a team, or be more aggressive, throwing eggs at each other, leaving your teammate at the mercy of the baddies. Some levels feature secret areas that require a good portion of problem-solving skills to get to, pulling levers, collecting coloured keys, and opening gates in just the right order.

Qwak for the Commodore Amiga ramped up the quality of the graphics and depth in the gameplay.

What inspired the original game, and why did you create it? Why have you regularly ported Qwak to various platforms over the years?
I love making the kind of game that I personally like to play. With Qwak, I guess the combination of skill, puzzles, and problem-solving are what I like. I always thought Qwak was a cool game concept, and something I could improve on and take to the next level. So that’s my excuse for repeatedly making the same game over and over!

Reaction to this latest version of Qwak has been really good. Though most people say it’s not easy, it’s not so hard as to put people off—it’s often described as being ‘challenging’ with ‘one more go’ appeal. In today’s gaming climate, games seem a lot more sedate and easy, and so I guess Qwak’s at the ‘challenging’ end of the spectrum! That’s a good thing though, I hope!

Why did you decide to create a Mac version of Qwak and how did you go about doing so?
Quite a few people asked about a Mac version. I had all the source and assets for the game, so figured it wouldn’t be a big job to port from PC to Mac. It was quite painless in fact—only four weeks from getting my lovely Mac mini to finished product. That was the first time I ever had or used a Mac, and I have to say I’m getting along quite well with Macs so far. So, yeah, in terms of hardware, I just got a Mac mini, and used the official Apple development environment (IDE), Xcode.

The Mac OS X conversion is a fast-paced two-player action game.

What are your future plans regarding games? Any plans for an iPhone Qwak?
I’m certainly going to have a play with the iPhone development tools and SDK—they’re already installed on my Mac. Unsure if I’ll do an iPhone version of Qwak, although I am very tempted. I can certainly see myself making more games for the Mac, and will do something for iPhone too, I’m sure.

What advice do you have for anyone considering porting a PC indie game to the Mac?
The main thing, early on, is to make sure you have a network of support. This can be other game developer friends, or game development communities and online forums such as idevgames.com and indiegamer.com. Most people making indie games are quite passionate about that they’re doing and are always happy to give advice. Other than that, dive in and give it a go—the Apple documentation for developers is generally quite good, and the development tools are free.

Later levels of Qwak are stacked full of features and foes, and you need quick reactions to survive.

Qwak is available for £12.99 (about $19) from qwak.co.uk; the same site also hosts a free demo that you can download.

Back in February, Rapid Repair began supersizing iPods (30GB, 60GB and 80GB original iPod video) with new 240GB hard drives for $300. (Null any warranty, however).

In the first two hours the service was available, Rapid Repair received 300 orders – more than its inventory could handle. A month later the company had solved its supply problem and upgraded 500 iPods, though the drives are again out of stock.

The 1.8-inch Toshiba hard drives are roughly the same size as regular iPod hard drives. Thanks to  advances in storage technology, the company tapped into a market for expanded iPods that the computer giant isn’t serving, Fortune reports.
Image courtesy Rapid Repair.
Via Fortune

A vocal cadre of iPhone app developers is none too pleased with the treatment they receive from Apple and may be considering a suit for breach of contract, according to a report at TechCrunch.

Examples of complaints on developer forums indicate that some developers remain unpaid for sales of their products on the App Store dating back to last fall and the report cites email exchanges between at least one developer and and the finance department at Apple in which the developer is informed his complaints about not being paid “border on harassment.”

Whether any actual lawsuits are in the offing is purely speculative at this point, but the discord is curious in the light of Apple’s recent recession-beating revenue performance and the stunning, widely publicized success of the App Store.

Adding iPod connectivity as standard equipment on their vehicles could save American automobile manufacturers from extinction, according to recent research by Jacobs Media.

The study conducted among 21,000 listeners of rock-music radio stations from around the US suggests high-tech features play an important role in the vehicle-purchase decision and that carmakers should not miss key opportunities to include and market such features to consumers.

The study asked prospective vehicle purchasers to rate the most desired features and options relating to entertainment, music, and information. Nearly half (47%) of the respondents said iPod and other MP3 player connectivity was “very important” to them, ranking above satellite radio, GPS, DVD player, and HD Radio.

The finding that a large percentage of consumers are considering American cars – coupled with the fact that so many respondents want iPod connectors, – presents opportunities for American carmakers to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, according to Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs.

“The automakers are struggling to generate sales in a challenging economic environment,” Jacobs said. “but outside of KIA’s new commercials for their Soul, iPod connectors are not in the sales proposition. It’s a missed opportunity. Satellite radio and GPS won’t move the needle – but iPods will.”

[MarketingCharts; Thanks Dave]

Police in Allentown, Pennsylvania don’t mess around with iPod thieves. When a woman had an iPod stolen after meeting a potential buyer for it from craigslist, they sent an undercover agent to bust two teen theives.

Police contacted the same 17-year old through craigslist and set up a meeting for him to buy an iPod. He showed up with the same friend about 6:30 p.m. and met with the female detective. The teen snatched the iPod from the detective and he and his accomplice tried to run.

Both were charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, resisting arrest and criminal use of a communication device. (This last charge, it seems, has to do with illegal activity on craigslist. )
Via The Morning Call
Via The Morning Call

Photo of anti-iPod theft poster in London used with a CC  license, thanks weegeebored.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJSuduTrPs

To answer Microsoft’s controversial “Laptop Hunter” series, Landline TV parodies the series by sending homeless Frank out to seek a computer. (NB: put your headphones on, some of the language/images are NSFW.)

He loves the Macs (“these are beautiful”), finds the PCs insulting and wants to take the cash instead of getting a PC. Doubt it would ever fly with Apple execs, but it’s a lot more convincing than the latest “Get a Mac” ads.

Via Newton Poetry

Chalk up one more exhibit for the case that Apple and its ecosystem refuse to participate in the global economic meltdown.

WWDC sold out Tuesday, the earliest date on record for which the annual conference devoted to Apple’s development community has reached capacity. Tickets went on sale just a month ago, and were no bargain — even the early-bird special was well over $1,000.

Interest in this year’s event is great for a number of reasons. Developers and presumably the audience at the keynote will get the first public glimpse of OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard.” The new OS has been in testing with developers for a while now, but many of the expected user interface changes remain under wraps. WWDC may be the first time anyone gets a real look at those.

Even bigger than Snow Leopard, however is the possibility that Apple could unveil a new version of the iPhone, even a touchscreen netbook or tablet. The rumor mill on all of these ideas has been active for months.

And of course there is the ever present shadow of Steve Jobs. Will he make an appearance, even tough he’s not scheduled to return from his sabbatical until the end of June? Could he possibly bear – health permitting – to let someone else introduce a major OS upgrade and potentially game-changing hardware?

The Jobs factor aside, the real takeaway from WWDC’s full house next month is the clear evidence that interest in Apple’s technology remains very strong. The idea that someone could found a career or hit the jackpot on the strength of learning how to develop applications that work with Apple technology seems to be one of the few – and one of the brightest – lights of hope on the economic horizon.

Gary Go will perform with an iPhone as his backing band at Wembley Stadium.
The 24-year-old Go, born Gary Baker, will open for boy band veterans Take That in July.  He’ll stand in front of thousands (90,000 if it’s a full house) with only his device for some tracks, a live back-up band for others.

“The fact we’re going to see someone playing an iPhone at Wembley is something I don’t think even Apple thought would happen,” said Stuart Dredge, of industry site Music Ally.

“The software started out as a gimmick, but now we are seeing real musicians producing real music with it. Of course, you still need talent, but the phone means you can make and record anywhere.”

(Unfortunately, none of the stories I saw on Go mention which virtual four-track app he used to write his songs, some are lush ballads far from the brittle synth-pop of yesteryear.)

“My biggest worry is that my phone will ring mid-song,” Go said.

Via Evening Standard

Barely 19,  Muscovite Vera Uvarova landed herself in the hospital after a car crash that left her immobile, save for one arm.

Four days after the accident, a friend gave her an iPhone.  The device became Vera’s visual connection with her beaten body and the resulting pictures are showcased in an exhibition at Moscow Gallery Na Solyanke.

“This transformation was important to me…” Uvarova told the Moscow Times. “Unable to lift my head, the only way I could see my legs, for instance, was through the lens of my iPhone.”

She was restricted to hospital life for close to three months, but the exhibition focuses on the first transformative 800 hours, hence its title, “800 Hours on My Back with an iPhone in Hand. How I Was Born Again with the Help of Photography.”

You can view some of them online here.

Images courtesy, ©Vera Uvarova

Via Moscow Times

In Bridgewater New Jersey, the police blotter reports (between rock-throwing incidents and credit card theft) that someone managed to walk out of the local Best Buy with a MacBook from a display. Anyone else come across  scenes of attempted five-finger discounts?

Here’s the report:

THEFT, 5:41 p.m. March 31: An employee of Best Buy reported that someone was able to remove a MacBook computer, valued at $1,800, from a display and leave the store undetected.

Image used with a CC license, thanks jaypen_g
Via My Central Jersey

Number Seven Hundred and Thirty Six on the list of things that really torque me off are people who intentionally and knowingly mislead folks for fun and profit. And to this list of Mortgage Brokers, Right Wing Talk Radio Hosts, and Tobacco Lobbyists, we can now add Roger L. Kay president of Endpoint Technology Associates (aside — people who are ‘president’ of companies employing 50 or less people, are number 977 on the list of things that annoy the crap out of me.)

El Presidente Roger authored a white paper at the behest of Microsoft titled: “What Price Cool” which serves to illuminate us all as to how we all have been paying some imaginary “Hidden Apple Tax” all these years.

Of course, a younger man might shrug this drivel off, yet as I grow older I find my patience for such things eroding. While I’m not quite at the yelling at kids to get off my lawn stage, I am quite crotchety enough to spend my Saturday night debunking this garbage.

Follow me after the jump where we reveal the obviousness with which Le President Kay sold his credibility.

Apple lost a patent infringement lawsuit Thursday in Texas, when a jury awarded Opti Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif $19 million in damages. The plaintiffs argued Apple willfully infringed on Opti Inc.’s patent covering a computer operation that enables a “snooping” function designed to help computers more easily retrieve previously accessed data.

The jury in the courtroom of Judge Charles “Chad” Everingham IV of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, rejected Apple’s contention that Opti Inc.’s patent should be declared invalid and awarded the verdict as fair and reasonable compensation to Opti for Apple’s willful patent violation, according to the verdict form.

No word a yet on the status of Apple’s intent to appeal the verdict in the case.

The lucky downloader of the billionth app  from iTunes (winner of a MacBook Pro, a 32GB iPod Touch, a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card and a Time Capsule wireless hard drive) is reportedly a 13-year-old who hit the jackpot with a free app called “bump.” Apple reached the billion mark with apps in just nine months.

All-time top paid downloads include:
Koi Pond
Engimo
Pocket Guitar
Touchgrind
iShoot
Monopoly

All-time top free apps include:
Facebook
Google Earth
Pandora Radio
Tap Tap Revenge
Shazam
Pac-Man Lite
Light Saber Unleashed
Virtual Zippo lighter

More on the Apple site

Call it hacking, or just common sense: getting into actress Salma Hayek’s Mobileme account was apparently as easy as knowing her birthday and her favorite starring role.

An anonymous post on imageboard 4chan.org  provided MobileMe login details for Hayek:

Go to me.com, forgot password, type [email protected]
Her //snip//
Answer to change password question is: //snip//

Voila : a peek at Hayek’s iPhone apps downloaded from iTunes — including restaurant finder Urbanspoon,  Shazam and the Say Who voice recognition dialer — plus emails from uber-magnate husband Francois-Henri Pinault and an invite to America Ferrera’s 25th birthday party.

Wonder if iPhone loving twitterer Ashton Kutcher’s next…

Via Electronic Pulp

updated to delete credentials

Were you aware there is an annual conference devoted to the Apple II computer? And that it’s been held for 20 years?

Make plans now to be at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO from July 21 – 26 for, yes, the 20th annual KansasFest, a computer hoedown all about Apple’s iconic Apple II computer.

The keynote speaker will be Jason Scott, webmaster of
TEXTFILES.COM, director of “BBS: The Documentary”, and caretaker of Sockington, the cat on Twitter with over 300,000 followers.

KansasFest 2009, the world’s only annual Apple II conference, invites any and all Apple II and Macintosh users, fans, and friends to attend what oganizers call the “summer camp for geeks.”  For photos, schedules, presentations from past year’s events, and inquiries, visit the event’s Web site.

It took two days of people complaining, but Apple finally yanked Baby Shaker from the App Store on Wednesday – though the screaming and crying over why it was ever approved in the first place has probably yet to reach a fever pitch.

With nearly umpty-thousand applications now in the App Store and Apple fast approaching a billion downloads, it’s not unreasonable to expect that some things might slip through the cracks.

But, seriously, Baby Shaker?

Think I could slip my Shoot the President app past ’em somehow?