One of the surprising, and some might say disturbing, realities of today’s consumerized IT departments is that IT staff are being left out of the loop on technology projects. Nowhere is that more evident than when it comes to developing mobile app strategies, particularly customer-facing app strategies.

Instead many business and marketing managers are recruiting or contracting app developers directly, often bypassing CIOs and IT managers in the process. While this new trend is primarily focused on app development, it could easily be the start of a slippery slope that leads to more and more outsourcing of technology projects and management.

Verizon has announced its plans to lead the text-to-911 initiative here in the US. Starting early 2013, Verizon customers will be able to send 911 SMS texts to emergency call centers. This new way of communicating with 911 call centers is a great step forward in public safety and allows for those in need to relay information in cases when calling or talking are difficult.

We have a source who claims to have seen a prototype Apple high-definition television set in action, indicating that Apple is readying the long-awaited device for market.

According to our source, who has asked to remain strictly anonymous, the Apple HDTV looks like Apple’s current lineup of LED-backlit Cinema Displays but is “much bigger.” It has a built-in iSight camera for making free FaceTime video conference calls. And it has Siri, the iPhone 4S’s voice-activated virtual assistant.

An update to the GPS photo-tagging app PlaceTagger brings support for the iPad, and also shows us exactly what iCloud was meant for. The v2.0 version not only lets you import photos via camera connection kit and then tag them right there on the iPad — it also syncs the GPS data seamlessly to the Mac version so you can tag photos right there. No tedious exporting of GPX files (unless you want to), nor even having to fix time discrepancies with the iPad and the camera’s clocks.

While we can debate how much the iPad cannibalizes Apple’s MacBook sales, there’s no doubt that the device is continuing to kill of the entire netbook industry. While iPad sales are literally selling as fast as Apple can make them, netbook sales continue to plummet – with the first quarter of this year representing a sixth consecutive quarter in which shipments of the small, inexpensive, and often low quality PC notebooks have declined sharply.

Adobe has announced the immediate availability of Creative Suite 6 for Mac and PC, including new releases of its famous creativity tools like Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Premier Pro, and more; with package prices starting at $1,299.

The company has also announced that its new Creative Cloud service, which provides access to all Creative Suite applications and a cloud-based storage and sharing solution for $49.99 per month, will be available from May 11.

Here’s an obvious fact: Steve Jobs loved computers. And since Steve also liked to make a fashion statement, it only makes sense that he would have ordered at least 50 of Cult of Mac’s new Lisa-inspired graphic tee.

Who’s Lisa? Why she was only one of Apple’s most iconic computing failures. Maybe her stratospheric 10k price tag was to blame. It obviously wasn’t her boxy good-looks that did her in.

But we loved her, and now you can too. We partnered with Seattle indie brand Might Tees to bring Lisa’s vintage appeal back to life on our new In Love With Lisa graphic tee.

Our new tee is finely crafted right here in the beautiful USA, ships worldwide, and is available right now over at MightTees.com.

Here’s a win for customer service: Several readers have written in to ask about the excellent Skech Porter case for the iPad, which I reviewed a while back, but which is all but impossible to actually buy. Cult of Mac reader Chris decided to get in touch with Skech and ask just what was going on. The result will warm your cold little hearts.

Every so often, you might want to type an accented character on your Mac. There are many keyboard shortcuts, most involving the Option key, to achieve this. For example, to type an “enye,” the letter in the Spanish alphabet, you need to press Option-n, then release and type n again. In Mac OS Lion, however, there’s an even easier way to find these diacritical characters.

Sources in Apple’s Taiwanese supply chain claim that the Cupertino company is gearing up to launch a cheaper $799 MacBook Air later this year that will decrease the price gap between the next-generation of Windows-powered ultrabooks. Although specifications are not mentioned in the report, sources say the notebook will make its debut during the third quarter.

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If you’re a mobile gamer, then Gameloft is the development studio to keep your eye on over the coming months. In addition to the much-anticipated N.O.V.A. 3, the company has confirmed it is also working on the official Men in Black 3 mobile game, and Asphalt 7: Heat, the next release in its popular racing series.

Despite its focus on a speedy international rollout for the new iPad, which has seen the tablet hit 57 countries in just over one month, Apple is still keeping on top of demand and working to reduce shipping delays in its initial launch territories. After delays dropped to just 3-5 days in the United States last week, customers in Europe are now facing a wait of just 7 days.

Instacast, undoubtedly the best podcast manager for iOS, just got a whopping update that includes a long list of new features and improvements. In addition to a “revamped and improved” user interface, the update brings episode archiving, a sleep timer, a download manager, and lots, lots more.

We’re all well aware that Apple is a company like no other. Whether you’re an employee or a customer, the treatment you get from Apple is almost unrivaled by any other company. This inspirational note given to every Apple staffer on their first day, encouraging them to “swim in the deep end” and do something big, is evidence of that.

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The brand-new version of AirServer is being billed as “The Game Console For Mac.” Like previous versions of the software, AirServer runs on you Mac and turns it into an AirPlay receiver, allowing you to stream music, video, photos and even games to the Mac’s big screen, just as if it was an Apple TV. What’s new, though, is the ability to stream games from two players simultaneously for big-screen head-to-head action.

One of my biggest gripes when dealing with files in OS X is working with zipped directories. OS X’s built in Archive Utility does a poor job of managing compressed files. With some tweaks though, you can make dealing with zipped files less of a pain. In this video, I’ll show you how to do it.

Many have been wondering what Apple will call the next-generation iPhone. iPhone 5? iPhone 6? iPhone 4G Epic Touch? Or what about “the new iPhone?” After the third-gen iPad, it looks like Apple may be starting to abandon its traditional naming conventions for iOS devices altogether.

Interestingly, Apple has filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to gain control of the iPhone5.com domain name.

Lego Harry Potter is finally back on iOS to play out his final years at Hogwarts, and he’s at the top of this week’s pick of must-have iOS games. Toothless from DreamWork’s How To Train Your Dragon also makes his App Store debut in a terrific physics-based puzzle game, and we’ve chosen one of the cutest adventure games you’ll ever play.

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Is Apple secretly plotting to become your next wireless carrier? It could happen sooner than you think. And will the iPhone 5 sport a widescreen 4-inch retina display? It’s a rumor rundown on our brand new CultCast!

And you asked for it, you got it — we’ve gathered a list of our most-loved apps of the week, and we’re ready to pick the best of the bunch.

Catch all that and more on this week’s CultCast.

An innovate idea for iOS often gets introduced to high praises from the Apple community, and one of three things usually happens: 1.) Apple implements the idea, 2.) Jailbreakers implement it first and Apple eventually does the same, 3.) Apple ignores the idea entirely and jailbreakers enjoy it exclusively. We’re hoping that number 2.) will happen in this case.

Remember when we showed you the amazing concept video for easily editing text on the iPad? Put together by Daniel Chase Hooper, the concept showed how you could edit text with finger drags and gestures instead of the tedious ‘tap and drag’ method Apple currently implements. Many of us said we wanted to see Hooper’s concept in iOS 6.

As it is known to do, the jailbreak community has already heard our collective cry and answered with a new jailbreak tweak that just went live in Cydia today. Dubbed SwipeSelection, a new way of editing text is now available for jailbroken iPad and iPhone users.

Speculating about future Apple products is really hard to do well. That doesn’t keep everyone from trying. Even grizzled Apple-watching veterans often fail catastrophically with each new Apple announcement.

The reason it’s difficult is that “evidence,” which would normally be the best tool for predicting things, doesn’t work in Apple’s case.

The best criteria are strategic and cultural analyses. But even these are not perfectly reliable.

If you’ve struggled to accurately guess in the past what Apple will announce, don’t feel bad. Even Apple executives themselves don’t know until often very late in the game.

Here’s why predicting Apple products is so hard.

Facebook has updated its Facebook Messenger app in the App Store with several new features. You can now see when someone is replying to a message with a live typing indicator, much like iMessage in iOS. Read receipts will also reveal when a message has been read and by whom in a group message. Location information has also been added for showing where someone was when they sent a message from their Apple or Android smartphone.

After months and months of waiting, Spotify finally released its iPad app this week, and it does not disappoint. It features a terrific interface optimized for the iPad’s larger screen, plus plenty of other great features. There’s no wonder why it’s at the top of this week’s must-have iOS apps roundup.

Other picks include a great little app for controlling Bluetooth from your home screen, an impressive photography app from Polaroid, an innovative new web browser, and more.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson made some interesting comments relating to Apple and the iPhone at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference earlier this week. In particular, Stephenson remarked that he wished his company would have never offered unlimited data for iPhone customers, citing the capital AT&T had to invest up front to strengthen its network.

Stephenson also said that he loses sleep over iMessage, because Apple’s messaging service cuts directly into AT&T’s SMS/MMS revenue.

Following a limited theatrical release back in November of last year, Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview will be returning to Landmark theaters next week, starting on May 11th. Magnolia Pictures will be distributing the 70-minute “lost” interview with Jobs for a limited run in 19 cities. Footage from the interview with Jobs in 1995 was recently discovered and remastered for public distribution.