Cult of Mac

Apple’s Phil Schiller has just taken the stage at the Guggenheim in New York City, and he’s here to reiterate what many of us have never forgotten from our days on old Apple IIe’s in the classroom: education is important to Apple. “Today’s event is about education,” says Schiller. “And education is deep in Apple’s DNA.” “Apple’s entire education business is based on teaching, learning, and student achievement. Try to bring the same passion they bring to every product into education business, too.” Schiller’s here to bring the iPad more forcefully to the classroom, to use the iPad as a tool to get American kids back to the forefront of reading, math and science. Could today’s event launch the second iPad revolution: the education revolution? [image via Macworld]

See that adapter in the picture above? It’s an Apple 30 Pin Micro USB Adapter. And it might just prove that China is more important to Apple than Europe.

Apple’s education event in New York City this morning may see the launch of a new version of the company’s Pages word processor which will feature support for iBooks publishing, and an iBooks application that will allow us to read our favorite titles on our Macs. Furthermore, we could also see the launch of textbook rentals.

Sometimes explaining the problem with your computer isn’t easy, particularly when you’re not sure of the correct technical term used to describe an issue. It took some back and forth to assess this reader’s problem about RAM usage and availability – but I got to enjoy the affectation of “Sir” during the discussion!

Hello Sir Adam,

Hope all is well. I am in desperate need of your help. Im currently living in the TURKS AND CAICOS ISLAND and unfortunately there are no apple shop here. my problem is that since yesterday the memory (which is by the way 8 GB) keeps on falling down. I have a MBP early 2011 i7 model and just acquired it last Aug 4. Ive spent hard earned money on this one. thats why im very disappointed that as early as 5 months i have this problem. would you kindly give advice on how i can do something about this?

TJ

Aside from last year’s predictions for an all-new iPhone 5, case manufacturers have traditionally been a good source of information for forthcoming Apple devices. Take the iPad 2, for example. We had a good idea what the device would look like before it launched thanks to cases produced by several Chinese manufacturers.

It’s no surprise to us, then, that manufacturers are already building cases for the third-generation iPad, but what do they say about Apple’s next device? Well, it’ll be called the “iPad 2S,” rather than the “iPad 3,” according to this particular manufacturer. And it’ll look much the same as the iPad 2, only 1mm thicker.

I’m with Shawn Blanc. I miss “Save As” too.

When FaceTime was first introduced back in June 2010, Steve Jobs noted the video calling feature would be available to users over 3G once the necessary agreements with carriers had been made. Nearly a year on, FaceTime still requires a Wi-Fi connection, but it could be about to make its debut over 3G in Germany.

Tree is an outliner with a difference – it offers an unusual horizontal view of your document alongside a host of useful outlining features.

The guys over at Macminicolo just celebrated their seventh birthday (Happy Birthday!), and took a look at some numbers. During those years, the humble Mac mini’s benchmarks have increased by some 1429%.

Jailbreakers can bring Apple’s Cover Flow effect to their iOS docks with a new tweak called Overflow. Created by App Store and jailbreak developer Adam Bell, Overflow works with tweaks like Infinidock and Springtomize to let you easily scroll through docked apps like album covers in the Music app.

As the last-minute leaks about Apple’s education event tomorrow come in, a code name for the company’s secret textbook project has surfaced: “Bliss.” According to anonymous sources for AppleInsider, the digital textbook technology is also inspired by Apple board member Al Gore’s Our Choice eBook app.

AT&T has been forcing the same crappy $25 for 2GB plan down everyone’s throat since June 2010, but now they’re upgrading it for the first time. Starting Sunday, AT&T will be upgrading all their new smartphone data plans with larger data allocations… and larger prices. Yes, pay-by-the-month iPad users, that means you too.

Chinese manufacturer Foxconn has been the center of much criticism lately, with reports of worker suicides and the inhumane treatment of employees stirring up controversy. The issue has even reached the desk of funnyman Jon Stewart at The Daily Show.

Popular radio show This American Liferecently aired an episode on Foxconn that every Apple/technology enthusiast should listen to. Monologist Mike Daisey describes his trip to Shenzhen, China and the mini-city known as Foxconn. (And this isn’t the first time he’s spoken out on Foxconn’s behalf.) It’s an incredibly interesting look at where our gadgets come from and the people that make them.

Fortune editor Adam Lashinsky’s book Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired—and Secretive—Company Really Works will hit the shelves on January 25th, but that hasn’t stopped juicy tidbits of information from leaking out beforehand. An extended excerpt from the book hit the web today, and it reaffirms what we cultists already know: Apple is very, very secretive.

According to Lashinsky, Apple dances on the “link between secrecy and productivity” with excruciating precision. In fact, the only things Apple seems to prize more than its products are its secrets.

Some bits and bobs of tech just never seem to go away entirely no matter how much tech you own, and just as you always need to have a printer around for that rare printout, there’s always a need to have access to a scanner to digitize the stray scrap of paper or mottled receipt.

With so many people now ditching their laptops for iPads, the iConvert aims to fill a niche. Featyring a front feeder adjustable from between 2- and 8.5-inches wide, the iConvert can scan almost anything normal sized you throw at it, and digitize them directly to your iPad’s picture folder as 300 DPIs.

Pretty swank for the mobile road warrior looking to keep his portfolio of documents as svelte as his iPad 2. Couple this with an OCR app, you’re all set. $150 when it goes on sale in February, courtesy of Brookstone.

While the feature is currently still in beta, Apple is yet to extend Siri support to apps that aren’t already baked into the iOS operating system. But did you know that the company’s own Find My Friends app, which debuted alongside iOS 5 last summer, does include Siri support, allowing you to locate your pals using only your voice?

Here’s you to find your friends using Siri.

In last week’s Friday Night Fights, Cult of Android’s Vincent Messina and I argued about what was superior: the iPhone’s 3.5-inch display versus Android’s 4+ inch superphones. In my argument, I posited that one reason Android phones had such huge displays was because it allowed them to cram more battery into the device, but as it turns out, there’s a better reason: Android sucks at scaling UI elements.

Yesterday, we told everyone who was still rocking a jailbreak under iOS 4.3.3 (mainly iPad 2 users) to upgrade to the soon-to-be-jailbroken-for-A5-devices iOS 5.0.1 now, before Apple releases iOS 5.1, which closes the vulnerability. If you don’t, you might lose your chance for a jailbreak for good.

Here’s the caveat though. If you’re on an iPhone 4S and if you want to carrier unlock it down the line, don’t upgrade. iOS 5.0.1 has a different baseband than iOS 5, and while the Dev Team has an exploit for iOS 5 that they hope will lead to an unlock, they don’t know when or even if they’ll be able to crack open the later update.

I’m undoubtedly the least musically inclined person I know, which makes me furiously jealous as I watch my guitar playing friends pick up a guitar and serenade girls à la John Mayer. I need to learn how to play guitar, which is why I’m excited about this new iPad guitar accessory we came across at CES.  Ion Audio, makers of the iCade iPad arcade machine, unveiled their newest accessory that helps users perfect their guitar shredding chops on the iPad, so that even those of us without musical talent can look cool playing guitar.

Here’s a new cultural phenomenon: hand-me-down handsets. Owners of Apple’s hugely-popular iPhone are more apt than other cell phone consumers to either hand down their old device or sell it on the secondary market, researchers find. Indeed, Apple and carriers are discovering older iPhones are still money makers even after the latest device has grabbed the spotlight.

Do you have an old first or second gen iPod touch or iPhone? If so, you’re probably pretty red-faced with jealousy about all of those cool new iOS 5 features you’re missing out on: multi-tasking, reminders, iCloud, homescreen folders and so on.

There’s no reason your face has to be so flushed, though. Thanks to Whited00r, you can get iOS 5’s best features on your old iPod touch or iPhone 3G, no jailbreak required.

Remember the images of Android as unstoppable? Uh, it’s slowing down. Seems someone threw an iPhone 4S on the tracks and derailed the growth of the Google mobile operating system among new smartphone buyers. After the iPhone 4S’ October release, Android’s popularity with new phone buyers dropped from 61.1 percent to 46.9 percent.

Despite being decked out with new Macs, iOS devices, and accessories, customers visiting Apple’s SoHo store in New York City yesterday had better things to look at than the gadgetry. During a Q&A with White Collar star Matt Bomer, one crazy lady who had quite clearly been riding the magic jaybone decided it was a good time to rip off her shirt and begin screaming gibberish.