Is your New Years’ Resolution to start video or audio podcasting? Mac OS X Lion includes all the tools you need to produce professional results. Here’s how.

Launched a few weeks ago, the Pogoplug Series 4 ($100) is Cloud Engines’ latest attempt at making their network-attached storage device as ubiquitous as the microwave oven. Like its predecessors, the S4 allows you to attach a hard drive or flash drive to create your own cloud, which you can use to stream media, share files or create slideshows, all of which can be accessed over the Internet and shared with others. Additionally, it can also be used for remote backup.

Known developer Steven Troughton-Smith has been able to run iOS App Store apps on the Apple TV fullscreen at the device’s full, 720p resolution. Troughton-Smith also worked on the Siri port that was demoed months ago and made available for jailbroken iOS devices last week.

With the help of another developer by the name of TheMudKip and Grant Paul’s MobileLaunchpad launcher, Troughton-Smith has been able to run iOS apps natively on the Apple TV without using AirPlay.

It’s a well-known fact that the late Steve Jobs was obsessed with simplicity and aesthetics, two traits that he drove into the core of Apple and will outlive him. What’s been less clear until his passing is how much those traits, his worldview, and the business that defines his legacy came from a lifelong affection for and interest in all things Japan.

Japanese tech journalist Hayashi Nobuyuki, who has covered Apple for years does a brilliant job chronicling Steve’s love of Japan in a piece for Nippon.com that I can’t recommend highly enough. A few of the tidbits can also be found in Walter Isaacson’s biography, but there are plenty of surprises to be had, as well. In particular, the stories of his vacations in Kyoto, the artisans and designers whose products he bought with regularity, and the time when he threatened to renounce the world and become a monk.

It’s a nice, pleasant read, perfect to enjoy with a cup of green tea and a headache. Happy New Year, everyone!

As 2011 comes to a close, it’s interesting to look back on Apple’s accomplishments throughout the year.

In this video, Cult Of Mac takes a look back at the top Apple events of 2011.

A famous Apple campaign goes: “Here’s to the crazy ones.” Of course the crazy ones usually get institutionalized. And that’s exactly what has happened to Apple. It seems that in recent weeks, Apple has been or announced plans to be, institutionalized.

Apple, which represents the newest of the new, both aesthetically and technologically, is embracing the old. Here’s what I’m talking about.

I have some good news for all you Verizon customers who were as upset as I was over the whole “convenience” fee fiasco. Verizon has decided to jump ship on the whole “convenience” fee idea after receiving immense backlash from customers as well as oodles of bad press (probably the bad press that did it). At one point it even looked as if the FCC was going to get involved, and for good reason: Verizon was simply trying to nickel and dime its customers. It’s not often we get to score one for the good guys, and this news has certainly put a smile on my face. Kudos to everyone who voiced their opinions, eventually forcing Verizon to release the following statement:

A photo of what is supposedly a next-generation iPad 3 display has surfaced on a Korean forum. The pic in question was tipped to MacRumors and has been making the rounds this afternoon.

The alleged iPad 3 display doesn’t tell us much of anything at all, other than the slight difference in cabling arrangement at the bottom of the panel.

Today’s tip is a simple one, but it fixes one of the most frustrating things that can happen when you’re browsing the web — especially on an iOS device. Have you ever hit your iPad’s display accidentally while browsing the web and closed a tab that included an article you were halfway through reading?

Thankfully, mobile Safari on the iPad has a handy feature that allows you to quickly access recently closed tabs.

Good news if you’re an Android user: an “official” Siri app is now available to download from the Android Market, claiming to be the “REAL Siri for Android.” Of course, it’s not official and it’s not real — it’s a shameless rip-off from a developer called “Viewide,” complete with Apple’s own icons.

Apple is being sued by its largest reseller in France. Profit by eBizcuss’s 16 locations dropped 30 percent during the third quarter due to Apple cutting the number of iPad 2s and MacBook Airs shipped, claims CEO Francois Prudent. The tipping point appeared when the tech giant opened its first French retail location in 2009, the lawsuit alleges.

Sometimes, in the race between Apple and Android we lose sight of the larger picture. Such is the case when tech media reported the Google-created mobile software leading iOS 46.9 percent versus 28.7 percent. In fact, a year-long review paints an entirely different scene – one that proves the old tale of the tortoise and the hare.

The popular jailbreak tweak vWallpaper has received a pretty significant update that finally brings live home screen wallpapers to iPhones running Apple’s latest iOS 5 software.

This rare photograph of Steve Jobs demonstrates the Apple co-founder’s infamous rebellious spirit as he “flips the bird” outside an IBM building in New York City. It was taken in 1983 when the Macintosh team visited the city for a meeting with Newsweek, and was posted to Google+ today by Andy Hertzfield, a member of the original Macintosh development team.

A recently discovered Apple patent reveals that the Cupertino company could be planning to introduction facial recognition technology to its Mac and iOS devices. The system would allow users to login to multi-user machines using only their face, much like the facial recognition feature recently introduced to Google’s Android operating system.

While some reports have claimed that Apple’s iPad 3 will be thicker than its current-generation tablet so that the company can make room for a stunning Retina display, it seems that may not be the case. Sources in Apple’s supply chain claim that the Cupertino company will instead utilize IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) displays from Sharp that will allow the device to retain its slender form factor, while sporting a new “full HD level” display.

It seems it’s all RIM can do these days just to hang on to the, well, rim. A new report by Business Insider reveals the same predictable result in last quarter’s round of the Smartphone Wars: Apple’s subscriber base is growing, with Android also growing, but at twice the speed — and mostly at the expense of Blackberry-maker Research In Motion.

The Sennheiser HD 650’s ($500) audio performance is among the best available, but they won’t be worth their high price tag unless you’re willing to listen to them correctly, and for some, the hassle may not be worth it.

2011’s been the best year yet to be an Apple fan, absolutely flush with exciting new apps, products and accessories. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been letting you vote on the best Apple-related games, apps, accessories and products of the year, and we’ve come up with some truly fantastic finalists. Now it’s time to declare the best of each category: best Mac App, best iOS game, best iOS app, best jailbreak tweak, best Apple product accessory and best Apple product. As we all know from Highlander, there can be only one… but did your favorite app or product of the year get beheaded in our finalist rounds? Find out Cult of Mac’s picks for the best of Apple for 2011, after the jump.

A questionable report was making the rounds this morning from Taiwan-based publication Digitimes saying that Apple was planning to introduce two new iPads at the Macworld|iWorld conference on January 26th, 2012. The models were said to be targeted for the low-end and high-end consumer markets.

We voiced skepticism about this rumor (which also claimed that the iPad 3 would feature double the battery life and a higher-quality display), and now the Digitimes report has been debunked.

When we install new apps on our iOS devices, they don’t just take up the storage space needed for the app itself, but they also consume space needed for storing “documents & data.” This can be all sorts of things, including save files for your games, pictures, videos, and content downloaded through in-app purchases.

Here’s how to see how much storage space each of your apps is using for “documents & data,” and how you can reclaim that precious space.

First came the consumer wave of tablet users, now it’s the turn of small business. Almost 75 percent of small businesses plan to mark 2012 with a tablet — odds on an iPad. “The iPad, just in the consumer market, is synonymous for ‘tablet’ in the business market,” new research finds.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwwWqRV2RsI

(Warning: video is NSFW)

All I wanted for Christmas was an iPhone. That’s it. But my parents went off and bought me a stupid Kindle Fire…those dumb bastards. Actually I’d be pretty happy with receiving a new Kindle Fire, and I already have an iPhone 4S with the fancy camera and everything so I don’t need a new one of those, but apparently a lot of people were disappointed on Christmas morning when they didn’t unwrap a shiny new iPhone. Taking the audacity of privileged consumerism to new heights of hilarity, comedy writer Jon Hendren compiled the stream of dejected tweets into a music video to express the world’s ingratidude.

“WTF?! I Wanted An iPhone” is a catchy (but NSFW) tune that captures little treasures of bitterness that bloomed on Christmas morning. The enormous display of ingratitude is a bit shocking. Hey @SamStandsFoSwag we’re sorry mom and dad got you the black iPod Touch instead of the white one, but maybe when you graduate high school and get a job you’ll realize, “Oh dang, spending $200 on a silly music player is not the funnest thing to do in world.”

While there are countless little-known videos on YouTube that are well worth a watch for any Apple fan, this Ghostbusters parody has to be one of the best. The clip was filmed for an International Sales Meeting held in 1984 and it sees a team called the “Blue Busters” free the world from IBM PCs and replace them with the Macintosh.

Just how popular were Kindles as Christmas gifts? Amazon said today it sold at least 4 million of the devices in December, or 1 million each week. Sounds great until we check Apple numbers and find the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant demolished the Internet retailer’s sales hype in about one day.