Writer Lisen Stromberg lives in Palo Alto, just down the street from Steve Jobs. She has an awesome and touching post about Jobs as a neighbor who waves and says hello.

Spotify hasn’t even bothered with a native iPad app yet, but with their latest move, it looks like they might never have to: they are giving devs the tools to embed Spotify music streaming into their own apps.

If you’ve been waiting for Apple’s iPad 2 to be made available as discounted refurbished units through Apple’s online store, giddyup! They might not last long.

Hey, what do you know! A mere month before it is expected that Sprint will finally get an iPhone for its network to call its own, the nation’s fourth largest carrier is beefing up their early termination fees, thus guaranteeing that they will be able to milk the maximum amount of money possible from impatient switchers!

When HP killed its TouchPad, dropping the price to $99, the PC maker set off a firestorm of interest in the tablet that nobody previously wanted. Now HP said it will restart manufacturing for a limited time to meet what it says is “unfulfilled demand.”

It’s hardly a surprise that Steve Jobs made the cover of Newsweek the week after he announced his retirement as Apple’s CEO. What is surprising, though, is what a fitting tribute to Steve’s legacy it is. “American Genius” indeed. What a fantastic cover.

AT&T is now selling its first tablet compatible with its blazing fast new LTE network. Sad news, though: it’s not an iPad, just a crummy Android tablet.

Apple iPhone users, eagerly awaiting the extra bandwidth from AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile may have to tighten their belts. The U.S. Department of Justice Wednesday filed an antitrust lawsuit, blocking approval of the $39 billion deal on grounds it will “substantially lessen competition.”

Apple founder and recently retired CEO Steve Jobs has accumulated a personal fortune of $8.3 billion, but despite this, he is not known for his philanthropic contributions — at least, not publicly. According to the public record, he hasn’t given any money to charity in decades, and he reportedly declined to join Bill Gates’ and Warren E. Buffett’s Giving Pledge, a campaign to persuade the wealthiest to give away at least half their fortunes.

So is it time Jobs pulled a Bill Gates and start giving his money away?

Chinese environmental activists are threatening to tarnish Apple’s image unless the tech giant reduces the amount of pollution coming from suppliers in this populous country. Five non-governmental organizations Wednesday released a report charging Apple uses suppliers which take “advantage of the loopholes in developing countries’ environmental management systems.”

Find yourself longing for a numeric keypad while using Apple’s wireless keyboard? Mobee has an easy solution: a sticker that turns your Magic Trackpad into a ‘Magic Numpad‘.

It seems that parts for at least one of Apple’s upcoming iPhones are surfacing every day. Today’s component is the stainless steel band that surrounds the new device, which is distinctly different than those currently built for the GSM and CDMA iPhone 4.

Apple is reportedly working on a brand new new online diagnostics tool that could solve problems with your iOS device through your mobile Safari browser — saving you a trip to your local Apple store.

Apple provides a password reset utility that is very handy when you really need it. In versions of Mac OS X before Lion you accessed this utility by booting your Mac with the included restore DVD. Mac OS X Lion can still reset passwords, but for unknown reasons Apple decided to hide this ability.

Today’s tip will show you how to discover the hidden password reset tool in the Mac OS X Lion Recovery HD Utility.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzxi8nid9BQ

With a number of successful titles already in the App Store, I’m sure those of your who are into iOS gaming will have experienced at least one of Halfbrick Studio’s awesome titles. Its upcoming release, Jetpack Joyride, brings back the loveable Barry Steakfries for yet more carnage, and based on this trailer alone, I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

Remember that cool MacBook Pro with built-in 3G that one lucky surfer picked up on Craigslist? It got a lot of attention a couple weeks ago when it was listed on eBay, with bids in excess of $70,000. Unfortunately for its owner, Apple had the listing removed, and now it wants the machine back.

One of the most annoying features in OS X Lion for me has been the little checkbox on the shutdown dialog box that states, “Reopen windows when logging back in.” Going through the trouble of managing this checkbox every time I shut down is a hassle I’d rather not go through. Fortunately, there is a neat little Terminal trick that will allow you to render this button useless, as I’ll show you in the video below.

One of the absolute worst aspects of my television-watching endeavors has been the confusing use of multiple remotes. I’ve tried universal remotes but there’s always some function I need from DVD remote or DVR that is missing on the universal remote. Stepping up to the plate, the Griffin Beacon ($80) erases the need for five different remotes by providing users with one of the best universal remotes on the market, and interfaces it though iOS.

Unix geeks everywhere rejoice; GeekTool is now available in the Mac App Store. In case you didn’t know, GeekTool is a very powerful system preferences module that lets you do all sorts of cool things to your Mac’s desktop.

Want a live clock displayed on your Mac’s desktop? How about a weather widget? CPU usage? GeekTool is for you.

Ironically, the Jawbone Icon HD and Nerd package ($140) seems designed for the anti-nerd; those who have trouble adjusting BT settings on a computer and end up erasing the entire hard drive and setting the house on fire when they try.

Like many other connected security cams on the market, Stem Innovation’s new iZon ($130) touts an easy, all-in-one package that lets you monitor your home from the web or an iDevice through its app — but with with apparently  less frills, and at less expense.

When the deadline finally came for apps to conform to Apple’s new rules governing in-app purchases, giving Apple a 30% cut from any in-app purchase or subscription and eliminating links to outside e-shops, most of the biggest names — like Amazon’s Kindle app — ultimately grin and bore up.

Conspicuously, though, the Financial Times never updated its app… and after two months of standing defiant, the App Store ban hammer has finally dropped. Apple’s serious about their cut!

Grocery stores in the UK are about to get a whole lot more interesting. The Telegraph is reporting that the Sainsbury supermarket will start offering shopping carts to customers with built-in iPad docks.

That’s right, you’ll be able to check email while on your iPad while you shop. Just try to not hit anyone else in the aisle with your cart.

Multiple reports of Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook responding to customer emails have surfaced recently. If you recall, Steve Jobs was known for occasionally emailing back and forth with Apple fans and customers from his public [email protected] address.

It looks like Tim Cook is picking up the mantle and doing the same.

The best mobile browser for Android has just hit iOS. Called Dolphin, the browser specializes in being a gesture-based way to navigate the web, but does Dolphin have what it takes to go head-to-head with the competiing alt-browsers… let alone Mobile Safari?