Exposé is an OS X feature designed to help you move around many documents and applications quickly and easily.

All you have to do is push a button (or move your mouse in a particular way, or drag your fingers on the trackpad), and all your open windows, from all your open applications, will be displayed on screen at once, shrunk down so that you can see them all.

During his anti-Google diatribe this afternoon, Steve Jobs said the Google-versus-Apple, open-versus-closed debate is a smokescreen. It makes no sense to say Apple is closed while Google is open when the real issue is fragmentation versus integration.

Jobs said Google’s Android platform is fragmented. There are too many different versions of the operating system and too many devices, making it a headache for consumers and developers. Apple’s iOS devices on the other hand aren’t fragmented, because they are “vertically integrated.” Apple closely integrates the software with the hardware, and they “just work.”

But what does he mean exactly by “vertical integration?” And why is it so important?

I wrote about this at length in my book, Inside Steve’s Brain. In fact, I think it’s critical to understanding why Jobs and Apple are killing it in consumer electronics right now.

So here’s Chapter Eight — “Total Control: The Whole Widget,” — in its entirety.

Here’s a juicy excerpt, already up on YouTube, from Apple’s conference call today where Steve Jobs dropped by and  bashed Google repeatedly with an Apple-shaped hammer.

Steve Jobs is no stranger to hyperbole, but sometimes he says things that make the hair on your neck stand up. Here he is on the future of the iPad:

Well, the iPad is clearly going to affect notebook computers. And I think the iPad proves it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. There’s a lot of development and progress that will occur over the next few years, but we’re already seeing tremendous interest in iPad from education and, much to my surprise, from business.

We haven’t pushed it real hard in business and it’s being grabbed out of our hands. I talk to people every day in all kinds of businesses that are using iPads… The more time that passes, the more I am convinced that we’ve got a tiger by the tail here and this is a new model of computing — you know we’ve already got tens of millions of people trained on with the iPhone — and that lends itself to lots of different aspects of life, personal, educational, and business. I see it as very general purpose and very big… One could argue about the timing endlessly, but I don’t think you can argue it’s going to happen.

Steve Jobs made an unusual visit to Apple’s quarterly conference call today, sounding ebullient about Apple’s record sales figures for the fourth quarter of 2010, and boasted of Apple’s dominance over RIM, bashed Google and praised both the homogeny of iOS and the careful thinking that went into the design of the iPad compared to the “avalanche of tablets. Here’re the highlights, and some juicy quotes:

Apple announced a record $20.4 billion in revenue during the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter, and a profit of $4.31 billion, in a press release ahead of their quarterly financial conference call.

Sales of Macs increased a sizable 27 percent from the same quarter last year; 14.1 million ipPhones were sold, a whopping 91 percent increase from last year’s Q4.

“We are blown away to report over $20 billion in revenue and over $4 billion in after-tax earnings—both all-time records for Apple,” Steve Jobs said in Apple’s press release.

iPad sales topped out at just over four million, and iPod sales declined by 11 percent.

For new iPhoners, the idea of gulping down unlimited swathes of data is just a magical thing of the past, spoken of with hushed tones, in the days before fear of data overages gripped the iPhone universe.

Fear not though, new iPhoner — the tools exist to keep from accidentally punching through the monthly 3G data allotment. Readers who’ve been following our Essential App series (and who live in the States) have no doubt already equipped their iPhones with AT&T’s free myWireless app, which counts and bar graphs data usage; but there’s an even more precise and powerful weapon available: DataMan

Australian airliner, Qantas Airlines, is to begin offering the iPad for in-flight entertainment to travellers on its Jetstar flights.

Qantas have been testing the tablet device on its planes since back in June, and passengers had the opportunity to rent the tablet device for $10 (AUS). Following its success, the airliner is now ready to deploy the iPad across its Jetstar flights.

A spokesman for Jetstar told Dow Jones Newswires on Monday of their plan:

“We’re in the final stages of putting in place what would be a broader roll out across the network. We’re in ongoing discussion with the manufacturer around a more integrated network proposition.”

We’re unsure what an “integrated network” could mean at this point, but it seems that it might be a streaming service for music, movies, TV shows, and games, so that passengers can choose entertainment to suit them, rather than have to pick from what’s available on the device.

Check out the great graphic below from designer Spencer Caldwell. It shows the screen sizes of Apple’s full lineup of machines — and where the rumored 11-inch MacBook Air will slot in.

Look how neatly it slots into the lineup. It’s pretty stunning. It’s almost like there was a hole just begging to be filled with a 11.6-inch machine.

We start off with a deal for your iPhone or iPod touch which we admit might be a little fishy. “The Little Carp That Jumped Over the Dragon Gate” is an e-book from the iTunes App Store. The story is in English, with Japanese and traditional Chinese and Chinese translations. You won’t need translation for the price, however: it’s free – $2 off the regular cost. Also in the deal spotlight is the Acase Aegis Power External Battery Case for the iPhone 4. It includes a 1700mAh battery, LED power indicator, micro USB charging cord, and more. Finally, you may go hook, line and sinker for the fishbone mesh hardback iPhone 4 case – it’s just $2.51 with product code.

Along the way, we’ll also check out a skin for your iPad, as well as software for your Mac. As usual, details on these and many other bargains can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

Remember Kuato, the stomach-dwelling mutant from Total Recall? Of course you do.

For some time, many have seen the iPad as only a threat to the PC industry. However, Apple’s tablet could actually breathe life into that market, providing new blood for an anemic industry. If the iPad is classified a PC, third-quarter sales growth in the U.S. would climb to 24 percent, up from a measly 4 percent, according to an analyst.

“The iPad is driving a rapid, unprecedented shift in the structure of the computing industry,” Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore told investors Monday. For Apple, if the iPad were classified alongside the iMac, MacBook and Mac Pro, computer sales for the Cupertino, Calif. company would go through the roof – climbing from 24 percent year-over-year growth to 250 percent, Whitmore said. This when PC leader HP saw sales increase just three percent and Dell watched demand fall five percent.

If you’ve ever participated in any kind of canvassing for a political party or for pet causes, you know what an excruciating experience it can be on every level.

From having to put on a cheesy smile as you approach busy strangers in the street to having to put all the information together back in the office, it’s just one of the most tedious tasks around, apart from, say, taking out the garbage.

The Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America have gone a long way to address all of that with their thoughtfully-designed iPhone/iPAD/iPOD Touch canvassing and organizing application, which was launched earlier this month. It’s one of the best tools I’ve seen.

Apple is expected to announce its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2010 later today. Many professional analysts are predicting blow-out revenue for the Cupertino, Calif. company, particularly for iPhone sales. However, will this be another case where unofficial estimates are closer to reality?

Although a poll of professional analysts affiliated with a financial research firm largely agree that Apple will report $18.86 billion in quarterly revenue, the consensus of unaffiliated analysts forecast $20.37 billion. The numbers are somewhat more in agreement on product sales. Wall Street expects sales of 11.38 million iPhones (versus 12 million for the blogger-analysts), 9.54 million iPods (versus 9.74 million for the unofficial analysts), 3.78 million Macs (compared to 4.01 million by bloggers) and 4.73 million iPads (compared to 5.52 million for the bloggers).

There’s very little information about Apple’s next big update to OS X, 10.7 or “Lion,” which may be previewed at Steve Jobs’ special “Back To The Mac” press event on Wednesday.

People are very excited, though, and they’re letting their imaginations run away with them. Among the features that have been suggested are an App Store for the Mac, multitouch controls, and iOS apps instead of the little-used Dashboard.

It’s an interesting list, but some stuff there that just isn’t going to happen… Here’s what is going to be in 10.7:

[Thanks to OS X Daily for the list]

On Wednesday, Steve Jobs will likely introduce a redesigned 13.3-inch MacBook Air with a bigger battery and more ports — yet thinner and lighter — than the current model, CultofMac.com has independently confirmed.

Apple will probably also add a second, smaller 11.6-inch “Netbook” version, according to our well-placed source.

Our information independently corroborates recent reports by AppleInsider, and Engadget, which ran a picture of a purported prototype over the weekend.

The new model is also apparently much snappier than its underpowered predecessor. “It boots so fast, it’s unbelievable,” our source says. “It’s amazing how fast it boots up.”

Cult of Mac readers with long memories will remember our reports on Tim Langdell’s battle with Mobigame. In essence, Langdell claimed ownership over the word ‘Edge’ for videogames (and a bunch of other products) and set about suing anyone that infringed on these rights. The problem for Langdell is that many claimed his marks weren’t valid and that he’d doctored submissions to the USPTO.

Langdell then sued EA (over Mirror’s Edge, due to the title being similar to Langdell’s ‘Mirrors (a game by) Edge’—seriously), waking a sleeping giant. In tandem with the ChaosEdge project, set up to assist Mobigame, EA set about dismantling Langdell’s arguments via some savvy lawyers; luckily for all concerned (bar Langdell) the judge that dealt with the case was equally savvy, and he stripped Langdell of his marks (Joystiq), and he’s now been booted out of the IGDA as well (Pocket Gamer).

But Mobigame wasn’t the only indie that suffered due to Langdell’s actions. Nalin Sharma had created the game Killer Edge Racing (see this Pocket Gamer interview for more), a fun, arcade racer that had rapidly evolved from a tech demo. Naturally, Langdell figured the game was passing off his ‘famous’ brand and would confuse gamers worldwide, who wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between an indie iOS game and Langdell’s own Edge Racers (in reality a redressed PC game called Voltage, as outlined by ChaosEdge).

In a word: gah.

But this tale has a happy ending. Sharma contacted us the other day to note that his game is back on the App Store. “Given the EA ruling, I thought I would take a chance, and in four days, it has done 6000 downloads and was the #15 racing game in the USA on Saturday,” he says.

To celebrate his racer’s return, Killer Edge Racing is currently on sale for 99c/59p (App Store link).

Want to pick yourself up one of Sanho’s amazing HyperMac batteries, which will allow you to recharge your MacBook, iPhone or iPad for dozens or even hundreds of hours on a single charge?

Well, better get moving: Sanho has just sent out a notice saying that they will soon stop selling their line of HyperMac products due to their current legal woes with Apple.

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If you had a PC in the 1980s, you might have fond memories of playing Sierra’s line-up of classic adventure games: King’s Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest, etc.

You’ll probably be delighted to learn, then, that these retro classics will soon be coming to the iPad, courtesy of Sarien.net. Best of all, they’ll be free.

It seems like just the other day that the App Store hit 200,000 apps, but the juggernaut just never stops, and sometime over the weekend, Apple rolled the speedometer over to 300k.

The numbers aren’t official yet, but according to Mobclix, their data shows that Apple added the 300,000th app to the App Store sometime on Saturday.

Is that old iPod Classic just not doing much since you got your 64GB fourth-gen iPod Touch? Wondering what to do with the old clickwheel? Head on over to Toys ‘R’ Us and trade it in for a Voltron or He-Man or Alien Goo Blaster or something. You can get up to $100 in gift cards for your old iPod, depending on how crappy it is.

That one programmer slaving away on Apple’s iOS Remote app has been working overtime, lately: he’s just issued an update to the app, fixing a number of bugs that showed up after the last major revision.

When the iPhone 4 launched in the Middle East — specifically in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar — it did so without support for FaceTime. Needless to say, this prompted some speculation. Why would Apple have dropped theFaceTime capability only from Middle Eastern iPhone 4? Was it a carrier restriction… or was Apple trying to sidestep Middle Eastern governments getting interested in regulating the new video chat standard?

It now seems like the real explanation probably has more to do with carrier restrictions than anything else. According to iRamadah, FaceTime works in the Middle East on the new iPod Touches, despite the fact that even on the iPhone 4, FaceTime is a WiFi-only standard. Seems at this point more likely that the carriers kicked for whatever reason than anything to do with Big Brother.

Two of the richest men in America met a couple of weeks ago to swirl brandy about the translucent skulls of Peruvian albinos and toast evil, say sources.

Well, actually, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg probably just discussed Ping when the Facebook CEO was invited over to Jobs’ house for dinner and a walk. Close enough.

Earlier this year, Etymotic began a new program that allows purchasers of pretty much any of their products — earphones, Bluetooth headsets, whatever — to own custom-molded eartips for an extra $100. Etymotic offered to let me try a set of these custom eartips (full disclosure: on their tab) with the hf2s I tested, and off we went.