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Just how difficult could it be to distribute brand new iPads to every single pupil in a school? More difficult than you might think.

Fraser Speirs – caped superhero and Mac developer by night, school IT manager by day – has taken on the task at the school he works for in Scotland, and has started documenting the whole process for the benefit of anyone else who might be thinking of doing the same.

Here’s a great story.

New Yorker Philip Brocoum was strolling down Fifth Avenue in broad daylight when a man approached, punched him, and took off with his iPhone 4.

Clearly not the sort of person to let this be the end of the matter, Philip didn’t hesitate: he took after after the mugger, screaming “Somebody call the cops!” and “Give me back my phone!” at the top of his voice.

Remember: Fifth Avenue. Broad daylight. Lots of people about.

A passer-by joined the pursuit, and it didn’t take long for the thief to be caught up. He tried bluffing about having a knife, but Philip saw through it and grabbed him anyway. The iPhone was regained, the mugger ran off, and I’ll leave Philip to conclude the tale:

“Owning the newest Apple gadget is apparently very dangerous, ha ha. He didn’t go for my wallet or anything, he went for my iPhone. I might have to be more careful from now on and consider not wearing Apple’s signature ‘please mug me’ white earbuds. Oh well, live and learn, that’s New York City for ya.”

Every time you log in to your user account, you’ll have to wait while a handful of applications and background processes get themselves started.

Finder, for example, has to start running – otherwise you won’t get very far. On a brand new Mac you won’t find a lot of things running as well, but as time goes on and you add more software to the basic system, you might want to make some changes and decide exactly which apps run at log in.

There’s a place to do that in System Preferences, but it’s not immediately obvious exactly where.

If you can’t remember how much you’ve had to drink — or have the bad luck to go out with people who never want to pay — this pub in Manchester has come up with a clever solution.

At Taps, the tables have built-in beer taps and an iPod Touch keeps tracks of just how many pints of the two kinds of beers have been glugged from each spout.

Reader Grzegorz over at Access Advertising sent us these pics of the iPod tab in action, noting that it’s also nice for parties: “You can top up the app at the bar and when your beer runs out, the app will close the tap. You have to go back to the bar to top it up.”

While it’s not fool proof (note the folks at the table drinking wine and what looks like stout — not available from these two lager taps) but it might be a way of avoiding runaway bar tabs.

The iPod tab runs via an app called DraftMagik one of DraftServ’s “point-of-pour” solutions for bars.

The iPad version of a book featuring photos and recipes favored by Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini sits at the number two spot of the top paid apps in Italy’s iTunes store.

Titled “A Tavola con Il Duce” (literally: sitting at the table with Il Duce), the €0.79 ($0.99) book is currently available only in the Italian language but can be purchased in the US and other international iTunes stores.

Promising never-before published anecdotes and pictures from Mussolini’s daily life, it is the iPad version of the 2004 book written by Sophia Loren’s sister, Maria Scicolone, who was married to il Duce’s son Romano Mussolini.

There’s been a lot of speculation that Apple will use space-age Liquidmetal alloys to make morphing iPhones or other sci-fi technology, but the company has already used the exotic alloy — and in the most unlikely place.

We start the week with several deals for the Mac fan. First up is a freebie game from the App Store, “Hungry Shark Part 1” for the iPhone. Next up, MacConnection has a new batch of MacBook Pro laptops, starting at $1,099 for a 2.4GHz unit. We wrap-up the featured deals with a 22-inch iMac from the Apple Store for $929.

Along the way, we’ll check out other Mac deals, including a bargain on an 8GB iPod touch, an iPod charger kit and various iPhone, iPad and iPod software.

As usual, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Recall all the fuss made when smartphones, such as the BlackBerry and the Droid were lumped in with the iPhone 4 by Apple to prove all phones had reception problems? Although the Cupertino, Calif. company eventually removed the pages from its site, Apple is getting some unexpected support – From Droid 2-manufacturer Motorola.

TechCrunch cites “a good number of reports” from users of the Droid 2 (sold by Verizon) about lost signals, even without touching the phone. The report also points to an Engadget review that demonstrated “endless fluctuating bar counts” and other problems.

As we all know, the iPad has problems charging through some USB ports… specifically if your USB port doesn’t support 10 watts of output. According to XMultiple Technologies, a solution to those beleaguered by iPad charging problems are just a $5 dongle away from serendipitous juicing forever.

Basically, it’s a sort of power-serving bridge device that you slide prophylactically over your existing Apple Dock Connector cable and which will magically allow USB ports that don’t serve 10 watts to juice up an iPad, thanks to some integrated electronics. Hmmm.

XMultiple Technologies says the iXP1-500 is “100% guaranteed to work.” I’m not quite sure how it could work, though. A dongle that isn’t externally powered isn’t going to magically serve up more electricity to an underpowered USB port. I’m guessing that the integrated electronics send a faked message to the iPad that it’s drawing enough power to charge, even when it isn’t.

More to the point, even an iPad that gives a “not charging” message is usually charging, albeit extremely slowly. So what we most likely have here is a placebo: a dongle that probably does nothing but trick the iPad into not serving up the “Not Charging” message. In other words, while the iXP1-500 is “100% guaranteed to work,” it’s still probably something of a scam. For $5, though, you don’t really have a lot to lose to give it a try for yourself.

Genius. In the style of Atom-embedded computer-in-a-keyboard solutions like the Asus EEE Keyboard, a plucky modder gutted a partially dead MacBook Air and crammed its workings into an old, heavily modified Apple Keyboard casing, precisely topped by an Apple Wireless keyboard and Magic Trackpad snuggled together.

The result? The MacBook Air Project, an all-in-one Mac-in-a-keyboard: just plug in a monitor to the MacBook Air keyboard’s DVI port and you’re ready to rip. Hey Apple: this is what the next Mac mini should look like!

Apple’s legendary reputation of being full of control-freaks raised its head over the weekend. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, some companies complain it could take more than two months to create and display a spot on Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform.

“Apple has kept tight control on the creative aspects of ad-making, something advertisers aren’t used to,” the newspaper reported Sunday, citing ad execs. One source told the Journal, Apple’s involvement could extend building an ad two weeks longer than usual.

We’ve been hearing from analysts how the iPad will destroy the netbook market. Now we see the end result: from one of the companies that began the trend toward inexpensive laptops, Asustek Computer. The maker of the Eee PC expects to ship 1.4 million Eee PC netbooks in the third-quarter – fewer than planned, according to a Monday report.

“Because of decreased shipments of motherboards, notebooks and netbooks, Asustek’s financial performance for the second quarter declined on quarter,” Asustek Computer president CEO Jerry Shen announced August 13.

Remember the Apple Peel 520, a case that allows you to take a jailbroken iPod Touch and turn it into a bonafide phone capable of texting and messaging?

It’s got some competition: the tPhone does basically the same thing, allowing you to slot any SIM into the case to enable calling and texting on your iPod Touch.

The main advantage here, though, is in the enclosed battery, which bests the Peel 520 with the inclusion of a 1200mAh pack, offering 50% more juice than the Peel, as well as a built-in mini USB port for charging.

The only drawbacks? Like the Peel 520, you need a jailbroken iPod Touch to enable calling, and unfortunately, the tPhone case is significantly more expensive than the Peel, costing almost $100.

Tech blogger Keith of Bit-101 just picked himself up a fancy new USB microscope, and as was his geeky wont, he immediately started aiming it at two gadgets just lying around on his desk.

On the left? The Kindle’s e-paper display, magnified 26x and 400x, respectively. On the right? The iPad’s. Thanks to the nature of e-ink, the Kindle display resolves amazingly well even blown up twenty six times, while the iPad must resort to software anti-aliasing to keep things smooth. Imagine how well that would look with a Retina Display, though.

It’s when you get to four hundred levels of magnification that things get really interesting, though, with the Kindle display breaking down into several strata of monochrome granularity, while the iPad ‘s pixels become a series of colorful bumpers of primary RGB dots. Neat!

[via Gadget Lav]

Can’t bear to part with your mouse, but in love with the slim slate of touch-capable glass and aluminum, the Magic Trackpad? 9to5Mac calls our attention to this gorgeous mousepad by Just Mobile, the Alupad.

Gorgeously carved from a slap of anodized aluminum, then infused with a coating of iPod ivory plastic, the Alupad looks like the mousepad Apple would create if they bothered themselves with such things… and makes me even sadder that the Magic Trackpad itself isn’t large or flush enough to double as a mousepad when it’s not in use.

The price is right, too: $35 is a lot to spend for a mousepad, but most mousepads just wouldn’t go with our iMacs nearly as well.

[via 9to5Mac]

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r71t-FSoFAI&feature=player_embedded

With Apple’s recent acquisition of LiquidMetal, a lot of people have been wondering just what they’ll use their new and incredibly T-1000-like metal alloy for.

Meanwhile, we’ve been running a contest asking readers to guess what hardware element Apple is already making out of LiquidMetal. The prize? A new Magic Trackpad, which — protip — doesn’t have any LiquidMetal in it at all.

For answers, perhaps we should look at what other highly design focused companies are doing with the alloy. The interesting video from watchmaker Omega embedded above shows one possible use for the Liquid Technologies supermaterial: super durable and gorgeously aesthetic bezels.

Would Apple drop serious bank on an exclusive license to Liquidmetal just to make nicer bezels? Or are they already doing so? Your guess is as good as mine, but Leander will set us all straight later today when he announces the winner of our contest. You may want to get your last minute guesses in now

Apple keeps plugging away at getting their iOS-oriented social gaming network, Game Center, and the latest version in developer builds of iOS 4.1 include new parental features to the mix.

Joining other parental features like turning off access to Safari, YouTube, in-app purchases or location services, the new option will allow users to restrict multiplayer game settings per device. Given the amount of homophobia, racism and downright vile smacktalk that takes place in multiplayer games on other services like Xbox Live, it’s probably a wise addition.

Game Center’s probably nearing launch: Apple has tended to heavily tout the iPod Touch as a gaming device over the past year, and with a hardware refresh of that device likely to happen in September or October, we can probably expect Game Center to drop simultaneously, bundled in iOS 4.1.

[via Apple Insider]

There’s a lot of money in iPhone accessories, but one midlevel Apple manager may have taken things too far after he managed to make over $1 million in kickbacks for supplying Asian suppliers and manufacturers insider information about new products and other internal decisions.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Paul Shin Devine — a global supply chain manager within Apple — used an elaborate network of national and foreign bank accounts as well as a front company to receive payments for his information. He has since been arrested and named in a 23-count federal grand jury indictment for wire fraud and money laundering. The Asian accessory manufacturers with whom Devine did business have not been named.

Needless to say, Apple’s none too happy about this:

“Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business,” Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement. “We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company.”

In fact, Apple has so little tolerance for these sorts of shady ethics that they have filed a separate civil lawsuit against Devine. Even if he escapes prison, Devine is going to be sued into a gelatin slurry by his former employers.

Somehow, I’m guessing Devine didn’t quite think this through all the way.

Near Field Communication, or NFC, is a short range wireless technology that allows you to use your mobile phone for mobile payments. In other words, walk into a cafe, wave your phone over a NFC-sensitive plate and you could automatically buy yourself a cup of coffee, no cash required. Or wave your handset in front of a parking meter to fill it up with a couple hours without digging through your change purse.

Last month, we reported that AT&T was looking to use NFC to allow their smartphones to work as the equivalent of debit cards, but it looks like Apple’s getting serious about NFC too… they’ve just hired Benjamin Vigier, an expert on NFC technogloy, as its new product manager for mobile commerce.

Just you wait: in a couple years time, you’ll be leaving your credit card at home and doing all of your payments with your iPhone.

[via Mac Rumors]

Stuck using Windows Vista or 7 on your work machine? You poor sucker. Luckily, though, you’ve got a new option: the freeware Snow Transformation Pack will make your Windows install look like OS X.

The pack’s transformative effect is quite remarkable: it will change the appearance of your system from the login screen, wallpapers, sounds, dock and even dialog boxes. You’ll have to turn off UAE to install it, though.

Overall, the Snow Transformation Pack looks pretty good, but let’s call a spade a spade: as decent an operating system as Windows 7 is, this is the equivalent of printing Angelina Jolie’s face on a paper bag and slapping it over the head of a gross street walker. Unless you have no choice, you can do better.

Tired of couch computing while holding your iPad with one hand?  Now you can rest your posterior in style with the iPad Chair from Elite Home Theater Seating:

With the Luxa2 H4 iPad holder firmly securing the remarkable device in its tight grasp with its 6 rubber pins, you can now wield the power of the iPad in total relaxation with both hands free. The holder slides into the existing cupholder of the Elite HTS chair, and can then swivel and pivot 360 degrees. In addition, the iPad can be rotated vertically or horizontally, and can even be positioned flat like a table.

Company founder and CEO Bobby Bala explains:

We wanted to enhance the iPad experience by increasing the comfort level of the user.  Our testing indicates this increases the level of interaction and escapism with the device.

Pricing for your very own captain’s chair (with dual-seat-cushion support and powered footrest) starts at only $2495 – a more affordable luxury for those who can’t swing $20k for the iPad Bed!

Thanks to Low End Mac for the tip.

With hundreds of thousands of applications and games already in the App Store, and more and more added daily, it’s often hard to notice some of the great apps that are available for your iOS device. That’s where Cult of Mac’s weekly must-have shortlist comes in: we’ll compile a list at the end of each week to showcase a few of our favorites and pick out the best of the bunch. Check out this week’s after the break!

The first video sex chat service to use FaceTime on the iPhone 4 has just launched.

The service — iP4play.com — claims to offer “the hottest Video Chat models from the sexy girl next door to Penthouse’s finest.”

Interactive video sex chat is nothing new, but FaceTime offers portability and convenience. Who knows when the need for sex chat will strike? It’s also somewhat more discreet that a 27-inch iMac screen.

FaceTime is an iPhone 4-only videonferencing service that works over Wi-Fi. Both parties must have an iPhone 4 for it work. FaceTime calls are free, and it’s unclear how iP4play.com will charge for calls. It looks as though the company will charge the user’s credit card for a pre-set time with the performer, who will hang up when the time runs out.

UPDATE: iP4play.com says calls will start at $4.00/minute. 5-7 models will be online simultaneously to start.

As soon as Apple launched FaceTime, the porn industry recognized its potential for interactive sex services, which can command premium payments from clients. The industry started advertising for performers on Craigslist last month.

According to iP4play.com, here’s how it works: