One year after his liver transplant, Steve Jobs is back to his old self. While he still struggles with low weight as a result of health issues, insiders and analysts say he’s “invigorated,”  and “fully operational” partially as a result of the iPad launch.

“Except for the fact that he’s lost a lot of weight, he’s the Steve Jobs of old,” said Tim Bajarin, who has followed Apple for more than two decades as founder of technology consulting firm Creative Strategies in Campbell, California told Bloomberg.

“At the visionary level, technology and design level, he seems to be working at the same level as he was before he was sick. If I was an investor, I’d be thrilled.”

The recent update of Apple’s line of MacBook Pro computers will help the Cupertino, Calif. computer maker have its third consecutive 20 percent gain in quarterly Mac sales, an analyst told investors Tuesday.

“Mac momentum is strong, helped by a recent significant refresh of the MacBook Pro to new Intel Arrandale processors,” Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. wrote. Along with a better price, Wu cited “an industry best 8-10 hours of battery life.”

AT&T may not be too concerned about chatter Verizon could be added to the list of U.S. carriers offering Apple’s iPhone. The Dallas-based carrier may have an insurance policy of sorts in the form of a deal with Apple hammered out in 2007, making AT&T the sole U.S. iPhone carrier through 2012, according to a report by Engadget.

Although much of an antimonopoly lawsuit against AT&T and Apple remains sealed, the gadget blog uncovered testimony from the Cupertino, Calif. company agreeing with a 2007 USA Today report saying the consumer device giant and carrier had signed a five-year exclusivity arrangement amid the unveiling of the first iPhone. Verizon, now in the news as a potential addition to AT&T, rejected the original deal, according to the newspaper.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za8V2IiGCfY&feature=player_embedded

The iPad’s amazing display can handle eleven simultaneous touch events, or enough probing digits to comfortably handle all but polydactylic concert pianists. Just to prove it, though, Instinctive Code developer Matt Gemmell wrote an open-source program to test it all out.

Yup. It goes up to 11. Not a bad little program, but personally, I still prefer the Plants vs. Zombies proof:

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP6lIcScVh0&feature=player_embedded

[via 9to5Mac]

MobileMe may be the one Apple product I’ve never been tempted enough to at least consider pulling the trigger on. Although it’s got a number of useful features — cloud storage, email, photo galleries, syncing of contacts across all devices, and the super useful “Find My iPhone” feature — a lot of the functionality is achievable through free, third-party applications. Given that, MobileMe’s $99 annual fee has always seemed a bit steep.

According to a MacDailyNews rumor, though, MobileMe might be posed to become a lot more tempting. According to their source, MobileMe will become free of charge “sooner rather than later” depending on “certain facilities going operational…” a clear reference to Apple’s new North Carolina server farm.

That’s great news if true, although frankly, Apple doesn’t need to entirely drop the fee to get me to finally bite the bullet: even if they only cut it by $50, they’d have my credit card number in a flash.

The horse race between the iPhone and Android just gets muddier. The latest spec on the lens is a new study from retail sales analysts at NPD Group. In the U.S., Google’s mobile phone software is ahead of Apple’s iconic handset, NPD announced Monday. Android led Apple 28 percent to 21 percent, with RIM’s BlackBerry still leading with 36 percent, according to the research firm.

But didn’t comScore announce recently the exact opposite: Apple had 25 percent of the market and Android was still in single-digits with 9 percent of U.S. smartphones? How can Apple both lead and trail Google? “It’s entirely reasonable,” comScore’s Andrew Lipsman told the Wall Street Journal.

Responding to a number of iPad WiFi issues including weak signal reception, forgotten passwords, dropped connections and other network problems, Apple tech support has promised a patch for a “very small number” of beleaguered iPad owners.

According to a recently published note on Apple’s tech support site, iPad owners having problems connecting to WiFi networks should first consider updating their router firmware, using WPA or WPA2 wireless security, renewing your IP address, switching channels and (bizarrely) “adjusting screen brightness.”

If none of that works, hold out for a patch. According to the note, ” Apple will address remaining Wi-Fi connectivity issues with a future iPad software update.” Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Say hello to Goober, the next in a long line of applications aimed at becoming the unified communications solution to bridge your highest aspirations for chat, SMS, VoIP and videoconferencing.

A far-flung diaspora of those disenchanted with legacy voice providers has been champing at the bit promised long ago when engineers at Cisco perfected devices for turning voice into 1s and 0s — and Goober offers a promising stab at something close to 21st Century communication’s reach for the Holy Grail.

Close. But no cigar.

Adium is an all-purpose instant messenger application for OS X, and a very useful app to have around.

Remember how, back on Windows, you used to use the Win key and the Control key quite often? Well, on OS X, the Command key is your best friend.

There are two Command keys, one each side of the spacebar. You should find them easy to reach with your thumbs while typing.

President Obama knows how to get a laugh: say you are all thumbs when it comes to iPods, iPads and the like.

His quip — that he doesn’t know how to use iDevices or gaming platforms — got laughs at what otherwise might have been a ho-hum commencement address at Hampton University on Saturday.

“And meanwhile, you’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank that high on the truth meter.

And with iPods and iPads; and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work — (laughter) — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it’s putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy.”

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We’ve got some GREAT iPhone apps to give away, but we’re keeping it a surprise as to which ones they are! Let’s just put it this way, we’ve got games, utilities, GPS apps, and much more. Here’s how it will work:

1. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (this is a must or else you won’t know when we drop the codes).
2. I will randomly drop the codes in a tweet or as a wall post on Facebook throughout the day until 12:00am EST
3. The codes are a free-for-all, so the first one to redeem it, claims it. If you want to be nice, @mention us or post a comment on the Facebook page with the one you took so people don’t bother going for that one.
4. To redeem the codes, either log in to the iTunes store from iTunes on your desktop and look for the “redeem” link, or open up the “app store” app on your iPhone, and scroll all the way down to the bottom. Push the “Redeem” button, and type in the code.

**We don’t have time to go through every code and verify that it’s still good, so if they are expired, just let us know. There are numerous reasons why they expire. Some just expire after 30 days, and others expire if a new version of the app has come out. Codes are good only for those that have access to the U.S. iTunes store. Keep following us throughout the day, so you don’t miss out!

These apps are brought to you by a great PR and Marketing firm for iPhone app developers:

Who knew that the headphone jack on your iPhone could be so freaking functional?!

Perhaps anticipating the release of no-brainer summer blockbuster MacGruber, HMB Tec has a host of gadgets that plug right into your iPhone headphone jack and turn your device into an oscilloscope, stethoscope, thermometer, or pocket fan–whichever necessary tools your dire situation requires.

The accessories cost between $20 and $90 (not including shipping) and HMB TEC’s apps cost between $ 0.99 and $4.99.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adSZdQTk0nI&feature=player_embedded

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6QqE3a8LzA&feature=player_embedded

[via recombu.com]

A charity group is hoping that if you spend a few days with a homeless person — even an animated one on your iPhone — you’ll understand the problems they face. And perhaps donate to the cause.

iHobo was developed by Depaul UK, a charity devoted to youth homelessness. With a donor base largely over age 65, the iPhone app is a way they hope will get younger people involved. Players can also donate to the charity using the free app, currently available only in the UK store.

iHobo works much like Tamagotchi: the game takes place in real time over three days. Instead of a “pet” you play with a realistic, animated homeless man that you can give a sleeping bag, food or money. Take your choice and that’s it… until you start getting push notifications on your screen updating you on the man’s status.

I wish I could tell you that LaLa.com is coming back or that Apple is bringing music subscriptions and unlimited downloads to our iPhones/Pads. I can’t.

What is apparent is that Apple has recently filed to trademark “iTunes Live” and  plans to use it for two things:

– Online retail store services in the field of entertainment featuring prerecorded musical, audio and audiovisual content

– Entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting of concerts and live musical performances

Apple could not only have their hands in the way we purchase and listen to music, but also live music performances and  the ability to make them readily available as product. Let’s just hope this signals one of many features to be made available this summer with the iPhone OS 4 release and impending iTunes upgrade.

[via TechCrunch]

With the launch of its low priced Kobo e-reader shipping in June, Borders has announced an e-reader app to make its millions of titles library available to iPhone, iPad, and OS X users everywhere.

At only $149.99, the Borders reader might appeal to a larger audience of ebook users, including current iPad users who want to read their Dostoyevsky at the beach.

Borders’ store also boasts millions of titles while Apple’s iBookstore has “tens of thousands.” The non-Boders version of Kobo is currently available for iPhone and iPad, but I’m excited to see what Borders’ influence and eBookstore will do in the name of competition.

Borders could create significant buzz by bringing lower prices and a creative and unique interface to the ePublishing table.

With the iPad’s arrival to nine countries on May 28th, Apple is beefing up it’s bid for world e-publishing domination.

The iBooks app and iBookstore will be available through iTunes alongside the iPad’s next international release. Apple’s country specific press releases for Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the UK all indicate the immediate availability of iBooks and the iBookstore when the iPad hits stores.

iBooks comes to the iPhone and iPod touch with the release of iPhone OS 4 this summer.

[via MacRumors]

I guess it’s time to add another line to the Steve Jobs Email Reply Generator.

When asked Friday about why there isn’t a stock printing function for the iPad, (possibly fake) Steve Jobs replied in true sensei form:  “It will come.”

iWork makes its beautiful debut on the iPad and we still can’t print. What Steve should have said was “It will come on Tuesday.”

While it’s easy to put words into Steve Job’s email mouth and make the news, I’m just impressed this guy–fake or not–replied in 16 minutes.

[via MacRumors]

It’s not easy to buy good headphones these days. There are so many companies that produce good stuff. Choosing is impossible. Especially when you are OCD and everything has to be perfect. Well, I’ve discovered the perfect headphones: The Beats By Dre ‘Studio’ Headphones, which cost $229. I previously owned a pair of plain old Apple earphones. But after listening to a friend’s Sennheisers one day, I couldn’t tolerate the crappy Apple earphones any more. I have been testing the Beats rigorously for the past three months, and now my friend’s Sennheisers sound like those Apple earphones. ;)

ADR Studio, an Italian design house, posted this great render of what an Apple iWatch might look like. It’s just a concept design, but I’d buy this product: think of what Apple could do with it!

For one, the iWatch concept realizes the promise of Microsoft’s own SPOT operating system in that it would bring widget-distillable information to your wrist in the form of apps. You could pair it with Bluetooth to your phone to display incoming calls, instant messages or text messages. An iWatch could also pretty much replace the iPod Shuffle and Nike+ for joggers: strapped around your wrist, it could easily keep track of the distance traveled or your heart rate.

Wishful thinking? Definitely. But I still want one, and think Apple should make it: if Cuptertino’s ultimate goal is for everyone to have an iDevice on them at all times, no accessory is as ubiquitous as the wristwatch.

Before the iPad was officially announced, Steve Ballmer took the stage at CES and unveiled the HP Slate, a Windows 7 running tablet PC to be released later this year. According to Ballmer, the device was proof that Microsoft could do a multitouch operating system just as well as Apple.

On their part, though, HP seems to disagree. Their recent acquisition of Palm puts them in control of webOS, a fantastic mobile operating system designed from the ground up for mobile phones and tablets. As a result, it looks like they’ve canceled Slate in favor of a forthcoming, webOS-based tablet codenamed the Hurricane.

According to The Examiner, the Hurricane could be released in Q3 of 2010. HP’s acquisition deal isn’t due to be finalized until July 31st, so that’s the earliest possible date we could see a webOS tablet.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HQ2GVMi2tQ

First released in December 1996 for MacOS 8, ReBirth RB-338 was a revolutionary synthesizer by Propellerhead Software that emulated two Roland TB-303 synthesizers, a Roland TR-808 and a Roland TR-909 drum machine. In the late 90s, it wasn’t an easy task even getting a computer to run ReBirth… but almost fifteen years later, it works flawlessly on the iPhone, featuring built-in FX units, some full featured pattern sequences and a scalable interface.

It looks fantastic, and while I think it would probably be a better experience on the iPad, you can’t overlook the cool factor of mixing some fresh, professional quality beats together on the bus. It costs $6.99

According to Macworld.com.au’s sources, several thousand items of new Apple stock with the product number MC516LL/A K87 BETTER BTR-USA are now on their way to Australia… and while they aren’t quite sure what it is, they’re positing it might be an updated MacBook Air.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wklrVOFMKA&feature

The guys over at Redmond Pie have gotten their jailbroken iPad working with the Magic Mouse, thanks to the BTStack Mouse Driver application, which can easily be found on Cydia.

I’m struggling to see the point of this, other than “because we can.” You simply can’t do anything with a mouse under iPhone OS, short of badly emulate the job of a finger. There’s no contextual menus to open, no text to highlight, no windows to move around, no dock to multitask with. Why would you bother?

Using a mouse with a finger-based OS makes about as much sense as using a finger to navigate a mouse-based OS (and we all see the hatchet job Windows 7 did there). If you want a mouse so badly, just buy a netbook already… don’t fool yourself that using a mouse under iPhone OS is anything besides sheer pig-headed folly.

The latest MacBook Pros’ ability to seamlessly switch between integrated Intel graphics and their discrete NVIDIA GPUs is a wonderful feature, capable of saving hours of battery by only employing the more powerful and power-hungry card when an application really needs it.

The problem is, there’s a lot of poorly programmed applications out there that trigger the discrete GPU when Intel’s integrated graphics should suffice. Until these applications are updated, it can be maddening to watch your laptop suck up hours of battery life because it’s treating Tweetie like its Crysis.

gfxCardStatus is a neat open-source menu bar application that allows you to control which graphics card your 2010 MacBook Pro is using at any given time. For the most part, you’ll want to leave it alone and let OS X juggle GPUs, but if you happen to notice your text editor triggering a discrete GPU switch, gfxCardStatus will help you rein it back in.

It’s free to download, so if you have a 2010 MacBook Pro, grab it now.

[via Boy Genius Report]