“Stay tuned and buckled up.” According to sources speaking to Techcrunch, Apple has far from abandoned their premier Final Cut Pro software after more than a year without updates. It’s coming, and is supposedly slated to be the “biggest overhaul to Final Cut Pro since the original version was created over 10 years ago.” Yowza.

Although details are scant on what will be new, one of Techcrunch’s sources say that Final Cut Pro has been built back up from its marrow, with the changes encompassing everything from low-level architecture to a complete redesign of the user interface (a resdesign which will hopefully go over better than Apple’s redesign of iMovie’s interface a few years back).

The changes are reportedly “dramatic and ambitious,” and will answer all concerns that Apple’s abandoned the pros in their grab for consumers. If Techcrunch is right, Final Cut Pro will be hitting in Spring 2011, possibly to coincide with the National Association of Broadcasters conference on April 9th through 14th.

Fscklog has just posted a photo of what they believe are the specs to the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, which should be due out any day now.

Here are the specs, translated from German

• 2.3Ghz Sandy Bridge Dual-Core Intel Core i5 Processor with a 3MB L3 Cache

• 4GB of DDR3 RAM clocked at 1333MHz

• A 320GB hard drive

• a 13.3-inch diagonal LED backlit display with a 1280×800 pixel resolution.

• Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384MB of DDR3 RAM.

• An integrated FaceTime-HD camera

• An 8x Superdrive

• Two USB 2 ports, an SD card reader, FireWire 800, a MiniDisplay Port, Ethernet and, most interestingly, Thunderbolt port (this is very possibly the Apple-branded implementation of Light Peak we’ve been hearing about).

Overall? It seems the 13-inch model is not the radical re-imagining we’ve been hearing about for the last few days. It’s not made of Liquid Metal, there’s no SSD and the new MBP has an identical chassis design to the old model. Short of the new Thunderbolt port and the leap to Sandy Bridge, these aren’t markedly different than the last generation of 13-inch MBPs. That said, the 13-incher is the entry-level MBP model. Perhaps Apple has something more radical afoot for the 15- and 17-inch models.

After the jump, a look at the new MacBook Pro’s marketing materials and a close-up view of the Thunderbolt port.

We all know that Steve Jobs is obsessed with crafting top-notch customer experiences. Of course, he’s famous for being dismissive of focus groups, but did you know he spies on customers at his local Apple Store?

I curse MobileMe, but I rely on MobileMe. So do many Mac users, it’s easy to setup and it generally works. However sometimes your info gets mixed up with duplicates or omissions, or a device in your sync setup can get stuck and won’t send or receive new data.

The basic procedure for resetting sync data involves taking the most complete copy of your data and propagating it through all other systems. Pick one system to become your Primary Mac for the steps below.

The rumor mills are spinning about what many expect to be a new MacBook Pro appearing this week. Now comes hints (although couched in qualifiers) that the iMac may also get a face-lift, concentrating on its screen. The all-in-one desktop unit was last updated in July 2010, when Apple unveiled the addition of Intel’s i3, i5, and i7 family of processors, along with ATI Radeon graphics for a starting price of $1,199.

Tuesday, Taiwan-based industry publication Digitimes cited “supply chain sources” that the Cupertino, Calif. company “may also launch its new iMac along with its MacBook, and the company may also make some changes over the screen size allowing panel cutting to reach its optimization.” In December, the publication reported a new iMac could be released in the first half of 2011.

Amazon has released a new series of television advertisements continuing to stress its Kindle e-reader is the future – not the Apple iPad. You may remember in our last episode, we left the pair on a beach where the Amazon device was played by a gorgeous woman and the iPad a nerdy guy. When we return, the Kindle is still the happy-go-lucky successor to the printed book and the iPad is still a bulky gadget with a screen full of glare.

Although the Kindle is a one-trick pony (albeit done very well) and the iPad can tackle a multitude of tasks, the Seattle-based Internet book-seller is taking advantage of the current tiff between Apple and publishers, as well as growing signs readers are moving towards the e-reader. In the new 30-second commercial, Amazon highlights the Kindle’s portability, its 30-day battery lifespan and its light weight.

In the wake of Apple’s new in-app subscription rules, we’ve already seen revolt from the makers of Readability and TinyGrab, who sent out blistering open letters yesterday explaining how Apple’s new rules effectively barred them from the App Store.

TinyGrab’s take was particularly interesting: the new in-app subscription rules prevent software-as-a-service apps (like Evernote, Dropbox, TinyGrab and more) from coming to the App Store at all. But in a recent email from Steve, the on-leave Apple CEO says that that’s not the intention at all…

Given Apple’s history fulfilling a yearly iOS device refresh cycle, we’ve been taking the iPad 2’s debut in late March or early April as read, but if a recent analyst report is to be believed, Cupertino might very well miss that day… delaying the iPad 2 into June.

According to a report by Yuanta analysts Vincent and Alison Chen, the iPad 2 may be delayed until June because of “production bottlenecks” at manufacturer Hon Hai Precision.

“Our checks suggest new issues are being encountered with the new production and it is taking time to resolve them,” said Chen in the report. “As a number of Android 3.0 tablets are being launched in April and May, the delay in iPad 2 shipments may give the Android camp a brief window of opportunity.”

Volcano Escape – ($1.99) iPhone – Games

One of my favorite games to hit the iPhone recently is Volcano Escape – a brilliant new action platformer that takes you on a fun-filled mission to escape a scorching hot volcano, while a hoard of tribal minions attempt to ruin your progress and barbecue your bones. Wield a selection of impressive weaponry that includes grenade launchers, jet packs, and shotguns, and take out the evil tribe on your route to safety through a rich 3D environment with beautifully bright visuals.

Volcano Escape is a terrific platformer that provides level after level of action-packed entertainment, which, together with its crazy characters and explosive weaponry, makes it one of the greatest games in its genre.

[xrr rating=90%]

The broad application of Apple’s new App Store subscription guidelines to everything from magazines (sensible) to Kindle books (questionable) to Readability (delusional) to Tiny Grab and possibly DropBox (downright silly) could end up being the single-worst business decision the Cupertino Colossus has made in the last decade, for one very simple reason: it seeks to maximize App Store revenue at the expense of making iPhones and iPads the most attractive hardware platforms on the market. Getting 30% of Readability’s revenue cannot possibly justify the risk of making the iPad sell a few hundred thousand fewer units.