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Although Amazon’s Kindle platform seemed to stumble a bit in the wake of the iPad’s debut, mostly from surprise, they’ve since rallied and continued to increase their lead as the biggest e-bookstore on Earth. In fact, according to Amazon’s own metrics, they now sell more Kindle e-books than they do paperbacks.

How’d Amazon compete with iBooks? Ubiquity: Kindle software is available on almost every modern OS out there, and a Kindle book purchased on one can be read on another. Amazon managed to achieve this feat by cutting middlemen out of the transaction entirely: if you purchase a book in-app, you simply are directed to an Amazon webpage. It’s all done on the Internet.

If a new report coming from The New York Times is anything to go by, though, Apple may be ready to strike Kindle on iOS down for the count unless it agrees to utilize iTunes’ own in-app purchase system, though.

Apple started it. In the most famous and expensive TV commercial to date, the company hurled the first “Big Brother” accusation (not to mention a giant hammer) at IBM and the IBM-compatible world, as it was called at the time.

In the commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, an attractive blonde 80’s girl wearing Hooters shorts, a Mac T-shirt and the kind of ankle-length socks people used to wear back then with their “jogging shoes” smokes a gaggle of goons in an all-out sprint for the most depressing cineplex ever where she unleashes her sledgehammer at the screen with equal parts ferocity and femininity.

Since then, various other tech companies have accused each other of being “Big Brother,” and Apple is often the one accused.

Most recently (i.e. possibly this coming Super Bowl Sunday), Motorola will essentially accuse Apple of being Big Brother in this commercial.

The problem with all these “Big Brother” accusations is that they’re always based on sloppy, mushy thinking — including Apple’s original ad, which didn’t seem to have anything specific in mind about how IBM resembled Big Brother, exactly.

The UK’s first iPhone photo show in a gallery called “An Exhibition for Hipstamatics” has been held over until February 11 at the Orange Dot Gallery in London.

The show features 157 prints – the same number of Hipstamatic 100 analog cameras made in the early 1980s that inspired the iPhone app – considered the best works from web site Hipstamatics.com. The site allows contributors to share and showcase their best hipstamatic shots alongside some inhouse originals.

And, if you love the pic so much you’d like to hang a copy, you can also buy prints online.

Via The Apple Lounge

We’re starting to reach a speculative consensus on what sort of hardware changes we’ll be seeing in the iPad 2, with the latest analyst report claiming it will contain a better quality (but non-Retina) display, faster chips, separate CDMA and GSM SKUs, and iPod Touch style dual cameras when it is released in March or April.

A dad whose daughter ran up his credit card while playing the Smurfs’ Village app has launched a Facebook group to convince Apple to ban in-app purchases in kids games.

The fledgling group – as of this writing, it has 20 members – started after Tobias Feldt’s daughter bought a load of Smurf extras by accident.

Feldt says Apple refunded the purchase immediately, with no questions asked – as it often does in these cases – but he decided the incident shouldn’t end there.

Feldt has tried to teach his two children to play games responsibly. His oldest daughter, age nine, was “devastated” when she found out that she had run up a bill playing the game.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD 2011 — Even without Apple, Macworld 2011 was packed and there was a great vibe. Check out some of the most interesting products on the show floor.

Above: These wholesome twins at the ShedWorx booth were so nice. ShedWorx develops VoltaicHD video conversion software for the Mac.

If a device works on a movie audience, it’ll also work as a real-world product. That’s the “meta lesson” from Chris Noessel and Nathan Shedroff who study how sci-fi interfaces in movies make it off the silver screen and vice versa. (Is that the coolest job ever, or what?)

Despite the unfortunate late-afternoon slot – the tide of Macworld attendees was on its way outside – about a hundred people showed up to listen to findings on their forthcoming book, “Make It So – Learning from SciFi interfaces.”

Noessel, an interaction designer and Shedroff, program chair of the MBA in Design Strategy at the California College of the arts, believes that Steve Jobs may have used the 2004 Pixar movie “The Incredibles” to test whether audiences would accept the idea of a tablet computer.

It appears that at least some existing Verizon customers will be spooning instant coffee directly into our mouths and shoving match embers between our finger webbing next Wednesday night: the Verizon iPhone preorders will begin at 3am EST on February 3rd.

I’m not quite sure I’d hold your breath just yet, but a new MacBook Pro refresh might be due soon, if reports of near-empty stocks of both the 15-inch and 17-inch unibody models are anything to go by. If that refresh happens, it’s likely to be a long-overdue update from the Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs that Apple currently uses to the newest Sandy Bridge processors.

Multiple sources in both Apple Stores and third-party resellers are reporting that they are running low on supplies of Cupertino’s premium notebooks, with even Amazon listing a one to two month delay on shipping the 17-inch MBP.

Last June, AT&T killed off their iPhone unlimited data plan, replacing it with a slightly cheaper plan with a 2GB data limit, which they said was pretty much all the data that anyone used anyway… so this was actually saving you money. No one bought it, but there was nothing to be done. Where else were you going to get an iPhone?

Now, things are very different. It’s seven months later, and Verizon’s not only got the iPhone, but they’re rolling it out with their own $30 unlimited data plan. Predictably, we’re not hearing reports that AT&T is backtracking and quietly offering customers who were previously on unlimited plans all-you-can-eat data… as long as they don’t switch to Verizon.

There’s only one verified example of this so far. Jose Argumedo of Brentwood, NY says that he and a friend were switched to an unlimited plan after they called AT&T’s customer service.

That’s hardly very solid evidence of a mass reversal of policy, but AT&T’s actually not denying that they’re offering customers unlimited data to stay, with spokesman Mark Siegel saying: “We handle customers and their situations individually, and we’re not going to discuss specifics.”

Basically, it looks like AT&T is offering users the option to switch to unlimited data right now, as long as they have had the unlimited version in the past. If that sounds like you, today’s the day to try calling up Ma Bell and seeing what they can do for you.

Macworld 2011 is finally here, and those of you lucky enough to be attending will be amongst the first to discover the coolest new software, hardware, and accessories for use with our favorite Apple devices; as well as expert advice, demonstrations, and instructions on how to get the most out of these products.

To help you survive the four days of excitement and celebration, we’ve compiled a great list of iOS applications that will ensure you experience the best of both the Macworld Expo, and the beautiful city of San Francisco. The applications we’ve selected will help you find a taxi to your accommodation when you touchdown at the airport; navigate your way around the city and discover everything there is to see; find the best places to eat, drink, catch a show, or meet friends; and lots more.

However, our list of applications isn’t just for those attending the conference – for those of you stuck at home this week, we’ve also included some great applications that will ensure you’re kept up to date with the latest news and everything that’s unmissable at Macworld.

Check out our list of applications after the break, and here’s to a great Macworld 2011!

Apple’s product release cycle can seem mysterious if you’re new to the fold, but old hands know roughly when to expect the next refresh of each of Apple’s product lines. So when the Three Guys and a Podcast blogs say that new iMacs should be due in March, they aren’t really saying anything that MacRumors’ Buyer’s Guide couldn’t tell you.

More interesting than the new Macs in March revelation is some of the other predictions Three Guys and a Podcast have put together: they expect that solid state drives will be coming to all Macs starting this year, loading the OS on one drive while pairing them with larger traditional HDDs for storage. The end result should be much, much speedier Macs all around (trust me on this one: my 27-inch top-of-the-line iMac has collected dust ever since I got my 11-inch MacBook Air).

Additionally, we should see Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processors in this year’s Macs, as well as improved (but not Retina Display) resolutions in the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs, thanks to Apple’s ongoing investments in display technology. A modest refresh for right now, but just wait until the next refresh, when Apple tackles the iMac line with more radical redesigns in mind. I can’t wait.

UPDATE: Apple has pulled the Verizon pricing pages. But they were up long enough to get the details.

The prices for the Verizon iPhone are now here. Here’s what we’re looking at.

Launching in the traditional 16GB (MC676LL/A ) and 32GB (MC678LL/A) varieties, the Verizon iPhone 4 will only come in black, which ends speculation for right now that the CDMA iPhone’s debut would afford Apple an opportunity to launch the long-delayed white iPhone 4.

Available talk plans are 450 minutes of talk time per month for $39.99, 900 minutes per month with unlimited calls to five people for $59.99 per month, and unlimited talk time for $69.99 per month.

As previously discussed, data comes all-you-can-eat for $29.99, with an additional 2GB for tethering available for $49.99 per month.

As for text messages, you can either pay-per-use at the rip-off rate of $0.20 per text and $0.25 per video or picture. Plan-wise, you can either opt for 250 messages for $5 per month, 500 messages for $10 per month, or unlimited for $20 per month.

As with the AT&T models, a 16GB iPhone will cost you $199 subsidized, while the 32GB model will cost $299.

Heading to San Francisco to MacWorld? Here are some things to do during your precious free time – between strippers, actors and coffee, we’ve got you covered.

1. Go to a Strip Club

Eleven of the city’s big name strip clubs in North Beach are offering free or discounted admission with your Macworld badge. They include the SF classic hotspots like the Hungry-i,  the Condor and the Garden of Eden as well as Centerfolds and the Gold Club.

It begs the question: do they think Macworld is exclusively a man’s world, or that all Macs are horny and lonely? You decide.

Extra tip: if you’re into multitasking — and don’t mind the smell of strawberry body oil while you eat — the Hustler Club reportedly has an excellent happy hour buffet.

Even though San Francisco is the most expensive city in the frickin’ country you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy it.

In this post we’ve have put together a super savings guide to help you navigate the show and the city.

The evidence continues to mount that the iPhone 5 will contain a Near-Field Communication chip, with Bloomberg now agreeing that the next iPhone will be NFC capable.

Apple’s iPad tablet computer may be the perfect vehicle to view glossy magazines, but the iTunes subscription model has some publishers ready to turn the page.

On both sides of the Atlantic, publishers are grumbling about Apple’s iTunes store. Some popular US publications, including the New York Times and Playboy, recently announced web-based subscriptions that will offer more flexible options and control over content than iTunes. In Europe, Apple faces a probe by Belgian antitrust authorities over whether it is abusing its market position by requiring that publishers only sell subscriptions through iTunes.

Although publishers aren’t necessarily keen to pay Apple a cut of each subscription they sell, that’s not the only issue. Sales through iTunes means that Apple controls subscription data — and access to their own subscribers.

“If Apple allowed real subscriptions in iTunes and shared the user data they collect with publishers, that might end the war right there,” said Marco Formento, Global Digital Director at De Agostini Editore, an Italy-based group which publishes in 13 languages and 30 countries. “Otherwise, a lot of publishers will go around Apple to keep that contact with their clients.”

Full story over at Talking Points Memo

Mike Daisey isn’t afraid to rant. The mercurial storyteller first made a name for himself on stage by decrying the state of American theater. Tech is a natural target for him – he’s survived a stint at Amazon.com and takes apart computers to relax – so he really makes his point forcefully with a two-hour monologue called “The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” onstage now through Feb. 27 at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (See our review of the show here.)

During our 40-minute conversation, I get the uncomfortable feeling he’s ranting directly at me. In fact, the show takes tech journalists to task for being subservient to the industry as well as missing the whole story of where all the shiny gadgets we report about so breathlessly come from. Ahem.

Cult of Mac talked to Daisey about why both Apple fans and PC people will enjoy his show, as well as his own gadget gear and why donning Steve Jobs’ signature black turtleneck on stage would’ve been “fucking stupid.”

Boom boom, pow — the Black Eyed Peas, already one of the most cutting-edge bands to rock an iPod, may just have made music videos so two-thousand-and-late. That’s because they released an app today that includes a stunning, immersive 360-degree, augmented-reality enabled music video that sticks you in the middle of the action with the ability to pan around and become part of the action. And guess what — it’s only available on the iPhone, with no plans announced yet to make it available for any other platform.

Master storyteller Mike Daisey’s one-man-show “The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” is a theater piece that every Apple fan should see.

It’s a laugh-out-loud monologue about the world of Apple, but it delivers an important message: The products we love are made under inhumane conditions.

If you’d asked me a couple of months ago if we’d ever see the release of the white iPhone 4, I would have laughed: delaying the white model until just three months before the assumed release of the white iPhone 5 just seemed like an empty promise, and I expected another quiet announcement on Apple’s part once March arrived that the white iPhone 4 had been canceled once and for all.

Looks like I’m going to have to swallow my skepticism: white iPhone 4s are now popping up in AT&T’s system. It appears that the white iPhone is a very real product indeed.

The iPad isn’t just creating revenue for Apple and iOS developers, in many retail establishments it’s now tracking revenue as well. Everyone’s favorite iDevice has been increasingly seen helping out at the checkout counter and point-of-sale operations in restaurants and coffee shops worldwide.

Several vendors are now offering iPad software and integrated terminal hardware supporting order management, payment processing, reporting and remote management capability. What an ideal Geek Trend: iPads, Coffee, Cupcakes and Commerce!

Pugnacious PC pundit John C. Dvorak is always fun to read. His opinions are often as outrageous as they are insightful. I’ve always been a huge fan, even when I disagree.

Dvorak’s latest post on PCMag.com, headlined “Understanding the iPad Computer,” is one of those I disagree with. In fact, I think his whole argument is exactly the opposite of reality.

(This isn’t the first time I’ve butted heads with PCMag.com over the iPad, by the way.)

In a nutshell, Dvorak attributes the overwhelming success of the Apple iPad not to the user interface, but to the design of the tablet as an output device, rather than input device. He writes:

“It was always assumed that the pad was going to be primarily an input device, like a paper and pen notepad. The successful machines of today are primarily output devices, not a notepad. It was this one simple paradigm shift that appears to be the difference maker.”

The column and conclusion are based on three key assertions, all of them false.

The winner of the Apple’s 10 billionth App download sweepstakes nearly made a horrible mistake: she hung up the phone when Apple called to say she’d won.

“I thought it was a prank call,” says Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK. “I said, ‘Thank you very much, I’m not interested’ and I hung up.”

Master storyteller Mike Daisey takes to the stage in a one-man show about Apple founder Steve Jobs debuting in Berkeley.

Titled “The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” the monologue will likely have a new resonance since Jobs announced his medical leave from the Cupertino company January 17.

“It is almost impossible to imagine Apple without him, and there’s a palpable sense of loss and change as the tech industry struggles to know what this will mean for its future,” Daisey wrote on his blog after the announcement.

In addition to being “obsessed” with Apple, Daisey is his known for talking intelligently about tech on stage, from his monologue on Nikola Tesla called “Monopoly!” to recounting his own stint in the customer service trenches at Amazon.com in “21 Dog Years.”

The show launches Sunday, January 23 and runs through February 27 at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

We’ll be talking with Daisey and attending the show, so look for that interview and a review in the next few days.