Well, while looking for some apps the other day, I ran across one of the most bizarre apps.  Of course, this got me wondering just how many bizarre, ridiculous and just plain stupid apps are in the app store.  And I didn’t have to look far to find them, either.
So without further adieu, here are 10 of the most bizarre iPhone apps I found (and this is just the tip of the iceberg):

iPoo – Bored While You Poo? – Do you enjoy using your iPhone while you poo?  And wonder if others are using theirs while they’re pooing too?  Well, there’s an app for that!  iPoo is an app that will let you share with others where, when, what and how you poo.

As I said, I’m a mom, so I’ve been through the diaper changes and potty training… I’ve seen enough poo to last a lifetime.  I do not want to see or hear about some total stranger’s (or worse someone I know) poo.  Besides, I don’t use my iPhone in the bathroom – It’s NOT sanitary, people.

iPoo which will cost you $0.99 wins the top prize for bizarre in my book.

iFart – Do you have the mentality of an 8 year old boy and love fart noises?  There’s an app for that!  Yep, iFart falls into the same category as iPoo, in my opinion.  Seeing that I’m an adult and a woman, iFart has no appeal to me.  However, my 7 year old son would love this app.

I must say the iFart has been a popular app (it was the #1 app in the iTunes app store 23 days straight last December)… so there’s no accounting for taste. Must be a “guy” thing.   Personally, I think this app stinks (pun, intended).  But to each his (or her) own… if you want to use your phone to make fart sounds you can get this app for $0.99.

Zit Picker – Are you that person who enjoys picking zits?  There’s an app for that!  This one is a close second.  Honestly, I don’t understand why someone would want to pop pimples.  Seriously, what would possess a person to enjoy squeezing zits?

So, I don’t get the fascination with the Zit Picker app.  But for those of you that do, at least this one is free… because, quite frankly, I can’t imagine paying to pop zits.  The Zit Picker is just plain stupid.

iBubbleWrap – are you bored or maybe you don’t have anything better to do?  Maybe you have the attention span of…. hey, look, a squirrel!?  There’s an app for that!  I do have to admit that I enjoy popping bubble wrap.  But it seems like such a bizarre app, or more of a waste of time really.

However, if you want to pop (which granted, is much better to pop bubble wrap than zits) your day away, it will cost you $0.99.

Beautiful Boobs – Are you a guy? I need not say more.  There’s an app for that! Unfortunately, you’ll be sorely disappointed.  The reason this app is bizarre?  There’s no boobs. You can find more boobs in an old Sears and Roebuck catalog!

With that stated, I cannot find a reason for this app to exist.  It is obviously walking a fine line between selling hopes of soft porn with what Apple will allow. And in this case I have to give the “fail” sticker to both the app AND Apple.  The Beautiful Boobs app is free, so at least the only thing you end up wasting is your time.

Blower – Real Air – Are you short of air?  There’s an app for that!  Sometimes you can take the Rube Goldberg approach and turn a simple action into a very complicated one. I think that the Blower – Real Air app must fall into this category.

The app uses the iphone speaker to produce air pressure. Using a small computer (the iPhone in this case) to play audio through a speaker to create a small amount of air to, say, blow out a candle or a match, seems like a weird application to me.

Surely there are better uses for an iPhone and its hardware? And better uses for the $0.99 it costs?

iSteam – Are you a heavy breather?  Maybe you like steaming things up?  Now there’s an app for that!  If you’ve ever written a message on a steamy shower door or car window, then you know what to expect from this curious app. The app creates a fake steamy surface for you to practice your steam writing skills.

However, without the real steamy circumstances surrounding the occasional steamy writing opportunities the whole effort simply dries up. Save your steamy writings for the real thing, perhaps best shared… iSteam sells for $0.99.

sim Stapler – Do you spend nights dreaming that you had more time to staple? Do you yearn for that “chachunk” of the stapling action and the satisfaction that you have just brought two pieces of paper together?  There’s an app for that!  The sim Stapler may be perfect for you. As the name implies, it simulates the action of a stapler. Whenever you get a free second you can sim-staple to your heart’s content.

However, the other 99.99999% of us without a stapling fetish may decide to avoid this app. The only good news is that the Sim Stapler is free.

Rotary Dialer – Ah, do you long for the time when you had to put your finger in a hole and dial a number?  If so, your wait is over… there’s an app for that!  I may be confessing something about my age, but I grew up with a rotary phone. I learned to dial on the circular finger hooker (not sure what the technical name is), and to this day the soft “thip thip thip” is a sound that I remember.

However, I do not miss the time it would take to dial up a number. Nor do I miss the potential to break a nail just by making a call. So, why would I want to simulate the process in order to place a call?

Trust me, it is better now with the buttons. Give me DTMF over “thip thip” any day. Even go one better, and use the contact list – retro has its place, but a smartphone doesn’t seem like the right one.  The Rotary Dialer sells for $0.99.

Hold the Button – Do you have too much free time on your hands?  There’s an app for that!  For anyone training and improving their sloth skills, this app may be useful. The idea is to see how long you can hold the button down without moving your finger.

I prefer to think of this app as a measurement of the time that you will never get back.  At best I can see it as an ADD test, but anything over 20 seconds leads me to a different conclusion altogether – Get a Life!   At least Hold the Button is a free app.

There you have it – 10 of the zaniest and most bizarre iPhone apps I’ve seen, to date.  Please share with us some of the most bizarre apps you’ve run across.

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Modern computers give us the ability to compose both simple and complex text works with an ease that our previous generation tools could not provide.  We can quickly build our literary magnum opus of the day, add in nice graphics or charts, check it for spelling, get a second opinion on our grammar usage, move everything around, and convert it to one of a dozen formats without once having to use a layout board.  Everything is tight and digital, and the only time we hit the physical world is when we are finished.  It has never been easier.

However, along with this ease of use we have sacrificed some of the mechanics that drove creativity. In the old days, the completed work was more than just the actual output. For example, you would have a running collection of notes to the side that detailed last minute changes or additional thoughts.  You would have some material stacked to the side that were less important than the current work, yet they may be promoted in importance as the task went on.

Your source of information could be anything from a stack of index cards to a scribbled napkin, yet when it was all laid out in front of us it magically took shape to define a point we were trying to make.  This point was often a mystery to ourselves until we saw this big picture, and then a moment of clarity formed.

But the digital world is working hard to bring this type of creativity to your desktop.  There have been many attempts at recreating this thought space in software, from Mind Mapping to freeform desktop information packages.

Being a person who A. uses a computer and B. at least tries to have an occasional original thought, I have tried many of these packages, with a varying degree of success. But I have found them to be either too rigid in their design or too alien to what ticks inside my own head.  That is, until I stumbled upon something on a Mac that works well for me. That creative program suite is iWork from Apple.

At first glance one would think that economically priced iWork 09 (the program I am using) would be a strict replacement for a standard office suite.  I found that to not be the case.  In fact, if you evaluate the package in those terms you may find that it comes up short for the spreadsheet power user.

Instead, let’s look at iWork from the creative viewpoint.  Being a number freak, I like to use Numbers for my thought processes, although Pages shares the same great layout capability along with a handy full screen view for reviewing your conclusion.  I’ll start with an example thought board about a getaway trip to a rustic cabin. (The same process could be used to create a vision board as well.)

As you can see from the actual numbers screenshot above, I can easily have my notes about the trip to the side on small index cards. I also have a graph card with notes about the cabin itself, a map stuck to the thought board for quick reference, a picture of the cabin (or one similar to it in this case), and a posted reminder note.  I also have three small calculation tables for the cost, trip, and time away along with a large summary table for a quick glance.

By having everything in front of me in a single freeform document I can review all of the details of the trip and make changes as needed.  I can also add another card or list as needed for additional detail.  I also find that adding pictures helps to jog the memory about anything else I may be leaving out. This non-linear approach mimics exactly the way I would do it in the physical world, with the added bonus that the software does any calculations automatically for me.  I also gain the benefit of being able to stick it on a flash drive to have a backup of the board with me.

Building a thought board with numbers is a very simple process. After doing a few of these, I assure you that the important thing is to start first with the immediate items you need, but leave space on the board for more things as they come up.  Each item you add can trigger another item, until you have a rather robust board in a short amount of time.

The Tables

First, start a new Numbers file.  You will find a single table on the screen.  We’ll use this as our summary table, so resize it down as needed. You will find the tabs on the bottom left of the table to be a quick way to resize it, removing unwanted columns.  Then take a moment to think about any groups of things that you may want to add up, and for each of these throw in a table.  Having these free form tables lying in a workspace that can be easily accessed from a master table is probably one of my favorite things about Numbers.  They can have their own column sizes and layouts without affecting the main table, yet I can easily see them all at the same time.  Add the table, fill it in, then add a link to the summary table as needed.

The Index Cards and Other Page Notes

The index cards are simple shapes, but with an index card for a background.  it is important to select “tile” for the image, otherwise the image will distort as the box resizes.  Also, add a shadow in to make it appear a little more bold on the screen. I find a single index card image works well for me, as it limits the text to about that of a real index card. The other notes are done in a similar fashion, just with an appropriate image as desired.

The Pictures

Pictures can add a lot of visual information to a project, and they can trigger other thoughts about important items you may have overlooked.  So by adding pictures you are making your planning more robust, giving a better end result.  For the board, I simply add a shape, set the fill to the desired image, and add the pushpin frame. Add a shadow for a little visual pop, and finally slightly rotate (found on the inspector’s “ruler” tab) to add to the illusion that it is hanging by the pin.

The Yellow Note

The yellow note is quite simply a shape added to the board, changed to a yellow color, and slightly rotated.  As you suspect by now, a shadow is added for graphic appeal, and the text is set to center. I use this instead of the regular comment mechanics because it does not include the close button in the corner – I want to be sure that this note stays put until it is done.

The Background Image

The background image is merely a shape with a picture fill, sized rather large and sent to back using arrange.  While in no way crucial to the project, a good background image sets the frame of mind for the board. The important thing we are trying to capture here are thoughts about the item at hand, and the more related visual information we have, the greater visual thinkers are going to respond with quality input. Not to mention that it even looks nice.

So, with just a little work in iWork Numbers (or Pages) we can quickly build a board to encompass our thoughts on a given topic.  We can add in any number of index cards, paper notes, posted notes, lists, calculated tables, media, and more, giving us a single point to focus all of our thoughts on a given topic.  By having this “big picture” along with tabular data on a display, I find it quite easy to see where I may be overlooking something now that may be a major issue later.  Once you try it (if not already), I think you may come to the same conclusion – it makes using a computer a more natural thought planning process.

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Mac laptops don’t come with the biggest hard drives in the world. No laptops to, but Macs are hanging in there in the lower end of what’s standard for a notebook, particularly within their price range. A standard MacBook starts at 250GB, which is up from the 120GB drive that shipped last year. The MacBook Air only boasts a 120GB drive, because it’s a piece of cardboard. The Pro has either a 160 or 250GB drive, which still isn’t a lot for an otherwise super powerful laptop.

Quite simply, every GB of space on your laptop counts. I have two external drives that get hooked up to mine because of the quantity of work I do, and the insufficient space available on the internal drive. It’s always pushing the limit, and that is without any media, games, or other files that aren’t related to work. So what’s a boy (or girl) to do? Is there any way to free up some space when you don’t have any data to sacrifice?

You bet.

Starting out, I had 21.6GB free on my MacBook. That could disappear pretty quickly if I were editing some sounds or putting together a video, which I do often on my MacBook. Let’s get some space back, shall we?

The solution: Grab Monolingual (http://monolingual.sourceforge.net) and minimize Leopard’s footprint. It’s a snappy little free program that uber geeks hold as a golden secret for saving space on their Macs by eliminating needless material installed by the OS. There’s all sorts of compatibility stuff installed with Leopard, and most of it never gets used. Lots of languages and architectures that the majority of the – here it comes – monolingual society never needs to use. It’s all about making the software work in lots of regions. But guess what? You bought your computer in your region, and use it in your region, so who cares about all that other stuff?

The best part is that running Monolingual is fairly automated. When you boot it up, you get a list of all the languages installed in your machine. You don’t know all these languages. Not even the Pope does. Select all the ones you want to get rid of. I put a check next to all of them, aside from Spanish, German and French – only because someday in my life, I plan to learn those. I’m certain this computer will be dead and gone long before I spend the time actually doing so, but you never know.

The Mac is designed so that the entire interface, including menus, help files, and everything else, can be displayed in basically any language. You can switch them in System Preferences. But, and don’t take this personally because I know you’re a super smart and talented person, I know you don’t have a need for all those languages. This is valuable space being wasted.

You may notice that English has a bunch of versions (UK, Australian, Canadian, etc.). I’d leave those all in-tact as well, just because you never know what they’re influencing.

Then you’re able to remove different input menus on the second tab. You don’t need to know Korean inputs, most likely. Deleting these input menus won’t give you much space back, but what the heck? If you don’t need them, you don’t need them.

Your computer also carries many architectures for other types of machines, which you can see under the third tab. They’ll go all the way back to G3 PowerPC architectures, even though you’re running a new Intel machine. Macs haven’t been PowerPC-based in years. That’s like keeping the engine of your 1987 Ford Taurus station wagon in the trunk of your 2008 Subaru Outback – useless.

The reason these architectures still exist are because many Apple apps are universal binaries written for both PowerPC and Intel. In other words, there’s double the code sitting around to accomplish the same goal. Your Mac, however, is flat out never going to use the PowerPC code. It wouldn’t know how if it wanted to. The code is only in there for those who installed Leopard on an old PowerPC machine. You can safely tell Monolingual to eliminate every architecture aside from Intel and Intel 64bit, thus wiping out any PowerPC code within your system that is just eating up space.

Oh, and if you have any PowerPC legacy/Rosetta software, it won’t be harmed. Monolingual is no dummy.

Before you actually start your deletion party, go into preferences and add exceptions for Microsoft Word, Adobe Creative Suite and anything else you may use that might malfunction if the languages are messed with. Monolingual won’t delete the language stuff from these applications and should allow them to function normally, while still removing the data from everywhere else.

Then, you click remove. All this deletion could have been done manually – but aren’t you glad it’s not? Note that you will have to do three deletions. If you’re on the language screen, clicking Remove will only remove the languages – not everything you have checked in all three menus. So, you’ll have to do a separate removal for each tab in Monolingual.

Monolingual isn’t in any hurry to get the job done. You’re going to wait a while for it to finish its process. But, as you wait, you can at least rejoice in knowing that every second it keeps working is more hard drive space you are gaining back. The time will fluctuate based on your own machine, but expect a good 30 minutes or so for the language removal, and then additional time for the architectures. The input menus only take a few seconds.

When completed, I recovered 3.0GB by deleting the languages, and 2.1GB by deleting the architectures. An extra 55MB was gained by removing the unneeded input menus. That’s a total of 5.1GB back in action. Not too shabby.

If you’ve invested in, or are considering upgrading to Snow Leopard, you may have noticed it is a much slimmer OS, taking up less space on your drive. 7GB less, according to Apple. This is partly because of the above already being done (no PowerPC support for Snow Leopard), additional code compression, and because of Apple deciding to use the layman’s 1,000MB calculation for 1GB instead of the actual 1,024MB (which is really just a presentation thing that doesn’t actually have real impact).

As useful as my extra 1TB worth of hard drives I connect to my laptop can be, they can’t always come with me. When I’m on the go or working outside the house, I’m left only with the measly 120GB (11GB usable) hard drive that exists within my white MacBook. That’s not a lot of room to move, and it’s obvious that every bit counts. Hard drive space is always increasing and getting bigger, but so are our demands, as the space needed for our files, tasks and projects parallel the growth of the drive. It’s only logical to do anything one can to free up as much space as possible and work more efficiently.

Related posts:

1. Apple to Ship Mac OS X Snow Leopard on August 28
2. Apple Tips #2 – How to Clean a White MacBook
3. Apple Tips #1 – Six Quick iPod / iPhone Tips & Tricks

Over the past year my iPhone 3G’s battery life has decreased. This may be due to my reading emails, checking Twitter, playing games, listening to music or web surfing. Lately I have been charging my iPhone every night and even with a fresh charge to start the day I usually get the “less than 20% charge” warning by 6 pm. Today’s review is designed to avoid that dreaded warning and keep you iPhone up and running as much as possible.

For today’s review, the folks at MobileFun sent over the iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery Pack which features a double dock and comes with an external battery. The dock can simultaneously charge both the iPhone and the external battery pack or two iPhones at once.

With the battery charger on the dock is right behind the iPhone there is less of chance of forgetting to grab it before heading out for the day. If you have two iPhones, then the second one can charge within the battery pack allowing two phones and the battery pack to be juiced up at once.

The iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery Pack works off either a USB connection from your Mac or PC or via an AC adapter.

Info:

iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery Pack

This is a desktop charging cradle with a difference. There are two docking stations which are situated one behind the other. This makes for a whole lot more fun. With the front one acting as a normal sync and charge dock, the behind dock acts as an additional battery charger / second charging dock.

Docking Station 1
With this docking station you are able to sync and charge your iPhone 3GS / 3G via your computer using the USB cable provided. This is very convenient for use at work or for home.

Docking Station 2
Always run out of power when your out the house?? Well with this you will never need to worry about that again. With the battery charger that is included with this pack, charge it via the USB cable and then when you get to up and go, just unplug the battery charger and slot your iPhone 3GS / 3G which will then just carry on charging your phone. This is brilliant if you are out of the office a lot and use your phone throughout the day. You will be reassured that you will always have battery. The battery charger while in the docking station will also act as another charger, so if someone else needs to charge their iPhone up they can just slot it in and watch it charge.

Features:

• Data Hot Sync and charge function on the front dock

• Additional battery charger for the back dock.

• Blue LED indicator

• Emergency charger

Specifications:

• Capacity : 1200mAh

• Input : 5V/500mA

• Output : 5V/400mA(max)

• Cradle Size : 81 x 81 x 19

What’s in the Box?:

The iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery Pack arrives in a plastic clamshell. Within the packaging we find the dock, battery pack, mini-USB to USB cable and an AC adapter. Unfortunately I was sent the European plug so I was unable to test the device with an AC adapter.

The cradle and dock are solidly made as they are composed of the same plastic as many other iPhone peripherals. The dock has two cradle slots – one designed to accommodate the iPhone directly and the second one behind it made to charge the external battery via a mini-USB connection. At the back end of this cradle/dock is a mini-USB input which is designed to work with a mini-USB to USB cable. The set comes in either white or black to match your iPhone version. For this review I received the piano black model.

On the external battery we see the standard iPhone connector seen on the batteries inner portion. At the base of this charger is the mini-USB connector which allows the battery to be charged either via the dock or directly via a mini-USB cable. At the bottom right of this battery pack is a charge indicator light.

Installation, Performance and Comparison:

There are a couple of installation/charging permutations for the iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery. Since the proper AC adapter was not sent I could only use the USB connection to connect the dock or to sync the battery to my PC or Mac. Charging the battery via the USB took around four hours using a USB port on my MacBook Pro and off a Dell laptop.

The dock works as advertised; it allows the iPhone to sync with iTunes as well as charging the phone. If you have a multiple iPhone user home like mine then both iPhones can be charged simultaneously by inserting the battery pack into the back slot allowing it to act as the second dock. The second dock does not function as a sync cradle since iTunes does not recognize that the iPhone is attached via the battery connection. Syncing can only be done from the front dock.

So how does the battery work when called upon? I was able to recharge my iPhone once it was down to less than 20% twice off one battery charge. The second charge was able to recharge the battery to about 75% capacity. That is pretty similar to the charging capacity of the Mophie Juice Pack I reviewed last year.

Aesthetically the dock and charger have a nice piano black finish. The battery covers a little more than half of the lower back portion of the iPhone. The bottom right LED on the battery lights up red when charging and turns green when it is at full capacity.

I did notice when the battery is attached to the iPhone it feels awkward to use as the weight of the battery and its bulkiness makes the pair feel bottom heavy. The battery also does not have a secure locking mechanism to stay on the iPhone as the only attachment point to the iPhone is via the dock connector.

Conclusion:

Having reviewed external iPhone batteries in the past, I know how handy they can be. Most batteries are sold individually so having a dock that can charge the battery is a very nice feature. The battery can provide two full charges to a nearly depleted iPhone. The dock acts as both a cradle for syncing an iPhone or as a charger for either two iPhones or one iPhone and the external battery.

Since I was unable to test the AC charging capability of the device I can not report whether this speeds up the battery charging time as versus USB charging. Although the battery is a bit bulky and it does not lock on securely onto the iPhone it still does the job required – recharging a drained iPhone. Due to the batteries bulk, I would recommend to leave the iPhone charging on a table as opposed to carrying it around with battery attached.

The price for the iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery is on par with some external iPhone batteries by themselves. If you are in the market for an external battery with a double dock then the iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery is not a bad option to acquire.

Pros:

+Battery can provide almost two full charges

+Dock works as a sync cradle and charger

+Can charge two iPhones at once

Cons:

-Battery is bulky

-Unable to test AC charging ability

-Battery takes some time to charge off the USB

I would like to thank MobileFun for the chance to review the iPhone 3GS / 3G Dock and External Battery Pack and for their support of iGadget Life.

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Sure, one can install Windows on the Mac using Boot Camp and play the games there – but that requires a full system reboot, as both operating systems can’t run at the same time, and switching between them isn’t as simple as logging out and logging back in. I don’t always want to have to completely power down and select a different OS just to play a game. Things need to run in the background, and life needs to keep going even if I’m absorbed in a game.

Fortunately, there is a really simple solution that allows Windows games to be installed and play perfectly while running OSX. This is definitely more of a tip than a trick, because it is based on your getting your hands on a program called CrossOver For Games.

CrossOver For Games website: http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxgames/

CrossOver For Games works on Intel Macs or Linux PCs, so you won’t be able to run this on your old G4. It is built on Wine, which is a free software app that allows Unix operating systems to run programs written for Windows. This software build is intended specifically for games and not all other software, which means it’s focused on giving you the best possible graphics and frame rate performance possible. Something designed to run Excel on your Mac wouldn’t be as concerned about such things, so it’s nice that this is solely for gaming.

The CrossOver For Games website says it “officially supports” WoW, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Prey, and a list of Steam games including Half Life 2, Counterstrike, Call of Duty 2, May Payne 2, GTA2 and more. Since I don’t own any of those things, I tried it using one of my favorite PC games of all time: Deus Ex.

Installing CrossOver For Games is as simple as anything else, just drag it to your Applications. The user interface is friendly and easy to follow, which is good for people who don’t use Wine regularly (most people).

After booting it up, you chuck a Windows game into your machine and it starts working automatically. After a few minutes of processing and doing who knows what, the install screen for the game will show, and you’ll move forward as usual. Right after installation, you’ll be playing your favorite Windows game right on your Mac, while OSX runs natively in the background.

The game, since it’s pretty old these days, ran just as well as it would on a Boot Camp install. Newer games can run slower and be somewhat laggy, but you can adjust the graphics to get it smoother. You’re likely not going to be playing a brand new Windows game on the highest graphical settings and enjoying it very much – but hey, it’s better than nothing. For the convenience factor, I like this, because I absolutely refuse to switch to Boot Camp and use my MacBook’s limited hard drive space to house a complete Windows operating system solely for games.

My biggest complaint is the fact that it trashed my desktop icons after I was done with the game. Not sure what that’s all about, but I’m not going to be breaking any noses over it.

Seeya next time, Apple Folks.

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As a leading innovator in wireless communications, Nokia has created one of the strongest and broadest patent portfolios in the industry, investing more than EUR 40 billion in R&D during the last two decades. Much of this intellectual property, including the patents in suit, has been declared essential to industry standards. Nokia has already successfully entered into license agreements including these patents with approximately 40 companies, including virtually all the leading mobile device vendors, allowing the industry to benefit from Nokia’s innovation.

The ten patents in suit relate to technologies fundamental to making devices which are compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA) and wireless LAN standards. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.

"The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for," said Ilkka Rahnasto, Vice President, Legal & Intellectual Property at Nokia. "Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation."

During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 40 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry’s strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of GSM technologies and its evolution to UMTS / 3G WCDMA as well as wireless LAN, which is also demonstrated by Nokia’s strong patent position in these technologies.

About Nokia

Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways – fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

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"The new MacBook includes many of the great features found on the innovative MacBook Pro, such as an LED-backlit display, glass Multi-Touch trackpad and built-in long-life battery," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With the only lineup of notebooks all featuring unibody enclosures, LED-backlit displays and long-life battery technology, there’s never been a better time to switch to a Mac."

The new MacBook features a unibody, polycarbonate enclosure that makes it lighter and more durable. The new design includes a unique non-skid bottom surface and at just 4.7 pounds, the sleek MacBook slides easily into a backpack or briefcase. MacBook comes standard with a bright, LED-backlit display with the same wide-angle viewing technology used in the MacBook Pro line. The new MacBook has a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics.

The new MacBook includes Apple’s innovative built-in notebook battery for up to seven hours of wireless productivity on a single charge, and up to 1,000 recharges.* At nearly three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries, Apple’s built-in battery results in fewer depleted batteries and less waste. Depleted batteries can be replaced for $129, which includes installation and environmentally responsible disposal of your old battery.

The energy-efficient MacBook joins the industry’s greenest lineup of notebooks, with every Mac notebook achieving EPEAT Gold** status and meeting Energy Star 5.0 requirements. The entire Mac notebook line now comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, use internal cables and components that are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Pricing & Availability

The new MacBook is available immediately through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

  The new MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:
  --  13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
  --  2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
  --  1066 MHz front-side bus;
  --  2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
  --  NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
  --  250 GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion
      Sensor;
  --  a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R
      DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW);
  --  Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
  --  built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth
      2.1+EDR;
  --  Gigabit Ethernet port;
  --  built-in iSight® video camera;
  --  two USB 2.0 ports;
  --  one audio line in/out port, supporting optical digital out and analog
      in/out;
  --  glass Multi-Touch trackpad;
  --  built-in, 60WHr lithium polymer battery; and

  --  60 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, or 320GB 5400 rpm, 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

*A properly maintained MacBook battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook/features.html

**EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

© 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, MacBook, Multi-Touch, Snow Leopard, iLife, iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Apple Store, SuperDrive, AirPort Extreme, iSight and MagSafe are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Source: Apple

Web Site: http://www.apple.com/

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3. Apple Unveils New iMac With 21.5 and 27-inch Displays

"The iMac is widely praised as the best desktop computer in the world and today we are making it even better," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With brilliant LED displays and the revolutionary Magic Mouse, the new iMac delivers an amazing desktop experience that we think customers will love."

The new iMac features stunning LED-backlit displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio, ideal for watching high definition movies and TV shows from iTunes®, or editing and watching your own videos or photos using iLife®. The new 21.5-inch iMac features a high resolution 1920-by-1080 pixel display. The 27-inch iMac features a beautiful 2560-by-1440 pixel display that offers 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch model. Both 21.5 and 27-inch displays use IPS technology to deliver consistent color across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle.

The iMac comes standard with a wireless keyboard and the new Magic Mouse featuring Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology. Instead of needing mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Using intuitive gestures, a user can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Mouse can be configured as either a single button or two button mouse, according to the user’s preference. The wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse work seamlessly with the iMac’s built-in Bluetooth capabilities to provide a clean, cable-free desk top.

The iMac features improved graphics across the line with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics in the 21.5-inch model, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model. The new iMac line now also features 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory and capacity up to 16GB across four SO-DIMM slots. Every iMac features a built-in iSight® video camera, mic and stereo speakers integrated into the thin aluminum and glass design. iMac includes built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a total of four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire® 800 port and a new built-in SD card slot.

Apple today also announced that the Mac mini, the world’s most energy efficient desktop,** is now faster, offers more storage and comes standard with double the memory. Starting at $599, the entry level Mac mini features a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive®. The $799 Mac mini features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory and a larger 320GB hard drive. Apple now offers a $999 Mac mini that is specially configured with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard® Server. Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server features two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage in the tiny 6.5-inch square by 2-inch tall Mac mini enclosure.

Continuing Apple’s commitment to the environment, both iMac and Mac mini extend their leadership in green design. iMac and Mac mini meet the new, more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieve EPEAT Gold status.*** The new iMac now features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables, contain no brominated flame retardants, use highly recyclable materials, and feature material-efficient system and packaging designs.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Pricing & Availability

The new 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac and Mac mini lines are now shipping and available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping this November. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is available from the Apple Store and Apple’s retail stores.

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

  --  21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
  --  3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
  --  4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  --  NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
  --  500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  --  a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+
      / -RW/CD-RW);
  --  Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
  --  built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth
      2.1+EDR;
  --  built-in iSight video camera;
  --  Gigabit Ethernet port;
  --  four USB 2.0 ports;
  --  one FireWire 800 port;
  --  SD card slot;
  --  built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

  --  Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

  --  21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
  --  3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
  --  4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  --  ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
  --  1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  --  a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+
      / -RW/CD-RW);
  --  Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
  --  built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth
      2.1+EDR;
  --  built-in iSight video camera;
  --  Gigabit Ethernet port;
  --  four USB 2.0 ports;
  --  one FireWire 800 port;
  --  SD card slot;
  --  built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

  --  Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 27-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:

  --  27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
  --  3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
  --  4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  --  ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
  --  1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  --  a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+
      / -RW/CD-RW);
  --  Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold
      separately);
  --  built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth
      2.1+EDR;
  --  built-in iSight video camera;
  --  Gigabit Ethernet port;
  --  four USB 2.0 ports;
  --  one FireWire 800 port;
  --  SD card slot;
  --  built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

  --  Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 27-inch 2.66 GHz Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

  --  27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
  --  2.66 GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
  --  4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  --  ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics; with 512MB GDDR3;
  --  1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  --  a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+
      / -RW/CD-RW);
  --  Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold
      separately);
  --  built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth
      2.1+EDR;
  --  built-in iSight video camera;
  --  Gigabit Ethernet port;
  --  four USB 2.0 ports;
  --  one FireWire 800 port;
  --  SD card slot;
  --  built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

  --  Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Build-to-order options for the 27-inch Core i5 quad-core iMac include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor.

*Based on estimated results of industry-standard SPECint_base2006 and SPECfp_rate_base2006 rate tests. SPEC® is a registered trademark of Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC). Testing conducted by Apple in October 2009 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Intel Core i5-based 2.66 GHz units and shipping 24-inch iMac Intel Core 2 Duo-based 3.06 GHz units. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of iMac.

**Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.0 database as of October 2009.

***EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

© 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iMac, Multi-Touch, iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes, iLife, iSight, AirPort Extreme, FireWire, SuperDrive, Snow Leopard, iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Source: Apple

Web Site: http://www.apple.com/

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1. Apple iMac
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3. Apple Store – Trafford Centre

It’s all about discs today, folks.

You know what’s snappy? Having a CD/DVD Superdrive on your Mac that is nothing more than a little slit on the side. It’s unobtrusive and stylish, and oh so fun to glide a disc into and wait for that moment when it grabs hold with its little motor finger and swallows the media. That sounded kind of sexual. My my.

You know what’s not snappy? When the stupid Superdrive chooses to not eject your disc. With no open/close button, no drive bay door and no way to grasp the actual drive mechanism at all, it can be a real hassle to get your disc back when your computer doesn’t feel like providing. The worst part is that there is no one, definitive, foolproof means of getting the disc back out. As such, and to save you the stress of scouring the internet for a multitude of ideas that may or may not work in your particular situation, I have compiled just about every remedy I’ve ever heard of here for you to try.

Sometimes, Apple is just too fancy for its own good. I’ve personally always hated the button-eject Superdrive. The reason a disc won’t eject is because it’s stuck in an endless spin – some remnant of control from a piece of software is keeping its motor running, and it won’t eject as long as it thinks it’s doing something.

These strategies, of course, are for when the obvious options don’t work. Always try pushing the eject button, dragging the disc icon to the trash and do a right-click eject before trying anything more drastic. Sometimes it’s only the button that won’t listen and one of those other strategies will.

—Select the DVD icon and press CMD and E.

—Try the Terminal command. Open up Terminal and type drutil eject. That stands for drive utility eject, which tells your disc drive it’s time to spit it out. This is usually one of the most effective methods.

—Launch Disk Utility and select the media in the sidebar. Click eject, which is at the top of the window.

—Reboot the computer and hold down the left mouse button (or the trackpad button on a MacBook). Hold it down all the way until the login screen appears, when it just might release the disc.

—Grab a business card or other small piece of paper made out of heavier-weight stock. Slip it into the disc slot (hold on tight!) and try to disrupt the rotation of the ever-spinning disc. If the drive senses the disc is spinning improperly it often spits it out.

—Similarly, tilt your MacBook so the drive faces down and shake it gently while pressing the eject button. This will also help throw off its spinning and force an eject.

—Reboot into open firmware (reboot while holding CMD + O + F) and type eject cd when the prompt comes up.

—Open iTunes and attempt using its triangular Eject Disk button.

—Some Macs have a small hole near the disc drive. This is made for the insertion of a paper clip that manually triggers the eject mechanism. If your computer doesn’t have this hole, don’t try drilling your own.

—If you have Toast Titanium installed, choose Eject Disk from its menu bar.

—Turn it off, wait a little while, then turn it back on. It just might pop itself out on reboot.

—Reboot while holding down the C key. This tells the system you are attempting to install software off the CD. Once the drive realizes it’s not an install disc, out it comes.

—Smash it with a bat. This only works once.

If you’ve been dealing with a stuck CD or DVD, I can almost guarantee one of these tips will help solve your problem. Good luck!

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I’ve been called obsessive compulsive when it comes to my hand washing. I wash my hands after doing anything. I wash my hands after being out in public. I wash my hands after going a half hour without washing my hands. When my hands are dirty, my whole life feels dirty. I feel dirty. Tainted. Stained.

Which brings me to my point – no matter what you do, no matter how clean your hands are kept, your white MacBook is going to get dirty from them. My MacBook is super filthy, and that fact has always bothered me. I’m so serious about hand cleanliness that I see this dirt as the single biggest flaw in my MacBook’s existence. I’m not alone in this struggle, as it seems every white MacBook owner that I know has yucky black smudges all over their machines. How can this be? And more importantly, is there anything that can be done to remove it? It’s just hard plastic, for pete’s sake!

-

My machine has huge black handprints where the balls of my hands sit as I type. The smudges are like cumulonimbus rain clouds drifting over an otherwise clear sky, darkening not only the plastic casing of my laptop, but my spirit as well. In addition, the trackpad is getting dingy and certain keys are darker than others. There has got to be a way to rid the machine of this filth, and I am to find out what it is.

Experiment #1 – Topical Cleaners

Someone once told me that Windex can clean anything. Well, that’s partly true. It certainly brightened up the dark areas, but didn’t totally eliminate the nastiness. You might be able to walk past this laptop and think it’s looking pretty hot, but once you get to know it a little bit and see it for who it really is, you’ll notice there’s a lot of darkness where there should be light.

Nature’s Miracle yielded the same results – brighter but not better. Nature’s Miracle is perhaps the best cleaner on the planet for getting stains out of fabrics and carpet. If you’ve never heard of it, you probably don’t have a pet, because it’s usually sold at pet stores.

Fantastik, again, same story. Better, but not a complete clean.

Experiment #2 – Rubbing Alcohol

This did a pretty solid job on the keys, as the dirt isn’t quite as “baked in” in those areas as where the hand sits all day. I would likely recommend using it on the keyboard and around the screen frame, carefully, using a cotton ball. It did next to nothing for the deep-set hand prints, though.

Experiment #3 – Goo Gone

Goo Gone can get anything off of anything. It’s like some sort of witchcraft the way this stuff can get mess off of things.

Unfortunately, it did absolutely nothing for my MacBook except leave behind its nasty oily residue that took me five extra minutes to clean off. This was very counter-productive, and a terrible idea.

Experiment #4– The Pencil Eraser

I used to take a knife and scratch the hand filth off of my gray Playstation controller. That now sounds like a terrible idea, so I chose something different… A pencil eraser is meant to lift markings and do it gently. Would it work for this?

It does work really well, actually. There is clearly a difference in where I rubbed with the eraser and where I didn’t. The only problem with the eraser is its path of cleaning is so exact. You have to be meticulous to clean the entire laptop this way, and will likely go through a couple pencils worth of erasers. Or, you know, you could just buy one of those bigger standard erasers and be totally fine. It’s definitely a good strategy for getting the deepest smudges out, as no surface cleaners can dig in the way the eraser does.

Also, watch for eraser dust crap getting under your keys.

Voila, she’s clean.

I’ve heard that Mr. Clean Magic Erasers work pretty well. I don’t have one on hand to try, though, so we’ll both have to take hundreds of blog writers’ words for it. I do have a Magic Eraser Mop, but I’m not about to mop my laptop. That’s just pure insanity, George.

My verdict is use a standard eraser and rub that filth right off your laptop. It’s fun in a weird way, and doubly exciting because it’s probably the cheapest solution. A bottle of cleaner or some sort of cleaning apparatus like a Magic Eraser will run you at least a few bucks, while a pencil eraser can be picked up at Staples for a solid 40 cents. I’m actually quite upset I didn’t try this earlier, as I’ve been struggling with this hand stain dirt for months. It can only be attributed to my loathsome attitude towards pencils…

Chances are if you clean your laptop before it gets to the point of being densely soiled, other solutions might have a greater effect.

But wait, there’s more!

All of this experimentation led to a great cleaning of the laptop itself. What about the screen? They get just as dirty, especially when they occasionally get in the line of fire of a sneeze or something equally gross.

Anything designed to clean eyeglasses or LCDs will likely be a good solution for your screen, along with a microfiber cloth for wiping. The cloth needs to be anti-static, and the cleaner needs to be ammonia-free. Or, you know, Apple suggests using a lint free cloth and water, which also works… but how unexciting.

An LCD cleaner will also do quite a good job on the exterior of the laptop because it’s so shiny.

Those who own Blackbooks may also be victim to oil smudge stains on their laptops. The above solutions should help keep those computers clean and happy as well.

Now go clean your computer, and I’ll see you again next week!

Related posts:

1. Apple Tips #1 – Six Quick iPod / iPhone Tips & Tricks
2. Apple Updates MacBook With LED-Backlit Display, Multi-Touch Trackpad & Built-in Seven-Hour Battery
3. Apple Tips #5 -Recovering 5GB of Hard Drive Space in Intel Macs Running Leopard