Apple just sent out an urgent email to Apple TV owners to alert them of a necessary, immediate upgrade to Apple TV software version 3.0.1.

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Apple Retail Stores are packed on a quiet day. So imagine trying to go shopping in the two weeks leading up to Christmas…

You walk in the store. You are thinking, “Lucy REALLY wants an iPod!”

The store is packed with wall to wall shoppers. You think, “Boy, I must really love Lucy to put up with this crowd!”

You can’t get near a demo unit let alone a salesperson. You think, “I LOVE Lucy… but not THIS much!”

You walk out.

Apple wants to make sure this type of scenario doesn’t play out at THEIR stores. One way their are addressing it… their new “Reserve and Pick Up” service. As their site explains…

We recently posted on Apple’s upcoming plan to replace the Windows CE-Based EasyPay handhelds hey use in Apple retail stores with a new system that is iPod Touch-based. AppleInsider has an exclusive sneak peak of the new units. As they explain…

Perhaps more significantly, the change to an iPod touch and Apple software will bring the entire point-of-sale (POS) system under Apple’s control. In addition, the system will have the added benefit of advertising the usefulness of the iPod touch to customers who see it being used right in front of them.

More images and a few thoughts follow…

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photo credit: Joseph Robertson

If last week’s news is any indication, we’re all about to see an army of Droids to be released and hit the mobile scene — in a very big way. Even if you didn’t already pre-order through Best Buy, Big Red hopes you’ll be stopping by their stores this Friday to see what all the fuss is about.   Some good hardware from Motorola and a faster, much improved Android 2.0 should please quite a few Verizon customers by providing what could be argued as the carrier’s first eagerly anticipated smartphone.   But will it pose any real threat to the iPhone?

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Rumor has it that the upcoming 10.6.2 build of Mac OS X has removed support for the Intel Atom CPU, which is the processor under the hood of many netbooks on the market today, including my beloved Dell Mini 9. This isn’t an issue for most Mac users, but if you’re like me and you’ve Hackintoshed your way to super-portable bliss, you might be a little worried.  See, Apple…this is why I wish you had your own official netbook!

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We wanted to let you know about a new tool we’ve added to the Gear Diary web site.

Mac users can now download a Gear Diary Dashboard Widget.  If you don’t know it already, Dashboard Widgets are mini-applications that are opened by clicking the Dashboard icon in your dock or by completing a keyboard short cut.

These applications open all at once and generally help you complete every day tasks or provide you with very target specific information.

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Since the first time I used one of the multi-touch trackpads on the current MacBooks I have wanted to have similar multi-touch abilities when using my iMac. I love using the trackpad on the MacBook. It works beautifully. The buttonless left and right click work great. And the multi-touch capabilities… well I didn’t really understand why I would want such a thing… until three minutes after I first tried it. Now I would never use a notebook without one. (Except the netbook I am using to write this, but that is another story.)

When Apple announced the new Magic Mouse, I was excited; finally Apple was bringing the amazing technology to their desktops. So when Larry IM’d me earlier today that the new Magic Mouse was finally in stock in Apple retails stores, I wanted one… fast.

I called my wife Elana and asked if she was near an Apple Store. “Nope but I can be if you like.” (Now THAT’S a good gadget-freak’s mate!) A short time later she IMed the following to me…

Mouse in hand. $69. Expensive, no?? Nice Style and packaging- shocking for Apple

So do I love the new Magic Mouse? Does Apple hit a home run with their new mouse? Yes… and NO!

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It always struck me as a bit odd that Apple retail stores used specialized Windows CE devices to speed checkout. I mean… using a WINDOWS device to sell Apple products? Why, that would be like a TV news program displaying the Windows 7 logo on a MacBook Pro… (Oh, they did? My bad…)

Anyhow, word is that Apple is planning to replace each of the aging devices (they first came on line in 2005) with a shiny new iPod touch.

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Twelve South, the makers of the “Back Pack”, which we told you about here, recently announced that both their Back Pack and Book Arc work fine with Apple’s newly released 21.5″ and 27″ iMac and Mac Book.

The Back Pack is a shelf which attaches to the back of the iMac and is the perfect place to rest your external hard drive.  I have one myself and love it.  It’s available for $29.99 here.

The Book Arc is a stand which holds most Mac Books freeing your desktop from clutter.  It’s available for $49.99 here.

Most of us know buying RAM directly from the manufacturer isn’t the most cost effective method.  Many third party suppliers offer RAM upgrades for far less than what you’d pay if you added the additional memory when you first bought the computer.

Other World Computing (OWC) has announced new memory upgrade kits for the just released 21.5″ and 27″ iMacs.

Kits are available up to 16 gig.

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photo credit: nDevilTV

Seriously, bloggers need to stop making nonsense go viral. If we ever want to get the kind of respect that ought to come with the hard work and lousy pay (most of us do this as a fun volunteer activity), we need to stop pulling the kind of iTablet nonsense that flew today. New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller used one word, and the internet went wild. He said…

I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP or the impending Apple slate or whatever comes after that.

And with that numerous blogs went wild. “OMG! he mentioned the iTablet… and he used the word IMPENDING… He MUST know something.”

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It surely wasn’t a coincidence that Apple decided to announce three new items to its product line just days before Microsoft officially launched Windows 7.

What’s even less of a coincidence is the three new Mac ads apple has just released which pull no punches and go right out after Windows 7.

Click on to watch all three of the new ads.

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Apple is on a roll! Yesterday Apple announced record earnings. In response their stock soared above $200 a share in after hours trading.

And now… New hardware that rocks. The buzz has been going for some time now. Shipments of iMacs came to a crawl, discounts were seen on some sites and rumors began to fly. Would the update include new iMacs? New Mac Minis? Newly designed white MacBooks? New muli-touch trackpads to replace the ever-so frustrating mighty mouse? And maybe, just maybe might we see a tablet?, The speculation and excitement was typical when it comes to the company that seems to continue to have an excellent record of maintaining secrecy in a world of ever-growing leaks.

So what would it be??

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Larry was all excited to post about EyeTV’s easter egg that enabled streaming video from your Mac to your iPhone over 3G. Unlike Yelp which required the user to shake and shake and shake their iPhone to unlock the hidden augmented reality goodness, the EyeTV bonus was available by simply tapping the screen differently when warned about the lack of connectivity.

It was neat.
It was awesome.
And it was something that, we all knew it was too good to be true… at least for very long.

As Larry wrote in the post…

I don’t expect this version to stay in the iTunes App Store for very long so if you’re thinking of picking up an EyeTV I’d grab the application here now while you still can.

So last night Larry IMed me- “What do you think is the over/under on Apple pulling the EyeTV app?”
I wrote, “Three days”
He wrote, “I’ll take over… and if I win you send me the new iMac you are ordering on Tuesday when Apple tries to do an end-run on Microsoft.”
Me- “And I get?”
Larry, “Oops, gotta run…”

Nicely played Greenberg!

Well, it wasn’t three days. It wasn’t two days. Continue Reading