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What does Apple get that Sony, HP, Microsoft, Dell, Samsung, and LG don’t?…. Usability in software. All these other geeks out there making hardware love packing on “specs”, stuffing big numbers like RAM, gigahertz, and hard drive space into small or cool looking gadgets. It all looks good on paper, but after you use one of their gadgets for more than a few weeks, you just want to throw it out a window. Thousands of new gadgets released every year all using the same-old crappy unfriendly, unintuitive, unattractive software. It’s no wonder so many are flocking to Apple when we...

My iPad arrived a few hours ago, so I loaded it up with some apps and checked it out quickly. So far, it's not all that impressive. It's exactly what you'd expect, for the most part: High quality, nice design, very expensive for what you get. I still disagree, and strongly, with some of the first generation limitations--like the lack of dual cameras and the non-widescreen display--but overall it's a decent device. Here are my initial notes, which I'll use for my eventual review: The power plug is the bigger, uglier old-style plug, not the new small, square one you...

Apple's iPad. Will it blend? That is the question, here is the answer: Direct link to the video via YouTube here. MacDailyNews Take: Your device hasn't really arrived until BlendTec's Tommy Dickson checks to see if it blends.

Apple will hold a special invitation-only event that will allow attendees to “Get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS” this Thursday, April 8. Apple to hold special iPhone 4.0 media event on Thursday, April 8 Monday, April 05, 2010 - 03:05 PM EDT Apple will hold a special invitation-only event that will allow attendees to “Get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS” this Thursday, April 8. The special event is scheduled to be held at 10am PDT in Apple Town Hall in Cupertino, CA. As usual, we plan to present live coverage of the...

Monday, April 05, 2010 - 08:29 PM EDTThe new Citrix Receiver for iPad app makes it easy for iPad owners to take their virtual office with them on the go. One simple touch gives iPad owners secure access to all of their corporate Windows applications and desktops, making it easy to work from anywhere, while still enjoying the great user experience they bought an iPad for in the first place. Citrix Receiver for iPad via Vimeo. Citrix Receiver for iPad features: • Apps, Desktops & Docs From Anywhere: With simple, one-tap access, Citrix Receiver lets you easily access any...

The iPad doesn't have a built-in camera, but you can give it something better. By putting an app onto each an iPad and an iPhone, you can connect the two via bluetooth and have a wireless camera for your iPad. All you need to do is download the Camera A and Camera B apps onto your iPad and iPhone respectively—note that Camera A will set you back a buck while Camera B is free. Once you've got the apps on your devices, make sure bluetooth is switched on, and open the apps. Ta da! You'll see everything your iPhone's lens...

"Microsoft's mystery event is a mystery no more," Ina Fried reports for CNET. MacDailyNews Take: Some "mystery." See photo (left). Fried continues, "The devices, code-named Pure and Turtle, are both slider phones, each with a touch screen and keyboard, a source told CNET. In the U.S., the devices will run on Verizon Wireless' network and go on sale within the month following the event. Microsoft plans to unveil the devices at the April 12 event in San Francisco." MacDailyNews Take: "Unveil?" See photo (left). Fried continues, "Turtle and Pure are more in line with the market Microsoft targeted with the...

I don’t get it. It costs $500 for the basic model, when you could get a laptop with a lot more functionality for about the same price. The iPad hype machine has been in full effect this week, and I still think it’s just that—hype. As I wrote previously, nobody has ever made a commercially successful tablet computer. The iPod was not the first portable MP3 player, but it was the first that got widespread appeal for its simplicity and superior storage capacity for the cost. The iPhone was not the first smartphone, and it still faces fierce competition from...

The Apple iPad was released over weekend, and there was tremendous publicity and no small amount of punditry on the topic. Of course, as is only fitting for something released on Easter weekend, the Apple fans have said it’s the greatest thing ever, about to change the whole market, and no doubt going to raise the dead, heal the sick, and make the lame whole. Naturally, there are also the naysayers, a lot of whom have concentrated on how the iPad can’t possibly live up to the hype. In particular, they noted that the iPad isn’t going to save the...

The iPad has inspired yet another high-powered business type to make a mobile-device purchase. Of a netbook. As you may have heard, Apple's iPad went on sale last Saturday in the US. Since - and even before - that momentous event, boundless bloviatory bytes dissecting Cupertino's "magical and revolutionary" device have engorged the interwebs, with pundits and pundit-wannabes weighing in with both pros and cons (but mostly pros). Over at The New York Times, however, David Pogue made the reasonable observation that while a tech type might see the iPad one way, a Normal Human Being™ might look past its...

It's Awkward You can't carry it on your hip like a phone, so it presents the same portability issues as any laptop - you'll need a case of some sort to protect it and carry the power cable. It's heavy To be sure, at 1.5 pounds and with all this functionality, the iPad is an impressive feat of engineering. But it's simply not light enough It's slippery We might ignore the awkward size and weight, but the iPad is also slippery, and its aluminum back is ever-so-slightly slightly concave. The screen has too much glare The iPad has the same...

Apple Inc. said Monday it sold more than 300,000 iPads in the U.S., including preorders, on the first day the device was available. The company didn't give a precise figure, but the tally was below the estimates of some analysts. Buyers flocked to stores starting Saturday after weeks of publicity about the tablet-style computer. Apple hadn't offered iPad sales forecasts, but over the weekend, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster more than doubled his initial first-day sales estimate to between 600,000 and 700,000 units, including preorders, based on longer-than-expected lines at stores and high expectations for online preorders. He had also...

HP’s Slate Device Delivers a Holistic Mobile Experience Up to now, we’ve given you only tiny glimpses of the HP slate device coming out later this year. You saw it first in a video we released during CES and most recently in videos demoing its Web experience and Adobe Flash and Air support. We’ve also blogged about the evolution of the slate category and our history in the space. So far, almost everything we’ve shared showcases how you’ll consume media with the device. And by media we mean all types of digital content, whether it’s a story from a major...

And it is amazing! UPS was here at 9 AM sharp! I am truly a beautiful device. I'll be twittering at @ipadhacker about my experience with it.

The Apple iPad ushers in the era of tablet computing, with a slate-style handheld that looks nothing like a typical computer. in fact, the iPad is more reminiscent of an oversize iPhone than a laptop. But because the iPad's screen is three times larger than that of the iPhone/iPod Touch, you'll be tempted to use the iPad for activities you wouldn't consider doing with an iPhone. Innovative apps and content optimized for the spacious, high-resolution touchscreen make the iPad a treat to use. Nevertheless, the iPad's other limitations make it hard to recommend as a replacement for (rather than as...

I was first in the iPad line at the Best Buy in Marin City, Calif., on Saturday. Oh, I wasn't looking to buy one. Only people with certain imbalances buy the first iteration of Apple products. But the Best Buy is right next to my Starbucks and I really needed coffee. When say I was first in line, may I add that this was 8:57 a.m., and I was the line. I stood outside what seemed an utterly deserted place for a minute before the doors parted very slightly and a man in a heavy coat came out. He was...

A handful of advertisers, such as Apple, have abandoned Fox altogether. Network executives say they believe they could charge higher rates if the host were more widely acceptable to advertisers.

I refuse to let them force me into an upgrade that I don't want. Any ideas? Is this happening to other FReepers. Is there any way around it? I nearly killed my computer, trying to find a solution. I've already checked online, and can't find much help. Do I have no other choice but to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8?

Shocking: A recent survey of enterprise IT managers that administer both PCs and Macs finds that Macs have a better TOC (total cost of ownership) than Windows boxes, and require less user training and help. The respondents were given the option to select from a range of cost differences. Not only did the administrators across the board say that Macs were less expensive, in all but one category the majority of administrators who said Macs cost less said they were more than 20 percent less expensive to manage than PCs. Of those who asserted that PCs cost less, the majority...

Brace yourself. Before the month is out, they will be knocking at your door, insisting that Apple’s iPad tablet―for sale on or about April 3 (pre-orders started March 12 at 5:30 pm PST) ―is just the gadget that will solve a multitude of IT problems while, simultaneously, giving your IT strategy a leg up . It will not. What it will do, say many experts, is create problems. And those problems will become your problems. It’s not just the iPad. Other tablets are not much better, even though Gartner now is projecting an avalanche of 10.5 million tablets to be...