For some time, Apple has viewed its Apple TV product as a ‘hobby.’ While the device has been updated occasionally, the streaming video gadget has not been seen as a weapon in Cupertino’s battle with Google for media supremacy. However, that may change as word leaks that Google, Intel and Sony have teamed-up for GoogleTV. A

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After being promised several months ago, Amazon’s free Kindle for Mac has finally arrived in beta form — right as Apple’s iPad and its accompanying iBooks app looms large over the horizon. Kindle for Mac joins a vast array of available options for Amazon e-book buyers. In addition to the company’s own $259 Kindle 2 and $489 Kindle DX hardware options, e-books purchased through Amazon can also be read on the iPhone or iPod touch, Blackberry, Windows PC and now Mac — and presumably an updated iPad version is yet to come as well. According to AppleInsider , Kindle for Mac allows users to purchase and download from Amazon’s ever-expanding catalog of more than 450,000 e-books and read them on the device of your choice. Amazon’s Whispersync technology is featured on all versions of the software and hardware, which automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and the last page read across devices. For instance, you can start reading an e-book on the new Mac version, then open the same tome on your iPhone and pick right up where you left off, on the go. "Kindle for Mac is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Amazon Kindle director Jay Marine. "For those customers around the world who don’t yet have a Kindle, Kindle for Mac is a great way to instantly access and read the most popular new releases as well as their old favorites." Of course, Amazon would probably prefer that e-book buyers still favor the hardware Kindle over the software options, but ultimately the company has done the right thing by making it available on every possible platform — especially given that Apple will likely have its own iBooks for iPad in its own walled garden as usual. Kindle for Mac isn’t quite feature complete yet — Amazon plans to add more new features, such as full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights. The free beta version is available for download now and requires Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 or greater and an Intel processor

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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPad Filed under “things Apple normally doesn’t do,” it appears as if our favorite Cupertino based company has changed the function of one of the hardware switches on the iPad before making it available to customers. Apparently, as shown by the outlined diagram of the device on their website, the switch that was once in place for muting the device will now serve as a way to lock the screen rotation. Considering there have been complaints about the inability to do this on the iPhone, it’ll certainly be a nice feature to have on the iPad. Via [ 9 to 5 Mac ] Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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An Australian tech website has started running ads featuring Mac Pros and MacBook Pros whose entry-level prices are noticeably higher than those in the current Mac lineup. So what, right? The ads are probably incorrectly labeled, or something. But the word on the street (well, the word on Engadget , anyway) is that these might predict the much-anticipated Mac refreshes that we’ve been waiting for. From Engadget: Apple’s Australian online store lists the most affordable versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro at A$1599, A$1999 and A$3599, respectively, but the ads show significantly higher “starting at” prices of A$1899, A$2399, and A$4499. Following the ads to Apple’s Australian online store reveals the same Mac models at the same old prices, so either these ads are terribly wrong or they’re been released a little early… It has been over a year since Apple released a major update to its high-end Mac Pro computer. I know very well because I bought one last April at an astronomically high price, and as such, guard it with my life. (No one else is allowed near it. No one!) If history has taught me anything, it is that I am not allowed to have the best and brightest kit for long. Therefore, an update is imminent. As for the MacBook Pro, we can probably expect to see Apple upgrade it with Intel’s powerful i7 Chipset

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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPad Want to read the most interesting and shocking sentence of perhaps your entire week. Here it goes: “If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee.” Yup, you read that right. According to Apple’s webpage, having a dead battery on your iPad will not only make you eligible for a new battery, they’ll simply replace the iPad itself (keep in mind, it still costs $99, but unlike the iPhone, you get a new device, not just a new battery). While this is certainly intriguing, it does raise some points. For one, the reasoning behind this may because the solid structure of the device makes it too hard to open up and replace the battery to even make it worth it. Perhaps replacing the entire iPad is more cost and time friendly to Apple. However, this also poses the question of how environmentally safe this really is.

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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 15, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh PagePlanet Software, Inc. has announced the Golden Master release of Modular Gateway Interface (MGI) 3.2 for the Macintosh OS X and Linux operating systems. MGI is an Apache 2 module that adds full functionality to every website on your server using a simple tag structure. MGI includes 67 tags to enhance a website with everything from simple counters and form processing to custom databases and shopping carts. You can also combine MGI’s powerful programming tags to make your website do anything you can imagine.  Need to build a custom login and tracking system? No problem. TheMacBundles today released its March bundle and a new and innovative Build Your Own Bundle store. TheMacBundles has set a new standard of quality and value with its high quality, low priced bundles. These no-gimmick bundles provide users with the same software, support, licenses, and upgrade benefits that apply to users who paid the full price for the titles. The new BYOB store maintains these high standards and lets users create their own customized bundles with some simple mouse clicks. iWebTemplate has announced the addition of a free iWeb themes and templates section to be used with Apple’s iWeb Website building application. iWeb Free Themes includes seven great themes: Sky, Picture, Church, Joy, Love, Billiard and Cat. Each iWeb Free theme can be used as the basis for a great new website.

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Steve Jobs calls the iPad Apple’s “most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device” and I’m certainly not one to disagree. The iPad boasts significant advances over the iPhone in terms of hardware and software which makes me wonder, how much of that advanced technology could make it’s way into a future Apple TV? Hardware While the current Apple TV boasts an Intel Pentium M 1.0GHz processor, Apple’s advances in its own chip design could pave the way for a custom processor fine tuned for the device. Apple’s reason for custom chips in the mobile arena is to provide them with what they need while giving them more control over other aspects, such as battery life. While this isn’t a concern with the Apple TV, certainly a more powerful chip while still being power efficient is desirable. A custom chip would give Apple more flexibility over performance as well. Consider the video formats the iPad can play. Many were shocked to see support for full 720p at 30 frames per second and support for .avi files up to 35Mbps

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