Author: Andrew

Senior Editor of the Real Mac Genius.com., San Jose, CA.

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Are You a Fan and Follower?

Are you a fan or follower?  Well if not, check us out at our Facebook Fan Page or follow us on Twitter!  We are always updating our Twitter and Facebook page with our most up-to-date articles and much more. Soon, we will be tweeting and updating our fans with contests such as free give aways like the new iPod Nano, iPad, Apple TV, App Promo Codes, etc. Additionally, tweet us, write on our wall if there is something you want to tell us, a cool tip, breaking news, or your cool new workspace.

So, are you a fan or follower?

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Apple/Pixar Love Fest

So, you may have noticed that Apple and Pixar are somewhat unofficially associated with one another. Well, that’s because they are. In a sense, they are brother companies. You see, they share a parent: Steve Jobs. After Jobs was booted out of Apple in the 90s, he founded Pixar Animation Studios. If you think about it, the two companies have a lot in common: Both are in the tech category; both have anticipated regular annual release dates (e.g. Apple’s annual iPod updated line, or Pixar’s annual Disney/Pixar major motion picture, such as this year’s Toy Story 3), both have a similar logo style with the white background and simple, familiar picture, both were founded by Jobs, both are highly successful, among many other things such as business styles, etc. Is Steve Jobs not only a tech genius, but also a business genius? I don’t know. But here are some solid examples of the Apple/Pixar love fest:
-Disney Pixar’s Wall-E: the robot’s charging sound is the same as the Mac startup sound
-Apple’s introductions of just about any product with video within the past year have showcased Disney/Pixar’s Up
-In Toy Story 3, the younger sister is shown with an iPod
-In Toy Story 3, the toys clearly use Safari browser on an iMac to map out a route on the Internet
-Many more. . . just search it in Google.

All in all, this whole deal raises the question of how each company benefits from such benefits, and did Jobs plan this? Apple has always had a way with the media. What do you think of this unofficial partnership? Leave a comment below.

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Safari 5?

Safari 5

At the WWDC last Monday, in addition to iPhone 4, Apple released Safari 5. What’s different in Safari 5? At first, it appears that not much is new. . . visually. But, it turns out that Safari now includes some features that may determine the future of surfing the Internet. (By the way, notice how I capitalized the ‘I’ in Internet? That is because Internet is a proper noun, and thus, it is grammatically correct to capitalize it. Yes, it’s true. Weird, but true.) Anyway, what has been supposedly the world’s fastest browser just got faster. That’s one of the non-visual things in Safari 5. The other is better HTML 5 support including full-screen view/closed-captioning for video and geolocation.

Then there are a couple visual things. Let’s see, there is now a tab on Topsites that allows you to quickly switch to full history search mode. And the Google search bar in the upper right corner now works with Yahoo! and Bing as well. Oh, and they brought back to old blue loading bar, which kind of annoys me. But, perhaps most noticeably and importantly, there is a new feature called “Reader.” Reader allows the user to view a ‘quick-look-esque’ enlarged view of an article on a webpage without the clutter of ads and graphics. Safari 5 automatically detects when a webpage has an article and displays an icon in the address bar that says “reader.” If you click on it, you can read the article in a front-and-center view. It’s very nice. For a demonstration, visit the download page to download safari, then revisit this site and continue reading this article in Reader! The other nice thing about Reader is that you can download the article while in Reader mode with the click of a button. Could this type of viewing be the future of Internet surfing?

Well, to conclude, the reason I included a question mark in this article’s title is because I’m not sure if this updated version of Safari deserves its own number. Perhaps Safari 4.5 is more fitting. However it is a worthwhile update and I urge you to download it. After all, it’s free!

What do you think? Leave a comment.

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AT&T Ups Early Termination Fee To $325

Are you an AT&T customer? Well, today AT&T moved its Early Termination Fee up from: $175 to $325!

They also come ahead of the expected June launch of a new iteration of the Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone, which could potentially yield millions of subscribers signing up for fresh two-year commitments.

The iPhone is AT&T’s biggest wireless growth driver; however, the company’s contract as Apple’s sole U.S. partner is expected to end over the next year. The loss of exclusivity could enable iPhone customers–particularly those frustrated by the carrier’s network issues–to go to rivals, specifically Verizon Wireless, although high early termination fees could serve as a deterrent.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

An AT&T spokesman, however, said the timing of the move wasn’t related to any device.

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Competition Among Pads

Tablet computer “pads,” that is. Yes, other tech giants, along with some start-ups, are once again following Apple in an attempt to gain a portion of the market that Apple created.  The WeePad, JooJoo Tablet, and HP Slate are among the competitors that announced or released tablet computers within the past month.

Clearly, there is a pretty good market for tablet computers, as Apple announced Monday news that it has sold 1 million iPads in the first month!  But will other companies be able to capture the same appeal that Apple has with the iPad?

Analysts think not.  The International Data Corporation says that “Anybody can make a tablet. I could go to Taiwan, hire a contract manufacturer, and make ‘Bob’s tablet,’ but the hard part is doing the software and getting the applications.”  If any company CAN do that though, it would be HP.

Though it is perhaps possible for HP to take some of the market away from Apple, in the long run I don’t think it will make much of a difference for Apple.  All of these other companies are followers. But the leader remains the leader.