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Apple is the #1 Most Admired Company!

How do you know that Apple is the #1 Most Admired Company? Well, FORTUNE magazine runs a yearly survey by asking businesspeople to vote for the companies that they admire the most. They compile the votes and create a list called Top 50 Most Admired Companies. So what did FORTUNE magazine find this time? Apple is #1, for the fourth year in a row. There is good reason for why Apple was picked as #1. They make so many great products that are admired by many. The company introduced the iPad last year and opened the world to an entirely new idea. Google, the #2 most admired company, was also following closely behind Apple. The following are the Top Ten Most Admired Companies:

  1. Apple
  2. Google
  3. Berkshire Hathaway
  4. Southwest Airlines
  5. Procter & Gamble
  6. Coca-Cola
  7. Amazon.com
  8. FedEx
  9. Microsoft
  10. McDonald’s

As for my own opinion, I also admire Apple the most. What do you think? Leave a comment.

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How To: Buy an iPad 2

On March 2, 2011, Apple introduced the iPad 2. We all know that it will be lighter and thinner and all those other features such as cameras for FaceTime and Photo Booth, but what we don’t know, is how to buy an iPad 2. The iPad 2 is going to be released on March 11, 2011. As far as you can tell by looking at the Apple website, it says it will be starting at $499. You also have to worry about the fact that you can’t pre-order it and you will have to deal with tons of other people fighting to buy an iPad 2 once it come out. So how should you deal with this? First of all, figure out where you can buy it. You can buy it at the Apple Store, the Apple Online Store, Best Buy, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Target. The Apple Store will definitely have long lines. I think the Apple Online Store would be the best bet because you won’t have to wait in lines or get through crowds. You will have to wait for it to arrive because it ships on the day it is released, but it is the easiest way to get it. Patience is definitely required for the Apple Online Store method. Best Buy will have some on sale, but the amount is unknown. You will have to hope they have some in stock by the time you get there. Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Target are also the same story as Best Buy. They will have some available, but how much is unknown. AT&T and Verizon will also have 3G iPad 2 models available on March 11.

My recommendation is to just order it on the Apple Online Store. You just need to be patient. People who are patient always get rewarded. People will also try to sell it on sites such as Ebay, but don’t bother because they will just raised the price.

Now let’s go over the models and the prices. The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will come in three models and two colors each. The prices are as follows:

16 GB = $499.00
32 GB = $599.00
64 GB = $699.00

The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will come in three models and two colors each, but will be sold by two separate providers, AT&T and Verizon, at the same prices. The prices are as follows:
16 GB = $629.00
32 GB = $729.00
64 GB = $829.00

That is about it for the rundown of the iPad 2. Good luck buying one. Leave questions and comments!

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Zoom! Zoom! MacBook Pro

It’s off to the races. Talk about fast, the new MacBook Pro’s are coming in at blazing speeds. To put this is an understatement for sure. The new top of the line MacBook Pro 2011 is faster than the existing Mac Pro desktop. Basically, the ‘low-end’ base MacBook Pro 2011 13” is just as fast as last years top-end MacBook Pro models. The MacBook Pro 13” with Intel Core i5-2415M 2.3 GHz (2cores), which is the “slowest 2011 MacBook Pro’ is almost as fast as the last years fastest MacBook Pro. Osxdaily.com put together some benchmark speed tests and it shows that the new MacBook Pros’ are extremely fast. Some of the new Mac Book Pros’ are almost 3x’s faster then last years models. That is an incredible feat by Apple. Some companies make their computers maybe just double their speed. Sometimes companies just focus on the looks of the computer. Not Apple though, they focus on what really matters. A computer is good until it starts to become slow. Apple’s new MacBook Pros’ are faster then many computers out on the market. There are only so many things you can actually do to a computer until you can’t do anymore. Apple hasn’t changed the design, granted that it looks extremely good so it is probably unnecessary to change the outerwear, but they have definitely changed the inside. Isn’t that what matters though? The outside appearance is only good until you figure out what’s on the inside.

 

Last year’s version of the MacBook Pro 13” with 8GB RAM and a 2.4GHz Core 2 duo got a score of 3128. The new MacBook Pro 13” in 2011 with Intel Core i7-2620M 2.7 GHz (2 cores) got a benchmark score of 6796. That’s double the speed in one year. From what I can tell, that’s a pretty decent score in just a matter of time. The fastest MacBook Pro is the 17” model with Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3 GHz (4 cores) with a score of 10164. That is extremely fast and it triples the speed from the previous MacBook Pro. I’m still rather curious about the MacBook Pro and if it is actually faster then a Mac Pro desktop. Osxdaily.com says that the MacBook Pro’s are, but until I see some tests, I don’t really believe that. The Mac Pro’s are extremely fast and I definitely say that as an understatement. No other desktop can even compete with the type of speeds that the Mac Pro pushes out. Put all the crazy fast technology, all the talk about Intels SandyBridge chips being blazing fast, and it is all true. If you didn’t buy a MacBook Pro last year, or you just want to upgrade, I would definitely buy the new MacBook Pros’. Tell us what you think about these new MacBook Pro models.

 

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Walk through of Mac OS X 10.7

What is Mac OS X 10.7 Lion? It is Apple’s newest operating system in development. Our friends at lifehacker.com got a hold of the 10.7 Lion beta. Some features have been showed, but it may just be the start of the 10.7 Lion since it is only a beta version. 10.7 Lion now has full disk encryption. It is more secure than its current implementation. Once you install the OS X it asks you if oyu would like to encrypt the disk, which is one of the only ways to keep an SSD secure. Apple is starting to push the SSD usage, so it’s great that Apple is trying to make us feel more secure. AirDrop is a new feature in the finder that makes it easier to share files between computers. First, you open up Finder and see all the nearby computers with AirDrop enabled. You can send them files by dragging them onto their icon. AirDrop will create an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network between the two computers and transfer the files for you. Just like in Time Machine, there’s a new feature called the built-in version control which lets you roll back to previous versions of a file. Every time you save a document, it saves a new version of it. Closing the lid of your laptop is always an uncertainty. Will your documents be saved? 10.7 Lion has a feature called session saving. If you’re using a MacBook, this doesn’t really apply to you, but for desktop users it is. When you shut down your computer, you have the choice of having all your documents and such stay the same when your start the computer up again. It will resume the same state in which you left it in.

 

The interface has changed, and it is a bit different then what you would expect from OS X. Apple is sticking with the monochrome icons they use in iTunes 10, but it isn’t that big of shock right off the bat. When you start to use the desktop features, you will notice some pretty big changes. There is finally an iOS-style application launcher. You can still browse applications in the Finder, but if you hit the Launchpad icon in your dock, it presents it in a better way. It is full screen which you can fit more apps on the screen and do less scrolling which is a hassle. Nothing big has really changed with the Launchpad which means you don’t have to get excited about that. Misson control is Exposé, Spaces and Dashboard which is actually a nice improvement. Instead of spreading out all your windows, Exposé separates them by application, which makes it a bit less overwhelming when you have a lot of apps open at once. Your spaces are displayed at the top of the screen, you can drag windows to and from spaces easily form this view. The dashboard hasn’t changed so nothing to worry about. The new version of Mail looks much more like the iPad app than the old version of Mail which makes it a bit easier to view your messages. Threading support still isn’t great, but it’s nice! I like the full screen apps which Lion focuses on. It’s great so that you can flip through certain PDF images and focus on one certain image. I would expect this on the iPad, but on a desktop of laptop, it’s kind of unexpected and useless.

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iPad 2: The Breakdown

As many of you may know by now, earlier today Apple confirmed the rising swell of rumors by releasing the iPad 2. Apple boasts that it’s “Thinner. Lighter. Faster.” on its website, but what exactly makes this version of the iPad different from the original iPad model? Well, there are a few major changes that make this new iPad stand out as the best tablet computer on the market.

 

First, Apple made a new chip specifically for the iPad 2 that they call the A5. This chip has duel-core processors, which translates to double the speed of the first iPad, and 9 times the graphics speed. This allows for amazing games and faster-loading apps. The new chip plus an LED-backlit display translates to amazing graphics for all of your games and movies on the iPad 2, and absolutely no lag, even in graphic intensive games like Infinity Blade, opening the App Store up to even more graphic intensive games than ever possible before. Apple once again revolutionized the market, creating not only the first tablet with a duel-core processor, but also the most beautiful.

Apple also made the iPad 2 33% thinner than the original iPad. This makes it much more portable than the original, and .2 pounds lighter. Reading ebooks at the beach or taking an all-in-one travel companion with you has never been easier!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most expected updates for the iPad 2 was rear and forward-facing cameras, with FaceTime support built in, and Apple didn’t disappoint. With the new 4.3 software update, not only will FaceTime be added, but PhotoBooth, the iPad equivalent of the Mac app, and iMovie for iPad, which allows you to edit the HD videos you take with your iPad camera, will also be added. PhotoBooth looks almost identical to the Mac version, with the same effects that make this app so fun to play with.

 

Another important update for the iPad 2 is the addition of a gyroscope. This allows the iPad to better track its movement, making games that rely on the accelerometer more accurate and allowing for increased screen-rotation accuracy. If you own the original iPad, you know that it can sometimes be frustrating to lift your iPad up to reorient it when you changed its orientation on a stand, but the gyroscope on the iPad 2 fixes this problem.

 

Surprisingly, Apple claims that the battery life of the iPad 2 is the same as the original iPad, at 10 hours of standard use. This, to quote Steve Jobs, “legendary” battery life is part of what made the iPad so popular

 

Apple also announced its own accessory for the iPad 2, dubbed the Smart Cover, that magnetically attaches to the iPad, acting as a cover, stand, screen cleaner, and screen protector, all in one. When the cover is rolled up, it acts as a stand, both in landscape and portrait, while rolled down it covers and protects the iPad screen. The microfiber lining on the inside of the case cleans your screen when you put it on, and the iPad 2 detects when you are rolling the case on and off and responds by waking itself up. The smart cover comes in polyurethane and leather in a variety of colors.

The iPad 2 starts at $499, with the same pricing model for the original iPad. The 3G model will offer a choice between AT&T or Verizon. Smart Covers are sold separately.

*All images are from apple.com