iPad Accessories: How Green is the Vers Bamboo iPad Case? - reposted by Andre DI Cioccio

What is it about the iPad? Or is it just Apple products in general? The more I look, the more tree hugging, stargazing, planet saving, eco-friendly products I find. I am pleasantly surprised, being a born-again hippy myself… The latest offering is a Bamboo Case made by Versaudio. It is not quite available as I write, but its release date is just around the corner. But just how green is this latest eco-case? I had a look at Ver’s environmental credentials to find out.

Just because something is made of wood doesn’t mean that it’s suddenly an eco-product. Hardwoods are long-growth trees and need proper management, certain trees are endangered, wood maybe used but the production process may be super-polluting. There is also the question of material sourcing: it’s no good having fantastic production methods from sustainable forests if you ship your wood half way across the world. Having read the marketing blurb for the Vers Bamboo Case, I was initially sceptical. I wondered whether they were just trying to jump onto the eco bandwagon. I’m happy to say I was wrong.

According the www.versaudio.com, Vers’ website, wood comes from: “locally sourced and managed plantations near [their] factory; any trees that are harvested are replanted”. What I found very impressive is their admission that “no product is truly ‘green’. Any manufactured product requires energy and resources to produce, transport and operate through out their entire life cycle”. This balanced and honest view certainly convinced me that their environmental credentials were sound.

The case is made from a mixture of solid hardwoods and bamboo, with an optional wooden prop so the case can double as a stand. It is beautifully finished in a durable UV and moisture resistant lacquer and would be great as a picture frame using the iPad’s photo apps. The case is top loading with the snug scratch resistant lining protecting your iPad from damage. There are openings for the power switch, the 30 pin port and volume control. Unfortunately it lacks an opening for the charger, which I think is a real oversight. The workmanship is first class with a 4mm thickness of wood giving the case a really solid feel. The case is reinforced with steel for extra strength and durability.

This delightful case will soon be available via the Vers website. Its advertised price is $79.99.

iPad News: iPad’s Popularity Makes it a Solid Promotional Tool - reposted by Andre Di Cioccio

Open up a magazine or turn on your television, and you see the iPad everywhere. Whether it be television commercials on major networks in primetime, or a full page ad in Sports Illustrated, Apple has the iPad in your face. With this omnipresent status, many companies are looking to capitalize off the iPad’s popularity to bring themselves more business. Where is this happening, and why?

Traffic is a huge part of any business. The more customers that come your way, the higher probability you have of becoming successful. For this reason corporations hire marketing firms, have in-house marketing teams, and other tools at their disposal to increase traffic. Promotions are one excellent way to achieve traffic. By building off another product’s reputation, one can add extra incentives for customers to use their service or buy their product.

Take the online merchant known as Paypal, for example. Pretty much any person who has done a transaction online knows about Paypal. It is one of the most preferred methods for safe online transactions, and has been around for a good bit. Paypal doesn’t necessarily need a ton of help in getting their name out to the public, but they are still running promotions to do so. If you visit the Paypal.com homepage, you will see a promotional ad that says you can win either $1,000 or an iPad if you sign up with the company to send money. They are offering iPads to five different new customers each week while the promotion runs. Essentially, they are playing off the iPad’s popularity and freshness with the hopes that it will be that extra push to get people to sign up for their service. A person who may have been on the fence about using Paypal, but who really wants an iPad, may decide that they will finally sign up not only to use the service and all it has to offer, but also with the chance that they could win the iPad they always wanted.

Another example of a company using the iPad as a promotional tool is Fox 29 news, based in South Florida. This news station, one of the largest in the area, has been running ads on their television station stating how viewers could win an iPad. What do they have to do to win one? They have to watch the channel’s 10 p.m. news and wait for the cue to call in. The lucky caller who is in the right place at the right time will then win the iPad. By giving this incentive, the station can gain some viewers, as those hoping to win the iPad prize will have to view the news in order to do so. In turn, this increases the channel’s ratings.

Those were just a couple of examples of how many are using the iPad’s popularity as an avenue to increase their own businesses. It is definitely a clever way to market, and as the iPad’s popularity continues to win the hearts and minds of the public, many more companies are likely to follow suit in using the device as a marketing tool.

Do Facebook's New Privacy Settings Really Protect Your Privacy? - reposted by Andre Di Cioccio

Do Facebook's New Privacy Settings Really Protect Your Privacy? Chris Crum | Staff Writer As Long as Users Are Comfortable, Facebook and Businesses Will Benefit Facebook has introduced its latest changes to privacy settings, to appease disgruntled users who have been somewhere within the range of mildly irritated to outraged over the previous incarnation. The company is getting numerous pats on the back, or at least "that's more like it" responses from people for the most part (there are some who still aren't satisfied). Do you like the latest approach Facebook is taking to privacy? Tell us what you think. While the settings do address the main concerns that have been so widely discussed and publicized since the launch of Facebook's Open Graph/instant personalization initiative, no privacy settings are truly going to protect people's privacy on Facebook - and that's not Facebook's fault. I would blame a combination of human nature and technology. If you're worried about privacy and how it is related to Facebook, it really doesn't matter how many times Facebook adjusts its privacy settings. The fact of the matter is that there is no more privacy, unless you don't interact with people whatsoever. This applies whether you have a Facebook account or not. That really makes no difference if someone whips out their phone and takes a picture of you. With most modern phones, all they have to do is tap a button to send it right to Facebook for all of their friends to see. Did you say or do something embarrassing at a party? Witnesses can easily become instant broadcasters, and there's a good chance that some of their Facebook friends know you.

Did you casually mention something to a friend? Anything? They may mention it in a status update and instantly let all of their friends know about it. Whether or not they did this with any malicious intent is irrelevant. It happens. Human contact in general is a threat to your privacy. If you say or do anything that you truly want kept private, you better keep it to yourself or let people know you don't want others to know about it (and hope that they care).

Facebook is really just an extension of the web itself, when it comes to privacy. The same rules apply to YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, or any other platforms where users can communicate to the public (or even to a closed network). The privacy issues that exist now have existed the entire time the web has been around. It's only the pace of sharing, which has accelerated. Years ago, someone could have easily created a website about you if they knew how to create a website at all. Status updates and blog posts are just easier. Smartphones make them almost like a reflex for some people - and the smartphone market continues to grow rapidly.

Mark Zuckerberg has taken a lot of flack over the privacy concerns that have arisen around Facebook of late, as well as his own stance on privacy in general, but no matter how much Facebook or any other social networking entity on the web tweaks its privacy, your privacy will never truly be ensured - unless you hide from society completely.

There are pros and cons to the manner in which technology evolves (and continues to do so). Regardless of your stance on privacy, it's pretty clear that things aren't going to be slowing down anytime soon, and a decreased sense of privacy is simply a side effect. Who's getting excited about Facebook readying location features? Facebook Privacy and Business

Apart from the grand scheme of things, Facebook's new settings should make some users more comfortable, and the more comfortable Facebook users are the better off Facebook and anyone who considers it a significant part of their business strategy will be. "What these privacy advocates don't get is that Facebook, like Google, isn't free," says SeeWhy Founder Charles Nicholls, who has written about the subject. "It's a massive service that needs to be paid for, and that service is going to be funded by a multi-billion dollar advertising business, just as Google is. This is the price you pay for using a 'free' service. Facebook 'Like' is central to this strategy and equally important for ecommerce." Many (myself included) have speculated that Facebook's Open Graph could lead to the company launching an AdSense-like product down the line, with the ability to target users all over the web based on their personal interests. It could be very powerful. Mark Zuckerberg's response to the notion that any of the company's recent moves are geared toward advertising (via VentureBeat): There is also this idea going around that if people share information openly that we can use it better for ad targeting. But advertisers don't get any information from the system. We don't give your information to them. We target all the ads ourselves. And it doesn't matter who you're sharing with, whether it's your friends or the public. It doesn't affect the ads at all.

Does that change anything? Couldn't an AdSense-like product still work without the advertisers getting personal information from users and letting Facebook do the targetintg?

Regardless of whether or not such an ad network is ever actually released, e-commerce businesses have a lot to gain from Facebook's Open Graph. "From an ecommerce point of view, what's not to like here?" asks Nicholls. "It's now really easy for your visitors to share what they like on your website with their friends, without so much as a login. The ease of use and simplicity of the 'Like' button makes it a sure-fire hit, as long as users can get comfortable with privacy." Comfort or no comfort from users, the Open Graph is definitely a hit with businesses, and judging from all the "liking", "recommending", etc. going on around the web, privacy may really not be as big of a concern among general users as it has been made out to be in the media.

Third Office for Mac 2011 Beta Reveals New Icons, Splash Screens, and More - reposted by Andre Di Cioccio

Microsoft is continuing to push forward with work on Office for Mac 2011, issuing a third beta release of the productivity suite in advance of a final release scheduled for launch around the end of the year. With Office 2011's features and functionality becoming firmed up, Microsoft has begun putting more effort into some of the finishing touches that offer some obvious visual changes.


Some of those changes included in the latest beta version are new icons and splash screens for the Office applications, as well as minor tweaks to several toolbar and ribbon icons. Application interfaces otherwise appear largely the same as in earlier beta versions, although Microsoft is undoubtedly continuing to refine its flagship productivity suite with functionality fixes and enhancements.


We'll keep our eyes peeled for information on more substantial functional changes included in the latest beta as testers put it through its paces.

Possible Introduction of Safari Extensions at WWDC? - reposted by Andre Di Cioccio

DaringFireball's John Gruber appears to have slyly hinted that Apple may be planning to open the door to browser extensions on Safari at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) early next month. Gruber's comments come in the form of an apparent random musing that appears as part of a post on Google Chrome for Mac and Linux advancing out of the beta channel carrying support for thousands of extensions.

The other big thing that's missing (compared to both Chrome and Firefox) is a proper extension API. If only Apple had an imminent developer conference where they could unveil such a thing.

As is common with Gruber's hints, the tidbit is phrased more as a "what if" statement than an outright declaration that we should expect such an announcement, but it seems reasonable to guess that he may have some inside knowledge of Apple's work in this area.

Browser extensions are software add-ons designed to offer new functionality beyond that offered in the basic browser package or alter the way tasks are handled or content displayed. Application programming interfaces (APIs) for browser extensions provide a means for third-party developers to create their own add-ons, opening the door to significant modification of browsers' capabilities.

Apple has in the past used WWDC has a stage for Safari-related announcements. In 2007, the company announced the first beta versions of Safari 3, extending the browser onto Windows for the first time. A year later, as part of its early ramping of developer previews of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the company began seeding beta versions of Safari 4 during WWDC. And in 2009, Apple officially brought Safari 4 out of beta at the conference.

Apple Seeds Build 10F58 of Mac OS X 10.6.4 to Developers - reposted by Andre Di Cioccio

Just a week after the last seed, Apple has delivered another new version of Mac OS X 10.6.4, designated Build 10F58, to developers. The build is the fifth to be seeded to developers since late April.

Like the last build, Apple lists no known issues with the new version and asks developers to focus their testing on Graphics Drivers, SMB, USB, Voice Over, and VPN. Those familiar with the new build note that Apple has not documented in the seed notes any additional changes since the previous build.

It is unknown when we can expect a public release of Mac OS X 10.6.4, as Apple's development schedule is unpredictable, although the fact that the new build offers no major documented changes and again contains no known issues suggests that Apple may be wrapping up work on the fourth maintenance update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Apple Again Facing Antitrust Inquiry Over Digital Music - reposted by Andre Di Cioccio

In an apparent replay of a 2006 investigation into possible price fixing in the digital music industry dominated by Apple's iTunes Store, The New York Times is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice is in the early stages of another antitrust inquiry focused on digital music sales.

The Justice Department is examining Apple's tactics in the market for digital music, and its staff members have talked to major music labels and Internet music companies, according to several people briefed on the conversations.

The antitrust inquiry is in the early stages, these people say, and the conversations have revolved broadly around the dynamics of selling music online.

In particular, the inquiry is said to be looking at claims that Apple has been pressuring music labels over their participating in Amazon's "Daily Deal" program in its MP3 download store.

The report notes Apple's dominant position in the U.S. digital download market, where it holds 69% market share. In overall U.S. music sales, Apple leads the pack with 26.7% of the market, more than double its closest competitor.

The new inquiry from the Department of Justice is the latest of a number of recent incidents involving Apple and regulatory authorities. The Department of Justice last year reportedly began looking into an informal agreement between Apple and Google not to poach each others' employees, while in recent weeks Apple has been revealed to be the subject of an Adobe-requested inquiry over its ban on Flash-to-iPhone compilers and additional scrutiny