Station A

Recharge your cellphone, iPod, iPhone and camera with this USB solar powered bonsai tree by French designer Vivien Muller.

Thanks to 54 tiny photovoltaic panels, the iBonsai (we just made that name up) will store energy in a hidden battery during the day, allowing you to recharge your gadgets even at night.

Hate wire clutter? Who doesn’t. The bonsai charging tree cleverly hides all wires and plugs under the tray.

Need to slim down the tree’s berth so you can fit it on your desk? No problem. You can rotate each part individually and produce an endless number of different shapes. It’s like metal adult LEGOS.

The iBonsai Tree is decorative, good for the environment and sexy. It’s also just still a concept, so sorry. You can’t buy this yet. Hopefully Vivien will sell his concept and get the tree mass produced soon.

[Via methodshop]

Is Digg.com founder and Diggnation star Kevin Rose abusing his Apple contacts? This past weekend Kevin blogged about some new stuff being released by Apple next month including new iPods and an iTunes update.

According to Kevin, Apple will announce the following within the next few weeks:

• the iPod nano will take on a slimmer, more rounded look
• the iPod Touch will get an update with a new 2.1 operating system
• Prices of the iPod line will drop to differentiate the product from the iPhone
• iTunes 8.0 will be a major new release with several additional features
• Further out Apple is planning to add Blu-ray support to Mac OS X

Why would Rose risk exposing his Apple contacts by announcing this information? And why now? Rose mentions his Twitter account multiple times in his blog post and urges people to “follow” him on Twitter to get more information. Perhaps Rose is bitter that Barack Obama took the top slot away from him on Twitter earlier this month.

methodshop

The long awaited iPhone 3G was released on Friday, July 11th. But what should have been a happy and joyous day for iPhone fans, ended up being an exercise in frustration for many.

AT&T’s insistence on trying to activate the phones in store taxed Apple’s authentication server (more info) and caused lines to move at a snail’s pace or sent buyers home with a phone only good for making emergency calls. During last year’s iPhone 1.0 launch Apple had everyone activate their own phone at home through iTunes.

Worse yet, AT&T outlets were allowed to sell far fewer phones that Apple Stores, forcing them to turn away customers who waited hours to get their hands on one.

The iPhone 3G line outside the Manhattan Apple Store on 14th Street at 12:52PM. Estimated wait time was ~4 hours. (Photo credit: MethodShop.com)

Earlier this week, Apple also had problems with the relaunch of their data service now called MobileMe (it was previously called iTools and .Mac). The MobileMe service is designed to synchronize a user’s personal data across devices, including the iPhone, but many users were denied access to their accounts this week, including Frank Accarrino.

“I’ve been trying to upload pictures from iPhoto to my .Mac website for the past few days but it’s offline. I can’t even get to my Mac mail. I bet Steve Jobs is pissed right now,” Frank told MethodShop.com.

Apple is usually known for flawless product launch events. Let’s hope Apple solves these network issues for next time. It’s estimated that 1 million iPhone 3G models were sold in the U.S. this weekend.

methodshop

Wish you knew where your friends and family were at all times? Have you heard of Loopt yet?

Loopt is a mobile phone application that enables users to spy on see the location of their friends on an interactive map (see image below). The application also allows you to message friends in your general area and setup automatic alerts to notify you when friends are nearby.

In the last few months, Loopt has published several BlackBerry versions of its software for all major American cellphone carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T, Alltel and Sprint. Loopt also demonstrated an Alpha version of their software for the 3G iPhone at the 2008 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). You can sign up to be notified when the full iPhone version of Loopt is released here.

If you have a Jailbroken iPhone, then the function and features of Loopt might sound similar to Twinkle. Twinkle is a native Twitter client for the iPhone that pairs your GPS location with your Twitter posts. Twinkle also gives you the ability to add images to your Twitter Tweets.

But whether or not you use Loopt, Twinkle or Twitter.. it’s not any fun unless all your friends are also using the service.

methodshop

A massive new online business is scheduled to launch on July 11: Apple’s App Store - an online hub for third party iPhone and iPod Touch applications.

Beginning later this month, developers will begin to upload apps to the store accessible by iPhone users or to a new section of the iTunes Store, sharing revenue from app sales with Apple in a 70/30 split. These apps will be in addition to the 1,700-odd apps already developed for the iPhone’s Safari web browser.

One of the games people are looking forward to playing is Super Monkey Ball. Sega’s Ethan Einhorn showed off Super Monkey Ball on stage at the WWDC. According to Einhorn, after 8 weeks of development, the developers have created 110 stages.

In related news, the AOL Radio app for the iPhone won for Best Entertainment Application at the 2008 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), providing users free access to over 350 online radio stations (including 150 local CBS radio stations) and more than 200 AOL Radio channels.

Other WWDC iPhone App winners:

Best iPhone Game:
Enigmo by Pangea Software

Best iPhone Social Networking App:
Twitterrific by the Icon Factory

Best iPhone Productivity App:
OmniFocus by the Omni Group

Best iPhone Healthcare & Fitness App:
MIM from MIMVista

methodshop

There’s no doubt that an iPhone update is imminent. But while nearly everyone has agreed on that, nobody knows anything definite about the specifics… except that the new iPhone will be compatible with the Microsoft Exchange email services. There’s a link on the main Apple.com iPhone page where you can apply to be a beta tester.

In regards to the iPhone, here’s what we know today:

• Apple.com lists the iPhone as “Currently Unavailable.” Stock is so low that you can’t buy it. Usually a good sign that a new model is coming out soon.

• Apple continues to make iPhone sales deals across the globe. Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Australia were all announced with the last few months.
• A 3G settings screen was found by hackers in the latest firmware update for the iPhone.
• The new iPhone will most likely be unveiled during Steve Jobs’ keynote speech at Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) on June 9th.
• AT&T is prohibiting retail-store employees from taking vacations between June 15 and July 12, claiming that they’re expecting a “heavy selling period”. They implemented a similar policy last year for the iPhone launch.
• AT&T executives have said numerous times that all of their smartphones (the iPhone is one of the) will support 3G networking soon.
• The Apple Stores have been out of stock of the iPhone for weeks. And people are forming daily lines outside Apple stores that still have a few iPhones in stock.

And according to MethodShop.com, here are some rumors about what Steve Jobs might announce at the WWDC on June 9th

Continue Reading >>>

iTunes is much more than a digital music jukebox. It’s capable of handling many different tasks involving digital media. Some of iTunes’ most popular features include buying music and vidoes online, burning CDs, and syncing files with your iPod or iPhone.

But one of the lesser known functions hidden within iTunes is the ability to convert audio files.

Why would you need to convert an audio file? Converting audio file types can be useful in many different situations. Here are a few examples:

• You have an AAC file in iTunes that’s not compatible with your Zune that can play MP3 and not AAC files.
• A WAV file needs to be emailed to a client for approval but it’s too big. You need to convert the file to an AAC so it’s small enough to easily send via email.
• You are making a music video and want to use a song you got online as the soundtrack. However, the editing program won’t import the song because it doesn’t support MP3 or AAC.
• You need to remove the DRM (Digital Rights Management) from an AAC song you purchased from the iTunes Store (see step #7).

Many programs that convert audio files into different formats are pretty complicated and usually cost money. But not iTunes. iTunes is simple, fast and best of all… free.

Tutorial: Converting Audio File Formats in iTunes

methodshop

“This morning I had to go buy another copy of OS X Leopard (my original copy got scratched). As I walked closer to the Apple Store on 5th Avenue I was somewhat surprised to see a line of about 50 people waiting in line. The 3G iPhone announcement isn’t rumored to happen until June 9th right? Are these people going to wait in line for over 2 weeks or do they know something we don’t?

I asked the security guard by the Cube what was going on and he said it was for the iPhone. That’s all he knew and he very was annoyed at me for asking him about the iPhone line. I’m doubt I was the first person to ask.

Still confused I walked downstairs and bought my copy of Leopard. Before I left the Apple Store, I asked Jessica, my cashier, if the people outside were waiting for the new 3G iPhone. She cryptically said “They are waiting to buy an iPhone. We will sell them whatever phones we have in stock.” She was kind of pissed off too.

For some reason the majority of people waiting in line were Chinese. I was later informed by a friend that to get around iPhone quantity restrictions (one one per person), you can pay people (usually from Chinatown I guess) to buy you extra iPhones and even hold your place in line.

I wonder how many of these people will still be in line on June 9th.

methodshop

Still doubt that the 3G iPhone is coming soon?

This settings screen with a 3G toggle switch (see image) was found in the latest beta release of the iPhone’s 2.0 firmware.

Why would you want to turn off 3G? Because 3G drains cell phone batteries very quickly. In this screenshot, Apple has included a toggle setting to turn 3G off, and use AT&T’s slower but more battery friendly EDGE network instead. Probably a very useful feature if you are almost out of juice.

When can we expect to see a 3G iPhone and how much will it cost?

Continue Reading>>>

Framing Hanley have certainly come a long way in a very short time. First formed in 2005, the band posted some song demos that they recorded on a Macintosh on MySpace.com. Then in November of 2006, these demos were discovered by Brett Hestla, former Creed bassist and frontman of Dark New Day.

Hestla helped the young Nashville based quintet record a 2 song demo in his Florida studio which captured the attention of Jeff Hanson (Creed, Sevendust, Paramore) and his record label Silent Majority Group. Framing Hanley’s debut LP The Moment was released August 2007.

We had the good fortune to get some time with Framing Hanley’s frontman Nixon. This young star has a very intense voice reminiscent of Chester from Linkin Park. Listen to the breakdown in “Hear Me Now” to get an idea of what I’m referring to.

Interview: Framing Hanley vocalist Kenneth Nixon

methodshop

A Japanese company called Solid Alliance is selling an Apple iPod cover that’s designed to look like RAW MEAT. It comes in a cellophane-and-Styrofoam package just like meat does. We’ve reviewed plenty of iPod/iPhone cases before, but this one gets bonus points for originality. I wonder what my dog will think.

iPod… It’s what’s for dinner?

More info at rakuten.co.jp and therawfeed.com

methodshop

Every year on March 17, we honor Saint Patrick (circa 385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland. Whether or not you choose to celebrate the holiday by wearing green, eating Irish foods, imbibing Irish drink (usually Guinness), or attending parades, we wish you a safe a happy holiday.

Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day… even computer operating systems. So as you raise your glass to St. Patrick this year, try to pretend your beer was a computer operating system. It might go a little like this…

Macintosh Beer
Considered by many to be a “light” beer. All the cans look identical. When you take one from the fridge, it opens itself. The ingredients list is not on the can. If you call to ask about the ingredients, you are told that “you don’t need to know.” A notice on the side reminds you to drag your empties to the trashcan.

DOS Beer
Requires you to use your own can opener, and that you read the directions carefully before opening the can. The can is divided into eight compartments of 2oz each, which have to be accessed separately. A lot of people keep drinking it after it was discontinued.

Windows 3.1 Beer
Was the world’s most popular beer in the mid-1990s. Looked a lot like Mac Beer’s. Requires that you already own a DOS Beer. Claims that it allows you to drink several DOS Beers simultaneously, but in reality you can only drink a few of them, very slowly, especially slowly if you are drinking the Windows Beer at the same time. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a can of Windows Beer will explode when you open it.

Windows NT Beer
Windows NT beer could only be purchased by the truckload. This caused most people to have to go out and buy bigger refrigerators. The can looked just like Windows 3.1 Beer. Touted as an “industrial strength” beer, and suggested only for use in bars.

Windows XP Beer
Tastes like Windows 2000 beer but comes with a pretty dress. It opens sometimes without asking and if you leave a case of it open for awhile, it might explode all over your basement. Oh best of all, sometimes Windows XP Beer likes to open your front door and let people in to hang advertisements all over your house and steal your credit card number.

Windows Vista Beer
Windows Vista Beer looks a lot like the newest Mac Beer but tastes more like Windows XP Beer. Most people will probably keep drinking Windows XP Beer until their friends try Windows Vista Beer and say they like it. Many people try Windows Vista Beer, then spit it out and spend hours trying to put Windows XP Beer back into the same can.

UNIX Beer
This very heavy beer comes in 32oz cans, and has been around for years, rumor has it that it was originally brewed as a hoax by a couple of bored workers, only for them to find that some people actually liked the stuff. It tends to be drunk only by freaks or eccentric academics, often with beards; and drinkers of it do not like drinkers of any other beer. In its basic form it doesn’t look particularly impressive, but with the addition of a magic ingredient named “X”, it can be converted into an all-singing all-dancing beer on a par with the others. Many other varieties exist, with a huge range of flavors and (often unpronounceable) ingredients. Mac Beer has many of the same ingredients as Unix Beer.

OS/2 Beer
Tasted like a mix between Unix and DOS Beer. Allowed you to drink several DOS Beers and a Windows 3.1 Beer simultaneously, but slowly. You never saw anyone drinking OS/2 Beer, but the manufacturer (International Beer Manufacturing) claimed that 9 million OS/2 Beer six-packs were sold. The best place these days to find a an OS/2 Beer is inside an old ATM machine.

Amiga Beer
The company went out of business, but their recipe was picked up by some weird German company, so now this beer is an import. This beer never really sold very well because the original manufacturer didn’t understand marketing. Like Unix Beer, Amiga Beer fans are an extremely loyal and loud group. When this can was originally introduced, it appeared flashy and colorful, but the design never changed much over the years, so it looked dated in its later years.

VMS Beer
Requires minimal user interaction, except for popping the top and sipping. However cans have been known on occasion to explode, or contain extremely un-beer-like contents. Best drunk in high pressure development environments. When you call the manufacturer for the list of ingredients, you’re told that is proprietary and referred to an unknown listing in the manuals published by the FDA. Rumors are that this was once listed in the Physicians’ Desk Reference as a tranquilizer, but no one can claim to have actually seen it.

methodshop

The biggest American reality show on TV has finally joined the iTunes platform. Fox Broadcasting, Fox Interactive Media and FremantleMedia signed an exclusive deal with Apple to bring American Idol audio and video performances to iTunes as single song-sized snippets available the day after they premiere on air.

Audio performances of the top 24 contenders run 99¢ per song, and videos of the top 12 finalists performances will be priced $1.99/each from March 11.

Apple will also become one of the show’s premiere sponsors and maintain a branded presence on AmericanIdol.com, where some free streaming performances can be seen.

methodshop

The U.S. podcasting audience reached 18.5 million in 2007, according to eMarketer and was projected to top 65 million by 2012 with 25 million listeners downloading one or more podcasts a week.

Ad spending on podcasts in the U.S. is also expected to creep up, from $165 million in 2007 to $435 million in 2012.

Major podcasting networks like Revision3 are growing with the medium’s success by revamping their websites and adding new programming.

If you’re not already a podcast consumer, then check out the podcast section in iTunes. There’s a lot of great stuff from tech shows to yoga workouts. And they are all free. I usually watch 5-10 podcasts a day on either my iPod Touch or Apple TV. Makes the bus ride to work much more enjoyable.

Here are a few favorites:

• Diggnation - weekly rundown of the front page stories on Digg.com
• Tiki Bar TV - drinking games
• Unboxing Live - take a new gadget, and open it up while the camera is rolling
• Midwest Teen Sex Show - explores topics concerning teen sexuality from gym class to syphilis
• The Totally Rad Show - movie, comic books and game reviews
• Make Podcast - how to tweak, hack, and bend technology any way you want
• Play Value - the history of video games.
• NBC Nightly News - the full TV broadcast sans commercials

methodshop

Occasionally an iPod or iPhone may freeze or fail to respond to your commands. This can happen for a number of reasons and does not necessarily indicate a serious problem. Sometimes they just need a restart much like the way your computer needs a reset once in a while.

Tutorial: How to reset a Frozen iPod or iPhone

Restarting an iPod/iPhone is a simple procedure that will not erase any of your music, data files, or customized preferences.

methodshop

Steve Jobs announced an update to the Apple TV at Macworld San Francisco this week as well as iTunes Movie Rentals, which were already rumored to be part of his Macworld keynote speech.

Jobs admitted that Apple’s online video plan had been a disappointment and that users didn’t take to watching online video the way Apple had expected. When Jobs first announced the Apple TV last January, Apple’s initial video plan was too complicated for many people. Getting a movie or TV show onto your Apple TV required customers to buy the video from the iTunes Store, download it to their computer, then sync/stream the file using an Apple TV.

Although Apple has already sold 7 million movies, Jobs said: “That’s more than everyone else put together, but it did not meet our expectations.”

Apple plans on overhauling their strategy by making 2 major changes:

1. Adding a new online movie rental service
2. Updating the Apple TV’s software so that viewers can stream movies direct from the internet sans (that’s Latin for without) computer.

Jobs thinks that viewers would prefer to rent movies, not buy them. As a result, the new Apple TV software will allow users to rent first run films from every major movie studio including Fox, WB, Paramount, Universal and Sony in HD. Jobs called it “A better way to provide movies to our customers.” Blockbuster and Netflix can’t be happy right now.

1000 films ready for rental will be available on iTunes starting in February. Going forward, movies will be available to rent 30 days after they are released on DVD. Broadband users won’t have to wait for these giant movie files to download. Moments after you rent the film using your Apple TV, it will be watchable immediately via streaming. How much are movie rentals? $2.99 to rent older titles, $3.99 for new releases. Add one more $1 to those prices if you want to rent the movie in HD.

Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, joined Jobs on stage at Macworld and called the rental service a “defining moment” for the distribution of digital video content. “This is really going to take things to the next level,” he said.

The new Apple TV software features will be included in a free Apple TV update scheduled to be released in February. You can update your Apple TV by selecting “Update Software” from the Settings menu.

methodshop

I hope you didn’t buy a new Apple laptop recently. Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air at Macworld today.

The MacBook Air is the “World’s Thinnest Notebook” - even thinner than the Sony TZ, which is 0.8 to 1.2 inches thick. It’s so thin it fits in a manila envelope. Seriously. See the image below! Apple’s goal was to make a high performance 3 pound laptop, with a full size keyboard, and large display.

The MacBook Air is so thin, it only has 4 ports: USB 2.0, Micro-DVI, headphone jack and a MagSafe 45w power adapter plug.

So what did Apple leave out? An optical drive. If you really want one, Apple is selling an optional external USB powered SuperDrive for $99. So how do you install software or get files off of CD/DVD? Apple has a new piece of software called Remote Disc which can be installed on any Mac or PC on your wireless network and will let you borrow that machine’s optical drive.

MacBook Air features:

• Magnetic latch
• 5 hour battery
• multi-touch gesture trackpad
• 13.3-inch widescreen
• LED-backlit display
• built-in iSight for videoconferencing
• full-size keyboard
• 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 2GB RAM standard
• 80GB drive (1.8-inch hard drive. Same as in iPods.)
• 64GB SSD option
• 802.11n standard WiFi (N is the most advanced wireless on the market).
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

You can pre-order the MacBook Air today. Apple starts shipping them in 2 weeks.

In addition to the MacBook Air, Steve Jobs also made the following announcements at MacWorld today:

• Time Capsule - a wireless backup hard drive companion to Time Machine
• iPhone & iPod Touch 1.1.3 software update - adds cell tower and WiFi location triangulation data amoung other things
• iTunes Movie Rentals - ability to rent new movies in HD
• Apple TV Take 2 - new Apple TV software allows you to instantly start watching movies you rent from iTunes

methodshop

According to reports, Apple is close to announcing plans to make Fox and Disney movies available as online rentals via iTunes (US). Apple CEO Steve Jobs is likely saving the official announcement for his Macworld Expo keynote on Jan. 14.

Customers would pay a fee to download titles viewable on computers, iPods and presumably Apple TV devices that would expire after a short window of time. Netflix, Amazon.com and Blockbuster’s Movielink are competitors in this space.

Wal-Mart, however, has thrown in the towel. Wal-Mart.com quietly pulled the plug on its video download service late last month as Hewlett Packard decided to discontinue the back-office technology that powered it. The service, popular with studios because it offered variable pricing, struggled with compatibility issues. Wal-Mart downloads could not be burned to DVDs or watched on video iPods.

methodshop

Here it is… video evidence of the new unreleased iPhone 1.1.3 software improvements. The embedded video below is a nice and thorough walk-through of the unreleased iPhone 1.1.3 feature updates hosted by Andru from GearLive.com. Watch it fast before Apple’s lawyers take it down.

Anyone still think it’s fake?

If the embedded video above doesn’t load, then click here.

methodshop

Hate fingerprints on your iPhone or iPod Touch? Enough to spend $9.90 on some finger condoms? A enterprising company in Austria is selling something called Phone Fingers that prevent smudges and fingerprints on the screens of the iPod Touch and iPhone.

Here’s a video of the “Phone Fingers” in action. It has a strange ending.

One more thing, the Phone Fingers only come in black and make the user look like they have a severe case of frostbite.

Silly product idea, weird choice in color and a demo video that ends in a theft… Yep, the Phone Fingers are a gag gift… like the Pet Rock.

Apple’s touchscreen technology works by sensing the electrical fields in your skin. A latex finger condom is an insulator and would prevent the iPhone and iPod Touch from detecting any input from your fingers. The Phone Fingers website even says “This is probably the funniest accessory for the iPhone available!” But if you go over to Digg.com, there’s a pretty heated debate going on in the comments. A lot of people initially thought this was serious product, not a gag gift. If you have a few minutes, it makes for a pretty entertaining read.

BeSocial: methodshop

Attention iPhone users in southern California: Switch to Wi-Fi. Due to the California Wildfires, AT&T has stated it will be offering free T-Mobile Hot Spot Wi-Fi services (Mac/PC) to San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Orange and Ventura counties.

About 600 locations total will participate. The offer began on October 27th and will last a several weeks.

It’s a very nice gesture, especially for people who lost their homes and need to reconnect online and get their life back in order. But I’m not exactly sure why AT&T is offering T-Mobile’s service for free. Weird right?

Photo Credit: Malkoff

Did another major telecom merger happen and I missed it? Or is AT&T just offering other people’s products for free? Maybe I’ll take a walk down 5th Avenue at lunch time and tell people that AT&T says they can get a free copy of OS X Leopard at the Apple Store.

Think it will work?

BeSocial: digg story | methodshop

AT&T is making Napster’s entire music catalog (5 million songs) available for direct-to-mobile purchase in mid-November via a new service called Napster Mobile. While not compatible with the iPhone, the catalog will be accessible via AT&T’s network for the price of $1.99/song or 5 tracks for $7.49.

Matchbox Twenty’s new album “Exile on Mainstream” will kick off the service.

1. It’s kind of weird that AT&T didn’t try to integrate any music system on their phones with iTunes. They already have a pretty solid relationship with Apple. In the US, AT&T is the only approved mobile carrier for the iPhone.

2. When it comes to music, are people really ready to leave their iPods behind and just use their phones? Maybe if you have an iPhone, otherwise, probably not. The media player built into my brand new BlackBerry Curve sucks so bad that I just bought an iPod Touch.

BeSocial: methodshop

It’s rare that I stumble upon or “discover” anything new in the world of tech, which is why I rely so heavily on RSS feeds that suck down information for me from much more enlightened and informed individuals than myself (I also suspect that these same individuals have quite a bit more free time on their hands than I do, but that’s just a shot in the dark). Which is why I was surprised to find out that, according to TechMeme, last night while I was shopping in Target I utilized an apparently very new feature of Google’s suite of online apps; Mobile Google Docs.

My girlfriend and I have recently taken to using all of Google’s online applications, in particular the Google Calendar (which is fantastic for “serverless” collaboration*), to share and store data accessible to one or both of us virtually anywhere. Turns out I had, in my infinite wisdom, decided to store some shopping lists and window measurements in a Google Doc so that we could both access and modify it anytime we had something to add or change, but never considered what I would do should I forget to print out said lists and notes prior to actually going shopping.

Fast forward to 9:40 last night, twenty minutes from the store closing, when I was under great pressure (that would be the girlfriend) to produce the previously recorded window measurements. Mobile access to my documents stored on Google? Did they even have that? I hadn’t noticed it before. But at that point what choice did I really have? So I pulled out my iPhone and hoped for the best.  A quickly tapped in URL of www.docs.google.com brought me to a minimalist and clean looking interface for my docs. In a matter of seconds I had the measurements I needed to determine that nowhere in that aisle did Target have the size shade I needed. Jackpot!

I immediately assumed that this was just a previously implemented mobile interface for Google’s increasingly popular online “office” applications that had to date escaped my attention. But just a few minutes ago, while reading about the upcoming SDK for the iPhone from Apple on Techmeme, I came across the following article published earlier today on Blogoscoped.com;

“Google Docs Mobile went live now, after traces of it were spotted a month ago. It’s a minimalist reformatting of the “Google Office suite” for cellphone display. What you will see is a search box as well as recent documents – word processing, spreadsheets, or presentations – below it. You can also navigate through your different folders in this stripped-down version of Docs.”

Had I utilized something Google had released for public consumption just hours after its release? It looks like that may be the case? Did I think to mention this on my site prior to reading that article on Techmeme? Of course not. Why would I do something as insight and timely as that? (Engadget - call me) In either case it is a great way to pull up those docs you need while on the go, not to mention gives me yet another reason to throw caution to the wind and let Google manage all my pertinent data for me.

Obviously this mobile formatted version of Google Docs is available to users of other cell phones besides the iPhone, but ya know…why bother? Just kidding of course, feel free to use it on your Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm or other poorly thought out and unintuitive mobile platforms whenever the need arises.

Ok, enough Apple ‘Fanboism’ (I actually think that is a word now according to Webster’s), give Mobile Google Docs a try by pointing your mobile browser of choice to http://docs.google.com/m.

- AH

* by “serverless” I mean just regular people who operate in the regular world without the benefit of dedicated server farms, collaboration software and corporate IT staffs, of course I realize that Google has servers, but that was not my point.

10/18 UPDATE - Ars Technica has taken a look at Google Mobile Docs a little more in depth than I have. You can find that write up Here.

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Now THAT my friends is casting. Not to mention that’s a pretty cool poster.

- AH

Click Here for the Wiki page on the movie.

Radiohead is making its newest album, In Rainbows, available online at whatever price point consumers feel they should pay for it. The 10-track album will be released as a digital download starting October 10th. The announcement was made online by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.

When users try to order In Rainbows on Radiohead.com, they will see a question mark next to a blank price box. If you click on the question mark, the message “It’s up to you” comes up. A subsequent screen reassures fans: “No really, it’s up to you.”

Unfortunately, because In Rainbows will only be available on Radiohead’s website (not even on iTunes), the album will not be eligible for chart ranking. It’s too bad. I’m sure they’d be #1.

The band, led by Thom Yorke, are also planning a traditional CD release of In Rainbows for early 2008 that they will publish themselves. Radiohead decided not to use a record label after fulfilling their contract with EMI following their 2003 album ‘Hail to the Thief.’

Did Radiohead just hammer the last nail into the record industry’s coffin or make a huge mistake? Time will tell. In the meantime, at least we can’t get busted for downloading a torrent of In Rainbows.

BeSocial: flickr | methodshop

With the impending release of The Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) fans everywhere can get a taste of what’s to come with his short film Hotel Chevalier.

The 13-minute short film is a prequel for Darjeeling stars Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman who play estranged lovers that meet one last time. Hotel Chevalier is a free download on iTunes (US).

BeSocial: flickr | methodshop

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, has confirmed that there is a 3G iPhone in the works and it should be ready by 2008. Jobs made the following statement at the “Mum is no longer the word” press conference at the Regent Street Apple store in London this week:

“You can expect a 3G iPhone later next year… We are working on the next iPhone already, the one after that and the one after that.”

The news comes as a 2G EDGE-enabled iPhone will be available in the UK on November 9th. When asked why the current model didn’t have 3G, Jobs blamed power issues saying that the 3G chipset would be too much of a drain on the unit’s battery life which promises 8 hours of call time, but said that future models would have the technology.

BeSocial: methodshop | digg story

Do you have an iPod that is unresponsive? Occasionally an iPod may freeze or fail to respond to your commands. There are a few things you can do to troubleshoot this.

Here’s an email from a MethodShop.com reader about an unresponsive iPod:

“I’m using a 40GB click-wheel iPod in Windows 2k. It is unable to fully boot up. When I turn it on, the Apple symbol comes up and the hard drive sounds like it begins to spin, and then it stops. Occasionally it gets to the folder w/exclamation point screen and then the hard drives stops and then starts again, going back to the apple screen. The iPod update application either doesn’t detect the iPod or it freezes my whole computer. I have tried resetting, and since Windows/iPod update don’t detect it, I can’t restore either (even in disk mode). I have been unable to get the disk scan working.” ~ dan

You most likely dropped your iPod or hit it pretty hard. This happened to a friend of mine (Bill) when he threw his backpack on the floor. His iPod was inside the backpack and the jolt from hitting the floor physically damaged the iPod’s hard drive.

Unfortunately, if your hard drive is physically damaged, there’s only one way to fix it - get it replaced. If your iPod is still under warranty or you purchased extended AppleCare for your iPod, then have Apple replace or repair your iPod. If your iPod is out of warranty, there are several third-party companies that can fix your iPod like these guys.

But before going through the hassle and cost of sending your iPod off to be repaired, try these free iPod troubleshooting tips first. Good luck!

BeSocial: methodshop

If you were watching any of the American football games this past Sunday, then you probably saw the new 3rd generation iPod Nano commercial. The ad features the upbeat and catchy song “1234″ by Canadian singer/songwriter Leslie Feist.

Here are the lyrics to “1234″ used in the iPod Nano ad:

One Two Three Four
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless long nights
That is what my youth was for

Old teenage hopes are alive at your door
Left you with nothing but they want some more

Oh, you’re changing your heart
Oh, You know who you are

You can watch Feist’s full video for “1234″ here [link] on YouTube or check out her new album “The Reminder” on iTunes. The commercial is no doubt doing wonders for Leslie Feist’s name recognition. Everyone is talking about it online (like me).

BeSocial: rss | methodshop

This week Apple announced new iPods and lowered the iPhone price by $200. But what if you were one of the millions of people who bought an iPhone 2 months ago? You’d probably be a little pissed off right? Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, got so many emails from angry customers that he wrote an open letter on the Apple website today. The letter says that every customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T will receive a $100 Apple store credit.

Here’s the open letter from Jobs:

To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to ‘go for it’ this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent’. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week. Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

Once again Apple has proven why they are so loved by their fan base. But, hey Steve, shouldn’t it be a $200 store credit?

BeSocial: digg story | methodshop