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150 Million Photos Uploaded on Instagram So Far

When you launch one of the world’s most popular photo service, how long does it take to reach 150 million uploads? Only nine months according to Instagram, whom launched their slam-dunk-app back in October of 2010. Instagram is celebrating this afternoon by showing off their favorite Instagram photos, and noting the success of their app thanks to the seven million users who’ve downloaded the app since its inception. That’s seven million people uploading at a rate of fifteen photos per second. Instagram’s success is well deserved: those guys got a top-notch formula down. From the Instagram team:

We’re constantly amazed by the range of photos shared on Instagram. People use Instagram to snap photos of everyday moments with friends and family and also to document significant personal moments, like weddings and honeymoons. There are Instagram photos from major events like the World Series and the Grammys, and some Instagram photos have even made the national news. Artists and celebrities have begun to give fans a unique look into their lives through photos, while brands like Burberry have started to realize the power of communicating with their followers through images.

Here’s to another 150 million.

For the post picture, we’ve re-posted the 150,000,000th photo according to Instagram from user @janefot. It’s a great pic too!

[Instagram blog via The Next Web]

Apple’s Training Site Back With Lion, FCP X Certifications

As noted by TUAW, Apple’s training website has come back online with new OS X Lion certifications and training courses – some of them “coming soon” and others starting “this fall”. The training website is available at training.apple.com and it’s also received a facelift with a cleaner design, and plenty of OS X Lion and Final Cut Pro X graphics.

Indeed, the New Releases section on the site points to new FCP X training and exams, OS X Lion training and exams, as well as new Mac Integration Basics. IT professionals willing to support and learn about new OS X technologies might want to look at the new Lion courses coming this fall to Apple Authorized Training Centers worldwide. Books and resources are already available online and others will soon be for pre-order, and the new 10.7 certifications coming this fall will include:

  • Apple Certified Associate: Mac Integration 10.7
  • Apple Certified Support Professional 10.7
  • Apple Certified Technical Coordinator 10.7

The Mac Integration Basics 10.7 exam “will be available soon” according to the Training website, but full documentation has already been posted online for download as PDF or iBookstore guide. On the other hand, those interested in Final Cut Pro X certification can watch Final Cut Pro X Apple Pro Video Training, with classes coming “soon” worldwide.

Snow Leopard certification and courses are still available and according to Apple will remain online until January 2012.

iPhone and iPad Dominate Smartphone and Tablet Choices for Small and Medium Businesses

The iPhone and iPad are leading the charge in small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) for smartphones and tablets according to Intermedia. In a study by Intermedia, who handles 350,000 premium hosted Microsoft Exchange servers, Apple’s iOS devices are dominating the stats when it comes to ActiveSync activations performed by the company. The iPhone has an overwhelming 57% coverage in this bracket and the iPad has 21% as well. That leaves only about 22% for competitors such as Motorola, HTC and others. The nearest competition to the iPad’s 21% is Motorola with only 9%. See above graphic for full stats.

The graph data compares the use of ActiveSync devices in Intermedia’s clientele. ActiveSync is the syncing protocol that smartphones use to sync email and other information with Microsoft Exchange. Intermedia supports email, contact and calendar syncing for smartphones, including iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows 7 phones.

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Tweetbot 1.4.3: Sleep Time for Notifications, Hiding Spam, and Mentions from only People You Follow

Tweetbot 1.4.3 has been approved and is now waiting for your loving fingers to tap Update in the App Store. With push notifications now open to everyone who uses Tweetbot (in case you haven’t heard), you’ll now have access to realtime updates for when a tweet is favorited, retweeted, replied to, when you’re mentioned, or when you receive a direct message. With so many notification types available (and our forgetfulness to put our devices on mute before going to sleep), Tweetbot also adds features to help curate what kinds of notifications you receive, and when you receive them.

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Griffin IntelliCase for iPad 2 Intelligently Covers the Front and Back

We all love our Smart Covers for the iPad, but it only covers the front and not the exposed aluminum backing. What if we could have the best of both worlds: a smart cover that puts the iPad to sleep when we close it, and protective backing keeps the aluminum frame from getting scratched and dinged up? Griffin’s IntelliCase for the iPad 2 is an all-in-one case and cover wrap for the iPad 2 that provides the functionality of Apple’s Smart Cover via a three paneled cover, while covering the the back of the iPad 2 in a grippy finish that wraps around your iPad for full protection.

Instead of just having a cover that folds into a triangle, Griffin has implemented a tuck and fold solution that allows you to prop up the iPad for typing and watching video via a small pocket integrated onto the back of the polycarbonate case. If you want the functionality of the smart cover plus additional protection, I’d recommend giving Griffin’s IntelliCase for the iPad 2 a shot. It’s $59.99 through Griffin’s storefront, and available in black.

Banca: Convert Currencies Swiftly With this Beautiful iPhone App

With the US economy in flux, it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on your dollar. As world travelers we find ourselves spending a good dime overseas, and international friendships online can lead to an occasional penny dropped in each other’s PayPal bucket. As foreign currency plays a big role in today’s lifestyles and businesses — boundaries are practically absent — knowing how the USD compares to the Euro or the Australian dollar at the press of the button becomes very useful. Radiant Tap’s Banca for the iPhone isn’t just a calculator, but a currency converter (it supports all of the world’s currencies) that’s both beautiful and incredibly elegant in design.

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Twitter begins rolling out new HTML5 interface for iPads

It doesn’t matter if you’re using a native app or a web app if you want to use Twitter right? Right. So as long as you have options, an overhauled iPad interface can’t hurt. Twitter has already rolled out an updated HTML5 interface for phones (with a nifty tab bar on the top), and the new iPad interface follows suit. Heck, it even includes the dual panes you’re so used to on the desktop version of the app, showing your timeline on the left as single tweet views and miscellaneous information displayed on the right. The feature is rolling out as we speak (I don’t have the new goodies yet), but hopefully we can get some more screenshots soon for those waiting. The redesigned interface may take a week to reach your account, but don’t worry, you still have Twitter’s speedy native iPad app to hold you over.

[Twitter via Techcrunch]

Image via Techcrunch

Keep Your Lion Computer Protected with Witness

A few months ago I reviewed Witness for Mac, an OS X utility from the creators of Undercover – a tracking app for stolen computers – aimed at letting you remotely lock/unlock a machine, and see who’s using it thanks to webcam integration. The Witness app, available on the Mac as a System Preferences panel, iOS and the web, leverages the Mac’s built-in FaceTime camera (nèe iSight) to send you “mugshots” of whoever is using a locked computer – Witness can also detect motion in front of your screen and send you a push notification as soon as something happens.

When I upgraded to Lion GM on my two Macs, I was disappointed to see the new OS broke Witness, which simply stopped working with Lion’s new Screen Saver and login screen. I could send the lock command from my iPhone or iPad, but the app would only freeze to a lockscreen. With a series of updates, the Orbicule developers have updated Witness to fully integrate with OS X Lion and its new authentication window, which in version 1.2 is used instead of the old screensaver method. Now, you can choose to lock your Mac either using Witness’ own lock system, or through the default login screen in Lion.

The screensaver/login screen triggered by Witness on Lion

For what it’s worth, Witness’ notifications already play nice with iOS 5 beta, which will list alerts of “detected motion” in its new Notification Center. Witness is a great addition to the Mac, with minimal footprint on memory and an optional menubar icon to trigger the alarm system and open the Settings.

You can create a Witness account here ($39 with student licenses available) and download the free Witness Remote app from the App Store.