New Design for MacBook Pros in 2012? Next Week’s iPad 2 Actually an iPad 1.5?

Following today’s leaks of the upcoming MacBook Pros and the official iPad 2 event announcement by Apple, iLounge has posted more information on the next-generation MBPs and iPads we’re going to see tomorrow and next week. According to iLounge’s sources, this year’s MacBook Pro refresh is turning out to be an incremental upgrade / speed bump, but a major redesign for the line is planned for 2012, and it’s already in development at Apple’s manufacturers in Taiwan.

Next year is the year when Apple will introduce an all new design for the MacBook Pro product family, which is already under development at Quanta in Taiwan. It’s being described as a big, “milestone” release for the Pro family, as compared with the speed bump features that will be introduced in tomorrow’s models.

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Ignition: iTunes, MobileMe Services To Launch In NC Data Center This Spring

Folks, we have blast off! During yesterday’s annual shareholders meeting, Apple revealed that iTunes and MobileMe services are ready for takeoff in Apple’s North Carolina data center. It’s been suspected that Apple would be utilizing their half million square foot facility to support a growing number of users on MobileMe, for iTunes cloud services, or both. Apple has all but confirmed their data center could very well be the backbone for Apple’s most notable digital programs. AppleInsider reports:

Talk of Apple’s potential future cloud services has picked up steam again recently, with a new rumor that the company plans to enhance its MobileMe service with a digital online “locker” that would store users’ personal files, such as music, photos and videos. It was also said that Apple has considered making MobileMe, which currently costs $99 per year, a free service.

We don’t know enough yet about future additions to OS X such as an encrypted locker or music streaming services to further speculate on what Apple’s data center could be used for in the long haul, but it’s purported that Apple will build a second facility at the same location, in parallel with the first data center.

Now for a fun thought: If Apple’s Headquarters at Cupertino is lovingly referred to as, “The Mothership,” can we call this NC data center, “The Brain?” Or should we shoot for some Lost references?

[via AppleInsider]

Does Amazon Really Care About In-App Purchases?

Amazon has yet to publically comment about the recent heated discussions regarding Apple’s App Store and In-App Purchase discussion wars. Chuck Toporek of Addison Wesley/Pearson has posted on his personal blog explaining why this may be so.

Amazon’s Kindle for the Web (beta) has been around since September 2010, giving users an alternative to a Apple’s iOS app. Toporek writes that his Kindle for Web tests worked great for the Mac desktop and the iPad, while the iPhone “takes a little extra work, but it can be done.” Because it’s still in beta, full book texts are not yet available but if Amazon were to leave the App Store, it has a solution already set up. Read more

Most Realistic iPad 2 Mockup To Date?

Japanese parts vendor iLab.cc [Google Translation] has posted some photos of a physical iPad 2 mockup built using information from case vendors and manufacturers near Apple’s facilities in Shenzen, China. The mockup, which you can see above and after the break, looks like the most realistic we’ve seen so far as it groups all the rumors we’ve been hearing about the second-gen iPad into one: flat back, tapered edges, front and rear-facing cameras, huge speaker grill. Compared to a current generation iPad, the mockup looks a lot thinner and, overall, flatter. It’s also very similar to other mockups we’ve seen before.

We wonder if Apple will really abandon the slightly curved design that made it easy for many people to hold the device on their lap while writing, reading, etc. Personally, I’d like a flat back much better as I hate when my iPad “moves” due to its design on my desk. What do you think? More pictures below. [via 9to5mac] Read more

TaskAgent Syncs ToDos Over Dropbox As Editable Text Files

Why think about adding tasks, managing lists, and getting drowned in contexts and tags when you could just have a Dropbox enabled whiteboard for everything you need to get done? TaskAgent is the minimal to-do manager that you’ll want if you’d like the ability to easily share tasks in a readable format via text files (it’s that simple), and you’ll never be outta sync across your iOS devices or Mac.

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Apple’s Succession Proposal? Rejected

At Apple’s shareholders meeting today in the company’s Town Hall auditorium, a proposal to reveal Apple’s succession plan was rejected. For many months now, speculation has arisen that Apple should reveal its succession plans for Steve Jobs’ retirement (which, you know, is going to happen eventually) – but the company always refused to give out details, that are likely already in place, fearing repercussions in the management sphere with names of executives to succeed Jobs going public.

Apple COO Tim Cook took the stage today to introduce the board of directors, whose seven members – including Jobs – were reelected.

The most controversial shareholder proposal – that Apple adopt a detailed succession plan – was introduced about 20 minutes later. According to the representative of the Central Laborers’ Pension Fund who introduced it, Proposal No. 5 did not require the company to name names, she said, so management’s fears about the proposal were unfounded.

Apple has a succession plan for when Steve Jobs will leave, but they don’t want anyone to know just yet.

You Can Now Control Your Apple TV and XBMC with Rowmote

Rowmote is an excellent virtual trackpad for iPhone and iPad we reviewed a while ago that lets you control the mouse cursor and media playback on your Mac. In my review I wrote:

Rowmote is one of the most solid virtual touchpad apps I’ve tested recently: the touchpad is large, buttons for media control have been placed at both sides of the iPad so you can quickly tap on them with your thumbs. That’s a great idea. A smaller surface in the Trackpad tab also allows you to adjust the Mac’s volume by sliding your fingers. A series of modifier keys placed in the same toolbar let you easily perform keyboard shortcuts assigned to certain OS X applications.

With a blog post published last night, the developers of Rowmote have confirmed that the app now works with an Apple TV – as long as you’re willing to jailbreak it, which shouldn’t be a problem using the latest Seas0nPass. Rowmote’s compatibility with the Apple TV software doesn’t just stop at menus and tabs, it also lets you easily control applications like XBMC installed on the Apple TV. That’s pretty cool.

Rowmote is the only app which will control both the standard Apple menus as well as third party applications such as XBMC on your Apple TV. Rowmote Pro’s keyboard is fully supported.  Please look at the instructions below before purchasing to ensure you’re comfortable with the requirements!

Installation requires jailbreaking your Apple TV.  This process is not supported by Apple.   While these instructions have worked well for me and for many others, I can not guarantee they will work for you.  If for some reason the installation fails, you can always ‘factory restore’ your Apple TV.

Instructions are available here. Go download Rowmote from the App Store at $4.99.

iPhone App with Face Tracking Technology Lets You Try Virtual Glasses

The Total Immersion developers released a free iPhone app in the App Store a few days ago that uses augmented reality face-tracking technologies to let you try virtual glasses and see how they fit. The app – Atol les opticiens – was commissioned by French optician and eyeglasses retailer Atol and, apparently, it’s the first of its kind to land in the App Store that relies on this kind of face recognition to allow you to try various models of glasses. Unfortunately, the app is in French so if you want to try it prepare to see a lot of “telecharger” and “Oui”.

The developers write:

This is the most fully realized mobile commerce application ever to use augmented reality, and the first  AR app in the m-commerce space featuring face- tracking technology, newly available on mobile,” said Bruno Uzzan, co-founder and CEO, Total Immersion.  “Face tracking is ideally suited to purchases like eyeglass frames, where it’s essential to try before you buy.  In this environment, the m-commerce experience is both more convenient and more satisfying for consumers and merchants alike.  Product selection is virtually unlimited – and those with corrective lenses can keep them on through the AR fitting.

I tried the app and, after a few calibrations, it works pretty well. Check out the video below, and go download here. Read more