Obama: “With iPods and iPads, Information Becomes a Distraction”

AFP reports the following statement from Barack Obama:

“You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank all that high on the truth meter,” Obama said at Hampton University, Virginia.

“With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, – none of which I know how to work – information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation,” Obama said.

He bemoaned the fact that “some of the craziest claims can quickly claim traction,” in the clamor of certain blogs and talk radio outlets.

“All of this is not only putting new pressures on you, it is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy.”

I’m leaving the comments to you american guys. What do you think? Do you think he’s indeed right about gadgets (why Xboxes and Play Stations too, anyway?) making information a form of entertainment rather than a tool for democracy?

Adobe Fails at Android Flash Demo

Oh Adobe you wonderful bastards you. There’s some aspects I really like about Adobe - I kinda do have a place in my heart for Adobe Air (with HTML/AJAX) if it’s done right. Photoshop is sweet despite numerous UI inconsistencies. But boy, they just can’t seem to deliver for mobile devices. Adobe, you can’t make a big fuss about the iPhone when you can’t even deliver for Android devices. Because here’s the thing: I don’t care how early/how late in development you are with getting Flash to work on Android - if you can’t present something that works, then don’t bitch.

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Cloud Browse May Bring Flash, But I’d Stay Far Away

Are you just that desperate to get Flash on your iPhone? You may have stumbled across Cloud Browse, a utility that allows you to access the Internet through a remote computer. To me, that raises lots of red flags. Basically Cloud Browse creates a connection between you and a Firefox browser sitting on some computer in the middle of wonder-land. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to login into my accounts on somebody else’s computers. Plus, it doesn’t even work that great. Talk about something that shouldn’t be allowed in the App Store.

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“iTunes Live” - Now Trademarked

First it was iPhone icons. The we had the “made for” iPod, iPhone, and iPad insignias. Now, Apple has filed a trademark for “iTunes Live.” If you’ve been a fan of the “iTunes Sessions” and “Live from SoHo,” expect (or not necessarily) to see more concerts at big Apple retail store locations.

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Turn Your iPad Into A Scrapbook with ScrapPad

I bet you’ve already shown your iPad off to your friends and relatives, who surely were impressed by the ease to use of Apple’s new device. If you’re really that kind of guy that collects photos of vacations and stuff, then you might consider giving a try to ScrapPad.

Developed by Album tArt, ScrapPad is a simple and great-looking scrapbooking utility that lets you choose from multiple colorful kits, attach photos and include borders and backgrounds. You can do almost everything you could ever do with a real scrapbook, and the feeling itself is pretty good too. You can pull, drag, pinch and zoom, enter text, create unlimited scrapbooks and even share them on Facebook.

The app is 20% off during the introductory period and available at $3.99 in the App Store. Check out the screenshots after the break, and go download the app here.

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The iPhone 4G Case, Spotted In The Wild Again [Video]

SmartPhoneMedic has posted a video on Youtube showing the iPhone 4G LCD screen and metal case you’ve probably already seen in some bar in California. Well, at this point I wouldn’t doubt that the final model will look something like this - rounded corners are gone, metal plate and all. We’ll find out in a month.

Check out the video after the break.

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Steve Jobs on the iPad Price in Germany: “Blame your government”

If you live in Germany or followed the news yesterday, you may have noticed that the iPad in Germany comes at €15 more than Italy and France, where it’s priced at €499 for the 16GB Wifi model. If you want to purchase the same iPad in Germany, you’ll have to pay €514.

Why? Because of a new tax Germany has put on computers. But what’s interesting is that Steve Jobs has a response for that. German website Fscklog reports on an email from Steve to a German Apple fan who emailed el Jobso asking about this price thing. His response?

“Blame your government.

Germany just added a new copyright levy for computers.”

So yeah, blame your government. But don’t ask Steve, he’s kinda busy making some Gianduia now.