Apple has posted the QuickTime stream for Monday’s keynote address for WWDC 2010.

The keynote has also been added to Apple’s podcast feed.

Apple announced a number of items including:
- Apple’s iAds Going Live on July 1
- iBooks Update to Include Notes, PDF Compatibility
- iPhone OS 4 Becomes iOS 4, Available June 21 for Free
- Apple Announces iMovie for iPhone 4
- Apple Announces FaceTime for iPhone 4 Video Calls
- Apple Announces iPhone 4 with Retina Display, HD Video Recording

Calling it the “biggest leap since the original iPhone,” Apple chief exec Steve Jobs proudly unveiled the widely expected iPhone 4, which indeed looks pretty much like the lost iPhone prototype that Gizmodo got its hands on a couple of months ago.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen this,” Jobs joked, provoking a roar of laughter from the audience as he showed off the now-familiar redesign of the new iPhone, complete with a front-facing camera (good for video chat via the new “FaceTime” feature), the new rear camera with LED flash (yes!), and a 9.3mm profile that makes the new iPhone “the thinnest smartphone on the planet,” Jobs bragged.
The flat, stainless-steel-rimmed iPhone 4 — and yes, that’s the official name — will be available in black or white, and it’ll go on sale June 24, Jobs said. Expect to pay $299 for the 32GB version (same price as last year’s 32GB iPhone 3GS, provided you sign a two-year AT&T contract), or $199 for the 16GB model. Also: The iPhone 3G is being discontinued, and the old iPhone 3GS will now sell for $99. (Nope, no discussion of an iPhone for Verizon or any other carriers.)
Among the new (and mostly expected) features for iPhone 4: a revamped, higher-resolution (960 by 640) display, now boasting 326 pixels an inch (or 78 percent of the pixels on the iPad) — good for “really, really sharp text” that’s virtually indistinguishable from “text in a fine printed book,” Jobs claimed. The new 3.5-inch screen (same size as before, by the way) even gets its own new name: a “retina display.”
Very catchy, but Jobs ran into a little hiccup during his demo when Web pages on the spiffy new iPhone 4 refused to load. An error pop-up that read “could not activate cellular network” provoked a knowing titter from the audience. Jobs asked audience members to turn off their Wi-Fi and even fished for suggestions, prompting one smart aleck to shout out, “Verizon!” Ouch. (Later during the keynote, Jobs even asked bloggers in the audience to turn off their mobile Wi-Fi hotspots … a request greeted by a chorus of boos.)
After a few minutes, Jobs’ demo was back on track, with the chief exec noting that the iPhone 4 runs on Apple’s new custom-made “system-on-a-chip,” the A4 processor that powers the iPad.
Jobs also promised more battery life thanks to the iPhone 4’s bigger battery and improved power management on the A4 chip — to the tune of seven hours of talk over a 3G network, six hours of 3G Web browsing, 10 hours of video, or 40 hours of music. (That’s Jobs’ claim, of course; the proof is in the pudding, after we run some field tests.)
Also new on the iPhone 4: a three-axis gyroscope, which combined with the existing digital compass and GPS sensor should make for better tracking of the exact direction in which the iPhone is pointing — handy for games or finding your way in a confusing neighborhood with Google Maps.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 4’s camera gets an upgrade to 5 megapixels (up from 3MP on the iPhone 3GS), a 5X digital zoom, and (at last) an LED flash. Another cool new feature: HD video recording, or 720p-quality video at 30 frames per second, to be precise, same as on the new HTC Evo 4G for Sprint (which, with its 8MP camera, still has the upper hand in terms of resolution). Even better, you’ll be able to edit your videos directly on the iPhone, with a little help from the new iMovie for iPhone app (available now for $4.99).
‘FaceTime’ video chat
The big reveal in terms of the iPhone 4’s camera (the “One more thing … ” at the keynote, incidentally), was FaceTime — two-way video chat, a feature that pretty much everyone in the blogosphere had predicted thanks to the front-facing camera on the lost iPhone prototype.
FaceTime gives you a full-screen view of the person you’re chatting with, as well as your own video image in a smaller, inset window. Nifty, but FaceTime will work only over Wi-Fi, “in 2010,” Jobs said, and only from one iPhone 4 handset to another. When will FaceTime work over 3G, you ask? No word on that, beyond the fact that it won’t happen this year.
More iPhone OS details
We already got the biggest news about the latest version of the iPhone OS — support for multitasking — back in April, but Jobs filled in some of the blanks Monday, announcing support for searching via Bing on mobile Safari (in addition to the existing Google and Yahoo! options), as well as talking up the new OS’s enterprise and security features. Oh, and iPhone OS 4.0 now has a new name: iOS 4.0. It’ll be available for download in two weeks, on June 21
Jobs also spent some time on iAds, Apple’s new mobile advertising platform, including a demo of an ad from Nissan that lets you spin around the automaker’s upcoming electric car with the swipe of a finger. The first iAd advertisement should start popping up on the iPhone starting in July, Jobs said, with Apple hoping to rake in a cool $60 million in ad revenue during the second half of 2010.
Netflix, Guitar Hero, iBooks apps
We’ve had Netflix for the iPad for more than two months now, but when will the killer app arrive for the iPhone? The answer: this summer.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings showed off the new Netflix for iPhone app (which Netflix reps had hinted at shortly after the release of Netflix for iPad) during Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote Monday, and it looks pretty much like a smaller, iPhone-sized version of the current Netflix for iPad app.
Features include full-length streaming of movies and TV shows directly on the iPhone, as well the ability to pause and pick up videos where you left off, either on the iPhone itself or on your other Netflix-enabled devices, such as PC, a Mac, a game console, or (of course) the iPad.
You’ll also be able to rate and search for videos, as well as manage and add titles to your “instant” queue. Nice, but will Netflix for iPhone work over 3G networks, or only via Wi-Fi? Guess we’ll find out later this summer.
Meanwhile, we’ll also be getting an official Guitar Hero game for the iPhone, complete with classic songs from Queen and the Rolling Stones. Poised to compete with two other popular iPhone-ized rhythm games — Tap Tap Revenge and Rock Band — the new Guitar Hero app boasts a new “strumming mechanic” developed specifically for the iPhone version of the game, according to an Activision exec at the keynote.

The graphics on the game itself (available today in the App Store) look pretty sweet, at least from what we’ve seen during the brief demo, and the price tag — $2.99 — is also hard to beat.

Finally, Jobs showed off an app we’d already seen back in April: iBooks for the iPhone, complete with the same features as on the iPad version of Apple’s e-reader app (including note-taking, highlighting, in-app book purchasing, and the ability to tweak font sizes and background colors).

The wait is almost over. Come Monday’s keynote at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, odds are we’ll get a look — perhaps not the first, after all those crazy leaks — of the next iPhone, complete (supposedly) with a new, flatter shell, dual cameras, and a higher-resolution display. But what else will Steve Jobs pull out of his bag of tricks?
Fourth-generation iPhone
Barring a jaw-dropping surprise from Apple, we’ve probably already seen the new iPhone, thanks in part to a hapless Apple engineer who lost a prototype (or had it stolen from his backpack, depending on whom you believe) a couple of months ago. Gizmodo paid a $5,000 finder’s fee to publish detailed photos and videos of the handset in a series of blog posts. Additional snapshots from another purported leaked iPhone later surfaced in Vietnam.
The handset they documented would represent the most radical change in the iPhone’s form factor since the original iPhone debuted in 2007. The curved back of the iPhone 3GS would be replaced with a smooth, flat ceramic shell, complete with flat aluminum edges and buttons.
Also new, according to the bloggers who poked and prodded the prototypes: a revamped, higher-resolution display (960 by 640, to be exact, or twice the resolution of the original iPhone), dual cameras (one in back with a flash, the other in front, apparently for video chat), a version of Apple’s new A4 processor (the same one that powers the iPad), and a larger battery. The phone is also thinner than the iPhone 3GS, but slightly heavier than the current 4.8-ounce model, the bloggers said.
That’s what we (think we) know. What we don’t yet know is how much the new iPhone will cost or what storage capacities will be available. The 32GB iPhone 3GS goes for $299 with a new, two-year AT&T contract; the 16GB version sells for $199 with service. Will Apple stick to $299 as the upper end of its price range, and will it double the capacity of the priciest iPhone (to 64GB, in this case) as it has in years past? Will the current $99 8GB iPhone 3G be phased out? We’ll have to wait and see.
Other question marks: the exact resolution of the new camera(s); whether and how AT&T will support video chat, assuming the front-facing camera is the real McCoy; whether the iPhone is coming to other carriers, namely Verizon (maybe eventually, but probably not Monday); the precise day when the next iPhone goes on sale; and what the new iPhone will end up being called. (The iPhone HD? 4G? Something else?)
iPhone OS 4.0
The most dramatic change coming to the iPhone has, in fact, already been announced: multitasking for third-party apps, which will arrive as a feature in the latest version of the iPhone operating system. Also coming in iPhone OS 4.0: a universal e-mail inbox, home-screen folders, a social-gaming network, and support for Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform. Of course, we already got most of those details during an Apple presentation in April; hopefully, we’ll get an exact release date at Monday’s keynote.
iTunes in the cloud?
Here’s where we start wandering deeper into rumorville, with speculation that Apple might launch an “in the cloud” version of iTunes because of its acquisition of Lala earlier this year. Sounds like a good idea — and an inevitable one — but All Things Digital’s Peter Kafka thinks such an “iTunes.com” service is still a long way off, pending “negotiations with the [music] labels.”
Revamped $99 Apple TV?
One of the hotter rumors last week had it that Apple was primed and ready to get serious with its Apple TV “hobby,” staring with a new, compact Apple TV device with a minimal amount of flash storage and powered by the iPhone OS — and best of all, it would cost just $99. It’s a nifty idea, especially if it meant streaming movies and TV shows from iTunes rather than having to store them on your Mac’s hard drive. It would also be a logical move in response to the upcoming Google TV. But Jobs poured cold water on the rumor this past Tuesday, telling conference-goers at D8 that “nobody’s willing to buy a set-top box” because they’re used to getting cable/satellite set-top boxes for free. A new, cheaper Apple TV still might happen, but the conventional wisdom is that it won’t arrive Monday.
Free MobileMe?
MobileMe — a service that syncs contacts, calendar events and an in-the-cloud “iDisk” among Macs, iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads — launched back in 2008 and landed with a thud after early adopters found themselves locked out of their Apple mail, unable to log into the MobileMe Web interface, and stuck with calendars and contact books that were hopelessly out of sync — oh, and the $99-a-year subscription fee didn’t help.
Steve Jobs ended up apologizing for the snafus, and Apple eventually managed to iron out the kinks (indeed, as a MobileMe subscriber myself, I can attest that the service is running more or less smoothly now), but MobileMe’s image never really recovered from its early black eye. Nixing the $99 annual fee would be a great incentive for users to give MobileMe a second chance, however, and rumor is that such a move could be announced Monday.
One more thing …
Steve Jobs promised last month that despite all the leaks, we “won’t be disappointed” by Monday’s WWDC announcements. Is another dramatic “one more thing” on the agenda? Maybe the long-awaited (if long-shot) Verizon iPhone, that new Apple TV I just mentioned, an iPod Touch with a camera, or something else out of left field?

Safe for consumption application code for essential oil use
Many essential oils are safe for ingestion. In fact, all essential oils that are identified as Safe For Consumption can be taken as a dietary supplement, to promote physical well-being.
Some oils (e.g.: valerian, lemon, grapefruit, orange, nutmeg, tangerine, etc.) are even more effective when taken orally.
Things to remember when using essential oils as dietery supplements:
Remember to dilute the oils in oil-soluble liquids, such as a Mixing Oil or some other vegetable oil, olive oil, Agave nectar or goat/rice milk prior to ingestion. More or less dilution may be required, depending on how strong the oil is. Usually, no more than 2-3 drops should be ingested at one time, during any 4-8 hour period.
Essential oils should not be given as dietary supplements to children under 6 years of age. Parents should exercise caution before administering essential oils orally to a child, and oils should always be diluted prior to ingestion for children.
But please bear this in mind: Use only Essential Oils that are therapeutic-grade for ingestion. Most other essential oils on the market today are not produced to such high standards, and may pose serious risks if taken internally.
Essential oils for which dilution is not required
The following oils can be used topically without dilution, in most instances. If your skin is very sensitive, dilution is still recommended. They are generally regarded as safe for use on children over 6 years of age.
You will still want to dilute these oils for ingestion.
Bergamot
Roman chamomile
Cistus
Elemi
Fennel
Galbanum
Hyssop
Jasmine
Lavender
Lavandin
Melissa
Myrrh
Neroli
Onycha
Palmarosa
Patchouli
Petitgrain
Rose
Rosewood
Sandalwood
Spikenard
Valerian
Vetiver
Blue Yarrow
Ylang ylang
Essential oils for which dilution is recommended
For the following essential oils, dilution is recommended for both topical and internal use. Always dilute before using on sensitive areas — such as the face, neck, etc. — and before ingestion.
Keep out of reach of children.
Anise
Angelica
Basil
Cajeput
Cardamom
Cedarwood
Celery seed
Citronella
Coriander
Cumin
Dill
Eucalyptus globulus
Balsam fir
Frankincense
Geranium
Ginger
Goldenrod
Grapefruit
Helichrysum
Juniper
Laurus nobilis
Lemon
Lime
Mandarin
Marjoram
Melaleuca alternifolia
Myrtle
Nutmeg
Orange
Pepper
Pine
Rosemary
Sage
Spearmint
Spruce
Tangerine
Tarragon
Tsuga
Essential oils for which dilution is always recommended
Always dilute these oil before applying topically or taking internally. Keep out of reach of children.
Cassia
Cinnamon bark
Clove
Lemongrass
Mountain savory
Oregano
Peppermint
Thyme
Wintergreen

25 May 2010

Flirtation Creations Inc, premier online design and iPhone development company, has announced the launch of its Consulting Services Division SYNERT. The divisions team will be responsible for helping customers meet the demands of their unique environments through expert consulting strategies.

SYNERT professional services include several helpful solutions:
Information Technology
Synert offers the full range of consulting services, from strategic IT consulting and systems integration to outsourcing and training. We work with our clients to significantly improve productivity and reduce costs by applying the right mix of services.
Our flexible consultative approach guarantees that short-term or long-term, onsite or offsite, we can provide the professional resources you need. No matter what your staffing or IT challenge, Synert’s consulting services help you get the most out of your resources.
Data Protection
Data protection impacts on all businesses. All businesses must comply with data protection law which means respecting privacy and confidentiality as well as ensuring the security of personal information.
Privacy continues to be a significant business issue. It challenges organizations from a number of perspectives, including business risk, compliance, brand and reputation. Synert can help an organization effectively manage the business risk and compliance issues relating to data privacy.
Data Privacy
Data protection impacts on all businesses. All businesses must comply with data protection law which means respecting privacy and confidentiality as well as ensuring the security of personal information.
Privacy continues to be a significant business issue. It challenges organizations from a number of perspectives, including business risk, compliance, brand and reputation. Synert can help an organization effectively manage the business risk and compliance issues relating to data privacy.
CIO Advisory
Synert provides a service we call CIO Advisory Services to our small to medium sized clients. In general, this offering provides the client with world class CIO talent, experience and expertise at a fraction of the cost of a high powered, full time CIO. Small and medium sized businesses cannot afford a high-priced CIO, nor do they need one on the payroll full-time. Unfortunately, all businesses need the kind of technology leadership and direction provided by a CIO caliber resource.
M&A due-diligence
Knowing what they need and how they need it-and being able to produce it with the required time frame-are often less-well defined in the negotiations.
Getting over the goal post in an acquisition goes beyond the identification of the right target and establishing the means to make it happen. Being able to provide the type and depth of information-in the format most expedient-ensures lenders and acquirers have everything they need.
Collaboration
Organizations find it nearly impossible to possess the capacity and range of capabilities to meet all possible demands placed on them. By making available a wide variety of IT specialists who understand our clients’ operational issues, Integrasys can complement their skills. In doing so, we enable our clients to concentrate on their core activities and decrease the need to invest in peripheral skills and capacity.
Synert’s Collaboration Consulting Services bring together an extremely rich set of skills and experience-tuned perspectives.
Social Networking & Media
Yesterday’s chat room has been replaced by something much more powerful. Sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter allow everyday people to interact with, influence, and impact potentially millions of others. And whether bad or good, news travels fast.
Understanding Social Media
* Markets are conversations.
* Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
* Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – No money? No problem! Pay with time, instead.
That’s what Maria Villacreses did when the economy put a hitch in her wedding plans: She used “time dollars” on everything from a wedding-day makeover to an elaborate seven-layer cake.
In a modern twist on the ancient practice of barter, people like Villacreses are joining time banks to help them get the things they need or want without having to spend cash.
In a time bank, members get credit for services they provide to other members, from cooking to housekeeping to car rides to home repair. For each hour of work, one time dollar is deposited into a member’s account, good for services offered by other members.
Scores of time banks are being started in hard-hit communities around the nation — and thousands of devotees are helping each other survive tough financial times.
“Even though we were planning to do something small and simple, it takes a lot of money, time and effort. Through time banking, I got a lot of help,” said Villacreses, who belongs to Community Exchange, a 10-year-old time bank in Allentown, where 500 members offer everything from electrical work to tai chi.
As the economy recovers amid stubbornly high unemployment, newer banks with names like “Back On Track” have joined Community Exchange in offering an alternative to cash. Time Banks USA, an advocacy group in Washington, says interest in time banking has surged: About 115 now operate nationwide, with 100 more in early stages of development. Membership fluctuates but is believed to total more than 15,000.
“People see time banking as a way to deal with the economic pressures they are feeling,” especially in places hit hardest by the recession, said Jen Moore, membership and outreach coordinator for Time Banks USA.
In Maine, where paper mills and shoe manufacturers have closed, time dollars buy everything from guitar lessons to yard work — even prayer. In California, they buy haircuts, tax help and aromatherapy. In Michigan, child care, plumbing and yoga.
In South Carolina, Back on Track Charleston was launched recently to help down-on-their-luck residents get, well, back on track. It’s already got 80 members.
Winborne Evans relies on Back on Track to supply her with baby-sitting while she picks up extra shifts as a waitress. She’s also using time dollars, which she earns by sitting for other members’ kids, to help get her fledgling beekeeping business off the ground.
“Becoming a single mom recently … I truly can’t imagine where I would be without it, mostly because I can’t afford a baby-sitter, and I can’t afford to pay people to help me with my bees,” said Evans, 29.
Unlike bartering, transactions in time banking are not usually reciprocal. Instead, Jane baby-sits for John, John fixes Mary’s leaky faucet, Mary drives Tom to the doctor’s office, and so on, all of them earning and spending time dollars. Their labor is valued equally: One hour is always worth one time dollar. (Time dollars are not taxable, according to Time Banks USA.)
People often join for economic reasons but wind up getting more out of it. Among the benefits: networking, getting to know neighbors, building a sense of community and keeping skills sharp.
“Part of it is very practical,” said Judith Lasker, a professor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem who is co-writing a book on time banking. “There’s another part of it that’s very ideological. People believe the best way to survive in this crazy, unpredictable world is to forge local ties, support local economies … and support local people in a variety of ways.”
Services provided by Allentown’s Community Exchange — including gardening, cleaning, cooking and transportation — have allowed 79-year-old Joan Stevenson to stay in her home and out of assisted living.
“I’m enriched by it, not only from the services I receive but by being able to contribute,” said Stevenson, who earns time dollars by writing for the Community Exchange newsletter, hosting Community Exchange meetings at her house and helping other members with their resumes and job searches.
Time banks are labor intensive and can be difficult to keep going. Most of the successful ones eventually get a paid staff, either by raising grant money or affiliating with a larger organization. Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health Network, the Allentown region’s largest employer, pays the small staff of Community Exchange.
Manager Laura Gutierrez said time banks are worth the effort.
“Since the economy has been poor, people need to be a little more creative about using resources within a community that might not have been considered resources in the past,” she said.
Which is exactly what Villacreses did to salvage her wedding plans.
The 28-year-old, who is fluent in English and Spanish and earns time dollars as a medical interpreter and by offering rides and pet-sitting, thought she would have to scale back when her fiance’s hours at work were cut in half. Then fellow Community Exchange members suggested she use time dollars to pay for services that would typically cost hundreds of dollars.
On the big day, the bride sat at her dining room table while a complete stranger, Marilyn Shive, did her makeup.
“Show me which colors you tend to like,” said Shive, a Community Exchange member who sells beauty products.
As Shive applied foundation and eyeliner, another member of Community Exchange delivered the cake. Others brought food and decorated the sanctuary and reception hall. During the service, time bankers took photos and played the organ.
In all, the wedding cost about 200 time dollars. By spending her time wisely, Villacreses figures she saved about $2,000.

Chances are you sprinkle cinnamon into your morning oatmeal or add a dash of oregano to pizza without giving the spices much thought. But did you know your favorite flavors can actually do your body good? According to Christina Suarez, master herbalist and owner of TheGoodHerbCo.com, while spices are only effective when eaten at least daily, each has its own specific health benefits. Read on to find out which additives can burn fat, ease a sore throat or help you get to sleep, and how you can incorporate them into your daily diet.
Cardamom
Fruit of the Elettaria cardamomum plant in the ginger family.
Health Powers: Eases belching, flatulence and indigestion; treats respiratory conditions like coughing, asthma and loss of voice; aids in the elimination of toxins through your skin.
Daily Dose: Stir a few freshly ground pinches of cardamom pods into a shot of OJ or your morning fruit salad, or mix it with white or brown rice before you boil it.
Cayenne
Fruit of the Capsicum annuum plant in the Solanaceae family, along with chile pepper.
Health Powers: Eliminates gas from the stomach and intestines; soothes sore throat, cold and flu symptoms; increases metabolism for weight control.
Daily Dose: Stir into a cup of hot chocolate or any sweet juice drink for a contrasting flavor kick.
Cinnamon
Bark of a small evergreen tree.
Health Powers: Tames nausea and stomach ulcers; functions as a mild anti-inflammatory; increases insulin sensitivity to help focus fat burn.
Daily Dose: Stir into coffee/tea, yogurt, oatmeal or any boxed cereal.
Cloves
Flower bud found at the base of an evergreen tree.
Health Powers: Soothes digestive tract muscles and is a potent antihistamine.
Daily Dose: Mix into your nightly ice cream treat or sneak into mustard spread.
Nutmeg
Fruit of Myristica fragrans,an evergreen tree.
Health Powers: Improves digestion; eases the symptoms of menstruation; induces calm and sleep.
Daily Dose: Grate a small amount into applesauce or plain yogurt. (Note: It’s safe to grate the entire nut, which you can usually buy whole at the supermarket, but you never want to consume more than one nutmeg per day because too much of this potent spice can cause stomach pain, double vision and other uncomfortable reactions.)
Celery Seed
Seed of the Apium graveolens plant in the parsley family.
Health Powers: Flushes the liver of toxins; lowers blood pressure; combats water retention.
Daily Dose: Think salads—tuna, potato and egg all work—which can be tossed onto a bed of lettuce, eaten alone or spread onto bread.
Coriander
Also known as cilantro; the leaves and seeds of the Coriandrum plant in the aromatic Apiaceae family.
Health Powers: Acts as a diuretic; eases seasonal allergies.
Daily Dose: Cook into couscous and quinoa, which you can store and eat with leftovers.
Fennel
Seed of the Foeniculum plant in the aromatic Apiaceae family.
Health Powers: Calms bowel distress; supports milk production in nursing mothers; combats water retention.
Daily Dose: Add to canned minestrones and vegetable soups.
Oregano
Leaf of the Origanum plant in the mint family.
Health Powers: Loosens mucus; helps treat respiratory illnesses; and calms indigestion.
Daily Dose: Use in any tomato-based foods, like marinara sauces, pizza and soups.
Thyme
Leaf of the Thymus plant in the mint family.
Health Powers: Relaxes the muscle tissue of the gastrointestinal tract; stimulates immune system.
Daily Dose: Toss into any meat-based dishes.
Turmeric
Root of the Circuma plant in the ginger family.
Health Powers: Reduces inflammation (joints, airways); detoxifies the liver.
Daily Dose: Mix in with oil-and-vinegar-based salad dressings.

AT&T announced new data plans for mobile Internet and smartphone tethering. While the company claims the new plans will make “mobile Internet more affordable to more people,” there’s also a glaring downside to the new pricing — no unlimited data plan for iPad customers.
AT&T now offers two mobile data plans: DataPlus, which provides 200 MB of data for $15 per month (additional 200 MB chunks of data also cost $15), and DataPro, which provides 2 GB of data for $25 per month, with every additional GB costing $10. Furthermore, smartphone customers can enable tethering for an additional $20 per month, but only if they use the DataPro plan.
Existing iPad customers, who already have the $29.99 unlimited monthly plan can choose to keep it, or switch to the DataPro plan.
New pricing is good news for smartphone customers, who won’t go bankrupt if they exceed their monthly data limit. But from the iPad user’s perspective, AT&T’s new pricing is a big letdown compared to the previous unlimited data plan. Even the most active iPhone users won’t burn through more than a couple of gigabytes every month, but the iPad is a far more demanding device data-wise, and activities such as Netflix streaming will quickly exceed the limit of AT&T’s DataPro plan. Two gigabytes per month is just not enough data for a device such as the iPad, and we sense that many users will feel let down by AT&T’s new data plans.

Yesterday at the D8 conference in Los Angeles, Steve Jobs laid out his vision of what’s to come. While Apple’s CEO went in-depth on a plethora of interesting subjects (e.g. Adobe Flash, the lost iPhone, iAds), he spent much of the stage time talking about the future of computing, specifically the PC.
Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD asked Jobs whether the tablet is going to replace the laptop. Jobs’s response was an analogy:
“When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks. But as people moved more towards urban centers, people started to get into cars. I think PCs are going to be like trucks. Less people will need them. And this is going to make some people uneasy.”
That short exchange says a lot about the direction Apple could take computing over the next decade. Apple still sells the Mac and the Macbook, and while the term “PC” is now synonymous with Windows machines, the meaning of PC — personal computer — can also apply to the Mac and Macbook.
Was Apple’s CEO referring to not only Windows PCs, but Macs as well? It’s tough to say for certain, but I think it’s very likely. Jobs clearly thinks PCs are on the way out, in favor of the more portable, less complex tablet and mobile form factors. His iPad has already validated the market for tablets, and we expect many more tablets to enter the market over the next few years.
Apple lost the PC market to Microsoft years ago. If Jobs has his way though, that won’t matter — the market will shift towards mobile computing devices like the iPhone and the iPad, both of which Apple has complete control over. The tech titan doesn’t have full control over the Mac OS or its desktop, which must be frustrating to a man who relishes control.
Will the tablet replace the PC? Not in the next decade, at least. Hell, the Windows XP operating system is still the world’s most popular OS. It takes time for disruptive technologies to take hold.
For now, the tablet will be a complementary device to the PC. The PC has had far more time to be fleshed out and performs countless tasks faster and better than the iPad or any other tablet device on the market. In a decade though, we may be singing a different tune.

Sales of Apple’s tablet are on pace to surpass even the most optimistic predictions put out before its launch.
Even the most die-hard Apple fans need to admit the company’s sales of the iPad are somewhat surprising. It took the company four weeks to sell one million units, and another four weeks to sell an additional million.
This torrid pace would put it on par to possibly surpass even the rosiest predictions put out by analysts before the device’s launch in April of this year. It now puts into doubt whether Apple will really need to make adjustments to the price of the device, which it had said it would be willing to do in order to ensure the device meets its sales goals.
If it’s selling well now and hard to keep in stock, why make less of a profit now? May not be great for us consumers, but it is surely good for Apple’s investors.
Apple’s iPad successes make the current tiff between Microsoft and Google somewhat amusing. For those that missed it, Microsoft’s Steve Guggenheimer told the Wall Street Journal that manufacturer’s current apparent preference for Android on tablets was nothing more than a red herring, and that the company would lead the market overall in due time.
Kind of funny for two companies squabbling over products which for the most part haven’t even shipped yet, no? On top of that, I’d argue that Microsoft should be worrying about surpassing Apple in the space, not Google.
I am definitely interested to see how Apple does once Microsoft and Google have their own tablet devices on the market and in front of the customer. I believe that the iPad’s success has a lot to do with the popularity of the iPhone-a “halo effect” of a different kind if you will-and the device really does not have any competition at this point.
With alternatives on the market, and quite possibly at a lower price, will Apple’s name be enough to carry the day? I guess we’ll be finding out.