Let the Apple Tablet Insanity Begin

Apple shares were halted after Apple revealed a HUGE quarterly revenue in a conference call on Monday. This is apparently all over the new touchscreen tablet gadget that Apple will reveal on Wednesday, January 27.

How well did they do in the last quarter of 2009? Profits are up 50% over record sales of 3.36 million Macs and 8.7 million iPhones. They reached a record sale of $15.68 billion! They basically blew out their forecasts. [CNBC]

Oh and according to this Google search trend, the Apple Tablet has become a bigger story than President Obama's State of the Union Speech. [Gawker]

Former Google China President Reveals Info for Apple Tablet

Apple is set to hold an event on January 26, 2010, presumably to reveal a Apple tablet gadget (not the picture above) of sorts. Apparently, the former Google China president, Kaifu Lee, has seen the thing and commented on it.

"The Apple Tablet looks like a bigger iPhone that sports an awesome UI packed in a beautiful 10.1-inch screen. The tablet combines the functions of both netbook and kindle, an ebook reader. It has virtual keyboard for text entry and a webcam for video conferencing." (translated)

Yea, hold off on buying that Macbook if a tablet would make your life better. [AppleInsider]

Google Chrome - Features

Google Chrome Beta is now available for Mac. Check out the features above and download using the link. [Google Chrome for Mac]

64-Bit Chromium Available for Macs NOW!

Google's Chrome OS is available for mac in all 64-bit of goodness. Download it now! Yea, its unofficial, but it will get the job done til an official version comes out. [Chromium 64]

POTD: Apple Remote

Get a Mac or Get Puddy

Snow Leopard Ships Friday!

Apple's Snow Leopard OS ships this Friday, August 28 for $29. A family pack is available for $50. You can pre-order it now from Apple or Amazon.

Get Growl Notifications for Google Voice on Your Mac

Google Voice is pretty handy and with Growl notifications, it gets even better for Mac users.

An app called Fluid directs your Google voice messages to Growl for display on your Mac.

Check out the complete install on Lifehacker and Fluid.

Preview of Blackberry Desktop Manager for Mac

Crackberry lists the functions that will be available on the new Blackberry Desktop Manager for Mac that comes out in September.

• Integrated Media Sync for iTunes
• Backup and Restore
• Install/Remove 3rd party applications
• Ability to automatically sync multiple iCal calendars
• Ability to sync with Entourage
• Ability to sync multiple devices on multiple Macs
• Event settings for syncing (which device calendar to sync with, merge etc.)
• Automatically detects new carrier released OS updgrades for devices
• Abiltity to rename a device and view available free device memory

Watch Hulu in Full Screen Mode (Yes, Even on Your Mac)

Now you can watch your favorite Hulu videos straight from your desktop and without the use of a browser thanks to the new Hulu Desktop App. The app from Hulu Labs is available for both Windows and Mac. For Mac users, the app also allows full control using the Apple Remote. [Hulu Desktop App]

Snow Leopard Shows of its Subtlety

Pictures and videos of Snow Leopard have been creaping out slowly. But, thanks to AppleInsider, we now have a slew of new images that suggest small upgrades to all areas of the Apple OS. Two of them that I find awesome are video grab and easy YouTube uploads. As you can see, the video capture allows you to grab playing(streaming?) video and save it as a HUDless piece of video. You can also edit that footage however you feel.

And easily upload it to your YouTube page. Very useful for the creative folk. You can find all the new screenshots of subtle improvements at AppleInsider.

Adium 1.4 Beta

Adium has released 1.4 Beta with some neat new features. You can now incorporate facebook chat and twittering capabilities within your favorite Mac chat app. Theres a whole list of improvements besides these two. Click the link for the list. [Adium Beta]

New 'Get a Mac' Ads

Dear Microsoft, We Get it, Actors "Like" PCs

I think it's safe to assume that this "mom and son" duo are nothing more than actors. Second, way to pretend like you understand why people buy Macs, because they are "popular"and "cool." Yea, just forget about the fact that you practically won't get a virus. That your computer is made from aluminum instead of cheapo plastic. That you don't have to deal with the nightmare known as Windows Vista! The only nod I give to Microsoft is Blu-Ray. But then again, who needs Blu-ray when you can stream in HD!

Check Out (a barely functioning) Google Chrome for Mac

Google Chrome isn't available for Macs yet, but a version is available for download (and it's not even a Beta!). It is essentially bare bones. You can use it to browse but there are no preferences, no plugins, no flash, no tabs, no print, no find. But it is FAST! Head over to Tech Sutra for the download. The Beta is due to come out in the Fall. [Tech Sutra via Lifehacker]

Steve Jobs Plush Toy

Steve Jobs Plush toy is up for sale. There are about 500 made and the company says they are willing to make more if there is a demand for them. Each one costs $28 plus shipping. Click the link to purchase. [PodBrix]

Just Another Beautiful Day to be a Mac

NEW YORK (AP) -- The malicious Conficker Internet worm got more aggressive about trying to reach its creators Wednesday, but computer security researchers appeared correct in their predictions that the effects would be muted.

The worm's programming included a change in tactics on April 1: The estimated 3 million to 12 million computers infected by Conficker were told to step up their attempts to "phone home'' for commands. But that seemed to be the only sign of life from the bug.

"One thing we're not seeing is any mass malicious activity,'' said Joris Evers, an analyst with McAfee. "The Internet today is working just as well as it was working yesterday.''

The worm can take control of unsuspecting PCs running Microsoft's Windows operating system. But its creators likely want to use their vast "botnet'' to send spam or perform other cybercrimes, and not to bring down the Internet.

That's one reason analysts say the people behind the virus will probably wait to send any commands. "Everyone who is fighting Conficker is on high alert,'' Evers said.

Security companies monitoring the worm have been largely successful at blocking infected machines from communicating with whoever programmed it.

Microsoft issued a software update, called a "patch,'' to protect PCs from vulnerability back in October. But not everyone applied the patch.

In one telltale sign of an infected machine, Conficker blocks Microsoft's site as well as those of most antivirus companies. Computer owners can work around that obstacle by having someone else e-mail them a Conficker removal tool.

Pod to Mac Transfers files from your iPhone, iPod to Your Mac

If you want a free and dead simple way to transfer your music, video and other files from your iPhone or iPod to your mac, try Pod to Mac. All you do is plug in your iPhone or iPod, search for the files you want to transfer and copy them over.

There have been other options to transfer things from your gadget to your Mac, but those may cost money or be complicated. Here's one that totally free and easy to use. If you want to transfer to a PC, you can try Pod to PC. [PodtoMac via Lifehacker]

Twitter Coming to Adium?

Ducks can tweet too? Who knew?

In a recent blog entry, Zac West talks about integrating Twitter into Adium. The concept seems simple enough:

Twitter feeds can be followed or unfollowed by adding and removing them from your contact list. If you IM them, it'll send them a direct message. Your Twitter feed comes displayed in a group chat that you can keep open or closed as you need it. It's also very easy to reply to random Twitter links that you can find online. [TUAW]

West hopes to add TwitPic and other Twitter features into Adium.

More Apple Rumors

According to DigiTimes, this rumor says that Apple is going to release a touchscreen netbook sometime this summer.

The above is a concept design of course.

I don't think it's true, but I can still hope for it. [DigiTimes]