Not Much News...Waiting

Well...we're waiting for the Sept. 1 Apple event!
I'd like to remind you that I won't be breaking the news, I will be giving my opinion on the event/new hardware.
In the meantime, check out this comic!

Over management...a common problem

Opinion: The Sept. 1 Apple Event

The picture on the invitation sent to the press 

As before any Apple keynote/event, a bunch of rumors have been circulating around the Internet. Here is my take on the rumors.
A fourth generation iPod Touch
Of course.
With the A4 processor
Seeing as how the iPod Touch has always mirrored the iPhone, it could be a A4 processor, or even more poweful, if Apple is trying to position this as a gaming device. 95% chance.
With Retina Display
A Retina Display will need the A4 processor, so it depends on the processor.
With Facetime/Camera
I'd give it a 95% chance 
Facetime through Game Center
Hmm...if this would be probable, although it probably won't happen because of... (10% chance)
Facetime through email
Seeing as iPod Touches don't have phone numbers, it'll probably use your iTunes account (95% chance)
A smaller iPad/second gen iPad
Although a smaller/second gen iPad will probably happen, I don't think it would be introduced at this event, since, it seems to focus on music. Those iPad(s) would probably be introduced at a separate iPad keynote.
40% chance.
A redesigned Nano with a touchscreen
Personally, I think the Nano has suited Apple pretty well up to this point. I'm guessing the only changes to the Nano will be overall improvements and more storage...and perhaps... 50% chance
A Nano with Facetime
No one seems to have touched on this topic yet, but the Nano does already have a camera.... 30% chance
iTunes music in the cloud
Appparently Apple couldn't get all the major labels to agree, so I'd give it a 15% chance
iTunes video in the cloud
Could be more likely than music, but still unlikely. 40% chance
iTunes with recommendations from your friends
This seems it would be easy to implement. 80% chance.
Apple TV/iTV refresh with iOSThis would make sense, and would put Apple in the console market, with the App Store. You could use your iPhone 4 as a controller, complete with an accelerometer and gyroscope. 90% chance. 
TV episodes can be rented for $0.99This could happen, and one 40 minute TV show would be cheaper than a song! It would seem like a good deal!

Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments!
Of course, all we can do now is wait until Sept.1, or hope that some guy leaves a prototype in a bar :) !

IE9 Gets A New Look?

As you probably all know already Microsoft Russia leaked a screenshot of IE9. My thoughts on this are: It looks nice, and the larger back button seems to take cues from Firefox. However, if you have more than 3 or 4 tabs open, it seems like it could get pretty crowded in the browser. If you ask me about IE9 as a browser, than I think it will at least catch up to the other browsers (Windows Vista --> Windows 7).

App Review: Nook for iPad

I recently decided to skip a trip to the bookstore, and instead, buy a book through the Nook app on iPad. After finishing the book, I think that in the future, I'll stick with bookstores or try another app.

Upon opening the Nook app, you are greeted with a page showing the covers of the books that you already own. It works, but doesn't have the graphical richness of the iBooks app.

A basic book list

Purchasing the book is where the problems start to begin. When you press the "Shop" button, the app exits, and opens a Safari page, where you are directed to the Nook section of bn.com. I had a gift card that I wished to use to buy the book. However, to use the giftcard, you had to make an account, go to your account settings, and then add the giftcard, rather than just adding the giftcard at checkout. Once I had added the giftcard (which covered the cost of the book), I went to purchase the item, and found that it needed a credit card number, even though I had a gift card! I entered the credit card number, and my purchase was complete(the cost was charged to the gift card).
Reading the book was not as "fancy" as reading in iBooks. There was no page flipping animation, just a scrolling animation.

No page flip animation for Nook

Personally, that suited me just fine, but the app didn't have the polished feel of iBooks. Making notes and highlighting phrases also didn't feel as polished as iBooks. However, I also have Nook for PC, and the bookmark sync works exceptionally well.

Pros:
-Carry your nook eBooks with you
-Offers a greater selection of Books than iBooks
-Great bookmark sync technology

Cons:
-No integrated store
-No page flipping animation
-Gift card support not implemented the way I'd like it to be

Unless you own a Nook and want to read your books on your iPad, I would recommend waiting for a few updates to the Nook app.

Note: I do not own the Nook app, Nook logo, or the covers of the books in the Nook bookshelf.

Multitasking on Your iPod Touch 2G

I am working on a video tutorial to show you how to
Enable multitasking/fast app switching:
-2nd Gen iTouch
-iPhone 3G
Enable backgrounding on:
-2nd Gen iTouch
-iPhone 3G
-3rd Gen iTouch
-iPhone 3GS
-iPhone 4