Fox News has a pictorial history of Apple’s not so popular devices. Click here.

How many did you own?

Personally, I will be doing what I always do with all new tech; sitting back and let the early adopters shake out the bugs.

Watch CEO Steve Jobs introduce the iPad:

I admit it.  I am totally geeking out today and following the Apple announcement of the new tablet device live on the internet.  Leo Laport is there live with his phone, laptop and Skype broadcasting on Ustream.  I am also following on Engadget.com to get a breakdown in pictures. It fells like I was watching a news broadcast from the 50’s or 60’s when the announcer would describe the event while random pictures flashed on the screen.

Looking forward to bringing you details later.

The great thing about Apple is there is always an interesting rumor floating around about an upcoming gadget or event. As I noted in an earlier post, Apple is rumored to announce a new tablet device based on its popular iPhone format. Now it is rumored that Apple will halt it’s exclusive partnership with AT&T.

A post today on Apple Insider reported that another site, HotHardware.com, has information from an “anonymous inside source” that AT&T will lose their iPhone exclusivity on Wednesday, when Apple is also expected to introduce its long-awaited touchscreen tablet. The article indicate that AT&T may lose it stranglehold on the service for the device, it is also tired of the iPhone being a data-hog and continually causing problems to the cell provider’s network. Since the sources are anonymous, please read the articles yourself and make your own decisions (Apple Insider – HotHardware.com).

Even if all of the rumors are wrong, you have to admit that Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple are always keeping people guessing about what’s next. I know I will be watching the announcements closely.

A recent article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation suggests that the cries of studio executives are  blown out of proportion.  The article says that Star Trek, the most downloaded movie of 2009, still made a net profit of over $100 million. The article also states that in a year when “internet piracy” was at its highest, Hollywood broke records at the box office.

As 2009 comes to a close, there is no evidence out there that “Internet piracy” is leaving us with fewer creators or fewer copyrighted works, even if you limit yourself to considering works being created by “professionals” employed by movie studios. And once you factor in all the new, noncommercial or semi-pro creators who have been empowered by the very same Internet technologies that Hollywood is blaming for “piracy,” well, it seems clear that creativity is alive and well, and that Hollywood’s demands for drastic overhauls of copyright law and broadband policy are disconnected from reality. (Full article).

Don’t get me wrong.  I am NOT suggesting that anyone go out and record movies and post them on the Internet or try and sell bootlegged DVDs out of the back of a car.  What I would like to see is a less draconian approach to digital rights management (DRM).  There is no reason people should have to violate the law just to make backup copies of movies or music that they own.

What are your experiences with DRM? Tell me about it.

The above photo is an artist’s concept.  NOT A REAL MAC!

Media outlets are buzzing about the idea of a new Apple tablet computing device.  Rumors have increased that Apple will release this new gadget at the end of January. The Wall Street Journal reported that it could start shipping as early as March.  Here is a link to one of the WSJ articles. Here is an AP article.

The idea of an Apple tablet device has been around for a while.  The image above is just one artist’s idea. Here are some more cool concepts.

If you’re interested in picking up a TwitterPeek, you can buy it exclusively on Amazon.com for $99 or $199, depending on your desired service plan.

Click here to read more about the device.

Below you can watch Engadget.com Editor-in-chief Josh Topolsky preview the TwitterPeek mobile device on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

I was surprised to hear the announcement that Los Angeles City Council had unanimously agreed to shift the county over to cloud computing and Google Apps starting next year.  It is reported that a pilot program will begin as soon as 2010.

I was surprised because it was done without much opposition. Even with the obvious security issues facing having all of you data accessible from the Internet, the Los Angeles Chief Technical Office, Randi Levin, stated he felt the application services were adequate for the needs of the county.

During Tuesday’s city council debate on the issue, Los Angeles CTO Randi Levin went to bat for the cloud-based service, reassuring members that Gmail was safe and advanced enough for government use.

Makes me think of the phrase “good enough for government work.”

Even with the reassurances of the CTO, LA City Council voted to include a penalty if the system was breached and data was stolen. I’m sure Computer Services Corporation, the company that secured the $7.25 million deal, will work diligently to put safeguards in place to protect information.

If the project is successful it will spur the movement to cloud computing for other governmental agencies and business. If there are problems and high profile security issues that could dramatically slow the movement to the clouds for everyone.

Read the full article from the E-Commerce Times

Today, October 22, 2009, Microsoft officially releases Windows version 7. While it has been out for a while in beta, the official release marks the first major OS release by MS in years.

The company is hoping that this new version will help get rid of the bad taste that many users have fromVista.

The recession has also led businesses to delay spending on PCs and other technologies. Because of those tight budgets and the lack of enthusiasm for Vista, more than 80 percent of new computers installed in offices still run Windows XP, which is now 8 years old, according to Forrester Research. A year from now, Forrester expects most new business PCs to be using Windows 7, but that won’t necessarily translate into a huge boost for the PC industry. Click here for the AP story.

Click here to go the Microsoft’s official Version 7 site.

The one feature that Barnes & Noble’s is touting most, is the ability of “nook” owners to share e-books based purchased. Copies of purchased books can be sent to friends who have installed the “nook” eReader software on their PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod or other selected device.

Read the full article.