The iPad is currently available for preorder from Apple.com, and those who choose that option will receive their iPad on April 3rd. It’s obviously a good way to avoid long lines at stores if you’re one of those people who must be among the first to own an iPad. Personally, I’ll be sticking with my netbook but look forward to reading the many reviews and user stories that will soon surface concerning the product. Perhaps it really will be as “magical and revolutionary” as Apple describes.

                                                    
Apple’s newest release of their Safari internet browser looks to be off to a very good beginning, as the new version has seen over eleven million copies downloaded in its initial three days on the market. Notably, it is approximated that six million of those downloads were done on Windows run machines.

So why are people flocking to the new Safari? Well, the new version, called Safari 4, offers a very quick javascript engine which is estimated to be a whopping eight hundred percent faster than the one supplied by IE 8. Also, the new browser is reported to be very stable, with users experiencing a very low amount of crash issues thus far.

If you want to give the new Safari 4 a test drive, you can find it on Apple’s official page.

Eek. Be careful with your iPod Touch, as a family in Ohio is now suing Apple over claims that their fifteen year old son’s iPod Touch exploded, and caused the boy severe burns. Apparently the iPod Touch was in the boy’s pocket, and in the off position, when it exploded with enough vigor to cause a large hole in his pants, his underwear, and second degree burns to his leg.

The Ohio boy’s mother has filed a lawsuit suing Apple for an amount of $225,000 US dollars. Also, in somewhat of an odd move, she is also suing ten employees of the Apple store which sold them the device. She states that the boy is plagued by pain and mental anguish from the claimed explosion.

Imagine if the device had exploded close to his face, it could have blinded him or worse. After having some major tooth work done after a recent sports injury, I am extra careful all the time no matter I’m doing. The one good thing that came out of my ordeal, is that I found some excellent San Diego Oral Surgery clinics. For the child who got scalded by his iPod Touch, I’m guessing the one good thing that he gets out of his ordeal will be settlement money from the law team at Apple.

It may seem hard to believe, but nevertheless, the Macintosh computer company released their first computer what is now twenty-five years ago. You may not know that the name “Macintosh” actually was given by Apple employee J. Raskin, who worked on the first Mac, and wanted to name it after his favorite Apple.

What were the specs of this now dinosaur of a Mac?

Well, the first Mac included a meager 128 kilobytes of RAM and a primitive 8 MHz Motorola-68000 micro-processor. Also of note, its monitor was  nine inches, and was only able to display in black and white. And of course, it featured a 3.5-inch floppy drive.

One thing the first Mac and current Macs have in common? They were and are expensive! The first Mac was almost $ 2500! When you keep in mind this was back in the early eighties, that’s quite a steep price!

For those of you planning to attend Macword this year, you may want to reconsider, as a major attraction — the Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) keynote speech — will not be taking place this year. Instead, you can expect to see Apple’s Senior Vice President of marketing deliver the conference’s core speech.

This is not just a one year pitfall, either. It is said that Steve Jobs will not be giving anymore Macworld keynotes, and after 2009 Apple will no longer be presenting at Macworld, at all.

In the past, Macworld was the place to be for Apple news, as both the iPhone and the iPod made their debut at the tradeshow. Apple now states that they will be scaling down their tradeshow efforts, and putting a greater emphasis on their retail outlets.

Settle down, it’s not quite here yet – but at least Mac users are finally on Netflix’s radar. The company says it will  begin providing support for Mac users in a few months time. The news was recently broken by Netflix representative “Brent” on the company’s official blog,

“We’ve been busy working getting a solution that will allow you to watch instantly on your Mac. So hang in there – we’ll have something for you by the end of the year,”

Encouraging words, however long overdue. It’s always astounding how businesses can completely ignore a large and growing segment consumers. Oh well, better late than never?

In other Netflix news, the company has parterned with Starz Play in a deal that will add 1,000 titles to its “Watch Instantly” selection, and is planning to add a further 1,500 by years end. Hits such as “Spider-Man 3,” “No Country for Old Men” and “Superbad” will be part of the new package of titles.

                                                    
If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out Microsoft’s new commercial, featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld – check it out below:

Some people apparently enjoyed this ad, but, really, I have never seen Jerry Seinfeld so unfunny. The whole time watching, I was waiting for a rib-tickling line, or at least a smirk-worthy barb, but neither was to happen, and it’s sorely disappointing. Was this really the best they could do to compete with Mac’s popular ad campaigns?

You could say I’m bipartisan in the whole Mac versus PC debacle, but I found this new Microsoft ad to be simply sub par – especially after so many tech blogs abound spent time hyping up the Seinfeld-Gates partnership.

Well, watch it for yourselves. Am I wrong? Is it good?

The rumor is back, and if it’s true, iTunes can charge my visa card right now, because it would be a heck of deal for music connoisseurs, like myself.

An anonymous tip is currently circulating the blogs-of-Mac-worship, buzzing that Apple is preparing to launch an unlimited downloads, iTunes subscription service. If it’s true, other music subscription services will be forced to compete, or risk being put down.

Apple, and more specifically CEO Steve Jobs, have been publicly resistant to the possibility of an iTunes music subscriptions offering, stating that users wish to “own their music”, and standing by its popular retail model, while companies such as Napster, Real Media and even Microsoft try their hands at ruling the unlimited-download arena.

The anonymous tipster responsible for the resurgence in iTunes subscription rumors claims to have details of the possible offering: the subscription would run for $129.99 a year for regular users, and 179.99 a year for use with Mobile Me. It was also stated that songs would be of 256Kbps quality, with half of the iTunes library initially offered.

Now, before we get too excited, rumors of an iTunes subscription service have surfaced before, but they’ve never made it “to the shelf” as it were. However if Apple realizes that this is what its users are clamoring for, it could very well become a reality.

Apple is smokin’ — literally this time. Reports out of Japan indicate that users of first Generation iPod Nanos (circa 2005), have experienced battery problems resulting in the unit emitting smoke. This is mostly likely to occur during battery recharge, as the battery and subsequently the unit overheat. I know, I couldn’t believe there were people out there still using First Gen iPod Nanos, either.

Kudos to Apple, as they are stepping up to the plate on this one, and have issued the following statement – “Apple has determined that, in very rare cases batteries, in first generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 can overheat causing failure and deformation of the iPod nano.”

The Apple representative, also spoke of replacement Nanos for those affected:

“Any first generation iPod Nano customers who have experienced their battery overheating should contact AppleCare for a replacement. Any other customers who have concerns about their first generation iPod Nano battery should also contact AppleCare.”

So if you’re using a iPod Nano First Gen from Japan, it may be time to upgrade, or, beware of fire!

                                                    
Today’s big announcement comes from Rhapsody, the online music service previously known for its subscription-based streaming music for a monthly fee. Well, turns out people are more interested in owning their music rather than renting. So now we have another major competitor for iTunes and Amazon MP3.

I’m already a fan of Amazon MP3. And considering Rhapsody is slightly more expensive (in line with iTunes at $.99 per song and $10 per album), I need something to justify that difference. Switching music download services is easy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need a reason. Rhapsody’s answer: full song previews. The only catch is that this is limited to 25 full previews per month.

The other area where Rhapsody might be better is in its interface. It’s too early for me to tell, but I can say that it wouldn’t take much to beat Amazon MP3. Amazon’s interface isn’t horrible, but Rhapsody’s could easily be better. Other than that, the free album promotion going on right now is probably the most pressing reason to give Rhapsody a try.

Again, it’s too early to tell if these reasons will be enough to make me switch on a more permanent basis, but Amazon definitely has a worthy competitor for music shoppers interested in content from the big four labels. Whatever the case, Rhapsody is yet another reason to avoid iTunes’ premium priced restricted music.