CNet: How Apple’s Ping dings Twitter, Facebook.

”Ping picks at the nice parts of Facebook and Twitter — friending and following — and offers these benefits to its users without the generalists’ pains.  Unlike Twitter, for example, these are all real people. Unlike Facebook, you can just wander around and see who or what you like without having to become someone’s friend and without having to like anything at all.”

Macworld: What HDR means for iPhone photos.

As long as the effect is mild. Tweakability would be nice.

Wow, man, that iTunes 10 icon is *ugly*.

Just sayin’.

ars technica: Hands-on photos, observations of new iPods, Apple TV.

”Additionally, there will be no software update to bring the new features to older Apple TVs. Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only.” This is why I remain chary of buying Apple’s newer products; the Newton effect. Not all of us have bottomless pockets.

CNet: For 99 cents, Amazon sells shows, Apple rents them.

”As an eagle-eyed CNET reader noted, Amazon is selling some TV shows for the same price that Apple plans to charge for rentals ...” Ruh-roh.  It’s the television equivalent of workflow that will count here ... call it ‘viewflow.’

Macintouch: SuperMax Mac Clone Review.

Fast. Not cheap. Fast.

Not conspiracy-mongering, but …

GMail just refuses to do some tasks in Safari (’filter messages like this’) after I’ve done them once ... yet works a treat in Chrome. Slower than death in Safari too - acceptable in Chrome.

marketcircle: Billings Pro.

I bought this a short while ago, and like it very much. Making it multiuser makes it better. Price is a little high for Pro, IMHO - they should offer a limited-user version for a price point between Billings and Billings Pro.

One personal observation: The templating system for invoices is confusing and needs much better documentation. Trial it and see if you can construct invoice templates with your business ID satisfactorily before purchase. 

vowe dot net: Apple adds ePub support to Pages.

Cool.

CNet: Vimeo gets Flash-HTML5 hybrid player.

”The change is that which one gets loaded depends on the device that’s accessing it and its bandwidth conditions.”

iPhone 4 accessory …

Leatherize your iPhone.

ars technica: Capo 2 for Mac: music learning software done even better.

”Capo restored our confidence that not all competent developers were focusing on the iPhone, and that there could still be high quality software for the Mac. Now, Capo 2 has launched.”

Million dollar idea.

Notepads, the exact same dimension as an iPad. And a cover that holds both, flapping open to allow both to be used. Because in spite of wanting to be all-digital, we’re analog creatures. 

Panic Blog: Coda Notes for Safari.

Interesting.

Macintouch Review: Magic Trackpad vs. Bamboo Touch.

No clear preference between the two.

vowe dot net: The Magic Trackpad has arrived.

”Yes, you can have both the mouse and the trackpad attached and alternate using them.” Thanks for that bit of info ... I wondered.

Wall Street Journal: What Weeks of Real Usage Reveals About the iPhone 4.

Mixed bag, but overall positive.  More hits to AT&T, than anything else.

Macworld: Five great iPad apps for iPhone photographers.

Just for my own future reference.

Derek Powazek: Thoughts on Designing for iPad.

D brings up great concepts. Via Rafe/rc3.

PDN: Apple Unveils New Mac Pro Workstation With Up to 12 Processing Cores.

”For the first time, Mac Pro customers have the option to order a 512GB SSD for the ultimate in reliability and lightning fast performance.” Wowza ... new object of desire.

CNet: Most iPhone users happy with AT&T.

”CNN reported that The Yankee Group’s questioning elicited positive responses from 73 percent of iPhone users. As a whole, 69 percent of smartphone users say they’re happy with their service provider. So this might suggest that AT&T is performing above the average as far as iPhone users are concerned.”

FOSSIL®: Mens Tablet Cover - Becket ML9433.

Guys, if yer gonna do an iPad, ya gotta carry it in this.

Gizmodo: iPhone May Be Coming to T-Mobile USA This Fall.

I’ve had no unusual problems with T-Mobile, after years of use. Might work out in my favor, then.

CR4: iPhone Users, Beware!

“iPhone forensics is a new field of study for law enforcement officials who are learning how to retrieve information from the phones in criminal cases. This new discipline is made possible by the wealth of information iPhones store unbeknownst to their users. Even when it appears that users have deleted the information, it’s still easily assessable by those who know where to look.” Not to feed paranoia ... just another information point to be aware of.

Bill Atkinson Photography: PhotoCard.

The MacPaint link mentioned Bill Atkinson, took a peek at his site, and that led me to his PhotoCard app. It could be a valuable marketing tool for a photographer, in addition to being just plain fun.