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Today as expected Apple announced new iPod, a new Apple TV and a new version of iTunes at  today’s keynote. These are the new product details that were announced today.

iPods:

iPod Shuffle:

The iPod Shuffle went retro to the design of the shuffle generation prior to the most recent one. It also regained buttons but also retained voiceover from the previous version. The new iPod Shuffle has a capacity of 2 GB and is priced at $49

iPod Nano:

The iPod Nano no longer uses a click wheel and instead uses a multitouch screen but doesn’t run iOS or have iOS applications. The new iPod Nano does not have the video camera of the previous version and is now a small square as apposed to the well know rectangle of the previous iPod Nanos.  The iPod Nano is available in 2 capacities: 8 GB for$149 and 16 GB for $179.

iPod Touch:

The new iPod touch is even thinner  and looks a lot more like the iPhone 4. It also mirrors the iPhone in features including: the retina display, dual camera system (HD camera on the rear), Facetime, and the powerful A4 mobile processor.

The iPod Touch comes in 3 models: 8 GB for $199, 16 GB for $299 and 32 GB for $399

***All new iPods will be available next week!***

iOS 4.1:

Apple also announced iOS 4.1 which provides many fixes to Bluetooth, proximity sensors and fixes issues on iPhone 3G. It also adds a few new features: HDR photography, the ability to upload HD video over WiFi, the ability to rent TV shows. It also adds a mobile gaming center where you can play against people nearby or around the world head to head in Game Center-enabled games.

iOS 4.1 will be available for free next week!

iOS4.2:

They also gave us a sneak peak to iOS 4.2 which adds all these great features to the iPad. To me this means that they will release an iPad maybe in October with a camera because there will be HDR photography. It also adds wireless printing and Air Play (formerly AirTunes) which will let you stream your iTunes content over your home network.

iOS 4.2 will be available sometime in November

iTunes 10:

The big new feature is Ping which is a social network for music. It allows listeners to follow artists and other listeners who have similar interests. It also has a new way to look at your music in your library although it still needs work.

Apple TV:

The Apple TV (Yes it kept the Apple TV name) is now 1/4 the size of the old model, has no storage and allows you to rent movies and TV shows via iTunes. You can rent first run movies in HD for $4.99 and as time goes on, the price drops. Television shows (currently only Fox and ABC) will be able to be rented for 99 cents without ads! You also could stream content from Netflix, MobileMe, Flickr, and you computers on your home network. You can also use AirPlay to stream content from your iOS devices onto your Apple TV.

The Apple TV is $99 and is available next week!

The new Apple TV is not running the iOS as rumors suggested and is still similar to the previous models that were very unsuccessful.

I will write an event summary after the event is over tomorrow afternoon!

If you have heard in the news recently about Verizon and Google making some big deal that would let them “take over the internet”, it is Google and Verizon’s plans to implement a tiered internet on mobile devices. A tiered internet would bring cable-style pricing and services to the internet meaning if you want access to more websites, you have to pay more, if you get the cheapest internet plan, you have access to the larger sites like Google but, to access smaller site you have to buy a more expensive internet package. So the more sites you want to access, the more you have to pay. This is wrong for many reasons. First, this will crush the open market of the Internet and will help the larger sites get more views and will prevent people from visting smaller sites and will just help the bigger websites get bigger. It also will limit the points of view that they will be able to access because only the larger sites unless you want to pay extra.

I think it is the tiered pricing structure that is killing cable and it would destroy the freedom of the internet.The reason I wrote this article is to help people understand what is going on because it will affect everyone on the internet and will especially hurt the smaller sites like mine. If you want to learn more about what is going on in Net Neutrality and to see what you to do to help go to savetheinternet.com and it is every Internet user’s responsibility to fight for net neutrality. If Congress passes legislation for a tiered internet, the web will be terrible and would prevent the free flow of information.

There has been a lot of speculation about Apple replacing Mac OSX in the not so distant future with iOS either  making a version for computers or just phasing out the computers and only making iOS devices. I really think although these iOS devices, although they have become popular, are not going to be able to replace a personal computer. I think Apple has been focusing on iOS in the past year to get the iPad and iOS4 out but, I think they will come back to the Mac and great new stuff for the Mac OS and great new innovation. The Macintosh hardware has really not had any major change for a long time and I think this is for two reasons, first, because they have been focusing on iOS in recent months and secondly because they are very advanced, refined devices and they really just have to bump the tech specs every now and then.

As I wrote to Steve Jobs, I love using my iPod Touch but there are many times and tasks that I need to use my much more powerful Macbook Pro and use the hardware to get things done more efficiently. Plus for things like video editing and other high-intensity tasks, sure you can do them on the touch-based iOS devices, but it is still much more efficient to do that on a computer. Yes touch controls adds functionality, and I can see people who are used to using a trackpad wanting to buy a device like the Magic Trackpad to be able to use them on desktop computers.

I believe that Apple will continue the Mac OSX franchise for at least one more iteration and will later create there next generation operating system. Sure, they may add more multi-touch features and other features to enhance the Mac environment, but at least for the foreseeable future Mac OS will remain similar to how it has been. The OS is very refined already so the new versions may not have a ton of new features, and hopefully will not be expensive to upgrade. Either way Mac OS X isn’t going any where any time soon, it is a powerful operating system and would be foolish for Apple to phase out.

The other day I was at the Apple Store and got to use the new Bluetooth Magic Trackpad. The idea is for users to move around their desktop computer screen using multitouch gestures. It works great, but I personally prefer to use a regular mouse with my laptop. But, for those who use multi touch gestures frequently, and can’t operate with out them, then this could be a decent device for you. However, for $70 I wouldn’t want to spend that for an extra accessory, and would definitely not want to substitute it for a mouse when I bought a new computer. But if you really like multitouch and don’t mind spending the money it might be worth while. But if you don’t like the trackpad that much it’s not worth the money.

It has been a while since I put together a media center. Anymore you can get a lot of content over the web and don’t even need cable subscription, so this collection will be for getting all the media over the web and enjoying it in your home theater.

****Please note all prices are estimations and you can find items for more or less of the price I quote*****

1. HDTV- $1,000
2. Mac Mini-  $699 (Newest Model)
3. Wireless Mouse and Keyboard-$100
4. HDMI Cable- $5 (Depends on length)

Optional:

Xbox 360- $199

Wii- $199

PS3 (Includes Bluray Player)- $299.99 or $349.99

Tips:

1. When buying a TV, 1080P is the highest  video quality and is recommended for the best viewing, however if you would like to save some money you could get a 1080i or 720P TV
2. Keep in mind that the maximum resolution of the Mac Mini HDMI port is 1920 by 1200 so be sure to keep that in mind when you buy your TV
3. No need to get a DVD player, just use the one built into the Mac Mini
4. You may want to consider upgrading the Mac Mini Hard drive if you plan on storing a lot of large files
5. Surge Strips are highly recommended so you can protect your electronics from electrical surges
6. Game consoles are included for 2 reasons: gaming and media, all three can stream from Netflix and the PS3 can also play Bluray disks- although I do not recommend them

In March I bought a 20 inch external monitor for my MacBook Pro. Prior to this, I had my old Dell laptop serving as my extra screen to play media and display stories when producing The Weekly Spin. The was cumbersome and took up more space as well as enough power for a whole other laptop. Now  this new monitor allows  me to easily watch media by dragging windows to the edge of my MacBook screen and put them on the other screen. This is great because of how I like to have media playing while I work so I could have video running on the extra screen and work on other things on my MacBook screen. Also if you edit video like I do, you can have the preview screen on the second monitor so you can see it full screen and see all the details. There are probably plenty of other things you can do with two monitors, it is a great way to get more work done and expand your workspace.

Don’t get me wrong, I love having the power of a computer in my pocket, but the idea of these devices replacing computers leave me a bit uneasy still. I can get a lot done just on my iPod touch (I am in fact writing this article in Notes on my iPod Touch), but I still want to be able to go home and use my computer that has the full power I need for tasks like video editing. Although you can do most of the things average computer users need to do on mobile devices, the devices are just not powerful enough to provide the speed that a personal computer does. I think that mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone might be able to replace less powerful, portable devices like netbooks but,  I still think people will need a desktop or laptop computer as well for more power-intensive tasks plus as of right now, you still need to have a computer to sync your iPhone or iPad.

Many people think that the Post PC era will behind within the next 5-10 years but, I think that we still want and need personal computers and I think it will stay that way for some time and think that is good. Although I love my iPod Touch I still need my computer for certain things and to get things done faster.

The iPhone has become a major success great because of the App Store that offers thousands of applications. These applications let you use the IPhone as a pocket computer and to get work done. In fact, I use my iPod Touch more as a pocket computer than as a media player or entertainment device. There are a lot of Apps that are great for getting work done but because of the size of the App Store it is hard at times to find the good ones so here a list of the Apps that I personally use to get work done on my iPod Touch.

iPhone Apps for Getting Things Done
The iPhone has become a major success great because of the App Store that offers thousands of applications. These applications let you use the IPhone as a pocket computer and to get work done. In fact, I use my iPod Touch more as a pocket computer than as a media player or entertainment device. There are a lot of Apps that are great for getting work done but because of the size of the App Store it is hard at times to find the good ones so here a list of the Apps that I personally use to get work done on my iPod Touch.Mail: (Preloaded on all iOS Devices) E-MailCalendar: (Preloaded on all iOS Devices) CalendarContacts: (Preloaded on all iOS Devices) ContactaToDo: $4.99- Task ManagementMoney Agent Pro: $2.99- Money Management- Also has free limited versionNotes: (Preloaded on all iOS Devices)- Note application (What I am using to write this article)Quick Office: $9.99- Office suite that allows you to edit on Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, MobileMe as well as locally on the device. List Master: $2.99- List ApplicationCalculator (Preloaded on all iOS devices)-Calculator Pageonce Finance: FREE- Tracks expenses onlineSimpleMindX: (Free)- MindmappingAIM: Free- Instant MessagingSkype: Free- VOIP/Instant MessagingEmailPush: $2.99- Gmail Push notificationsTextie: Free- Text MessagingReeder: $2.99- RSS Feed Reader (syncs with Google Reader)Wordpress: Free- BloggingWikiTap: Free-Wikipedia Dictionary: Free- Dictionary Freesaurus: Free- Thesaurus