Week in Apple: Psystar going bankrupt, iPod knockoffs, and back-to-school
It’s all but guaranteed that new iPhones are coming soon, given the endless flow of rumors about the device (or devices). That, plus Apple’s newest back-to-school promotion, more lawsuit developments, and Mac clone maker Psystar filing for bankruptcy all rounded out this week’s top Apple news.
Knockoff iPod shuffle giveaway ruffles some feathers: One man’s gift is another man’s lawsuit. Some iPod knockoffs given away at the Swiss Economic Forum were not universally enjoyed, and one recipient has even sued the company giving them away.
Icons surface for next-gen iPhone in most recent SDK beta: Icons labeled as iPhone2,1 are included in the iPhone OS 3.0 SDK beta 5, and appear to confirm speculation that next-gen iPhone hardware will differ little in appearance from current models.
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Week in Apple: Psystar going bankrupt, iPod knockoffs, and back-to-school
It’s all but guaranteed that new iPhones are coming soon, given the endless flow of rumors about the device (or devices). That, plus Apple’s newest back-to-school promotion, more lawsuit developments, and Mac clone maker Psystar filing for bankruptcy all rounded out this week’s top Apple news.
Knockoff iPod shuffle giveaway ruffles some feathers: One man’s gift is another man’s lawsuit. Some iPod knockoffs given away at the Swiss Economic Forum were not universally enjoyed, and one recipient has even sued the company giving them away.
Icons surface for next-gen iPhone in most recent SDK beta: Icons labeled as iPhone2,1 are included in the iPhone OS 3.0 SDK beta 5, and appear to confirm speculation that next-gen iPhone hardware will differ little in appearance from current models.
Click here to read the rest of this article
Apple’s Back-to-School Offer Promo is Back
As a kid, or even as a university student, if anyone had mentioned back-to-school shopping, sales, gear, or anything else this early in the game, I’d definitely have lost it on them. The summer has yet to begin, just let me get my bearings!
Still, if I were to make an exception, I’d make it for Apple’s annual back-to-school promotion, during which the company offers a free iPod to all education customers when they purchase a new Mac.
The iPod in question, or at least the most expensive one that qualifies for the deal, is the 8GB iPod touch (which is probably nearing end-of-life, but hey, it’s free, and it’s still great hardware), which you buy along with your MacBook when you make your purchases. When you receive both items, you fill out and submit an online claim (which must be done by Oct. 8 to qualify), and Apple will reimburse you for the total amount of the iPod — not quite as insidious as a mail-in rebate, but not nearly as straightforward as a complete freebie, either.
If you’re not keen on the iPod touch, or for some reason you just want to save Apple some money, you also have the option of getting any iPod of lesser value, including an 8GB or 16GB Nano, a 120GB Classic, or a 4GB Shuffle with rebates of varying amounts according to which you choose. On top of that, you also get the standard education customer discount on whatever model Mac you’re buying, so the total savings end up being pretty significant.
Not all Macs are eligible for the promotion, so hopefully, you didn’t just read the first half of this article and then go buy a Mac mini and an iPod touch. The mini, along with any refurbished Macs, won’t get you the free iPod, although any other model will, including all notebooks, the Mac Pro, and the iMac. Offering the relatively inexpensive Mac mini along with the discount probably cuts too close to the profitability line for Apple’s comfort.
Apple ready for back-to-school with MacBook tweak, free iPod
Apple’s annual back-to-school promotion started today, with the promise of a free iPod touch with a Mac purchase—identical to last year’s promotion. Also, the company has quietly bumped the specs (again) on the entry-level white MacBook.
There’s probably nothing better to entice a college student looking at getting a new Mac than the promise of a free iPod. While last year’s promo offered as much as $299 toward any iPod, this year the maximum is only $229. To be fair, that’s the current price of an 8GB iPod touch—last year, it sold for (you guessed it) $299. If you purchase any qualifying new Mac (essentially anything but a Mac mini or a refurb) and any new iPod on the same invoice from Apple or an authorized campus store, you’ll get up to $229 back via a mail-in rebate. This is in addition to educational discounts on the Mac, which already offer a savings of as much as $200—nice!
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Apple ready for back-to-school with MacBook tweak, free iPod
Apple’s annual back-to-school promotion started today, with the promise of a free iPod touch with a Mac purchase—identical to last year’s promotion. Also, the company has quietly bumped the specs (again) on the entry-level white MacBook.
There’s probably nothing better to entice a college student looking at getting a new Mac than the promise of a free iPod. While last year’s promo offered as much as $299 toward any iPod, this year the maximum is only $229. To be fair, that’s the current price of an 8GB iPod touch—last year, it sold for (you guessed it) $299. If you purchase any qualifying new Mac (essentially anything but a Mac mini or a refurb) and any new iPod on the same invoice from Apple or an authorized campus store, you’ll get up to $229 back via a mail-in rebate. This is in addition to educational discounts on the Mac, which already offer a savings of as much as $200—nice!
Click here to read the rest of this article
Apple’s UK Back to School promo starts, gives away new nanos, touches
Filed under: iPod Family, Retail, Apple, iPhone, iPod nano, iPod touch
Apple has started their Back to School promotion in the UK. It is similar to the Back to School promo that ran in the US, with the exception of people in the UK being able to get one of the new iPods that released at last week’s iPod event.
This promotion is good on the purchase of any new Mac and iPod nano (or touch). Qualified purchasers are “student[s] at a higher education institution, a teacher or a lecturer.” When you purchase your new Mac and an iPod nano, or iPod touch, Apple will give you up to £95 via a rebate check. This deal ends October 31, 2008.
You can visit Apple’s UK website for more details. Do you plan on purchasing a new Mac in order to get a new iPod nano or touch? Which iPod would you choose? Be sure to take part in our poll!
Thanks, Dan!
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Back to School: Writing tools, part III
Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Education
TUAW’s going Back to School! We’ll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings.
This is the third and final installment in the “Back to School: Writing Tools” series (parts I and II are here). To round out our roundup, we’ll take a look at some (possibly) unexpected solutions, as well as some utilities which can aid any writer. Read on for some final thoughts on the current array of Mac writing tools for students, teachers, professors … and the rest of us, too.
Continue reading Back to School: Writing tools, part III
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Back to School: Writing tools, part II
Filed under: Software, Features, Cool tools, Education
TUAW’s going Back to School! We’ll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings.
Continuing the Back-to-School “sub-mini-series” on writing tools, this second post covers some great tools for compiling all of your thoughts, ideas and research into cohesive, structured documents. If you’ve never explored this category of applications, you might be surprised what the available options can do to improve your writing efficiency and lower the general anxiety involved with writing 10-page reports or lengthy creative writing assignments. I’ll highlight a few cool ways to get those notes and floating thoughts from your notepad and your brain onto papers with large A’s on them. Read on …
Continue reading Back to School: Writing tools, part II
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Back to School: Writing tools, part I
Filed under: Software, Features
TUAW’s going Back to School! We’ll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings in September.
This is the last installment in a mini-series highlighting some research and writing software of interest to students, especially those in college. We’ve covered research tools, as well as note taking and information organization tools. Now, let’s take a look at some great tools for writing. Whether you’re hammering out a research paper or penning a story for Advanced Lit., there are plenty of applications available to make life easier, if not a little bit more fun.
We’re going to look at three basic categories: general word processors, structured writing tools, and utilities. Covering such a broad range of applications ended up getting a bit lengthy, so I’ll be breaking it up into three posts; a sub-mini-series, if you will. This first post will offer you, our discerning readers, a few word-processing applications for your consideration. Read on … and who knows, you might discover something new.
Continue reading Back to School: Writing tools, part I
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Back to School: iPhone applications to help you make the grade
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
TUAW’s going Back to School! We’ll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings.
With students heading back to school around the country today, many are heading back with an iPhone (possibly a iPhone 3G, no doubt). In this post, I’m going to suggest a few iPhone applications that you can use to stay on task, and, of course, “make the grade.” Most of these applications are free, considering that most students are low on money (especially college students).
Assignments (iTunes Link)
Assignments is an application that, as the name implies, allows you to keep track of your assignments and classes. This is perfect for both teachers and students that need to keep track of assignments in each class. Not only can you add an assignment with a due date/time and importance, but you can also add recordings. Being able to make a voice recording of your assignment is a quick way to make a reminder, etc.
The “Overview” tab allows you to see anything upcoming or due. You can sort by “All” or “Due Soon.” You can also search through your assignments. In the “Assignments” tab, you can view all assignments sorted by class. The “Notes” section allows you to quickly jot a note, add a title, and add a date/time.
Overall, this application performs smoothly and works well when adding/deleting assignments and classes. You can view screenshots of Assignments.app in our gallery. Assignments sells for $5.99 (US) at the iTunes App Store.
VoiceNotes (iTunes Link)
VoiceNotes is a plain and simple way to quickly record a quick note, or even a lecture (just make sure you have enough space on your iPhone). Tapping on “Quick Voice Note” will start recording immediately, but is limited as to the length of the recording. If you tap on the + button at the top, you will be given more recording length.
VoiceNotes allows you to sync notes back to your computer using some additional software provided by the developer. Overall, this is a solid app and can definitely be used for the quick “remember to bring these books to class tomorrow” voice notes.
You can download VoiceNotes for free from the iTunes App Store.
To Do (iTunes Link)
One of our fellow TUAW-ers developed this application, and we can’t get over its ease of use and flexibility in creating a simple to-do list. With To Do, you can quickly and easily add a to-do, set priority (and order), and even add a note.
To Do will even allow you to see how many tasks have yet to be completed, right from the home screen. With To Do, you will never forget about that writing assignment for English class. Best of all, this application is on a college student’s budget: It’s absolutely free!
Camera.app (Built-in)
Never underestimate the power of the built-in camera on your iPhone. If you find that your instructor erases the board way too fast, or if you need to capture a photo of the current slide on the screen, then just get out your iPhone. 1 … 2 … 3 … clicks and you’re done! A picture saved in memory, and you didn’t even have to write anything. You can also combine Camera with Evernote (iTunes link) to create more structured notes or geocoding around your photos — great for architecture students or for budding meteorologists.
Did we miss something? Do you have another application that you like/use, but didn’t on the list? The party doesn’t stop with the post, it continues in the comments below. Be sure to share your favorite iPhone applications to help students “make the grade.”
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