In terms of greatness, Apple has just broken into the scenes of the electronic world. Apple was created in 1976, and they didn’t improve until the 2000′s. Apple was just a footnote in the technology world, another company trying to make a breakout but failing. It wasn’t until 1997 when Apple actually broke down and asked Microsoft to save them. Microsoft, their biggest competitor, if you can call it that, was saving Apple. Microsoft invested $150 million dollars into Apple which promised Microsoft, that they would offer Internet Explorer on their Macs and other incentives. Also in 1997 they promoted Steve Jobs from “advisor” to “interim CEO”. That was single handedly one of the best decisions Apple ever made.

So that was a little background in Apple’s history. So, to get back to my point to why Apple is done inventing new devices. Apple has fixed what was broken about the creation and consumption of content. Everything that Apple has created was to change digital media and the internet to fix what was broken. Then came the iPod, followed by the iPhone, iPad and so on. This is exactly why Apple will stop creating new platforms. Can anything Apple make in the next decade compare to what Apple has created in the past decade? Yes Apple can build on the products they have now, but how many iPhones and iPods can they make?

One of the things Apple will make is a TV set. Is making a TV set the same as inventing the TV though? The TV Apple may make is no going to be compare to he iPod, mainly because Apple didn’t invent the TV. Apple has created a line of products that create and consume the best experience for users. Since they have already succeeded in doing that, no further products are necessary to be made. Apple has succeeded in making products that were made already, but they perfected them. Tablets were made way before the iPad came, but they just weren’t good enough. Apple created a tablet that people enjoy having.

There are many arguments that can be made about this. There is definitely no correct answer but this is just an opinion based on what I think. I do believe that Apple will continue to grow as a company outside of their devices and such. They for sure won’t stop building on the devices they have now, but there is a valid argument that they may stop creating a new line of devices. Until another crisis comes for a better product, Apple will just have to wait.

What is the HandStand? The HandStand was developed by Hub International LLC. Hub International LLC also developed the HandStand 2 for the iPad 2. The HandStand was made to help people use the first generation iPad with more comfort and ease. The HandStand makes holding, displaying, and using the first generation iPad simpler. Before we get into the details, let’s first break it down a bit:

Summary

• Name: HandStand

• Brand: Hub International LLC

• Price: $49.95

• Colors: Black, White, and Pink

• Warranty: One year warranty

Point – Scaled Grading

Style: 1-25 Given: 23

Price: 1-15 Given: 13

Quality materials: 1-15 Given: 12

Brand name: 1-10 Given: 7

Modern technologies: 1-15 Given: 14

Compatibility: 1-15 Given: 13

Ease of use: 1-5 Given: 5

OVERALL: 87/100 B

Evaluation

Style: The HandStand as a very cool design. The HandStand design allows you to hold your first generation iPad effortlessly. The ergonomic design helps give you a comfortable fit. The HandStand also lays in a stable incline both vertically and horizontally when places on a flat surface, such as a table.

Price: The HandStand is priced fairly. The product gives you a comfortable way to hold your first generation iPad, while also giving you the ability to spin it 360 degrees.

Quality materials: The HandStand is not a cheap accessory for your first generation iPad. The cover is made of molded polyurethane. The material conforms to the shape of the iPad and has shock-absorbing properties due to being semi-flexible. The strap is heavy duty brushed finish elastic. It is really durable and it is pretty comfortable due to being elastic. The HandPad is thermoplastic ABS. The HandPad has a unique shape that allows your fingers to rest in a curved state to increase comfort. To summarize, the HandStand is basically very durable and useful. It is made of 100% recyclable materials.

Brand name: Hub International LLC was founded by Jaime Smith in October 2010. Hub International LLC is known for making the HandStand and the HandStand 2. It is a very reliable company.

Modern technologies: The idea of having a case that rotates 360° is very unique. The case is made so you can position your first generation iPad at 36 points because the cover rotates around the HandPad with a precise indexing mechanism. The case is engineered very carefully to be sturdy and flexible. One of the main issues when it comes to using the iPad is that it can get tiring to hold, so the HandStand is the solution.

Compatibility: The case is compatible for only the first generation iPad, but Hub International LLC also makes the HandStand 2 for the iPad 2. The good thing about the HandStand is that anyone can use it. The strap is elastic, so anyone can use it.

Ease of use: The HandStand is very easy to use. The case doesn’t come with instructions, but it really doesn’t need instructions anyways. You just put your first generation iPad into the case and voila. You can just follow the pictures on the box to figure out that you supposed to put your hand under the strap and rest your fingers in a curved state. The case is very simple to use.

Final Thoughts

The HandStand is a great product to use. When you use it, it feels like you can do so much more. You are able to use your first generation iPad with more ease. It doesn’t take much effort to hold up your first generation iPad when you are using the HandStand. Being able to rotate your iPad 360° can be very useful. You can watch movies easier by either holding it or by placing it on the table and taking advantage of the incline. The HandStand makes holding your iPad easy. It also helps you hold your iPad more securely, so it’s less likely to drop. I would definitely recommend this product.

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What is iCloud? iCloud is like a hard drive through the internet. iCloud is arriving this fall. It is accessible from your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac or PC. It gives all your devices instant access to your music, movies, photos, apps, and more. iCloud automatically keeps all your devices up to date. Once you update your iOS devices to iOS 5, your apps become integrated with iCloud and all your content is kept up to date. When you sign up for iCloud, you are given 5GB of free storage, which is a lot when your purchases from iTunes don’t take up any space. Mainly your mail, documents, Camera Roll, account information, settings and other app data are the only things taking up space.

With iCloud, you can purchase music from iTunes and iCloud automatically stores it and pushes it onto your other devices, so it’s automatically on all your devices as long as they are connected over Wi-Fi or 3G. You don’t even have to sync your devices. You can also look through your purchase history and download any of your past purchases onto your devices. iTunes Match is another option if you have a lot of songs you didn’t purchase from the iTunes store. For just $24.99 a year, iTunes will scan and determine which songs you have and will match it automatically with the song in iTunes, which will be added to your iCloud library. You have to upload the songs that iTunes can’t find a match for. Even if the original copy of the song is low quality, iTunes Match lets you play it at 256-Kbps iTunes Plus quality.

Whenever you take a photo with your iOS device or import a photo onto your Mac or PC, it is automatically stored on iCloud and pushed to all your devices, as long as there is Wi-Fi. When new photos are pushed onto your iOS devices, only the last 1000 photos will appear on your Photo Stream, but if you want to make sure the photo is saved on your iOS device, you can save it from your Photo Stream to one of your photo albums. Your Mac or PC automatically keeps all your photos.

Certain apps, like Apple iWork apps, make it possible for you make documents, presentations, and other documents, but now with iCloud, your apps can store that information in iCloud and that gives you access to your documents with whichever device.

With iCloud, all the apps you download can be automatically pushed to all your devices. Another cool feature about iCloud is that when you use iBooks app or the iBookstore, all the books you save can be pushed to all your devices, and when you leave a bookmark, highlight text, or make notes, they are automatically pushed to all your devices. How convenient is that? iCloud also automatically backs up your iOS device daily over Wi-Fi. Backup is convenient and seems completely effortless because it backs up only the changes you made, so it is quick and efficient. iCloud Backup takes care of everything when you need to restore your device, just connect your device to Wi-Fi and enter your Apple ID and password.

iCloud also stores your email, calendars, and contacts and also automatically pushes them to all your devices.

Feel free to leave a comment.

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As written on iDisplay’s website:

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later. Intel-based Mac, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or later or Windows XP 32-bit, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (all versions, except Starter). Non-Intel Macs and Macs running OS X in 64-bit mode are not supported.

To setup your iPad as an external monitor for your Mac, you must first go to the App Store and purchase the app iDisplay for $4.99. You must also go on your Mac and go to Shape Services to download the iDisplay Desktop for Mac OS for free. Install the iDisplay Desktop software and restart your computer. Now that you have both iDisplay and iDisplay Desktop, you can click iDisplay Desktop to get it running. The iDisplay Desktop application will not pop up, but will show up on the top right menu bar to show that it is running. Now you can run the iDisplay app on your iPad and an alert will pop up on your Mac display that will say that an “Unknown device is attempting to connect to “iDisplay” on this computer.” You can “Allow always”, “Deny”, or “Allow”.  After you either click “Allow” or “Allow always”, the iPad now acts as an external display.

You can now drag windows onto your iPad. The iPad display may be delayed depending on your internet connection speed. You can take advantage of the iPad as an external display for simple things such as IM, Twitter, and weather. It will really keep your Mac monitor less cluttered. The external monitor is great for when you do multiple things and you are running low on space.

Feel free to leave comments.

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But it gets even better than that! With some creativity imbued along with the tools available, you can actually make some pretty neat works of art. Said works of art could even be submitted to online contests, such as the one we’re hosting right now.

Here’s the deal: the tutorial below will help you draw your masterpiece with Pages. Take a screenshot and then send it in!

I’ll walk you through the basic steps for making fanciful designs. Have you ever seen user-submitted Mii’s for the Wii? I often scratch my head, wondering “How did they do that with the few things they’re given?” You need to adopt the same mentality with Pages. Push it as far as you can take it. Use punctuation for facial features, incorporate text, use borders as part of your subject.

1. Build a “Gumby” foundation

For whatever reason, when you drop a new shape into Pages, it appears in “Gumby” lime green. You can always change the colors later, but for the foundation, I recommend focusing more on the design you’re trying to achieve. Here’s the start of a self-portrait using just the shapes to “build.”

When thinking of something to draw, try imagining it as the different shapes Pages offers. Try rotating the shapes to fit your needs. This can be done with the Inspector tool. You’ll become real familiar with this guy. Click on the blue “i” in the menu (or option-command-i) and then select the Metrics tool (ruler icon). Click on the rotate dial and turn the shape until it’s where you need it.

Also, when placing shapes, you can always right click on overlapping shapes to either send them back or bring them forward (think of pieces of paper physically layered on top of each other. How would you want them to be layered?).

2. Outlining

Once you have all the pieces in place, go through and determine how the outlines of the shapes will play into your drawing. Do you want the shapes to stand out, or would you rather they meld together? Since I have multiple shapes in play for different parts of my face, I removed the lines. In the Graphic Inspector (square and circle icon) you can change the line settings or remove it all together.

Notice that I left the eyes outlined so that I could actually find them in the sea of green.

3. Coloring

Here’s where the fun begins. Now you can start to give your drawing some life by replacing the lime green with colors. Again, using the Graphic Inspector, you have a variety of options with Fill. Play around with the different options until you find what will work best. You can even change the colors of the shape’s borders to blend them.

4. Add details

Here’s where you add the finishing touches. The pen tool in the Shapes menu can help add those fine lines. Drop shadow can be used to add a dramatic effect. I have a fever, and the only cure is more drop shadow!

5. Finish it up

I added a white box with no border at the bottom of my picture to even out the arms and torso. I then placed a larger “frame” box around my picture and sent it to the back. Finally, I used a line shape to bridge the area covered by the white box. By using the jagged border, it kind of blends them together. Then I finished with a gradient I liked.

6. Take the screenshot

If you don’t know about shift-command-4 then you’re missing out on a wonderful tool. Hitting this key combination will turn your pointer into a crosshair. Click and drag it over the area you’d like to capture, and it will instantly take a screenshot and save it on the desktop as a .png file. You can rename the file and also turn it into a .jpg extension if you need to. Not happy with the area you selected? Hit Esc before letting go of the mouse and the crosshair goes away. Watch out that you don’t capture your Pages cursor in the shot.

Here’s how to enter…

We at The Real Mac Genius want to see how far can YOU take drawing with Pages? The contest is simple: “draw” anything you’d like using just the shapes in Pages. Draw your favorite Apple product, a self-portrait, or even your favorite Smurf! Take a screenshot, and e-mail it to me at: sean@therealmacgenius.com, with “PAGES CONTEST” in the subject line. Please note: NO clip art or photos can be incorporated into the drawing. Basically, don’t bring anything into Pages. This will help keep the drawing focused on what Pages can do.

So, what’s it all about, Alfie? Well, we have two cool prizes to give away, thanks to Targus.

1st place: Targus Truss Case & Stand for iPad 1 & 2
2nd place: Prize detail to come shortly.

Rules

You must be 18+ years of age and reside within the 48 contiguous United States. One entry per person. Final entries due by Saturday, May 28 at 11:59 PM EST. No entries received after this time will be considered. Winners will be selected based on creativity, design, and adherence to the rule of not importing any clip art or photographs. Winners will be notified by June 1st. Good luck!

Summary

• Name: DryCASE
• Brand: Dry Corp
• Price: $39.99
• Warranty: One year warranty

Point – Scaled Grading

Style: 1-25 Given: 19

Price: 1-15 Given: 13

Quality materials: 1-15 Given: 12

Brand name: 1-10 Given: 5

Modern technologies: 1-15 Given: 13

Compatibility: 1-15 Given: 12

Ease of use: 1-5 Given: 4

OVERALL: 78/100 C+

Evaluation

• Style: It is designed with the purpose to keep water out, which it definitely accomplishes, but the style is sacrificed in order to keep the electronic devices dry.
• Price: The DryCASE is aggressively priced. Most waterproof cases range from $25-$50, and the DryCASE offers a unique style. Do you really want to use your electronics near water? If so, the DryCASE should be taken into consideration.
• Quality materials: The DryCASE is not a case for normal use. The materials are suitable for keeping the water out and away from your electronic devices. The materials feel very cheap and fragile, yet the product still works effectively. Just make sure you don’t drop your device, because the case will not protect it.
• Brand name: Dry Corp is not one of the more popular Apple case makers. However, in terms of waterproof technologies, they have a solid reputation.
• Modern technologies: The case itself is a fairly new idea. The DryCASE gives you the ability to use the headphone jack – but remember to use waterproof headphones.
• Compatibility: The case is very universal. The downfall is that it is a “one size fits all” type of case, which doesn’t allow for some devices to fit. Dry Corp also sells the DryCASE Folio, which is made for the iPad, Kindle, and other tablets.
• Ease of use: The DryCASE is easy to use – it’s pretty simple. The contents include a small paper containing the instructions. The instructions tell you how to use the case, but they don’t tell you how to put on the armband that is included other than putting it in the slot on the back of the case – we would have liked to see more clearer instructions.

Final Thoughts

The DryCASE is a case that can provide waterproof protections to your portable electronic devices. I would recommend putting a small piece of paper in the case and testing the case out before using it, so you don’t have to put your electronics in jeopardy if the case fails to work. The case itself is only useful if you are planning to use it for the purpose of keeping the water away from your electronics. If you are constantly near water and using your electronics, such as at the beach or near the swimming pool, you should buy this product. So go ahead and “Get Your Tech Wet”.

Feel free to leave a comment.

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What’s to like about Lion? Well, aside from the obvious fact that it will antiquate Leopard and make Snow Leopard look like yesterday’s news, the main attraction seems to be giving your Mac an iPad-like feel. Apps are all full screen, multi-touch gestures will be more robust, and Resume will save your work as you go. Now mind you, I haven’t played with any of the developer releases. If I got my hands on it, this article might be a different story.

At the moment, the main detractor is going to be price. If it’s more than $100 I think I’ll pass. Leopard was $129 when it came out, but it offered 300+ more features than Tiger, its predecessor. Upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard only cost $30 (the price was the same for upgrading from Tiger to Snow Leopard, but shhh). Considering that Lion is a full step up from Snow Leopard, rather than a half-step, it will most likely sell for over $129 or higher.

Then the question becomes is this update more about form or function? AirDrop is pretty cool, though DropCopy, a third-party app, can do the same thing. Some of the other features, such as the Mac App Store and FaceTime are already available in Snow Leopard. From near as I can tell, the main difference between Lion and Snow Leopard is mimicking the feel of the iPad (ie. form).

Getting a new OS mostly comes with getting a new computer. If I were to buy a Mac this summer, then yeah, I’d love Lion. Having to buy an upgrade for my current MacBook Pro? Again, price will be the main determination. I think I’d also like to see how well it tests with the first adopters. If I see whizz-bang-drooling-over-how-cool-Lion-is reports, then I might jump on sooner. On an side-note, it will be interesting to see how Lion is rolled out. Do you just download it from the Mac App Store like the developers have? Will it be a USB drive like the one for the MacBook Air?

No matter what, I’m sure Lion will prove to be the king of Mac OS X. But I guess I’ll let everyone else decide that for me before buying it.

You can read a previous in-depth article about Lion’s features here.

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With Easter only two days away, I thought it’d be appropriate to take a look at Rovio’s newest addition to Angry Birds Seasons.

For those unfamiliar with this flavor of Angry Birds, Seasons is a combination of different holiday-themed levels: “Trick or Treat” (Halloween), “Season’s Greedings” (Christmas), “Hogs and Kisses” (Valentine’s Day), “Go Green, Get Lucky” (St. Patrick’s Day), and now “Easter Eggs” (Easter). The levels feature different thematic elements particular to that holiday.

Now mind you, I’ve only gotten my fingers on the free version of this game. I figured that I already had the full version of Angry Birds, so buying this one too would be gratuitous.  It appears my instincts may be right because the App Store shows a lot of complaints for the paid version (namely by way of intrusive advertising).

So, with the free version you get three levels. No more, no less. And in my mind, that’s just enough to get the novelty of seeing Easter eggs and pigs wearing bunny ears.

Unlike the previous Seasons additions, “Easter Eggs” doesn’t seem nearly as hard to beat. I’m still racking my brain trying to figure out the first levels for “Trick or Treat” and “Season’s Greedings.” Though while the levels are easy enough to beat, trying to earn three stars is a whole other story. And that’s where I think the beauty of Seasons comes to play. This game is a way to hone your slingshot skills to mastery, while enjoying the different takes on holidays. It assumes that you’re already familiar with Angry Birds.

Without adding any new bird types or different features, Angry Birds Seasons is best downloaded as the free version.

Maybe once I beat “Easter Eggs,” it will be time to release a “Fourth of July” update. Fireworks and the black bomb bird? Now we’re talking!

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