Apple plans to begin taking pre-orders and reservations for the iPad on Friday, March 12. The company hasn't said yet what time on Friday the pre-order program will kick off, and so far the iPad Web page is still providing the option to notify users when more information is available.

The Wi-Fi version of the iPad will be available on Saturday, April 3, in the United States, and the Wi-Fi plus 3G version will be available near the end of April. Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K. will be able to get their hands on both models in late April, and in other countries later in the year.

Customers that pre-order an iPad can choose to have their tablet delivered, or reserved for pickup at their local Apple Retail Store.

Pink Floyd tracks may be removed from digital music services like iTunes after a High Court ruling.

Their latest record deal, signed with EMI before legal downloads came along, said individual songs must not be sold without the band's permission. They argued that the same rule should apply to digital sales as well as CDs.

EMI disagreed but a judge has sided with Pink Floyd. The ruling is part of a long-running battle between the two sides over £10m in unpaid royalties. EMI said it had not yet been ordered to stop selling single Pink Floyd tracks. That may come at a later stage in the case, however.

A refrigerator is not a refrigerator without magnets. And a self-respecting iPhone/iPod Touch owner is not a self-respecting iPhone/iPod Touch owner without a set of Jailbreak Toys App Magnets.

I mean, how awesome are these things! They come in sets of 18 (one for each stock iPhone app, presumably) and sell for the reasonable-to-my-cheapskate-senses price of $12.99.

Shipping will run you another $5 or so, though if you order three sets you can get free shipping by applying coupon code 3forFREE at checkout.

Here's a very simple iTunes hint that may come in very handy for those of you who may have duplicate song issues in iTunes. As you're probably aware, iTunes includes a tool to help find the duplicates; just select File -> Show Duplicates, and iTunes will create a list of all the songs it believes are duplicates.

The only problem with this feature is that it's quite liberal in deciding what is, and is not, a duplicate. As a result, the list of potential duplicates can wind up being very large--especially if you have a number of different versions of the same song by the same artist.

So here's the trick...the Option key.

Consumer Reports on Wednesday published results of its latest survey on the best and worst companies for computer tech support.

In January, the survey asked 7,000 subscribers who owned a laptop or desktop computer to rate their computer manufacturer in several categories: problem solved; phone waits; phone staff; and online support. For laptop computers, Apple scored 86 out of a possible 100. That's 23 points above its nearest competitor, Lenovo, which scored a 63. In fact, Apple scored the highest in each of the Consumer Reports categories.

Rounding out the list after Apple and Lenovo are Toshiba (60), Dell (56), HP/Compaq (53), and Acer/Gateway/eMachines (39). Apple actually did better for desktops than it did for laptops, according to the data. The company scored an 87 out of a possible 100 for its desktop tech support, once again leading its competitors in every category.

Apple's nearest competitor, Dell, was 32 points behind with a score of 55 for desktop tech support.

SmileOnMyMac announced the immediate availability of TextExpander 3.0 for Mac Os X. The new version of the auto-expanding utility for abbreviations and text shortcuts added new search features for locating specific snippets along with a quick entry window for creating new snippets.

Version 3.0 includes the ability to search the snippet database for entries via a menubar search field, and can offer snippet suggestions based on what a user types. A quick entry window is now available so users can create new snippets in any application, the most recently expanded snippet can be edited through a hotkey combination, and snippets can now include multiple blank fields so users can add information on the fly when a snippet expands.

SmileOnMyMac also pulled TextExpander out of System Preferences and turned it into a full application.

According to a recent article on Gizmodo, an iPhone owner sent an email to Steve Jobs asking: "Will the Wi-Fi-only iPad support tethering through my iPhone?" Steve replied with a one word answer: "No."

Assuming this report is accurate, what exactly are the iPad-related implications (beyond the obvious one) of Jobs' answer? In particular, how might it affect which iPad (Wi-Fi-only vs. Wi-Fi + 3G) you should buy?

But wait! Before answering these questions, you may want answers to some more fundamental ones. Questions such as: "What is Internet tethering?"; "Why would I want to use it?"; and "Why has AT&T not yet enabled iPhone Internet tethering?"

One of the default pictures included with the iPhone is a beautiful image of the Earth as seen from space. Unless you weren't paying attention, you saw this picture when you first purchased your iPhone, and you can still view it by going to Settings --> Wallpaper --> Wallpaper; it is the second image provided by Apple. Here is what it looks like as a wallpaper on an iPhone.

If you have ever wondered where this photograph came from, a recent post from Gizmodo sheds some light on the subject, although to get the full story you need to go to some more sources, including this page from the Swiss Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science. Here is a short version.

Whether you’re a seasoned digital photographer or an amateur looking to step up from iPhoto, chances are that Apple’s Aperture software can help you dramatically. Now in its third major iteration, Aperture is easier to use and more powerful than ever.

One of the first major questions that digital photographers of all stripes may have when first confronted with Aperture is, “Why do I need this?” The short answer is that Aperture lets you get a lot more out of your digital photos than you can get with iPhoto.

If you’ve followed the news of App Store rejections over the past couple years, you may have wondered what exactly is engraved upon the stone tablets that govern the terms of Apple's App Store and developing for the iPhone. The trouble is we haven’t been able to tell you, as the agreement itself contains terms that prohibit publicly discussing it. But on Monday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) legally obtained and published a copy of the agreement for the first time.

While EFF draws attention to what it terms “troubling highlights” of the agreement, there isn’t necessarily very much that’s surprising if you’ve been following the iPhone development scene for any amount of time.

On Tuesday, Elgato announced the next generation of its EyeTV Hybrid, shrinking the device’s already diminutive size and adding support for Windows 7 users. With it, users can turn their Macs or PCs into TiVo-like devices; they can watch, record, rewind, and pause live TV, fed through cable (basic analog cable TV and unencrypted digital—Clear QAM—cable) or over-the-air signals (SD and HD) using an antenna. It also includes an FM radio tuner.

The EyeTV Hybrid comes with Elgato’s EyeTV 3 software for the Mac, which provides timed recording for shows, iTunes export for syncing recordings with your iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV, and a year of free TV Guide information (renewal after that is $20). EyeTV’s Smart Series Guide functionality requires the TV Guide subscription. PC users are currently limited to using the device with Windows Media Center.

The new version is currently only available for users in North America and is priced at $150, the same cost as the previous generation.

If you’re buying your first HDTV or an upgrade from a starter set, your new television may deliver a better picture than the one you’re used to. But picking the right HDTV can be confusing, especially when your favorite blue-shirted salesperson may be steering you in a certain direction in hopes of a bigger commission. Or maybe the rep is just misinformed. Whatever the reasons, the environment has encouraged a cavalcade of claims about HDTVs—some of which were true for first-generation sets but have little relevance to today’s buyers, some of remain valid, and some of which were never true.

I’ll highlight some of the most prominent assertions made on the showroom floors of big-box retailers and explain the realities, along with tips and details for buying an HDTV, selecting the best content, hooking up the set at home, and more.

Taking a break from video, this week's Website of the Week focuses on some amazing photos, NOT photoshopped!

Some Amazing Photos, NOT Photoshopped!

Hope you enjoy!

Apple isn't known as an acquisitive company, even when it's sitting on a huge pile of money. So in February, when Apple COO Tim Cook downplayed the notion that Apple's approximately $40 billion in cash reserves could trigger a shopping spree, no one was surprised.

When Apple does buy companies, it's almost always tight lipped about how they'll fit into its strategy. But when you look at Apple's history, some acquisitions stand out in terms of adding important features to existing product lines or opening doors into new markets. Here we offer 10 examples of Apple acquisitions that made their mark.

Microsoft has just released updates to the 2004 and 2008 versions of Microsoft Office. According to the company, the updates, which weigh in at 9.7 MB and 221.5 MB respectively, provide "fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code" as well as improvements to stability and performance.

As with most Mac OS X-related updates, whether from a third party app or a system update, you should consider backing up your data before proceeding. Keep in mind, as you install this update, that right around the corner is Microsoft Office for Mac 2011.

This week on Your Mac Life, sponsored by 1Password, SmileOnMyMac and Circus Ponies - "Olympic Gold, Hype and the iPad!"

Live Video is on Your Mac Life thanks to MacOSG.com! You can watch the show live at this URL:
http://yml.me/macosg

Or you can listen in to the plain old audio feed at:
http://yml.me/x/4243

You can also join the Chat Room that runs during the live show - on the Live Video Feed itself or on the dedicated IRC Server at irc.chat-solutions.org in the #yourmaclife Channel.

Make sure you listen in this and every Wednesday evening from 5:30pm to 8pm PT or from 8:30pm to 11pm ET, for the most fun you'll have listening to your Mac.

Remember iCalShare? The calendar-sharing site—once touted by Steve Jobs during a Macworld Expo keynote—seemed to have vanished for a while, but it’s now back, and even easier to use. iCalShare now provides more than 3,500 free calendars in 40 categories, with its search tool and interface both undergoing improvements in its latest incarnation.

iCalShare lets you create an account and subscribe to any of the calendars generated by its users. The events in calendars to which you’ve subscribed automatically get added to the calendar you maintain in a variety of desktop or Web apps including iCal, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Office. iCalShare takes the drudgery out of manually adding holidays, sports schedules, or academic calendars to your calendaring application.

Macs in the enterprise aren’t just cheaper to manage—they’re a lot cheaper, according to a new survey released today by the Enterprise Desktop Alliance.

Keep in mind that Enterprise Desktop Alliance is a group of software developers who’ve bandied together to deploy and manage Macs in the enterprise. The group surveyed 260 IT administrators in large U.S. companies with both Macs and PCs who are involved in some degree with IT cost calculations. Enterprise Desktop Alliance members include Centrify, Absolute Software, Group Logic, Web Help Desk, and most recently IBM.

The survey found that Macs were cheaper in six of seven computer management categories: troubleshooting, help desk calls, system configuration, user training and supporting infrastructure (servers, networks and printer). Nearly half of the respondents cited software licensing fees as roughly the same for both platforms.

A whopping 65 percent of respondents said it costs less to troubleshoot Macs than PCs, 19 percent said they spent the same on both computers, and only 16 percent said they spent less to manage PCs than Macs. Even more impressive, a majority of the respondents citing the low cost of Macs in nearly all categories said Macs were more than 20 percent cheaper to manage than PCs.

FileMaker Inc. announced the release of FileMaker Pro 11, a major new release of its popular database software for Mac OS X and Windows. It’s available beginning today, along with new versions of FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced, FileMaker Server 11 and FileMaker Server 11 Advanced. It costs $299, with upgrades available for registered users of previous versions.

FileMaker Pro undergoes significant usability enhancements in this new release, enabling you to create charts. You no longer have to export data to Excel or use a third-party plug-in to create bar, pie and other kinds of charts – it’s all built right in.

FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced adds custom user interface menu enhancements and copy/paste and import functions, while FileMaker Server 11 enhances statistics view, adds backup file clones and more. FileMaker Server 11 Advanced removes limits on the number of simultaneous users.

System requirements for FileMaker Pro 11 include Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, G4 867MHz or faster, 2GB RAM, DVD drive.

During last month's Macworld Expo, I did an interview with Jonathan Bradley of Mophie about their Juice Pack Air. I enjoyed the interview and enjoyed using the very stylish external battery case with my iPhone.

Now, after a month of use, I've created the very first YML Video Review of the Mophie Juice Pack Air!

You can watch the video directly by clicking on this link.

Even better, go to the iTunes Store's Podcast section and subscribe to the YML Video feed there. That way, you'll get each and every episode delivered fresh out of the video oven!

A few years ago it was a big deal to find a place that would let you share 1 gigabyte of files.

Things change, though. Bandwidth keeps growing, and the cost of Web storage keeps shrinking. That's good news for people looking to share increasingly large files, be it an HD video recording or an archive of several files that tops out at over a gig.

There are now a handful of free and paid services that make it easy to host these gigantic files and send them to a friend, family member, or business associate.
The key thing to point out here is the individual file size limit. Many storage services will throw gigabytes at you without any real strings attached except for the fact that you cannot upload files larger than a gig. This really isn't a big deal, that is until that first time you need to do it. Below are a handful of sites, both free and paid, that are up to the task.

RealNetworks just screwed us all by settling lawsuits in which it might have lost--but which might also have given some new life to fair use for digital media.

The post-RealDVD world means that unless there's a major change to the law surrounding copy protection, there will never be a legal way to perform legal acts of copying or shifting protected movies, music, and games.

Take it from a guy who has a special E Ticket. The major movie studios can never sue me nor four other individuals ever for a variety of media-moving activities that you and 300 million other Americans could be subject to. It's like a superpower. More on how we got this pass later.

In 2010, as in 2007, the entire technology industry gathered at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, only to have the hot tech news of the week usurped by a smartphone announcement back in the Bay Area. In 2007, it was the announcement of the iPhone at Macworld Expo. This year, Google tried to replicate the experience by calling a media-only event of its own to announce the Nexus One, the first device running the search-engine giant’s Android operating system to be sold directly by Google.

With a new Nexus One in hand, provided on loan from Google, I spent several days using the Nexus One as my only smartphone, and another week with it in one pocket and my iPhone 3GS in another.

How does the Nexus One rate as a smart phone? It’s a really good device. It outdoes the iPhone in a few areas, and its weaknesses show that Apple’s device still has some serious advantages.

Adobe’s Flash, a multimedia plug-in for browsers, has become the flash point—sorry—for the future of video and interactivity on the Web. Apple doesn’t include a version of Flash in the Mobile Safari browser that’s part of the iPhone OS, and doesn’t allow third-party plug-ins for that browser.

Of course, no other handheld operating system platform offers Flash, either, but leave it to Adobe to whip up foment against Apple as a way of getting users to complain to the iPhone maker.

I spoke to Ross Rubin, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for The NPD Group about his Endgadet article, "Why it's Time for an iTunes TV Subscription".

You can listen to the audio file directly by clicking on this link.

Even better, go to the iTunes Store's Podcast section and subscribe to the YML feed there. That way, you'll get each and every episode delivered fresh out of the audio oven!

Apple ran its first iPad commercial during the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The 30-second advertisement shows the tablet computer sitting on an unidentified man's lap as he whisks through the features and functions in veteran style.

Apple's latest computing innovation will hit store shelves on April 3, but the commercial offered a closer look at what Apple CEO Steve Jobs calls "something completely new" and "magical" and "revolutionary." The iPad will start at $499 and lets users browse the web, read and send e-mail, view and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read books, and more.

While Apple's Mac ads choose one particular feature and fire away at the competition, and iPhone ads are basically 30-second tutorials that demonstrate a scenario consumers may experience and show how the product helps, the iPad commercial took a different approach.

It seems like many of the Websites I visit these days request a login. Whether it’s online banking, Twitter, Facebook, or a blog site, everyone wants a username and password.

Agile Web Solution’s 1Password desktop application helps me generate extremely secure passwords for all my sites, stores them away from prying eyes, and enters them for me almost automatically. It also lets me store all my credit card numbers, auto-populates payment forms, and even gives me a secure place where I can store software license keys, encrypted notes and so on. What’s more, 1Password backs everything up to my Dropbox account for safekeeping.

So I have a solution that works great on my Mac. But what about for password-protected sites I come across when browsing on my iPhone? The obvious answer: use the 1Password app for the iPhone and iPod touch.

(Shawn's Comment: And check out the Sneak Peek: 1Password for iPad)

Yet another small controversy is brewing in the iPhone’s App Store. This time it has nothing to do with sex. Rather, Apple has removed all Wi-Fi scanning “stumbler” apps — such as WiFi-Where, WiFiFoFum and yFy Network Finder. These apps allow you to locate free Wi-Fi networks that are in your local area, and have been in the App Store for months (in some cases, years).

Why were they removed? The developer of WiFi-Where posted that, according to Apple, his app was removed because “…There are no published APIs that provide the ability to manipulate the wireless connection or the show level of information regarding the wireless connection as demonstrated in the application….” Or, as stated elsewhere, he was using a “private framework.”

Why is Apple doing this? It remains unclear.