Every day, I look for the latest rumors or reports about the iPad 3. I never have to look too far – Techmeme features a story or two about it daily. Some new rumor, video, leaked photo, description, or speculated feature pops up from reliable sources who talk about the device as if it’s going to change the world. Maybe it will. In many ways, it already has. Today as I sorted through the latest barrage of buzz surrounding the mythical creature, I realized that it’s just not that important. In many ways, it’s an obsession that certain people (myself included) have turned into a part of our daily journalistic…

Simplifying life has been an unofficial mantra of Apple for years and their marketing ha proven to be effective in portraying this to people. Their latest marketing push for “iCloud Harmony” highlights the ability of various devices to sync with the iPhone. Is this technology really worthy of Apple marketing? Perhaps I’m a snob but this is something that I’ve come to expect with mobile devices. I have all 3 mobile operating systems in my pocket at any given time and both Android and Windows 7 allow me to take photos from them and have them on my computer and tablets, just as Apple is promoting with iCloud….

Some have said he’s the greatest villain of all time in movies. Other say he was more likeable than the protagonists. He exudes power, authority, and an oddly-righteous evil that only Darth Vader can pull off. He also has some great dance moves, apparently. Warning: watching these videos may ruin portions of your childhood memories. …

Climate change has been a hot topic on land and in the air for some time now. We have data that tells us what’s happening. We have images of polar bears stuck on drifting ice that melted to a nub. We can feel the heat (and cold), smell the quality of the air, and see the statistics that show us something is going awry in nature. We have only been able to skim the surface for the most part when it comes to the seas. The Catlin Seaview Survey seeks to change that. With the help of Google, the organizations wants to establish a 360 degree panoramic vision of the full 2400km stretch of the Great Barrier Reff and Coral…

Microsoft may be trying (and failing) to slow Google’s emergence into business productivity with their Google Apps for Business, but Google is heading in the other direction by demonstrating that they may just have the technology end of it figured out. That’s been the complaint of Microsoft, but Google insists that their products can be just as slick. Their latest marketing video for business apps highlights the reason that some (not many yet, but some) are switching from traditional Microsoft products to the more-collaborative Google variations. Whether they can be robust enough for business…

It may not be the first time Microsoft has tried to use humor and aggressive attacks to go after Google, but this time it hits a little closer to home than they’ve done in the past. In attacking Google Apps as a work productivity tool, Microsoft invokes Wave, Gears, and Buzz as examples of how Google has completely abandoned projects in the recent past. This time, they’re going to try to help this particular Google product out the door before it can be successfully integrated into business. Playing on the word, “moonlighting”, this video tries to point out that Google Apps aren’t ready for the business…

When we first covered Ericsson’s Networked Society Project, we called it beautiful and terrifying. Their latest video shows that beauty can prevail when technology inserts itself into our lives with positive motives in mind. The concept centers around Information and Communication Technology (ICT). As cities continue to grow at a rate of 200,000 new people born into or moving to an urban area every day, ITC integration is essential. Thankfully, the technology is growing just as quickly, if not faster. It isn’t just about people having access to information. It’s about the city itself having…

The long hair. The mustache. The lack of a turtle neck. 32 years ago, Steve Jobs gave a presentation that wasn’t like the ones he has been famous for the last decade and a half but there are definitely flashes of the bravado and intellect that made him an icon. The video, gifted to the Computer History Museum by Regis McKenna, helps to bring humanity to a man that many view as super-human. The 23-minute clip is grainy and raw, nothing like the amazing videos that he has helped to create in recent years. It’s a metaphor of the man as he was then compared to what he eventually became. …

Speed is relative. Internet speed is extremely relative, which is why Verizon has been touting the impressive speeds that their network is providing to users. The problem is that they may not be spreading the message as well as they would if they simply came out and gave us real numbers. That’s been the complaint about their advertising for a while now, and Saturday Night Live is right there to express our concerns. How much faster is it than 3G? Where is the network strong and where is it still being developed? These questions and others are beautifully dodged by the SNL team in their recent satirical…

For the last three of decades, Apple has separated itself from the various competitors through company culture, innovative technologies, and stellar marketing efforts. They have built a passionate community around their products based upon a lifestyle-promise – owning an Apple makes the savvy buyer “special” in some way. This is true with their design concepts as well. Even during the clunky technology days of the 80s, their devices held a certain elegance that gave them appeal over the competition. The tradition of clean, understated simplicity continues today with each new product or…