The Apple Watch Just Got the Perfect Rival: Microsoft’s Band (from WIRED)

If Microsoft wanted to grab a slice of the impending Apple Watch audience, it couldn’t have crafted a better plan than with its just-released Microsoft Band. The company’s first wearable piggybacks off of the style and functions we’re already familiar with in today’s activity trackers. But with nifty features, a more affordable price tag, and a broader potential audience, Microsoft is taking a different approach than Apple and other wearable makers.

via The Apple Watch Just Got the Perfect Rival: Microsoft’s Band | WIRED.

The WWDC Keynote Takeaway

…originality isn’t Apple’s priority. Any attempt to compete with Apple in a space it considers its own will be answered with Apple’s comparable version. Though Apple will advertise these new self-made additions as better, the quality isn’t paramount. The real advantage is that they come pre-installed.

Any attempt to compete with Apple in a space it considers its own will be answered with Apple’s comparable version.

The recent history of mobile is full of examples of third-party apps doing Apple’s version one better and succeeding. Users probably won’t stop using Dropbox or Snapchat on their iPhones, just like they won’t stop using Google Maps. But Apple has never been more relentless at trying to persuade the developers whose loyalty it needs that its deeply integrated collection of PCs, tablets, and smartphones is the most complete, self-contained, usable platform in existence, the one that should be foremost in their minds as they ponder which master to serve first.

via Apple to Developers: We Love You, But We’ll Also Take You Down | Business | WIRED.

Over 2 Billion Served

Image via CrunchBase

Apple’s App Store Downloads Top Two Billion:

“CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced that more than two billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store, the largest applications store in the world. There are now more than 85,000 apps available to the more than 50 million iPhone™ and iPod touch® customers worldwide and over 125,000 developers in Apple‘s iPhone Developer Program.”

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Apple Premieres iTunes 9

Apple Premieres iTunes 9:

“SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today introduced iTunes(R) 9, the latest version of the world’s most popular software application to purchase, manage and play media, packed with innovative features such as iTunes LP, Home Sharing and Genius Mixes,
as well as a redesigned store and improved syncing. iTunes 9 makes it easier than ever to discover, purchase and enjoy your music, movies, TV shows, and apps for iPhone(TM) and iPod touch(R) from Apple’s revolutionary App Store. Plus, Home Sharing now lets you easily transfer songs, movies and TV shows to other computers in your home.”

iPhone 3G S Arrives Today (from Mashable)

I found this fascinating quote today:

Do you know what this new iPhone can do? How is it different than the iPhone 3.0 upgrade? And most of all, should you head to the nearest Apple store and get in line to grab the company’s newest gadget? We explore the answers to these questions and more in a short but comprehensive guide to the iPhone 3G S launch.iPhone 3G S Arrives Today: Here Are the Details, Jun 2009

You should read the whole article.

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Tweets for Today

• 12:41 Liked “Corporate Reception Area or Giant Abstract Living Room? | dornob” ff.im/-1EUF4 #
• 12:42 Liked “Upside down Lightning” ff.im/-1ETEd #
• 12:43 @tinypants You realize, of course, that this canNOT go unchallenged. ^_^ #
• 12:43 You realize, of course, that this canNOT go unchallenged. ^_^ re: ff.im/1EInm #
• 12:43 Liked “The Delicious Life: Strawberries and Cream Stuffed French Toast – End of the Month” ff.im/-1E4Ob #
• 12:44 Liked “Scammer shuffles Apple out of 9,000 iPods” ff.im/-1EU2f #
• 12:44 Liked “Tell If That JPG Image Has Been Altered With JpegSnoop (Windows) | MakeUseOf.com” ff.im/-1EU1l #
• 12:44 Liked “Twittermaven: Who’s your BFF?” ff.im/-1E3Ht #
• 12:45 Liked “Why Facebook has never listened to you and why it should NOT start now:…” ff.im/-1EIWz #
• 13:12 Check this comment out bit.ly/4kFNRk #
• 13:49 RT @mmpow: The Old Republic Introduces Bounty Hunters – tr.im/hFiZ #
• 13:50 RT @retweetradar: Trends: iphone, job and facebook are the top retweeted terms on www.retweetradar.com/ right now. #
• 13:51 RT @wowgame: The Daily Quest: Of Judgemental Paladins, Dual Wielding Death Knights and hungry Hunter pets ow.ly/1fzP #
• 13:51 RT @NASCARgirls: Saturday night was special for Sterling Marlin tinyurl.com/d3wr8j #
• 13:52 RT @ChargedMobi: iPhone 3.0 Software Sneak Peak Event Now Available via iTunes tr.im/hFc4 #
• 13:52 RT @dustinlong: #NASCAR … Robbie Loomis to serve as Elliott Sadler’s crew chief today. Crew chief Kevin Buskirk is sick. #
• 13:54 RT @fredrin: More pics of that Hatsune Miku “The World is Mine” figure: is.gd/oq4R Haven #
• 14:02 RT @NASA: Have you checked out the Apollo 40th anniversary interactive feature? Missions 7 thru 9 are already posted! tr.im/hF6o #
• 14:03 RT @NASA: Photos from Expedition 19 activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on March 21, 2009 have been uploaded to: tinyurl.com/dn3xpz #
• 14:06 RT @techxav: Happy Birthday Twitter!!! #
• 14:07 RT @NASCAR: NASCAR Nationwide Series: Bristol- Race Results – Auto Racing Daily: tinyurl.com/deredl #
• 14:08 RT @wbaustin: #recipes #cooking : Crock Pot BBQ Sandwiches: Crock Pot BBQ Sandwiches 1/2 cup water 1 .. tinyurl.com/ddusrn #
• 14:08 RT @NASA: “Alive Again” by Chicago was this morning’s wakeup music, played for Discovery Commander Lee Archambault. #
• 14:09 RT @davelawrence: Hear the SPIN DAILY MP3’s in the DAVE REPORT for fresh new rock: davelawrenceonline.com. #
• 14:11 RT @NASCAR: Bristol – I just can’t communicate how hard this place is – FOXSports.com: tinyurl.com/dfthyr #
• 14:12 RT @NASCAR: NASCAR should allow ‘madness’ – FOXSports.com: tinyurl.com/dh7ys4 #
• 00:12 Liked “First US Marine Flies F-35 Lightning II: This week, Major Joseph T. “O.D.” Bachmann became the first US…” ff.im/-1FAd2 #
• 00:12 Liked “Re: What Would You Like To Learn About Social Web Development?” ff.im/-1FxO1 #
• 00:13 Liked “ANOTHER SUPER HORNET SAVE: Yet another Super Hornet save. The pilot was able to turn off one engine and…” ff.im/-1FAd4 #
• 00:13 Liked “Battlestar Galactica: Spike And Angel Debate The BSG Finale” ff.im/-1EURc #
• 00:15 Liked “DM Chronicles, Session 12: Blind and Bloodied Dungeon Crawling, Part 1” ff.im/-1FAmu #
• 00:16 Liked “Castle Smasher – Flash Games” ff.im/-1FArR #

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iPhone, please

iPhone by William Hook
If I can’t get an iPhone, I’d at least like a phone with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. An XBox 360 would be nice, too. Already have the flatscreen.

Today’s Tweets 03-13-09

Post from NewsGator.com:

Today’s Tweets

• 08:36 Liked “What does one TRILLION dollars look like?” ff.im/-1rJnC #
• 08:36 Liked “Cute Overload! :)” ff.im/-1rdjS #
• 09:35 Liked “my present for all the Mac users” ff.im/-1rnId #
• 09:35 Liked “Cheeting kitteh sekritly muves « Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures of Cats – I Can Has Cheezburger?” ff.im/-1rvAI #
• 09:43 “Version Update for iPhone & iPod touch Applications Coming Soon” re: ff.im/1s126 #
• 09:43 “Erin Esurance Undertakes a New Mission on the Ice Planet Delta Vega” re: ff.im/1s127 #
• 09:43 “‘The Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009’ will present the band’s most ambitious production yet and will include a… re: ff.im/1s124 #
• 13:22 #lastfm #love Autobots (Album Version) by Steve Jablonsky bit.ly/3gL78Q #
• 13:22 Check this comment out bit.ly/NWTg #
• 13:24 Liked “USS Wisconsin” ff.im/-1sgjc #
• 13:25 Liked “Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009: Discovery’s Timeline” ff.im/-1sdUA #
• 13:26 Liked “Shuttle Launch Live 2009: Discovery Webcast” ff.im/-1sdUz #
• 13:26 Liked “In Between Arrests and Doughnuts…Cops Play Solitaire at Work Just like the Rest of Us” ff.im/-1s6fO #
• 13:27 Liked “Apple – iPod shuffle – VoiceOver. Multiple playlists. 4GB.” ff.im/-1s6pX #
• 13:27 Liked “Countdown to my trip to San Diego! Starting this Saturday and continuing until the following Saturday. Last…” ff.im/-1s3cn #
• 13:30 RT @sportsviews: Latest Challenge: NFL Mock Draft: Who’s No. 1? short.to/23h7 #
• 13:31 RT @retweetradar: Trends: google, iphone and shuffle are the top retweeted terms on www.retweetradar.com/ right now. #
• 13:31 Listening to: Linkin Park – What I’ve Done (Album Version) tinyurl.com/5v5jfc #
• 13:34 Listening to: SpongeBob – The Best Day Ever (Album Version) tinyurl.com/5ngqxh #
• 13:38 Listening to: The Smashing Pumpkins – Doomsday Clock (Album Version) tinyurl.com/bgwkfk #
• 13:41 Listening to: Steve Jablonsky – Arrival To Earth (Album Version) tinyurl.com/asttqo #
• 13:46 Listening to: Cast of Camp Rock – We Rock tinyurl.com/bck36u #
• 13:49 Listening to: Jonas Brothers – Kids of the Future tinyurl.com/5b5rfo #
• 13:53 Listening to: Will Smith – Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head) [Album Version] tinyurl.com/dmxq2j #
• 13:56 “RFS, LLC to Open 21 New Restaurants; Birmingham’s First Dunkin’ Donuts” re: ff.im/1siSE #
• 14:13 @smashingmag Reading ’10 Useful RSS-Tricks and Hacks For WordPress’ tinyurl.com/5jq2pq #
• 14:23 Liked “Last.fm Categorises Your Music with a MultiPlatform Desktop App called Boffin” ff.im/-1sjRA #
• 14:23 Liked “Leaving after walking around the deck of the USS Wisconsin” ff.im/-1sjQM #
• 14:25 Liked “Introducing Boffin: Last.fm’s music knowledge meets your local mp3 collection” ff.im/-1sgHc #
• 14:25 Sounds interesting. I’ll prolly try it later. re: ff.im/1sgHc #
• 23:56 “Mission managers called off Discovery’s launch attempt after detecting a leak of gaseous hydrogen in a line… re: ff.im/1sRKY #
• 00:31 “Will this next campaign be set in the same world you’re using now? Also, can’t wait to see how you pull off… re: ff.im/1sTyj #
• 00:54 “There’s a meeting tonight at MORPC to comment on a draft of a bicycle level-of-service (LOS) map for the… re: ff.im/1sUHf #
• 00:55 Liked “Dinner Tonight: Mahi Mahi with Cilantro Pesto | Serious Eats : Recipes” ff.im/-1sRRM #
• 01:20 Liked “meow” ff.im/-1sUNB #
• 01:21 Liked “TechFuga Updates Its News Aggregator. Now, With Twitter Search! | Trinitude Network” ff.im/-1sUnp #
• 01:22 Thanks for the likes! re: ff.im/1sW3V #
• 01:27 “CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Space shuttle Discovery’s launch to the International… re: ff.im/1sWi0 #

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Today’s Tweets 3-12-09

Post from NewsGator.com:

Today’s Tweets

• 23:36 “Peering into the tumultuous heart of the nearby Perseus galaxy cluster, Hubble discovered a large population of… re: ff.im/1u8RH #
• 00:06 Liked “He Ran Through!” [pic] ff.im/-1u7QR #
• 00:07 Yowza! re: ff.im/1u7Bn #
• 00:07 Liked “That Shuffle sound you hear – it’s Apple in your wallet” ff.im/-1u61d #
• 00:29 “As the exclusive radio partner of the NFL, the Westwood One 2009 NFL broadcast schedule features 57 national… re: ff.im/1ubxL #
• 00:29 “The network’s groundbreaking two-year deal with Cannon, which begins immediately, positions him in front of the… re: ff.im/1ubxK #
• 00:29 “SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly Projected as 1Q’s Top Kids’ Shows; iCarly Nabs Highest-Rated Kids’ Telecast… re: ff.im/1ubxM #
• 01:04 “Nickelodeon Unveils Bigger and Bolder Partnerships and Strategies Highlighted with Special Appearances by… re: ff.im/1ud8d #
• 01:09 “For the entire month, a SpongeBob shop–‘the Happy Place’–featuring SpongeBob apparel, DVDs, music,… re: ff.im/1ud8f #
• 01:09 “Fans Can Now Watch All 12 2008 TNA Pay-Per-View Events, Episodes Of “TNA Impact!” And TNA Home Video Releases… re: ff.im/1ud8e #
• 01:14 “For the entire month, a SpongeBob shop–‘the Happy Place’–featuring SpongeBob apparel, DVDs, music,… re: ff.im/1ud8f #

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New iPod Shuffle Drops Today

Apple Announces Incredible New iPod Shuffle:

“CUPERTINO, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today introduced the all-new iPod(R) shuffle, the world’s smallest music player at nearly half of the size of the previous model, and the first music player that talks to you. The revolutionary new VoiceOver feature enables iPod shuffle to speak your song titles, artists and playlist names. The third generation iPod shuffle is significantly smaller than a AA battery, holds up to 1,000 songs and is easier to use with all of the controls conveniently located on the earphone cord. With the press of a button, you can play, pause, adjust volume, switch playlists and hear the name of the song and artist. iPod shuffle features a gorgeous new aluminum design with a built-in stainless steel clip that makes it ultra-wearable.”