Apple’s Friend Bar, Friend Line and iStore is all we need

商業周刊---Apple iPad推動無紙化辦公進(流)程(與會議)，並可增進辦公效率

iTVPad

Russians are not to be left out of the iPad hype and until they get one, here’s an alternative I’m quite jealous of. It’s a set of plastic covers and decals to turn your flat screen into a giant iPad called the iTVPad. I want, no I MUST have this. If anything, it’ll be a great way to dress up an old flat screen I have sitting in the closet. Yes friends, it has a whopping 800×600 resolution, even less than the iPad.

On the iPad, finger painting goes digital

(CNN) -- At 3 million sold, the Apple iPad seems to be swallowing traditional books, magazines and now finger painting. Actually, it's less a takeover than an evolution of our kindergarten practices.

Artist David Kassan has the internet going nuts with his new iPad art video. Recorded over the course of three hours, Kassan does an amazing painting of an older, bearded model using his thumb and forefinger. The session is compressed into eight minutes, and the results are fabulous. It's racked up about 580,000 views in a week.

Mainstream artists have been getting touchy-feely with their tech devices lately. For instance, a year ago The New Yorker commissioned Jorge Colombo to make its June 1, 2009, issue on the Apple iPhone. The result was an iconic New York hot dog vendor scene, and it proved popular enough for Colombo to do more New Yorker covers with the iPhone later in the summer.

Besides Apple, the commonality here is Brushes, a fairly cheap finger painting program for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Created by Steve Sprang, the iPhone/iPod Touch Brushes ran for a few dollars and became a bestseller. Apple gave Sprang early access to the iPad so the program could be featured as one of the device's launch titles. In fact, he became one of the main presenters at the big iPad announcement in March. The iPad version of Brushes costs a bit more now, $7.99, but it offers additional tools, a wider palette and, of course, a much larger screen.

What is fascinating is how earlier popular videos, like using iPhone Brushes to draw a sumptuous eye or a bulbous cameo, look as impressive as the iPad Brushes with a beautiful cartoon octopus or, well, doodles.

And now, in perhaps a natural evolution, Ten One Design announced a "pressure-sensitive" iPad app that will allow artists to use a wand to draw and sketch like a real pencil. The question is, How long will it be before kids are replacing watercolors and crayons with tablets and wands?

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Damon Brown.

AmpliTube for iPad available, Yngwie Malmsteen en route to Apple Store

Just a quick note for all of you virtual amping enthusiasts: IK Multimedia has announced that the AmpliTube is now available for iPad. As you'd expect, it works with your iRig hardware and the UI seems benefit from the extra screen real estate (let's be honest -- twiddling all those knobs and stomp boxes on the iPod Touch was a little bit much for us to take). It comes in two flavors: free (three effects, one amp, one cab, two mics) or $20 (11 effects, five amps and cabs, two mics). Either way it's cheaper than spending $350 for the OS X version. PR after the break.

iPad-toting Syte Shirt redefines 'multitasking'

Disgusted with Apple's refusal to bestow honest-to-goodness backgrounding to the iPad, even though the (presumably) weaker iPhone 4 has been doing it for weeks? You aren't alone. Syte Shirt, a new startup with a vision to change the world in a way you've never even dreamed of, has just announced its first product: the iPad-toting shirt that you're undoubtedly gawking at above. This pre-shrunk heavyweight cotton tee sports a slit on the inside for sliding your tablet into, and there's a window on the front that enables the wearer (or anyone else, for that matter) to fully interact with the tablet without you having to disrobe. Imagine that! Heck, there are even ports for accessing the dock connector and the 3.5mm headphone jack, which certainly helps to justify the otherwise unconscionable $49.95 to $54.95 price tag. Right? Right?

Syte Shirt holds your iPad