Apple today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April. Beginning a week from today, March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

For the third year in a row Apple has been named the World’s Most Admired Company by Fortune Magazine — this year by the widest margin ever. What makes Apple so admired? Fortune explains: “Product, product, product. This is the company that has changed the way we do everything from consume music to design products to engage with the world around us.” Apple also ranked #1 in Innovation among all companies.

The New York Times caught up with 10 billion song download winner Louie Sulcer and asked him about his prize, a $10,000 iTunes gift card. Says the 71-year-old Sulcer,”I don’t think I’ll have to worry about buying birthday and Christmas presents anytime soon.”

Apple today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over 10 billion songs from the iTunes Store, the world’s most popular online music, TV, and movie store.

“You’re not crazy, and neither are we: The touchscreen on the Apple iPhone really is more responsive than the screens on the BlackBerry Storm, the Motorola Droid, the Nexus One and many other phones, even though all of these devices use essentially the same touch-sensing hardware,” Priya Ganapati reports for Wired.

“Though handset makers buy their touchscreens as components from the same select pool of suppliers, a good touchscreen experience requires more than just hardware. It requires a bit of design alchemy blending software, engineering and calibration for the perfect feel. Few smartphone makers have managed to get that balance right, say experts,” Ganapati reports. “‘If you think that no other touchscreen out there is as good as the iPhone, its not all in your head,’” says Chris Verplaetse, vice president of the Moto Development Group, a product design and development firm. ‘It’s like asking what makes a Mercedes door close like a Mercedes door and a Hyundai door close like one though they use the same steel. There’s clearly a difference.’”
[Read more →]

“Steve Jobs once said that Microsoft stole Windows from Apple, but there has been plenty of idea snatching on both sides over the years,” John Rizzo wrote for InfoWorld last October in an article republished today by Computerworld that’s making the rounds.

Rizzo continues, “Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard each contain features that originated in the other OS. Some features were stolen so long ago that they’ve become part of the computing landscape, and it’s difficult to remember who invented what. Here we give credit to Microsoft where credit is due.”

1. Finder Sidebar: Windows Navigation pane
2. The Mac Path bar: Windows Address bar
3. Back and Forward navigation buttons in folder windows
4. Minimizing to document windows into app icon
5. Screen Sharing: Remote Desktop Connection
6. Time Machine: Backup and Restore (Rizzo admits, “Apple didn’t steal Time Machine from Windows, just the concept of including backup capability with the operating system.”)
7. System Preferences: Control Panel (Rizzo calls Windows’ Control Panel “one convenient place,” thereby proving he’s never used Windows.)
8. ActiveSync and Exchange 2007 support (Rizzo’s run out of “thefts” already.)
9. Command-Tab: Alt-Tab
10. Terminal: Command Prompt

Full article here.

Apple tonight debuted the company’s first iPad commercial during Academy Awards broadcast.

Direct link via YouTube here.