iPad By Davis: “Apple already pays $1 out of every $40 tax dollars the U.S. collects. How much more does the Senate want?” plus 18 more

Apple already pays $1 out of every $40 tax dollars the U.S. collects. How much more does the Senate want?
Candy Crush: Top 10 tips, tricks, and cheats!
Weird iPhone habits: Open slots, default layouts, and ringer switches, oh my...
Curious About Shapes and Colors for iPhone and iPad review: Learn about colors and shapes with everyone's favorite monkey
Ravensword: Shadowlands makes the leap from iOS to the Mac
How to subscribe to an iTunes U course on your iPhone and iPad
U.S. Apple Retail revenues reach new high at $57 per visitor
How to breathe new life into a dying Mac Pro
Inventory List for iPhone review: Manage your stuff simply and easily
Still waiting on an ADN invite? Well third time's the charm! As in 300!
Turkish Prime Minister visits Apple, and others, ahead of a 10.6 million unit order for tablets
Yahoo! buys Tumblr, and the CEO promises not to screw it up
Keeping it in your pants: Top 10 smartphone etiquette tips for a first date
How To Import Instapaper Articles into Pocket
Is 10 million shipped in a month really less disappointing than 5 million sold in three days?
Deal of the Day: 46% off the Incipio FAXION Case for iPhone 5
Samsung taking on the Mac's Retina Display with new 276 PPI panel
Monday Brief: Google I/O, BlackBerry Live, the Lumia 925, iOS getting BBM... and a fond farewell
Go to selected U.S. museums for free with Google's Field Trip

Apple already pays $1 out of every $40 tax dollars the U.S. collects. How much more does the Senate want?

Posted: 20 May 2013 08:00 PM PDT

Apple already pays $1 out of every $40 tax dollars the U.S. collects. How much more does the Senate want?

Tomorrow Tim Cook and the gang head to Washington to have a chat with a Senate committee investigating the possibility of tax avoidance (or evasion, depending on how you look at it) by Apple. Here's what's at stake.

Ahead of the testimony it will be giving before the U.S. Senate tomorrow, Apple (via The Loop) offered up a nicely detailed 17-page PDF document with all sorts of good information inside. The most interesting number is this: Apple pays $1 out of every $40 of income tax collected by the US Treasury. Isn't it incredible to think that one company is responsible for 2.5% of all US income tax collection?

Despite Apple being the single largest US taxpayer, Senators Carl Levin and John McCain are accusing Apple of establishing "the Holy Grail of tax avoidance". You can read the entire argument made by the Senate subcommittee on the Financial Times website.

While this stuff is pretty dry reading for most tech people, I find it interesting because I spent over a decade as a stock analyst and I was always fascinated by how some companies managed to achieve very low tax rates ... using perfectly legal structures.

The U.S. Government's issue with Apple stems from two arguments relating to Apple's arrangements in Ireland, a well known low cost country. Let's see if I can break this whole thing down into something easy to understand.

Here's the first major item as described by Senate:

Apple's cost sharing agreement (CSA) with its offshore affiliates in Ireland is primarily a conduit for shifting billions of dollars in income from the United States to a low tax jurisdiction. From 2009 to 2012, the CSA facilitated the shift of $74 billion in worldwide sales income away from the United States to Ireland where Apple has negotiated a tax rate of less than 2%.

Plain English? The government doesn't like the idea that Apple's Irish subsidiary is treated as a cost center to the US operations, resulting in less US profit and more Irish profit. Apple's comments regarding this structure are pretty compelling. They've had a cost sharing arrangement in place with the Irish subsidiary since 1980. It sounds like the Irish operations are responsible for paying for part of Apple's US-based R&D efforts, and in return it claims ownership of a certain percentage of the intellectual property that comes out of that R&D. Apple says, "These agreements were sanctioned by the US Congress in 1986 and are expressly authorized by US Treasury regulations."

Furthermore, Apple points out that these cost sharing arrangements benefit the US because it keeps high-cost R&D jobs in the domestic market. In Apple's own words, "Some commentators have urged eliminating these types of cost sharing agreements, but doing so would harm American workers and the broader US economy. If cost sharing agreements were no longer available, many US multinational companies would likely move high-paying American R&D jobs overseas."

I don't know how other readers will interpret these documents, but I think Apple presented a much stronger argument.

The second major item the Senate is focused on:

Offshore Entities With No Declared Tax Jurisdiction. Apple has established and directed tens of billions of dollars to at least two Irish affiliates, while claiming neither is a tax resident of any jurisdiction, including its primary offshore holding company, Apple Operations International (AOI), and its primary intellectual property rights recipient, Apple Sales International (ASI). AOI, which has no employees, has no physical presence, is managed and controlled in the United States, and received $30 billion of income between 2009 and 2012, has paid no corporate income tax to any national government for the past five years.

What's this mean? The US government is saying that Apple funnels profits to Irish subsidiaries and then doesn't pay any tax because the Irish subsidiary isn't a US resident, based on US tax law, but isn't an Irish resident either, based on Irish tax law. The suggestion the government is making here is one of, "Well, if you're not a resident of any particular tax jurisdiction, you must be skipping out on taxes!"

Again, Apple puts forth a very straight-forward argument in explaining its setup. Apple Operations International (AOI) is a holding company incorporated in Ireland. Being incorporated in Ireland, that corporation is not a US taxpayer. End of story. It also just so happens that because of Irish law (which probably requires a certain number of employees or physical presence) it is not an Irish taxpayer either. So AOI doesn't pay tax. But that's missing the point. AOI is a holding company. All it does is collect payments from other Apple subsidiaries (payments that have already been taxed) and manage the money from a central location. The money AOI collects in the form of inter-company dividends has already been taxed.

Putting this in simpler terms, let's say you had 3 separate companies in Ireland. Each company makes a profit and pays required taxes. Wouldn't it be simpler to dump all of that money into one holding company so you can manage the investment of this money in an efficient manner? Of course. That's what Apple is doing. Oh, and that money is managed by US people, held in US banks.

The bottom line is the US Senate Subcommittee is bitching about Apple supposedly not paying enough taxes, despite the fact that Apple pays $1 out of every $40 of income tax collected by the US treasury, and despite the fact that the US is responsible for establishing all of the laws that Apple is now abiding by. Furthermore, the Subcommittee is putting its hands where they don't belong. The Irish subsidiary AOI is clearly not a US resident for tax purposes, since it is incorporated in Ireland. That is where the argument should end. It is irrelevant to the US whether or not the Irish government allows Apple to consider this entity a non-resident of Ireland. Maybe Ireland encourages this practise, making it an ideal place to incorporate holding companies. But regardless, it's none of the US Treasury's business so long as it is not a US resident corporation. Newsflash, Senate ... you don't get to control Irish law. You control your own law and the law is pretty clear. If AOI is incorporated in Ireland, it's not a US taxpayer. End of story. Whatever the Iaw says about taxation in Ireland are none of your damn business.

Back in 1999 my father encouraged me to read a book called "The Soverign Individual". As per the Amazon description, "In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries -- the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government."

Today the U.S. government is under pressure to collect more tax revenue. They're fighting information-based global companies like Apple who have organized themselves, legally, in the best interests of shareholders.

This is a battle the U.S. government will lose, and they better start looking at alternative ways to solve their tax revenue problems. Picking a fight with their biggest taxpayer seems utterly stupid.

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Candy Crush: Top 10 tips, tricks, and cheats!

Posted: 20 May 2013 07:12 PM PDT

Candy Crush: Top 10 tips, tricks, and cheats!

How to get extra lives, defeat any level, and crush all the candy you can!

Candy Crush is my not-so secret addiction. It has consumed my days and plagued my nights. I've been crushing so much candy over the last few months, in fact, I've managed to figure out quite a few tips, tricks, and flat out cheats that have helped me beat level after level. And it's time I shared them all with you, the iMore nation!

So here they are, my top 10 ways to beat the candy out of Candy Crush:

Find the patterns. There are things that will make a sprinkle donut hole or special candy effortlessly. Recognizing and repeating them allows you to wipe the board and earn your ticket to the next level faster. I'm always looking for these patterns. I memorize which patterns lead to which special candy and then set them up whenever possible and as needed.

Start at the bottom. Crushing candies on the bottom is better than crushing candies at the top, because candies drop down, creating the potential for a cascade effect that essentially gives you free moves.
Go for the combos. The two best combinations are the wrapped candy and the stripped candy, and the sprinkle donut hole and the stripped candy. Together, they can wipe out over half the board for you. This can also help you get to places which are off the board or otherwise difficult to reach. This is the only way you will get by levels such as 181, which have unreachable squares. Also, a wrapped candy switched with another wrapped candy will ignite a 6 by 4 square which can clear a huge area.

Know your stripe. Candy is stripped in the same direction as the final candy moved to complete the previous formation. If your move a candy horizontally, it will make a horizontal stripe, which will then explode horizontally as well.

Assess your threats. Prioritize getting rid of evil candy by their threat levels. For example, I usually make it a rule to kill low number bombs first, then chocolate, then got after the blocks.
Clearing jellies on the edge. When getting rid of jellies, only worry about the edges, especially the corners and bottoms. These jellies have the least number of combinations which can eliminate them, so will be the hardest to get rid of. Take a moment each move to see if you can get rid edge jellies and, if not, go after an easier one.
Have a plan. Each time you start a new level, look at the hardest element on that level and think out how you can defeat it first before you use up lives. Also, pause between moves. You may have a sprinkle and not even realize it if you're watching the candies from a lesser move get crushed.
Understand chocolate. If you've eaten a piece of chocolate one round, chocolate will not regenerate the following round. This is a great way to keep chocolate at bay. Try to destroy chocolate each round so that it won't regenerate the next. You can clear the entire board of chocolate using this method, though in later levels there is a chocolate maker which will bring them back in vicious fashion. Chocolate will avoid special candy if it can. Chocolate will also not eat a fruit or nut, though it will absorb bombs.

+5 Candy is your friend. Make a candy crush chain with +5 on whatever levels you can. This will add 5 seconds to a time trial level. You can tell if it is a "time trial" level or a "clear the jelly" level based on the small icon in the lower left corner of the start up screen for each level.

Cheat time for extra lives. If you don't use Facebook, there's still a cheat to get you extra lives. Turn the clock on your mobile device ahead 2 hours, and then keep playing to your hearts content. Go to Settings > General> Date & Time > Set Time Off > Set Date and Time > Add two hours forward and get 4 more lives in your game. You will eventually have to pay back the time, but schedule that for when you're sleeping anyway. Remember to change the time from PM to AM if you are going past midnight.

Well, there they are -- my top 10 tips for tricking or flat out cheating at Candy Crush. I'd love to hear how they work for you in the comments, and if you've come across any other great Candy Crush tips, tricks, or cheats, for the sake of my sanity, let me know!

Also, if someone could please tell me what the candy with a check inside it does, I'd really appreciate it? I believe that it always gives a good treat (sprinkle, wrapper fish or stripped candy) when crushed but I really don't know!

Weird iPhone habits: Open slots, default layouts, and ringer switches, oh my...

Posted: 20 May 2013 03:40 PM PDT

Weird iPhone habits: Open slots, default layouts, and ringer switches, oh my...

Smartphones and other mobile technology are very personal devices. Not just that they're something that we have on us all the time, but they're devices that we customize to suit exactly our needs and our needs alone. We get used to how they're set up, and if we're handed somebody else's iPhone, well, we're lost. Just try dealing with somebody who has different Smart Corner settings on their Mac than you - it's maddening.

In customizing the set-ups for our devices we also customize our interactions with them. We develop weird habits and tendencies. Some of us are compulsive about the placement of icons in the launcher, others only want specific things in Notification Center. Sometimes it's about where we put the phone, and sometimes we just don't give a damn about some things that drive others insane.

Upon realizing that I do some weird and obsessive things with my iPhone, I asked the iMore editorial staff what weird things they do, and it turns out, we're weird. But you already knew that.

Keeping a slot open for... - Allyson Kazmucha

Keeping a slot open for...

My main screen on my iPhone and iPad are my most used apps. If I don't use them on a regular basis, they're all put into folders and not allowed to run amuck causing chaos. I don't alphabetize things but they all have to be in correct folders under a descriptive category. My iPhone and iPad also have the same workflow so no matter what device I'm on, I know where to find things.

I'm super picky about Notification Center and what order notifications show up in. Things like email, messages, and Twitter must populate towards the top with lesser important things on the bottom.

My biggest nitpick is ugly icons. If an app has an ugly icon, it goes in a folder, no exceptions. My Home screen must be visually appealing at all times and an ugly icon will throw off that balance. Album art must also be present for everything in my music library or it makes me twitch in cover flow mode. I will literally delete a song from my iPhone if there is no album art.

My weirdest quirk is probably that I need to have at least one empty slot on my first Home screen. I'm not quite sure why but I've done this as long as I can remember. I don't know why it bothers me to have a full page of icons but it does and I must have one free slot on my main page or I feel dirty. Call me weird, I already know I am and I accept it.

Default all the things - Chris Parsons

Default all the things

I have to have my main home screen stock. I do it on all devices except for Android, because Android such a cluster f*** of ugly icons some of it has to be hidden.

Triple-teaming the ringer switch - Derek Kessler

Triple-teaming the ringer switch

I know the ringer switch vibrates when I switch it to silent and doesn't when I flip it to noise. But when switching from silent to ring without looking at the screen, I always have to flip it three times: ring, silent (so it buzzes), and back to ring. Sometimes I do the same thing when switching to silent: silent (buzz), ring, silent (buzz). I don't know why, but it's like I subconsciously don't trust the switch.

I'm a little psychotic about my app organization. The first page is home to the apps I use the most, and those are alphabetically arranged (excepting the dock). The next page is also alphabetically arranged, with my tier of second-most-used apps but not daily or need-quickly apps out and everything else is put into folders which are... alphabetically-arranged and separated. The only exception are my games, which are put into their own folder, yet still alphabetical inside. Reason being: I'm usually looking for a specific app (except for games), not a category of apps, and muscle memory can guide me. And organization, man.

Updates… what updates? - Georgia

Updates… what updates?

The strangest thing about myself and my iPhone is that I rarely let it be far from my side.

So if I have to go somewhere and my outfit has no pockets ill place my phone in the inside of my pant belt so I can keep my previous close at hand.

My phone is also always on silent with no vibration on. So calling me rarely gets a immediate pick up. I started this due to my job as a therapist but then quickly realized that I am more relaxed when I am not hopping for my phone.

I also don't ever update my phones applications unless there is something I really want in the update. Strange part is that I never read what the update so I find things out by people telling me something cool has changed. At one point I had 150 plus updates on my phone.

And no I don't wear my iPhone as a hat, that rumor was a lie.

Weirdos all of you - Leanna Lofte

Weirdos, all of you

Um... I don't do anything weird with my iPhone that I know of. I don't organize my apps... my home screen isn't even that thought out. I could care less how my apps are organized because I just use Spotlight. Spotlight is way faster.

You're all a bunch of freaks.

That like-new look - Peter Cohen

That like-new look

I like to leave the home screen bone stock.

I pile it full of apps on the second page and beyond, but I want my home screen to look like it did when it came out of the box.

Captain Default - Rene Ritchie

Captain Default

I keep my iPhone Home screen stock. What Apple loads, I keep. That's because I switch devices and restore devices a lot. I do add a few apps to the empty spaces, namely Fantastical, the iMore app, and Tweetbot. If I haven't switched or restored in a while, I'll add Launch Center Pro to my dock, because, awesome.

So I may not be Captain Default exactly, but I'm not Mr. Excitement by any means either.

Line it up - Richard Devine

Line it up

I'm absolutely no tidy freak, far from it. Just take a look in my office any given day of the week and you'll see that. But, for whatever reason I am totally OCD about where stuff sits on my desk, especially my iPhone. It has to be in one of the corners, and it has to sit absolutely in line with both straight edges of the desk.

I also put it on something, like a magazine, or some random paper. Because I don't keep it in a case at home -- cases aren't nice in hero shots -- and I absolutely hate the idea of any thing on the desk damaging or just making dirty the back of my phone.

How weird are you?

There you go, we've bared our weirdness to the world, and, well… what weird people we are. It takes some self awareness to realize these oddities, and if there's anything we should be as technology users, it's aware of how we use that tech.

We're all weird, but in our own unique ways. Except for the Captain Default crowd out there, you're just weird together. What weird iPhone habits and compulsions have you picked up over the years? Sound off in the coments.

Curious About Shapes and Colors for iPhone and iPad review: Learn about colors and shapes with everyone's favorite monkey

Posted: 20 May 2013 03:06 PM PDT

Curious About Shapes and Colors is Curious George's newest iPhone and iPad app that helps teach kids about shapes, colors, sorting, tracing, and more. The entire app is narrated and directed by The Man With The Yellow Hat while George cheers you on.

The premise of the game is that you're helping George build toys by putting all the shapes where they belong. There are 5 different toys (or levels) that you help George with. The activities include matching shapes with cutouts, tracing shapes, organizing based on color, and more.

At the end of each level, you get to play with the toy that you helped George built in a little mini game. These include helping a robot with a jetpack collect falling bananas, sorting fish that are various colors and shapes into groups, a traditional Simon Says memory game with a train, shooting arrows (or plungers) at balloons to gather bananas, and controlling an astronaut car on the ground to collect bananas.

The good

Teaches kids about basic shapes like circles, squares, and triangles, as well as more complex shapes like diamonds, ovals, and hexagons
Includes primary and secondary colors, along with varying tones
Introduces pattern recognition and sequencing, and builds skills like sorting, construction, tracing, and coloring
Narrated by "The Man With The Yellow Hat"
Includes fun, short 30 second video
5 different "levels" with fun game at the end of each one
No in-app purchases
Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

The controls for some of the games are a bit difficult for children in the targeted age group

The bottom line

If you have a little kid who likes Curious George, you can't go wrong with Curious About Shapes and Colors for iPhone and iPad. It's well made, does a great job at teaching about shapes and colors, and is just plain fun! It's also designed in a way that can be fun to sit and play with your child -- this is always a plus!

$2.99 - Download now

Ravensword: Shadowlands makes the leap from iOS to the Mac

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:31 PM PDT

RPG fans may be interested to know that the iOS open-world RPG game, Ravensword: Shadowlands, has now made the jump from iOS and is available to play on your Mac. Crescent Moon Games has made the title available to download from the Mac App Store, priced at $12.99. Mobile Nations' own gaming editor, Simon Sage, is a fan of the iOS version:

"If you've ever wanted some rough approximation of the Elder Scrolls games on your iPad, now you have it. Ravensword: Shadowlands is an open world role-playing game with classic progression, strong storyline, and tons of monsters to slay. Shadowlands is a sequel to two-year-old game, and as you can imagine the graphics are significantly improved. Camera shake, dynamic lighting, and well-executed lip syncing with the occasional voice acting the game has to offer. Delightfully absent are any signs of in-app purchases, and the soundtrack is great to boot. Fantasy fans should definitely check out Ravensword: Shadowlands."

By all accounts, the Mac version contains all the same goodness as its iOS counterpart, with some Mac specific enhancements such as realtime shadows and high resolution textures. Grab it now from the Mac App Store, and be sure to tell us what you think of it in the comments. How does it compare to the iOS version?

$12.99 - Download Now

How to subscribe to an iTunes U course on your iPhone and iPad

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:16 PM PDT

How to subscribe to an iTunes U course on your iPhone and iPad

iTunes U offers a wealth of knowledge and for the most part, a lot of it is free. This means you can download courses and lectures on a vast array of topics and subjects without ever having to actually step foot in a classroom. Whether you want to brush up on a topic you've already studied or would like to learn something new, there's something for everyone.

Follow along and we'll walk you through how to subscribe to an iTunes U course directly from your iPhone or iPad.

If you haven't already, you'll need to download the iTunes U app to your iPhone or iPad from the App Store.

Free - Download Now

Launch the iTunes U app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
Tap on the Catalog button in the upper right hand corner.
Here you can browse through all the courses and offerings available as well as search for specific ones. Once you find the one you'd like, tap on its name.
Now tap on the Subscribe button.
To confirm your download, tap on the Get Course button that has now replaced the Subscribe button.
The bookshelf will turn back over to reveal your library and start to download your selected course. Once it's done downloading, you can begin using it.

Since you've subscribed to the course, new sections will download to that course for you to use as soon as they become available.

U.S. Apple Retail revenues reach new high at $57 per visitor

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Apple's U.S Retail Stores top not only the list for highest revenue per square foot, but also revenue per visitor. Asymco's Horace Dediu has been doing his thing crunching the numbers, and the latest quarter shows a 7% increase to $57.6 per visitor, with average revenue per store up to $13 million for the quarter.

Impressive numbers, and it sets Apple at about the double the figure of the next highest, Tiifany and Co. Apple doesn't exactly sell low price goods, but consider how many people pass through the doors each day without buying anything, and it sets it into a little perspective.

What we want to know is, how much have you spent in a single transaction at an Apple Retail Store? Some people must be spending in big numbers, so let us know what you maxed out at!

Source: Asymco

How to breathe new life into a dying Mac Pro

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:59 PM PDT

How to breathe new life into a dying Mac Pro

I'm targeting this at a very select group of readers: those of you, like me, who have Apple's most neglected Mac model. The red-headed stepchild of the Mac family. The Mac Pro. If you're limping along with an ever-aging Mac Pro, what's the best way to get some more life out of the old beast? Let's take a look.

The poor Mac Pro. It looks almost the same as it did when it first was first introduced in 2006, to replace the nearly-identical Power Mac G5. It's languished while other Macs have been refreshed and redesigned, updated with speedier processors, more efficient motherboard designs, and new features like Thunderbolt and USB 3.0.

It's a shame, too, because under the (enormous) hood, the Mac Pro is an impressive beast: workstation-class processors, industrial-strength RAM, four internal hard drive bays and gobs of expansion ports.

Despite all the advances in other Mac models, including the superlative iMac, when it comes to raw CPU benchmarks the Mac Pro remains Apple's highest-performance system. But if you've had yours for more than a couple of years, chances are you're starting to feel the machine's age. Maybe you're seeing a spinning beachball cursor pop up more frequently. Or maybe you're becoming keenly aware of all the hard drive chatter every time you open an application or access your files. Or maybe you've discovered that the graphics card the Mac Pro came with no longer meets minimum system requirements of games or other apps you want to use.

Whatever the case, there are things you can do to get more like out of your Mac Pro. It's limited mostly by your budget, though there are some hard technical limits you'll run into as well.

First off, if you have a first or second generation Mac Pro (identified as "MacPro1,1" and "MacPro2,1" in the System Information app), you're a bit stuck in the past. Neither of those machines has 64-bit EFI firmware, necessary to install Mountain Lion. That means the newest operating system software you'll ever be able to run is Lion, and the newest app software you can run will need to be Lion-compatible.

That's not a show-stopping problem for most people today, but more and more apps are optimized for Mountain Lion and the capabilities introduced therein. What comes after Mountain Lion will get into developers' hands next month at WWDC, and that's going to create further difficulty down the line. So if you haven't already started saving up for a new machine, get cracking, because the time is coming soon to put out old Bessie to pasture.

RAM

All Mac Pros from the 3,1 system onward (introduced in early 2008) don't suffer from this limitation, so they should have some life left in them for a bit longer. But to get them truly optimized for today's environment, you may need to do some tweaking.

One of the first things to consider is RAM. Those 2008 systems shipped stock with 2GB of RAM. By comparison, today's lowest-end Mac model, the $599 Mac mini, ships with 4GB RAM standard. So if you haven't upgraded the RAM, that's the first place to start.

Upgrading RAM on the Mac Pro is easy, but which RAM you need and how it should be installed varies from model to model. Fortunately, Apple has a support page with all the details you'll need. Bottom line is that 4GB should be your bare minimum, but if you can move it up to 8GB or more (depending on what you're doing) that might be wise.

The upper limit on installing RAM on a Mac Pro can be a bit ridiculous - even 2008 models can handle up to 32GB - so the limit on RAM should be governed by your wallet and your needs. Working on huge media files? It may be worth it to make out the Pro with as much memory as you an afford.

Storage

The Mac Pro has four internal SATA hard drive expansion bays. Over time some of us have filled those bays with second, third and fourth drives for increased storage or to build out a speedy internal RAID system. But if one of the drive bays is available, there's another great opportunity to improve performance by installing a Solid State Drive (SSD).

SSDs remain very expensive per gigabyte compared to a conventional hard drive, but the performance difference is stunning. If you have the spare room, you'd be nuts not to consider adding an SSD to your Mac Pro.

SSDs are available from a number of vendors. Speed and size is up to you and your wallet. You'll find that most of them are in 2.5-inch drive form, making them drop-in replacements for laptop hard drives. That means you'll need an adapter to get one to work in the Pro, whose SATA drive bays are designed for 3.5-inch drives instead. (NewerTech sells the AdaptaDrive for $19.99, which enables a 2.5-inch drive to fit in a 3.5-inch drive bay.)

Chances are that unless you're independently wealthy or have a corporate benefactor that can write off the cost, you're going to end up with an SSD that's a lot smaller than the hard disk it's replacing. So it's a smart idea to use that SSD only for specific purposes, like making it the boot volume and keeping only frequently used apps and files on it.

Infrequently used software or files that are mainly used for archival storage should remain on the regular hard drive. But by making the SSD the boot volume, the operating system will load lickety-split, and the OS will also use the SSD for memory swap files, which can be written and read much faster on SSD than a hard disk.

Latter day Mac minis and iMacs sport an option called Fusion Drive, which combines an SSD drive with a conventional hard drive to give you the best of both worlds. You can mimic that capability yourself if you install an SSD in your Mac Pro and use it alongside an existing hard drive. It requires a little work to get there, but the results are great. Step by step instructions for doing so are available from Other World Computing.

Expansion

Don't forget that the Mac Pro has expansion ports. If you haven't touched these yet, now might be a good time to upgrade and add some new functionality.

Your Mac Pro doesn't (and can't) accomodate Thunderbolt at this point, but you can get closer by adding an external Serial ATA (eSATA) expansion card. eSATA is a specialty interface that you find on some hard drives and external RAID arrays built for high performance. You can also bump up the Mac Pro to USB 3.0 by adding an expansion card.

To that end, HighPoint Technologies does a great job of qualifying their products for the Mac Pro. They sell all sorts of specialty expansion cards including SATA, eSATA, mini-SAS (Serial-Attached SCSI), dedicated RAID and RAID caching cards; and two and four-port USB 3.0 cards.

Graphics

If there's one sore point for most of us Mac Pro owners, it's that the device has an industry standard double-height 16x PCIe expansion slot for a graphics card, but Mac-specific graphics cards have remained damnably proprietary, damnably expensive and damnably slow.

Over the years various corners of the Internet have published guides to flashing the ROMs on PC graphics cards to get them to work or applying various other trickery to enable a bone-stock PC card to work on the Mac. All of them are hacks that can easily make the average user very uneasy. I never bothered. But my Mac Pro ran out of graphics gas a while ago; games started coming out that my machine was well within spec to play except for graphics.

The good news is that if you're willing to accept some compromise, you don't need to hack anything to get a PC graphics card to work in a Mac Pro. Since OS X 10.7.5, Mac Pros will work with plain vanilla PC cards that have Nvidia graphics processors on them. Apple's standard graphics drivers now support them.

There are a few limitations. Most notably, your Mac's display will stay black until the desktop or a login window appears. There's no "boot screen" showing an Apple logo. This is because most PC graphics cards lack support for the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) needed to be recognized at startup.

This can make booting into a Windows partition using Boot Camp, using NetBoot or booting off another volume besides the startup volume a little tricky, but if you're on a tight budget and you want to give a big graphics boost to your Mac Pro without paying through the nose, it's probably your best bet. "Asgorath" in the forums at MacRumors has posted a very informative FAQ discussing what works and what doesn't. Definitely check it out before ordering a new graphics card for your Mac Pro.

If you want a fully featured Mac Pro-compatible graphics card and using AMD graphics sounds appealing, it's worth noting that Sapphire Technology has recently introduced the HD 7950 Mac Edition, which uses AMD's GCN architecture. It comes equipped with an HDMI port, two mini DisplayPorts and one Dual-Link DVI port, but be prepared to fork over $434.99 for the privilege.

Keep on Truckin'

As you can see, there's a lot you can do with an aging Mac Pro to get it back on track and humming while Apple replaces it with whatever it's going to be replaced with. With the exception of a few hardware shortcomings, you're limited by your wallet, your definition of practicality and and your imagination.

Inventory List for iPhone review: Manage your stuff simply and easily

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:40 PM PDT

Some of us have a tendency to accumulate a lot more possessions than others. Whether you own a business, have multiple properties, or just have lots of things to keep track of, Inventory List can help. Unlike profesional inventory apps, Inventory List lets you add things and track them in your own way through the use of storage banks and locations.

There are lots of subscription inventory options out there but not all of us need that many features. Inventory List makes a pretty happy medium without being too over the top. The first thing you'll be asked to do is start adding locations and storage banks. Inventory List works as a nested hierarchy in order to keep track of your items with the top most level being a physical geographical location. For many of us this will be home, office, summer home, beach house, or any other location you need to inventory.

After you've created actual places, you can move on to creating locations within that space. For homes, this may be kitchen, bedroom, bathroom while at work it could be storage room, waiting room, or any other space you have a need to inventory items for. You'll also be given one more location spot that is nested so you can drill down to items such as cabinets, storage bins, or something else. I personally found this space better suited for categories instead of locations where I like to break things up into electronics, furniture, or any other category of item I'd like to inventory.

To add an item to Inventory List, you'll have to be drilled down all the way inside a physical location, space, and secondary space. This is one feature I wasn't too crazy about. Some people won't have a need for the secondary space and since categories are already supported when creating items, it seems redundant. A nice option would be for the user to be able to choose whether or not they even need that second location classification within settings and have the ability to disable it.

Once you're drilled down into a list, you can start adding individual items or quantities of a specific item. You can include a name, price, SKU (only if you want), a photo, and additional notes. This item will then be shown inside that list. You can also toggle between locations and individual inventory items on the home menu of Inventory List.

When it comes to syncing your items, Inventory List supports Dropbox sync and CSV export which should help keep active backups of all your items in case you ever needed to restore them or share them with others.

The good

Easy to see icons with quite a few choices which can help visually identify lists and items faster
Much simpler and easier to manage than advanced inventory programs
The drill down of categories helps to keep organization on point

The bad

Secondary location classification isn't always needed and should have a way to be turned off
Dropbox sync was finicky and kept yelling about development mode until it finally went through on the 5th or 6th try

The bottom line

Inventory List is really made for people that have a large amount of items to track such as contractors or property managers. If you're in one of these professions, Inventory List is a must have. It's also great for self employed individuals or those who many have storage units they'd like to keep a better handle on.

iPhone owners who aren't self employed or work with a moving inventory won't find much need for it, but those that haven't yet found a solution they're happy with should definitely give Inventory List a hard look.

$4.99 - Download Now

Still waiting on an ADN invite? Well third time's the charm! As in 300!

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT

Want to try out App.net for free? Here's 200 invitations!

We keep giving away App.net (ADN) invites and you keep gobbling them up faster and faster. The last 200 went in what felt like 2 minutes, so this time we've got 300 to give you. If you're still not familiar with ADN free accounts, they're a great way to try out the many services ADN offers, including the Twitter-like microblogging platform, the better-than-DM messaging service, and the cloud storage offering. ADN is a complex, chocked-full-of-potential service, and it's smart to let people try it out for themselves and get a feel for it before deciding to go all-in on a paid account.

If you're still looking for an invite, hopefully 3rd time will be the charm! And if you're fine, tell your friends. Tell all your friends. But fair warning, they'll go fast. So, if you want want one, grab it now!

https://join.app.net/from/zjvtzwvqxl

By using an invitation, you'll automatically follow iMore. (Since you're here, we're hoping you don't mind, but you can promptly unfollow us if you like, and while we'll be sad, we'll understand!)

You can also find the iMore staff on ADN via accounts below. You should follow us. We'd love to hear what you think!

Turkish Prime Minister visits Apple, and others, ahead of a 10.6 million unit order for tablets

Posted: 20 May 2013 11:09 AM PDT

10.6 million tablets is a whole heck of a lot, and that's the number that the Turkish Prime Minister is talking about purchasing. Recep Erdoğan is visiting the U.S. on a very large shopping spree, and is visiting Microsoft, Google and Apple personally, before splashing the cash.

The visit is part of the FATIH Project, designed to modernize Turkish schools by replacing textbooks and chalkboards with tablets and electronic whiteboards. The whole project is expected to cost in the region of $3billion - $4billion and take 4 years to complete.

Apple of course unveiled their interactive Textbooks back in early 2012, in a definite move to try and change the way we use tablets in education. Apple sells a lot of tablets, tens of millions every quarter, but an order such as this is not to be sniffed at.

Who out there already uses their iPad at school? Are you making use of the textbooks, or just using it as a productivity tool. We'd love to know, so drop a line in the comments below!

via 9to5Mac

Yahoo! buys Tumblr, and the CEO promises not to screw it up

Posted: 20 May 2013 09:59 AM PDT

Having been much rumored in recent days, today came the official announcement that Yahoo! had in fact closed a deal to acquire Tumblr. The deal is reported to be worth a cool $1.1 billion in cash, and CEO Marissa Meyer said her piece:

"We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve. Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster."

As far as opening lines go, that one's right up there. She was of course referring to concerns that Yahoo! might change the Tumblr as we currently know it, and make it more 'corporate' and basically, well, screw it up. Yahoo! gets hold of Tumblr's community, and Tumblr gets a nice injection of cash. Good for both parties then, right?

There were early reports of record numbers taking their Tumblr blogs and high-tailing it over to rival blogging platform, Wordpress. But, in reality, the numbers talked about -- 72,000 in one hour -- barely register in the grand scheme of things.

So, Tumblr users, are you concerned about the future of your favorite blogging platform? If so, why? Where else would you go? Not at all concerned? Let us know too!

Source: Yahoo!, CNET

Keeping it in your pants: Top 10 smartphone etiquette tips for a first date

Posted: 20 May 2013 09:32 AM PDT

ZEN & TECH is one of the many popular podcasts that Mobile Nations produces on a regular basis. Here's ZEN & TECH's host, Georgia, dropping in with some helpful tips that all iMore readers should know. Enjoy!

We're geeks. We get it. Our phones, be they Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, or Windows Phone, are among the most important things in our lives. We use them for everything, all the time. But in some situations our phones can get in the way, like on a first date. So, from one geek to another, I'm going to share ten basic tips on how to keep your smartphone from ruining a potentially great new relationship... by keeping it in your pants!

Here are the bullet points, watch the video for the details!

Don't use your phone during a first date. Your attention should be on the person you're with, not the device in your hand.
Turn your ringer off. Turn vibration off. Turn notifications off. Go into bedside mode, do not disturb mode, or whatever it takes to keep your phone quiet.
Turning your phone away isn't as good as putting it away. Really, it has to be out of sight to be out of mind.
If you're expecting an emergency call, be upfront about it. Knowing really is half the battle.
$#!+ happens. If you forget to turn your phone off and it goes off, apologize, put it away, and get back to your date.
If your date leaves the area, that's not an excuse to jump back to your phone. If you do decide to text your friend, make sure you don't get caught.
And don't post anything to a public social network your date might see, especially not without their consent.
If your date leaves their phone behind, that's also not an invitation to start snooping. Take a deep breath and leave their phone alone.
Pay attention to your date. Keep eye contact. Use their name. Make sure they feel like the most important person in the room.
Know when to break the rules. If your date wants a picture, to bump phones for contacts, to set up a second date, then do it!

There they are, my tips for how to have a great, phone-free first date. I'd love to hear your tips too, so hit up the comments and tell me what you think! (Especially if you have any juicy phone-related dating stories to share!!)

How To Import Instapaper Articles into Pocket

Posted: 20 May 2013 09:21 AM PDT

Pocket and Instapaper are two excellent read-it-later apps / services for the iPad, iOS and beyond. I've used both services for years, but for the last year or so I've been using Pocket a lot more than Instapaper.

So a tip on how to import Instapaper articles into Pocket, from Whitson Gordon at Lifehacker, caught my eye this morning. Since Pocket is the app I look at regularly, it seems a fine idea to pull my Instapaper saved articles into it. And it's super easy to do. Here's a few things to be aware of before starting:

– Instapaper export note: If you have more than 2,000 articles, only the most recent 2,000 will be included.

– Pocket Import Note: Instapaper's export does not provide a list of what items you have 'liked' or 'favorited'. As a result, your 'liked' items have been imported into your Pocket archive but will...

Read the whole entry... »