Okay so I’m not one to scrimp on every penny, go looking for the best bargains, or wait until that item I need/want goes on sale. But I do know what the going price is for items I’m shopping for and can see when I’m getting ripped off.

Case in point: Apple 60W MagSafe power adapter for 13.3″ MacBook.

Apple Store¹: $99

BestBuy²: $158.99

Wow, that’s a pretty big bit of profit! I mean, how do they justify a markup of 62%?

I know Apple’s margins on hardware are razor thin, so really, BestBuy is somewhat justified trying to squeeze money from it’s consumers via accessories, but doesn’t Apple do the same? I doubt bringing this to the attention of the BestBuy corp will do anything. Esp as their sister store FutureShop³ has the exact same pricing for the items in question.

So what can I do in this situation besides simply to buy the adapter from the Apple Store (which I did)? If I emailed their PR people would they do anything? Would Apple?

There are plenty of rumors running around right now about a so called ‘iTablet‘¹ and most are probably on the money. Apple, still being run in absentia by Steve Jobs, is going to churn out a new money maker this fall, just in time for the Christmas season.

What if the new device wasn’t just a large iPod Touch/Mac Book hybrid? But rather a new form factor that would push the limit on what we could do in our living rooms.

Imagine a portable Mac that is designed to sit in our house, near the couch. Think of it as an internet tablet that along with some special software would allow for remote controlling of a remote iTunes or AppleTV. (We’ve already seen the AppleTV iPhone app so this isn’t very hard to imagine.)

The tablet would also act as a remote TV, allowing the AppleTV to stream content to it, as well as acting as the controller. In this way, an AppleTV could stream to two TVs, the main TV, and a remote TV, be it a Mac or an iTablet.

Apple would be wise to port iPhone/Touch applications natively to this mini-computer and create similar simple interfaces for controlling remote devices or content. This would change the way the AppleTV and FrontRow’s interfaces work. Either would be able to be controlled by this new device, and instead of the simple menus we know now, we would see instead and iPhone like interface that is much easier to handle.

If Apple were smart, and we all know they are, this device could eventually be used as a giant multi-touch input device for any Mac you care to hook it up to. I don’t think it would bite much in Wacom’s market space but it would be cool to have a nice large multi-touch display that could be used with any Mac.

Now is the time for Apple to do something different than everyone else. Everyone is crying for a tablet or a MID or a Netbook. However I think they can redefine the playing field a little by introducing a simple computer, that one it’s own doesn’t have a whole lot of computing power, but it would embrace and extend the Apply line, thus bringing some needed value to the brand.

With that said, the AppleTV would certainly need a refresh. In fact, it’s been long overdue for one. Wouldn’t it make perfect sense that Apple has been holding back on the new versions until the new tablet is ready? Could we see Jobs return during the summer/fall to an event that introduces a new product along with a refresh of an old friend?

With the sales at the AppStore nearing 1 billion, does it not make sense to get those apps on yet another device, a new market previously unexploited?

No, no, not the new baby, that’s tomorrow!

With many thanks to OWC¹ and a few dollars, my Mac Mini has more long and short term memory! 250 and 2 gigs respectively…

Now to be productive! (After the backup restores… grumble grumble grumble)

A lot has happened since I put this blog on hiatus a couple of years ago. I’ve changed positions at my place of work, I’ve completed a bunch of interesting projects, my wife and I have welcomed our first child into our lives and I’ve been given my freedom!

That’s right, I’m a free agent at the moment and am in the process of scouting out my next opportunity. Until that time comes, I’ll keep everyone updated as to my status here.

In addition, now that I’ve got a little free time on my hands, it’s back to the developmental grindstone. I’ve not had opportunity in the last few years to get anything out of me that wasn’t tied to my employer of record and I’m near to burst with ideas. This website will become home to all of them.

Most notably I’ve become a WordPress fiend and have a bunch of plug-ins I’m writing as we speak. I’ve joined Facebook and have more than a few ideas for applications for their platform. I’ve made a few improvements to my template class now known as tmpl and will be bringing those online shortly. And lastly, but not least(ly), I’ve an iPhone and am geared up to write a few apps for it as well.