Is it just us or does Fast Company have an odd policy when it comes to deciding who should feature on their cover (and even in their articles)? Sure, we love some of the writing in the magazine but why on earth would a magazine that is supposed to be future focused feature Intel or Nokia as their cover stories?

Apple just released a new range of computers including an upgrade to the iMac which has an edge-to-edge screen, LED backlighting and HD resolution. In this video on Engadget, Apple’s chief designer talks about the thinking behind the new piece of tech.

George Parker is the perpetrator of adscam.typepad.com. Every week he shares his opinions on the advertising world with PSFK.

In his fist speech since major surgery, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has announced that his company wants to get into the digicam market.

Gizmodo reports that the Yelp iPhone app has a special Easter egg program hidden inside of it. Named Monocle, it’s an augmented reality app that is only accessible by shaking the device three times.
After the AR feature is unlocked, icons of Yelp-reviewed establishments will begin to pop-up on your screen, showing locations, ratings, and reviews for restaurants in your surrounding area.
Gearlive has a video demo:

[via Gizmodo]

To all those people who complain about advertising billboards being eyesores and contributing to waste, design company  Artecnica has the solution: recycling the old ads and turning them into something wearable and aesthetically pleasing.
According to designboom.com:
Artecnica has a new collection that has been born out of recycling advertising billboards. impressed by artecnica’s design w/ conscience program, TBWA, the advertising agency for such companies as apple, Adidas and absolute vodka, requested Artecnica to exclusively recycle their large format billboards into products. after a 2-year design process,they are presenting the first two commercial products of the billboard collection.
The first of these products [...]

Google
Experiment rapidly, embrace failure.
Apple
Every aspect of your brand should be as good as the product.
Zipcar
Stop selling products, start selling services.
GOOD Magazine
Set the agenda and let your customers spread the conversation.
Amazon
Identify parts of our business that could be offered as additional services.
Facebook
Create the playground and let your customers define your offering.
Virgin
Think big , think small. Amaze customers with your audacity, please them with your attention to detail and customer service.
Twitter
Stay flexible, allow your audience to dictate how your services or products are used.
IKEA
Take a wider view of the shopping experience, making each step along the path to purchase simpler and, more [...]

Apple stands apart from the competition, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to delivering outstanding experiences through their hardware and software products, as well as their marketing and retail operations. Their focus on delivering convenience, connectivity and simplicity through design is indicative of their shift from a company traditionally serving the creative professional to one that makes products and services for all.
Apple’s iPhone has become a genuinely disruptive piece of technology, causing a number of players in the consumer electronics market to contemplate their relevance and gaming companies to re-evaluate their platforms.
Lesson for Business:
Every aspect of your brand should be as good [...]

We wrote last week about Apple’s efforts to preserve the sanctity of the album through artwork and extras, a move that attempts to synthesize the digital format’s emerging dominance with the holistic listening experience of the past. But what is the future of the album exactly? Is it merely an outmoded concept that speaks more to the artist’s craft than what the audience actually wants to hear (i.e. hit singles divorced of any context that can be easily inserted into personalized playlists)?

We recently wrote about the role of product innovation in brand differentiation, particularly in competing for today’s increasingly  sparse disposable dollar.  Recognizing this reality, Businessweek reports that Honda has appointed Tokanobu Ito, a veteran engineer and head of R&D, to the top spot of president and chief executive officer.
Brands like Apple and Research in Motion (makers of the Blackberry) have experienced success  by merging the business/R&D disciplines into its top posts – Steve Jobs’ involvement in Apple’s product design is well publicized, and RIM’s co-CEO and founder Mike Lazaridis is an engineer.  Both companies have seen their financial performance increase [...]

While online music distribution avenues like Apple’s iTunes have had moderate success in keeping the music industry alive in the wake of the disintegration of CD sales, the new music consumer still prefers downloading the best or most popular tracks off the album, leaving the rest behind. Some music traditionalists and certainly record labels bemoan the death of the physical album as a complete, physical package, and not just for the fatter sales tapes, CDs, and LPs procured for the latter. Beyond the simple fact that stores and labels could charge more for albums, the sentiment persists that there was [...]

Am I the only one who finds it somewhat bizarre that Apple is threatening to sue Microsoft over its “Laptop Hunters” TV campaign? I mean, the “eighty hours a week, and proud of it” mob in Cupertino have been kicking the crap out of Microsoft for years with its “I’m a PC – I’m a Mac” campaign, pointing out the numerous ways a Mac offers significant advances in everything from the operating system, to the applications, to its ease of use. Now apparently, Apple is throwing a hissy fit, ‘cos the Redmond geeks have the temerity to suggest that a [...]

A year after the launch of Apple’s application store, some 56,000 applications are now available for users of the iPhone and iPod Touch. While several commentators wonder when this boom will end, the PSFK team thinks that asking that type of question is a little like asking when the number of websites would stop growing back in 1994. Apps are the new website, no? Some apps are going to be tremendously popular and others will potter along with a few downloads but still keeping their makers’ happy.
Application Store

Apple products always generate the most third-party accessories and often, some of the most bizarre.  The latest iPhone is no exception.  The addition of video in the 3GS enables video mount manufacturers to jump on the bandwagon.  First, there was the hilariously cumbersome and Frankenstein-esque shoulder-mounted video stabilizer created by the experimental folks at Pixel Corps.  The next logical step are the actual products that promise smoother video at the cost of embarrassing accessories that completely defeat the purpose of having a sleek and portable unit like an iPhone.
The Zacuto ZGrip iPhone Pro is a $300 collection of accessories that [...]

Last week, Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanan mused how little iTunes in 2009 has to do with the CD icon we click on to launch it—Apple’s original “Rip. Mix. Burn.” promotional slogan seems so antiquated today. The laptop this very post is being composed on has had its CD-RW drive used only once or twice since it was purchased at the beginning of this summer—perhaps poignantly, a CD placed inside and forgotten was recently removed because of the annoying spinning noise it created every time iTunes was started; the disc was not a medium but an irritation. So Buchanan asked Gizmodo’s [...]