Macgasm

Smartphone cameras now account for 27 percent of all photos and video taken. This is up from 17 percent last year, a near 59 percent increase. It’s no surprise that smartphone-as-a-camera usage is up, but this new Imaging Confluence Study by the NPD Group gives us the details.

Also interesting is the significant percentage of photos that are non-vacation photos. Because smartphone consumers now always have a camera in their pocket, more fleeting precious moments — cats in ties, red solo cups, people of Walmart — are being immortalized than ever before.

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Apple has launched its “12 Days of Christmas” promotion-sale-thingie in Canada and Europe but, oddly, not to American residents (many of whom, ironically, think Canada and Europe are the same thing).

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GoDaddy, the Maxim Magazine of web hosts, is no longer only known as the company that took a time machine back to the 70s to sell their product using dumb women and big boobs; they’re now known as a SOPA supporter… and have paid for it with 72,354 domains that were yanked from their customer list.

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It’s Friday, and that means it’s time to take a look at some awesome apps for each platform: iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS. Today, we’re focusing on timers, conversing in other languages, and finding your files quickly.

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Good news, Canada! Apple is celebrating Boxing Week with sales on iTunes in the Great White North. There are $0.69 CAD songs and $5.99 CAD albums galore! As an American with substantial contact with Canadians, I’m really glad to see my northern neighbors getting some Apple love. I know they often have to pay the “Not-from-the-US tax” for media and electronics. ‘Tis the season for Apple to show some international good will, apparently.

Being so close to Christmas, this is a very good opportunity to gift some of your favorite music to friends and family for a discount. Digital gifts like iTunes music, Audible books, Kindle books, and Steam games have really helped me out a lot in the recent years. Not having to worry about going out shopping, or having to worry about shipping makes giving last minute gifts easy and stress free. What a wonderful time we’re living in where digital goods proliferate so heavily. Merry Christmas to us all!

Voting is now live for the final round of the Original iPhone Film Festival. Head over to originaliphonefilmfest.com to watch all twelve films and vote. Vote by clicking the Facebook Like button below your favorite film (regardless of category). The Grand Prize winner will be announced at the Macworld Expo on January 26. The winner receives a MacBook Air.

The iPhone-created submissions have been narrowed down by industry-level sponsors and judges to a top three in each of four categories — Music Video, Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Branded (think spec commercials). Film festival rules limit filmmakers to shooting only with the iPhone (or iPod touch or iPad), and encourages editing with the iPhone as well (though any post-production software/techniques may be used).

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Apple devices “just work” right out of the box. Every step of the first experience with an Apple computer is designed to teach you how to use it. The iPhone, a candidate for Most Useful Device Ever Invented, only comes pre-loaded with a few applications, but those few are enough to do the trick.

But the best part about the iPhone is that it’s extensible. The Springboard interface and the App Store software business are a perfect match. They’ve made apps more popular than songs in iTunes. Think of that!

The most physical computer ever

iOS imposes the right kinds of constraints. It’s a grid of icons, and we tap, hold and drag them. They’re almost like real objects. By seamlessly linking the software to our fingers, and by traveling with us in our pockets, the iPhone is the most physical computer ever. It’s more like a real, human tool than any computer before it. And thanks to the App Store, it can be endlessly customized to fit our needs.

But we aren’t used to thinking about computers that way. If we forget that the iPhone is a physical tool, it can end up a mess. Too many apps and not enough thought can turn its helpful constraints into a handicap. Does that sound familiar to you?

I’ve spent way too much time solving this problem. Fortunately, now I waste almost no time on my phone, because it’s configured perfectly. Whenever I spring for a new app or need to make an adjustment, the change is minimal, and it follows a plan. Here are the three steps I use to tune my iPhone:

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It’s that time of year when everyone is short on time. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to clone ourselves as easily as it is to clone a Mac? Just throw myself into TDM and make a copy. Then maybe a copy of a copy. I would probably get out of control. The good news is you don’t need a clone of yourself to keep up on all your Apple news from Macgasm. We’ve made it so easy for you with so many options you can choose the method that suits your needs best. Or be extra cautious and do them all!

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