Macgasm

Today we’re introducing a new feature here on Macgasm. From time to time we’re going to be including a poll in a hot-topic post that asks you to weigh in on the topic. After a week, approximately, we’re going to write up the results of our findings.

So, here we go.

Last week we asked you if you would pay a subscription fee for Sparrow’s announced Push services in their iOS applications. While we don’t know the price, or how the company plans on releasing the subscription, we do know how you feel about the idea: 82.95 percent of you told us that you will not be paying a subscription fee for Sparrow’s Push email service. The other 17.05 percent of you said that you planned on paying for the service.

Some quick thoughts on the findings

Push email is not all that necessary for a majority of users. While it’s handy, it’s certainly not something that most actually “need” if they find themselves having to pay for it. So, we’re not overly suprised by the findings. Plus, if you really want Push services in your email, you could just head to Apple’s Mail app in iOS. They provide it for free.

Also, in the future, it may make more sense for us to figure out the price point at which people are willing to pay for the service. But, since this is our first Ask and Tell, we’ll have these things figured out in no time flat.

Sometimes a smart cover doesn’t cut it. You’re a powerful executive, and you want people to know that you’re special. That’s why you want this “Leather Agenda” iPad case from Vaja.

It’s designed to attach securely, keep your iPad safe from bumps with its padding, and to stay relatively slim. It is made of leather and has a two-tone design. A snazzy elastic band keeps it closed. This is the pinnacle of classy iPad cases, and you’ll be the envy of everyone in the boardroom.

Better yet, you can completely customize your order to fit your color scheme. If the brown and cream is too drab for you, why not try out Mauve Wine and Galapagos Green? Yes, those are actually colors you can choose. For $220.00 USD, customizability is the least you can ask for. Keep in mind, it will take about twenty days for your custom “Leather Agenda” case to be made and then shipped out. Quality can’t be rushed, you know.

Is this the iPad case of your dreams? Did you find a kickass color combination? Let us know by taking a moment to sound off in the comment section below this post. All you need is a Twitter or Facebook account to log in.

It looks like Google is working on a Chrome iOS browser for Apple’s iPhone and possibly even iPad, according to a recent Macquarie Equities Research Note:

While the key points from Macquarie Equities Research are quite vague on the whole, we can take away that the company believes Google could introduce the browser as soon as Q2 2012. If history is any indicator, getting the browser into Apple’s App Store could take a while. Google Voice took a pretty long time to get approved on the App Store. We should also keep in mind that Apple may be looking to update Safari as well with iOS likely getting an upgrade and announcement at this year’s WWDC conference in June.

I’m not one of those people who claim competition for everything is a great idea, but this time, I have to say, I’m looking forward to whatever Google releases so long as it makes it to the App Store. Safari’s minimalistic approach in iOS, and more specifically on the iPhone, is great, but it’s certainly starting to feel a little bit dated. It’s time the mobile web browser gets some revolutionary attention in the mobile space. I’d love to see what a new approach could bring to the table. I’m not sold that Google will be the one to innovate or even bring the browser to iOS, but I’ll be interested to hear how this plays out nonetheless. The mobile browser needs a new direction, and hopefully someone smarter than I figures that one out, and soon.

I woke up this morning to find a sexy update to the Rdio Mac application. Rdio has updated their Mac application (now version 2.01) to include better fullscreen support, some performance fixes and other boring stuff, but two new additions are pretty nifty. First, Rdio now lets you hit Command-F to open the search field so you can easily narrow down your artists and album searches without using the mouse. Second, Volume settings now save beteween application sessions, meaning that the volume won’t reset every time you close and re-open the Rdio application.

Additionally, the new in browser version of the application is built to look and feel more like the Mac application. Users can also add entire ablums to playlists, as well as some new social features. The OS X version of the application also users 32 percent less processor power, thank goodness.

For those not in the know, Rdio is a music streaming service much like Spotify. Personally I prefer it to Spotify, so I recommend checking it out. Rdio has a free 7 day trial for their streaming service. It’s pretty nifty. The service is available in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Spain, Portugal, and the UK as well as New Zealand.

When the iPad launched, the dumbest of the dumb pundits went off half-cocked about how it is a consumption device that has no use as a creative tool. Clearly, they couldn’t be more wrong. People are using their iPads to make movies, compose music, write novels, and draw great works of art. Wouldn’t it be great if you could use the iPad to paint as well? Well, that is the goal of this capacitive paintbrush.

The Sensu brush is a stylus that works with any capacitive screen (pretty much every touchscreen device sold uses this technology). What makes it special is that once you remove the cap, your stylus is also a paintbrush. No, you’re not dipping it in paint, but you can use it to mimic the strokes and movements you make when painting on a canvas. When you combine this great technology with an app like Paper, you can actually come incredibly close to replicating the painting experience without any of the mess, and a tiny fraction of the cost.

If you want your very own Sensu, you can pick it up from their online store for only $39.99 USD. As it stands, you can only buy it in the US, but international sales are promised to be in the works. [...]

Screw it. You should totally decal up your iPad and iPhone. It’s not every day you can show off that you’re more pirate than ninja. With this nifty and cheap crossbones 3 pack, you can add decals to your iOS devices and MacBook. Let the ninjas in your life know where you stand on this generation’s most hotly contested debate: Pirate or Ninja? I guess you can probably tell where we stand on this issue.

The technology safe decal is made of vinyl and only costs $5.00 USD for 1 White Macbook decal, 1 Black iPad decal, and 1 silver iPhone decal. Decal All the Apple stuff for $5.00.

Autodesk, the fine makes behind apps like AutoCAD, has released 123D Catch for the iPad 2 and 3 today. The free app lets users capture 3D objects in a real environment and then send the images to an AutodDesk server where the object is saved out as a 3D file.

The image, once returned from Autodesk, will actually provide a realistic 360 degree image that users can rotate and zoom in and out from. According to Autodesk, customesr will be able to upload 40 images at a time.

Man, anyone want to do up a 3D Macgasm logo? 123D Catch looks pretty sweet.

We always hear about how terrible Apple is from the fine crazies at Greenpeace, but we never really put it into perspective. The fine folks over at Sortable have done it again with another nifty infographic that tries to answer the age old Greenpeace question: just how green is the iPad exactly?

Check Out The Infographic After The Jump