Last year I managed quite a detailed post about 2009, which although worthwhile, took me a long time to do, and I’m not about to repeat this year. However, a short recap of the year that was 2010 is something I want to do, so do join me below on a whistle-stop tour… Highlights Where do I start? It was an incredible year, which I could never even dream of completing without the wonderful support and love of Kate who is the person who keeps me sane, listens, encourages, chastises, and questions. How she puts up with me, I have no idea

Apple once again proved they were (and still are) the force in our digital lives. From OSX, to the new MacBookAirs, to the iPhone4 and of course the iPad, no other brand comes close to making my live more fun, productive and effective. Just for one minute, imagine being in the engineering / marketing / sales / management department of Microsoft, Nokia, et al. Not a happy place to be when you are getting crushed by the design, simplicity and effectiveness of Apple. 2010 was the year I got fit, and I cannot tell you how good it makes you feel. It makes a HUGE difference in everything you do. How did I do this? Cycling. I am officially addicted! You can check out my cycling stats below, all recorded with my trusty Garmin…

Rapha and Assos were the dominant brands for me, and the Enigma bikes have continued to be brilliant. Hull Digital continued to grow, and more importantly, HDLive, Hull and East Yorkshire’s Digital and Technology conference happened again with the most amazing feedback from speakers and attendees. It takes nearly 10 months to organise the event, and to hear, read and listen to people raving about the day makes it all worthwhile, and you can listen and watch below! What the speakers and public thought about HD Live 2010 from Hull Digital on Vimeo. All the speaker videos are available to watch here in glorious HD! >> Click! 2010 proved to be an exciting, fun and very successful year for theappleofmyi, with the emphasis on fun! The biggest change, and the most rewarding was setting up Hull Apps with the legendary John Connolly. I cannot thank him enough for being a brilliant business partner, but also a superb friend – seriously, thanks mate
Both Hull Apps and theappleofmyi have had some wonderful new clients, who, without exception are now good friends. I’d also like to thank them for putting faith in me / John and importantly, for making the working part of the relationship easy and fun! Other work highlights have been the radio slots on BBC Radio Humberside and Lincolnshire, speaking at the DPA Conference in Brighton, and also being featured on the FreeAgent web site! For those of you who don’t know what FreeAgent is, it is accounting for individuals and businesses, but simplified! I don’t say this lightly, but it has transformed the way I run my business, making it more efficient, more profitable and more fun. If you are using some clunky old accounting package, then do yourself a big favour and click below now!

So what does 2011 have in store? There are a number of very important things that I already have in mind… 1. Be a better partner to Kate (let’s face it, there is always room for improvement)
2. Continue to cycle, get the miles in and get super-fit 3. Keep going with the healthy diet (I’ve just started the Four Hour Body diet courtesy of Mr Tim Ferriss). Diet is one of many things Tim covers in his new book and having managed to have a good preview of it, you should order it now >> click! 4. Deliver another amazing HDLive event 5. Continue to give exemplary service, and effective ideas to the clients 6. Update all my web properties 7. Continue to get out of bed looking forward to the day ahead! 8. See more of my lovely family, who have continued to be so supportive 9. Spend less on general cr*p 10. Focus on productivity, decluttering the house and making the most of the seconds, minutes and hours in the day – the most valuable commodity we possess! So there you have it. It was a whirlwind tour of 2010, but probably longer than initially anticipated! I really look forward to hearing about what you’re planning in 2011, and I’d like to say a very Happy New Year to you! Just make sure you are doing stuff you love, and don’t let fears get in the way of your dreams!

Related posts:Twitter 2010 Review It’s certainly been another huge year for the microblogging company.... Getty Images 2010 year in review This is a lovely 2 minute slideshow of some amazing... HDLive09 videos starting tomorrow I’m pleased to say that I’m starting to post the...

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JonnyMoss

Beautiful, elegant, easy and intuitive.

It has got to be said, the iPhone 4′s Retina display really is something. Crisp, colourful and makes reading, viewing pictures and of course video, a real pleasure. You get used to it pretty quickly, but when you look at a different phone, you notice how awful it looks in comparison. They are highlighting this feature in their latest advert:

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JonnyMoss

Very impressed with the iPhone 4 camera and the Cam plus app.

JonnyMoss

Could you live with something you use, every day, for hours looking hideous? Nope. Neither could I.

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JonnyMoss

Nicely done as always. 15 days to go

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Ok, Im getting excited, and here in the Uk, we don’t even know when we’re getting them! (well, I’ve heard a few rumours, but that’s another story). The iPad reviews and videos are coming in thick and fast now, with the tech / digital / gadget royalty getting their hands on them in the US prior to the public Saturday launch. (Lucky beggars). Here’s a brief unboxing / unpacking video from Mr Fry – I think he was getting rather excited!

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Apple's corporate headquarters, PR megamachine and primary customer base are in the US. Their products, on the other hand, come directly from Chinese hardware manufacturers. Like Apple, they're good at keeping secrets. Unlike Apple, they're sometimes violent about it.In writing an exposé on Apple's supply chain, Reuters' reporters fleshed out what we already know: There's an immense pressure on companies under contract with Apple not to leak any information about forthcoming products; said companies have shady labor histories; working for one of these companies frankly sounds terrifying. We touched on these problems when Foxconn was accused of driving an employee to suicide over an iPhone prototype leak last year, but at the time, our picture of Foxconn was patched together from a pile of second and third-hand reports, conflicting local news stories, and PR spin. To date, there hasn't been a better illustration of the problem than this

Tipped by a worker outside the Longhua complex that a nearby Foxconn plant was manufacturing parts for Apple too, our correspondent hopped in a taxi for a visit to the facility in Guanlan, which makes products for a range of companies. As he stood on the public road taking photos of the front gate and security checkpoint, a guard shouted. The reporter continued snapping photos before jumping into a waiting taxi. The guard blocked the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop, threatening to strip him of his taxi license. The correspondent got out and insisted he was within his rights as he was on the main road. The guard grabbed his arm. A second guard ran over, and with a crowd of Foxconn workers watching, they tried dragging him into the factory. The reporter asked to be let go. When that didn't happen, he jerked himself free and started walking off. The older guard kicked him in the leg, while the second threatened to hit him again if he moved. A few minutes later, a Foxconn security car came along but the reporter refused to board it. He called the police instead. After the authorities arrived and mediated, the guards apologized and the matter was settled. The reporter left without filing a complaint, though the police gave him the option of doing so. "You're free to do what you want," the policeman explained, "But this is Foxconn and they have a special status here. Please understand."

So, let's get this straight: If you, a reporter, take pictures of the outside of a Foxconn factory, you can dragged, kicked, threatened, and reminded of how ominously "special" Foxconn's relationship with Apple makes them. (PS: Omigod, have you heard about the new iPad!?) For Apple, this could mean two things: That they long ago entered into business with a company that's predisposed to violent enforcement of security policy; or that their extreme demands for secrecy, and extreme value to Foxconn, have driven the company to become this way. In neither situation can you call Apple the culprit. In both, though, they're at the very least silently complicit. [Reuters via Business Insider]

MacBooks bought between 2006 and 2007 could be eligible for a free hard drive replacement, with Apple dodging a guilty admission, stating that "a very small percentage...may fail under certain conditions." If you own a white or black MacBook bought between 2006 and 2007, with either a 1.83GHz, 3Ghz, or 2.16GHz processor and 60GB, 80GB, 100GB, 120GB or 160GB, you may be in luck. Or out of luck—as you have to prove the hard drive actually has failed. The offer is open until August the 15th of this year, or three years after the MacBook was purchased. Now all Apple has to do is address the faulty iMac problem, and we're gold. Oh, and these eight issues with the iPad...[Reg Hardware]

Image credit: TheYoungThousands

Patently Apple has sniffed out the latest, and most comprehensive, trademark registration acquired by Apple on the subject of the iPhone and we thought we'd have a peek. Already entitled to use the brand name under international categories 9 (mobile phone and digital audio player) and 38 (electronic data-transmitting device), Apple has now added category 28, which reads shortly and sweetly as a 'handheld unit for playing electronic games.' Before you freak out and start fusing this into your iPhone 4G fantasies, note that Apple filed the claim for this trademark way back in December 2007. So nothing necessarily new on the tech front, but this document provides the broadest brand protection yet -- including the bitten apple graphic alongside the name -- and could strengthen Cupertino's case in its forthcoming battle for the iPad moniker.Apple locks down iPhone trademark, includes 'electronic games' category originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink TiPb, Patently Apple  |  USPTO  | Email this | Comments

We're not sure who it is that Apple uses to do its currency conversions, but they don't set a very friendly rate. And that may be bad news for iPad prices - when we get them (updated)(Click the image to see the US pricing for comparison)After a nailbiting few minutes when the Apple Store (online) went down earlier today, and a few people prayed that either Apple would release new MacBooks and/or MacBook Pros and/or prices in the UK for the iPad, it came back instead with Aperture 3.In other words, no price yet for the iPad. But don't go away - there is a story here. Besides the app for professional photographers who want to spruce up their photos. ("With more than 200 new features and enhancements, Aperture 3 is the perfect choice if you're ready to take your photography to the next level." OK, that's nice.)Let's head over to the US store and see how it's priced. Ooh, looky, $199 for the full version, or $99 for the upgrade.And in the UK? The price of the full version is £169, or for the upgrade it's £79. Though of course those are the "international English" versions.How does that work, exactly? What is it about the "international English" versions that mean that they have to cost extra?First, there's the question of how much extra. First, take off VAT at 17.5%: that gives you prices of £144 and £67.Now, the US exchange rate presently says that $1 = £0.603. On that basis, prices of $199 and $99 would translate to £120 and £59.72 respectively. (Please, commenters, don't give us "oh, Apple is hedging against currency fluctuations" as a reason. For the dollar to reach a level where $199 = £144, [corrected] the dollar would have to hit £1 = $1.38 [corrected], which it last hit some time in 1985. And any economist will tell you that the pound is far more likely than the dollar to weaken over the next year* (which would mean that you would get more fewer [thanks, @nomster in comments] dollars per pound; in other words, the exchange rate would move more towards $1 = £2 than towards parity).So clearly we're on the wrong side of this calculation - by a factor of between 18%-20%. (That is, you translate from US$ to UK£ at the exchange rate, and then add 20%, and then add VAT.)First, we can note that this continues the absurd practice by which US companies price stuff in the UK at prices which don't make any sense. (See stories on Apple and Adobe passim.)But secondly it tells us something about what iPad prices might be like. You'll recall that Macworld had a stab at those a while back. It said: "A good rule of thumb is to take the US price, convert it to the UK price using the daily exchange rate, add on the 17.5 per cent VAT, then add on another 7 per cent or so (Steve Jobs said during the iPhone launch that this was simply because "it's just a bit more expensive to do business here… store stuff, ship stuff around".)"However, we've found a better rule of thumb is to take a product on the US store that matches the US price you're looking at, then find the same product on the UK store and see how much it is."OK, but we now prefer to try this "add 20%" rule of thumb. And on that basis the prices for the iPad become...US:Wi-Fi only: 16GB: $499; 32GB: $599; 64GB: $699.Wi-Fi + 3G: 16GB: $629; 32GB: $729; 64GB: $829.OK, so exchanging dollars into pounds ($1 = £.603), adding on the 20%, and then the 17.5% VAT we get:UK:Wi-Fi only: 16GB: £424; 32GB: £509; 32GB: £594. (Guardian estimate.)(Macworld estimate: £388, £510, £591)Wi-Fi + 3G: 16GB: £534; 32GB: £619; 64GB: £705. (Guardian estimate.)(Macworld estimate: £490, £612, £693)Is it just me, or are those a bit eye-watering? It's certainly going to be a lot better for sales if the prices are closer to - or even lower than - the Macworld prices than those ones.What would help a lot, of course, would be if Apple would get on and announce the prices for the UK. But so far it's shown no inclination to do so. Nor, of course, to announce upgraded laptops - despite them being overdue according to the Macrumors buyer's guide (in time order to help the impatient). Oh well.* go and read up about it if you likeAppleiPadCharles Arthurguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The rumor that Apple is building its own search engine "isn't credible," according to a source familiar with Apple's operations.Our source tells us "there's too many options" for search on the market, so there's no reason for Apple to build its own search engine. Another reason Apple might not want to build its own search engine: It's getting over $100 million a year from Google in its revenue share deal, according to our source. For Apple, that's not a lot of money. But, it's enough that it doesn't make sense for Apple to put considerable resources towards building its own Internet search engine. And, if Apple wanted more money or options, there's Microsoft — with Bing and a big checkbook. While Apple isn't going to stomp into search, Apple's deals with Google have become more contentious lately, as the companies are increasingly competing with each other. Our source tells us when Apple first introduced the iPhone, it hammered out its deal for Google Maps in two weeks. When Apple prepared to launch the iPhone 3G with GPS a year later, it was a six-month process "full of acrimony" to get the maps deal finished. Google wanted access to all sorts of data from the maps, but Apple didn't want to give it up, according to this person.

An interview with a Microsoft Senior Product Manager opened the door to rumors of an iPad version of Microsoft's Office suite. Let's keep in mind though that the fellow just vaguely hinted that Microsoft is looking into this idea. When asked if Microsoft would be considering an iPad version of Office, Mike Tedesco, Senior Product Manager for WindowsBU explained:

Yeah, it's something that we're looking at. Obviously the announcement (of the iPad) is really fresh and there's nothing to announce or nothing that I can talk to you about today.

Just because Microsoft is "looking at" something doesn't guarantee a product, but I'm still crossing my fingers and hoping that I'll be able to poke that annoying paperclip on an iPad. [T3 via Techmeme]

$1 TV shows, down from $2: sounds like a great plan, but is it real? The FT seems to think so, claiming that the changes will hit the iTunes store at the end of April, corresponding with the iPad launch.Apple's current pricing scheme puts most SD TV content at $2 an episode, with HD content coming at a $1 premium. The new plan would likely just move the pricing levels down by a dollar and be done with it. (It would also go a long way to expanding Apple's vision of a digital media dysutopia: In the future, man will feed iTunes one (1) dollar, for which he will be granted a single unit of Apple-Approved Digital entertainment. </scifi>) But the FT doesn't stop there: They also claim that Apple is still actively pursuing a $30 "best of TV" subscription service, which would roll selected content into a bundle, for which users would pay a monthly fee, and that Apple is being careful to avoid linking the Apple TV to discussions about either proposal, because the prospect of people watching downloaded TV on their actual televisions is apparently terrifying to content providers, for some reason. Ha, could Apple care any less about that poor box? So, how would this actually go down? I'd wager that a limited first wave of $1 shows will serve as a sort of pilot program. Once, or if, these shows make up their price decrease with larger download volume, it'll be much easier to convince the rest of the content providers to go along with the new scheme. Got a better theory? Throw it in the comments. [Financial Times]

The iMac's notorious flickering problem has been solved through a firmware update. And after a few weeks' hiatus, Apple has continued shipping 27-inch iMacs. This may be it.Can You Safely Buy a New iMac Yet? Nope, but you might be able to next week. Why? There are two noted problems with iMacs—the 27-inch models in particular. First is an issue where their screens flicker. Apple released a firmware update for the problem, but it didn't seem to fix it. However, the second firmware update looks to have been more successful. How successful? Combing through about 30 pages of this thread (thanks Kyle), dozens have found the second update successful—and similar threads have come to similar conclusions. A few outliers still exist, but the vast consensus seems to be that the issue is nullified when the update is properly installed. So it looks like the flickering problem is fixed for most users. This is great news—a huge breakthrough in this whole saga. If your iMac is still flickering after the update, call up Apple and demand new hardware. It finally seems safe to say, you're probably in the minority. But the existing, huge question mark is regarding the yellow screens. Are these fixed yet? Apple halted production lines in what we assumed as an attempt to solve the yellow screen problems (among other iMac quirks). Now they're shipping new 27-inch iMacs again. Theoretically, the yellow screens could be behind us. But until customers actually receive and test these iMacs, we don't know if Apple was able to solve whatever problems are going on. Apple most certainly hasn't made claims either way. What Ever Happened With Those Apple Pay-outs We received reports from the UK, and then the US, that Apple was essentially buying back faulty iMacs for 15% over the sticker price. It was until later, however, that we learned the catch. What once looked like a pretty great deal turned out, well, mediocre. The 15% was a flat payback rate that was meant to cover both tax and shipping. We assume it covered purchasing expenses, but a money hand-out it was not. It's also worth mentioning that this deal was handed out sporadically, and I'm not sure it's still being offered to customers at all. Quote of the Week "[Apple] said they can issue me a refund via check that'll come 4-6 weeks. That's nearly $2600 of my money they're going to hold for over 2 months since the day I paid for this messed up computer." Apple Is All In So this is it, the big moment of truth. Without official word, we are forced to interpret the delivery freezes as both a silent admission that there were problems with iMacs and an attempt to fix them. But who knows if Apple actually solved the yellow screens. Especially if the source of the issue is really in the LG panel itself—which some suspect given similar complaints with similar Dell monitors—it's possible that Apple can't cure the jaundice without raising hell down at the factory, or shopping for another supplier. (This problem shouldn't be the consumer's inconvenience, of course.) We won't know until we see the latest iMacs in the wild. We've got a lot of sources—retail/repair spies, plenty of tipsters who are on their third or fourth faulty iMac and, of course, all of you—just waiting to share their replacement experiences. Tip us at submissions@gizmodo.com and join in. Apple, I hope we can put these problems behind us because neither of us wants to see how bad that apple on the table can rot.

The $500 16GB, Wi-Fi only iPad costs Apple less than half that to build, according to a recent component breakdown from iSuppli. And for the 64GB 3G iPad, Apple clears nearly $500 in profit. Here's how it breaks down: Apple iPad Estimated Bill-of-Materials and Manufacturing Cost Analysis: This will no doubt be updated once iSuppli and others are able to do a teardown of an actual device, but those estimated profit margins are pretty stunning, particularly on the higher-end models. iSuppli also points out that the 32GB versions of the iPad only cost $30 more to make than their 16GB counterparts, yet retail for $100 more—a good indication that that's where they expect the sweet spot to be in the market. Goes a long way to explaining why Apple's so willing to be flexible on the price, no?[iSuppli]

We're not sure who it is that Apple uses to do its currency conversions, but they don't set a very friendly rate. And that may be bad news for iPad prices - when we get them (updated)(Click the image to see the US pricing for comparison)After a nailbiting few minutes when the Apple Store (online) went down earlier today, and a few people prayed that either Apple would release new MacBooks and/or MacBook Pros and/or prices in the UK for the iPad, it came back instead with Aperture 3.In other words, no price yet for the iPad. But don't go away - there is a story here. Besides the app for professional photographers who want to spruce up their photos. ("With more than 200 new features and enhancements, Aperture 3 is the perfect choice if you're ready to take your photography to the next level." OK, that's nice.)Let's head over to the US store and see how it's priced. Ooh, looky, $199 for the full version, or $99 for the upgrade.And in the UK? The price of the full version is £169, or for the upgrade it's £79. Though of course those are the "international English" versions.How does that work, exactly? What is it about the "international English" versions that mean that they have to cost extra?First, there's the question of how much extra. First, take off VAT at 17.5%: that gives you prices of £144 and £67.Now, the US exchange rate presently says that $1 = £0.603. On that basis, prices of $199 and $99 would translate to £120 and £59.72 respectively. (Please, commenters, don't give us "oh, Apple is hedging against currency fluctuations" as a reason. For the dollar to reach a level where $199 = $144, the dollar would have to hit $1 = £1.38, which it last hit some time in 1985. And any economist will tell you that the pound is far more likely than the dollar to weaken over the next year* (which would mean that you would get more fewer [thanks, @nomster in comments] dollars per pound; in other words, the exchange rate would move more towards $1 = £2 than towards parity).So clearly we're on the wrong side of this calculation - by a factor of between 18%-20%. (That is, you translate from US$ to UK£ at the exchange rate, and then add 20%, and then add VAT.)First, we can note that this continues the absurd practice by which US companies price stuff in the UK at prices which don't make any sense. (See stories on Apple and Adobe passim.)But secondly it tells us something about what iPad prices might be like. You'll recall that Macworld had a stab at those a while back. It said: "A good rule of thumb is to take the US price, convert it to the UK price using the daily exchange rate, add on the 17.5 per cent VAT, then add on another 7 per cent or so (Steve Jobs said during the iPhone launch that this was simply because "it's just a bit more expensive to do business here… store stuff, ship stuff around".)"However, we've found a better rule of thumb is to take a product on the US store that matches the US price you're looking at, then find the same product on the UK store and see how much it is."OK, but we now prefer to try this "add 20%" rule of thumb. And on that basis the prices for the iPad become...US:Wi-Fi only: 16GB: $499; 32GB: $599; 64GB: $699.Wi-Fi + 3G: 16GB: $629; 32GB: $729; 64GB: $829.OK, so exchanging dollars into pounds ($1 = £.603), adding on the 20%, and then the 17.5% VAT we get:UK:Wi-Fi only: 16GB: £424; 32GB: £509; 32GB: £594. (Guardian estimate.)(Macworld estimate: £388, £510, £591)Wi-Fi + 3G: 16GB: £534; 32GB: £619; 64GB: £705. (Guardian estimate.)(Macworld estimate: £490, £612, £693)Is it just me, or are those a bit eye-watering? It's certainly going to be a lot better for sales if the prices are closer to - or even lower than - the Macworld prices than those ones.What would help a lot, of course, would be if Apple would get on and announce the prices for the UK. But so far it's shown no inclination to do so. Nor, of course, to announce upgraded laptops - despite them being overdue according to the Macrumors buyer's guide (in time order to help the impatient). Oh well.* go and read up about it if you likeAppleiPadCharles Arthurguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

After the rumored iMac 27 global shipment halt, reader Adam Pattee has sent us confirmation that his unit—purchased on January 29—is now shipping. Apple says his iMac will arrive on February 16. Did you get a notification too? Write to submissions@gizmodo.com.