After six months of work, we have rolled out the first free issue of “2 For Couples” iPad magazine style application. (the press release will come out next week.)

Here’s a excerpt from the app’s web page:

Get the most out of your relationship… right now! Download the 2 FOR COUPLES app and receive the first issue of 2 FOR COUPLES — free! 2 is your one-stop resource for everything you need to know about relationships. 2 covers sex and intimacy, travel, nesting, entertaining, leisure, style and more! We focus on real couples and the real lives they lead. Try the first issue of our 2 app now! We’ll entertain and inspire you with a whole bucket list of ideas, from date nights to travel advice! Read it together… on your iPad, which is built for 2!

Watch the trailer

You can download the app Here!

So here we are more than halfway through the year and over 5 million iPads sold. Consumers are rapidly snatching up all the available iPad and iPhone 4.0 devices as fast as Apple can make them. As a publishing professional you’re asking yourself what does this mean to me? What impact does this have on the publishing industry and how do we as publishers get involved?

Released to the public in April 2010, the iPad platform (aka iOS 4) has taken digital publishing by storm. If you have used an iPad then you already know that it is more than a big iPhone, digital book, Internet browser, or device for accessing digital media. If you’ve been following my articles you’d know that this is a revolutionary device and it’s causing a paradigm shift in several information industries.

Users of the iPad are looking to you as publishers to deliver content they desire in this new medium. Of course this is not just limited to Apple products but it is also pending the release of new digital devices and smart phones by other companies – who are scrambling to catch up with the release of their smart phone technologies and tablet devices. So how do you get your content into your reader’s hands?

Smart media devices all support Internet-based browser technologies and can access content online that is tailored to these devices with technologies such as HTML 5, CSS three, JavaScript. Simply adding a bit of tagging and creating custom style sheets for your website will transform content for these mobile devices. Open source publishing platforms such as WordPress and Joomla can use templates designed to optimize the display of the content.

AppleScript, Automator, and MacOS X Services can also be used to automate and build web ready content. Using Apple’s free development tools a competent web developer could build a web-based applications with a Dashcode. DashCode apps can then be converted into xCode – the application that is used to create native MacOS X and and iOS applications for the iPhone and iPad.
Apple has created its own digital reader for the iOS devices called iBooks. The iBooks Store is used to publish digital books in the ePub format. Applications like InDesign can export pages into this format. You can distribute your iBook publications from your own website or distribute for profit through Apple’s iBook store. Resources like lulu.com available to help you self publish.

Starting at $99 a year, you can become an Apple developer and be able to publish applications to actual devices like the IPad. Once you become a registered developer and pay the fees you can submit applications for approval to Apple’s App Store. If Apple approves your iPhone app, they will distribute the application through the App Store.

Native iOS apps are written using Objective-C. There are many resources available to get you up to speed. Several books have been published in physical and digital form that teach users to build apps. Online resources available such as Lynda.com and Apple’s developer website offer learning materials online.

If you’re not already an experienced programmer learning Objective-C has a steep learning curve. The TapLynx framework, among others, help build basic apps in xCode. Frameworks will help you build real iOS applications without having to learn Objective-C.

You can also look into hiring a developer to help you build a app. Simple applications range from $2500 to $10,000. More sophisticated apps take many months to develop and will cost even more. Experienced developers can be hired for between $80 US and $160 US to either consult or develop your application. Single dedicated developer can cost a around $6500 US per month.

It is both an exciting time and a nerve-racking time. Publishing on ink on paper has been under pressure for last 15 years or so. The Internet has eroded any kind of profit-making and now the iPad presents an opportunity to deliver content to an end user who will be willing to pay for that content. Or at the very least advertisers will want the opportunity deliver their message along with your content. If you’re producing a magazine, newspaper, the list of services or even a real estate listing the iPad is proving to be a revolutionary publishing platform. You owe it to yourself to explore the opportunity for yourself and your clients.

The new iMac is the ultimate all-in-one computer. Its Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors feature an advanced architecture and set new benchmarks for iMac performance. And fast discrete graphics processors now come standard in every iMac. The 21.5-inch and 27-inch widescreen displays are perfect for HD video, and the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse keep your desktop tidy.

Key Features

• 21.5-inch display with 1920-by-1080 resolution; 27-inch display with 2560-by-1440 resolution
• Dual-core Intel Core i3 and i5 processors up to 3.6GHz
• Available quad-core Intel Core i5 and i7 processors up to 2.93GHz (27-inch model only)
• ATI Radeon HD 4670, ATI Radeon HD 5670, or ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics
• Wireless Magic Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard (also available with Apple Wired Keyboard with Numeric Keypad)
• Built-in iSight camera, stereo speakers, and microphone
• Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

Why Mac

• A Mac is better at the things you do every day, like surfing the web, checking email, and working with Microsoft Office files.
• With a Mac you can do amazing things with photos, movies, and music—right out of the box.
• Advanced technologies such as the latest processors and next-generation graphics come standard.
• The operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, is tailor-made to help you get the most from your Mac.

Pricing

• 21.5-inch: 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 $1,299
• 21.5-inch: 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 $1,599
• 27-inch: 3.2GHz Intel Core i5 $1,799
• 27-inch: Quad Core 2.8GHz Intel Core i5 $2,099

Coming is August – the 2010 Mac Pro.

Learn More...

Choose your cores: 4, 6, 8, or 12.
The new Mac Pro offers two advanced processor options from Intel. The Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor is available in a single-processor, quad-core configuration at speeds up to 3.2GHz. For even greater speed and power, choose the “Westmere” series, Intel’s next-generation processor based on its latest 32-nm process technology. ”Westmere” is available in both quad-core and 6-core versions, and the Mac Pro comes with either one or two processors. Which means that you can have a 6-core Mac Pro at 3.33GHz, an 8-core system at 2.4GHz, or, to max out your performance, a 12-core system at up to 2.93GHz.

Even faster standard graphics.
All-new high-performance graphics cards from AMD make Mac Pro graphics technology faster than ever before. Perfect for motion graphics, 3D modeling, rendering, or animation, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory comes standard. It not only provides faster performance compared to previous Mac Pro standard graphics cards — it’s also faster than the top-of-the-line graphics cards in the previous generation.

Massive storage.
The Mac Pro comes with four 3.5-inch drive bays for an enormous amount of internal storage — up to 8TB when you install four 2TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s drives.1 Each bay provides its own independent 3Gb/s channel for fast access to data. And thanks to the cable-free, direct-attach installation system, adding (or replacing) hard drives is a surprisingly simple process.

Choose solid-state for ultimate performance.
New to the Mac Pro is the option to add up to four 512GB solid-state drives — or any combination of solid-state and hard drives.2 Solid-state drives have no moving parts and are capable of accessing data at speeds up to 230MB per second, which is up to twice the speed of hard drives. The result? Incredible performance on a range of data-intensive tasks, including up to 2x faster ProRes video encoding using solid-state drives compared with hard drives.

Expansion made easy.
The easy-access interior of the Mac Pro feels like the well-organized workstation it is. No rat’s nest of components here. You don’t need to turn the system on its side or struggle to reach into awkward spaces to make changes. Just remove the side panel for instant access to everything. Slide out the processor tray to add memory. Slide out drive bays to add storage. Slide a simple bar to change up to four expansion cards at once. And with plenty of I/O ports both front and back, you’ll have room for all your external devices

The iPad is really a great device to use and I recommend them to every one. At this point in time the iPad is only available for purchase from Apple’s retail and online stores. You can also buy them in Canada a Best Buy and Futureshop as well. Applecare is also available for them as well.

There are also two network options; one with WIFI and a second with both 3G cellular & WIFI. The 3G funtionality adds $130 to the price and a optional monthly service. The available memory sizes relate to storage capacity of the iPad not the performance. Both versions come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB configurations. All the models use only 256 MB of RAM for the operating system. You may find that all of the 3G models and the 64GB Wifi models sell out quickly.

The Apple iPad case, $45, is one of the best cases available and also sells out quickly. The case protects the iPad while you transport it, is easer to hold and folds over to support the iPad in an angled position for typing.

If you’re thinking of getting a 3G model: The current Rogers data plans are 250MB for $15.00/month and 5GB for $35.00/month. These are “no contract” accounts, which means that there is no long term commitment required. You can also switch between plans as many times as you like. Similar plans will also be available for the iPhone 4.0

Apple wants it done so you also sign up with another data provider when you travel. I was surprised to find out that I could not use data roaming while in the US with the Rogers plans – so you may want to check before you leave about your options, if you plan on using the device in the US. Apple wants to make the iPad and iPhone user experience to be as painless as possible. With flexible plans users won’t be caught by huge data charges.

The iPad is a perfect fit between a smartphone and a computer. If you’re think about it, get one, You wont regret it.

What you have stumbled across is part of Mac OS X called Services, which is a special set of scripts that allow applications to interact and share features and information. It was originally introduced in the Next OS and utilizes a special pasteboard to move chunks of data to another application automatically.

For instance if you select the address in a senders signature a contextual menu will pop up offering to create a new contact for you. Behind the scenes a script in Services is willing to take the sender’s information block; name, address, email, phone number and update or create a new contact in the Address Book application all at once.

Hover over, Right-Click or Control click on a street address and you can find the address in Google Maps (on your Mac, iPhone or iPad ). Click on a list of items and you can create a new Sticky Note, select a url and it will open in Safari. In the Finder select a series of images and it will offer to rotate the images, set your Desktop image or even create a web gallery or iPad gallery – which the addition of a simple script.

There are several third party scripts out on the Internet that will add automation to your applications. You can download some “.services” files that will select data and images from FileMaker Pro and move it over to Pages and create a catalogue. You can find out more at macosxautomation.com .

To test what is available, select some text or images and either Control-Click it, or visit the Service Menu in the current applications menu and see what is available. Try this: Open a web page in Safari, select some text, Control-Click and choose “Start Speaking” from “Speech” and sit back while your Mac reads the page to you.

Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server is specifically designed to be a server. There are two 500GB 7200-rpm hard drives with plenty of storage to help your group work more efficiently.1 It comes with unlimited client licenses. And you can access and swap files quickly and securely between Mac computers and PCs. Easily create full-featured wikis and high-quality podcasts. And automatically back up all your important data.

Key Features
• 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 memory, configurable to 8GB
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
• Dual 500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drives1
• SD card slot, four USB 2.0 ports, and one FireWire 800 port
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi2 and Bluetooth 2.1
Accessories and Related Products
• Apple LED Cinema Display
• Apple Magic Mouse
• Apple Wireless Keyboard
• MacBook Air SuperDrive
• AirPort Extreme Base Station
• Time Capsule
• Promise SmartStor DS4600
• Apple Remote Desktop 3
• AppleCare Protection Plan

A completely redesigned, compact aluminum enclosure hides a powerful, full-size computer. And now with up to twice the graphics horsepower as before, Mac mini brings high performance to everything from 3D games to photos and video. Just connect Mac mini to your display, keyboard, mouse—even your HDTV, courtesy of a built-in HDMI port. It’s the most affordable way to enjoy a Mac. And it’s still the world’s most energy-efficient desktop computer.

Key Features
• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 2GB of memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive1
• 8x-speed SuperDrive
• HDMI and Mini DisplayPort output
• HDMI to DVI Adapter
• SD card slot, four USB 2.0 ports, and one FireWire 800 port
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi2 and Bluetooth 2.1

Meet the fastest, most powerful MacBook yet. It now features next-generation NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and 2GB of memory. That means MacBook can handle everything from surfing the web to the most graphically intense 3D games with ease. It also features up to 10 hours of battery life1 and a glass Multi-Touch trackpad that supports inertial scrolling, right-clicking, and Multi-Touch gestures. All in a streamlined, durable unibody enclosure.

Key Features
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• Built-in 10-hour battery1
• Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with support for inertial scrolling
• White polycarbonate unibody enclosure
• 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
• 2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 memory
• 250GB 5400-rpm hard drive2
• 8x double-layer SuperDrive
• iSight camera
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi,3 Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and Gigabit Ethernet
• Mini DisplayPort video output
• Only 4.7 pounds4
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife