Any time Apple comes out with a new product they send current customers a fun email that lets them know what new exciting shiny thing they can purchase. Often this means that the current exciting shiny thing they own is now obsolete or at least on the way out the door.

Yesterday, Apple sent out an overview email for the iMac refresh and the Magic Trackpad. The email is complete with beautiful pictures of the new shiny thing and how to buy one immediately.

A friend pointed out to me the formulaic nature of said emails. They include subjects like, “Introducing the most powerful iMac ever.” And tag lines in the body like, “This changes everything. Again” (iPhone 4), “Ultrathin. Ultraportable. And ultra unlike anything else” (MacBook Air) or most recently, “The ultimate all-in-one. Turbocharged” (iMac).

How would your Apple product introduction read?

Introducing the most __________ ever.

Find an actual run down of all the refreshed and new Mac gear from Gizmodo here.

For everyone who has been holding off  jailbreaking their iPhone for fear of legal ramifications from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), your day has come.  New exemptions were presented by the U.S. Copyright Office this morning allowing for the circumvention of copyright protection in six areas. The six exemptions are:

1. Defeating a lawfully obtained DVD’s encryption for the sole purpose of short, fair use in an educational setting or for criticism

2. Computer programs that allow you to run lawfully obtained software on your phone that you otherwise would not be able to run aka “Jailbreaking” to use Google Voice on your iPhone

3. Computer programs that allow you to use your phone on a different network aka “Jailbreaking” to use your iPhone on T-Mobile

4. Circumventing video game encryption (DRM) for the purposes of legitimate security testing or investigation

5. Cracking computer programs protected by dongles when the dongles become obsolete or are no longer being manufactured

6. Having an ebook be read aloud (i.e for the blind) even if that book has controls built into it to prevent that sort of thing.

[via CrunchGear]

The complete original text can be found here

The big ones for iPhone users are numbers 2 and 3.  If you want to see the big scary world outside of Apple’s beautiful walled garden, you can.  And, if you’re frustrated with a certain proprietary carrier, you can try T-Mobile. Don’t expect either of these goals to be anywhere near as easy as downloading an app though. The revisions released today simply make these actions exempt from prosecution under the DMCA.

The first exemption allows for a wide use of content from lawfully obtained DVDs to be used in non-commercial ways, with a particular impact in education.

The DMCA is reviewed every three years for revisions and because the review took so long the next review is only two years away. Hopefully this will become a trend, and the Librarian of Congress will continue to listen to digital freedom advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Will you be jailbreaking your iPhone now that it’s legal? Are you ready to try out a different network? Do these exemptions mean anything to you?

Apple started fulfilling the “free case for all” program promised at last Friday’s press conference. Any iPhone 4 user who didn’t purchase a case or bumper from Apple can now download the “iPhone 4 Case Program” app. The new app is the only way to get a free case. Users cannot place an order at Apple.com, in an Apple store, or in the “other” Apple shopping app, “Apple Store”.

After downloading the app, iPhone 4 users have the choice of 8 different cases, only one of the eight (a black Bumper) being from Apple. Each case has an estimated shipping time of a speedy 3-5 weeks. Most of these cases aren’t really available yet so reviews are scarce, but here is a general breakdown of what’s available.

Ideally, users would be able to walk into their local Apple store and pick up their case. Even though five weeks is a really long time to wait if you are experiencing serious antenna issues, at least the price is right. Now, for those users who just don’t like the iPhone 4 anymore:

Which case will you get?

During the annual MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) event, Microsoft released their newest tagline, “Be What’s Next.” In honor of this event we decided to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about our favorite Apple and Microsoft taglines and slogans over the years.

[via Engadget]

Here are some of the classics. Which company do you think has better slogans?

Apple:

-”Think different”

-”I think, therefore iMac”

-”The plot thins” – Used to market “thinner” PowerBook G3 models

-”So much to touch.” – (2008) Used to advertise 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB iPod models

“The first phone to beat the iPhone.” – (2008) Used in their advert for the iPhone 3G

-”This changes everything. Again” (2010) Used to market the iPhone4

-Redesigned. Reengineered, Re-everythinged.” (2008) Used to market the new aluminum  MacBook

Microsoft:

-”Your potential. Our passion.”

-”Where do you want to go today?”

-”Life Without Walls”

-”People-Ready”

Apple announced third quarter earnings yesterday, just 3 days after addressing concerns over the antenna issue (in case you missed it … Apple offered free cases to all iPhone 4 users instead of just telling people that they’re holding it wrong). As it turns out, Apple sold more Macs than any other quarter in company history, recording 3.47 million units sold.

The iPad’s first quarter didn’t disappoint either, nearly selling as many units as the Macs at 3.27 million. Apple also sold 8.4 million iPhones and 9.41 million iPods. The launch of the iPhone 4 was the most successful in company history as well, limited only by the speed at which they can be manufactured (insert inappropriate Foxconn joke here).

Apple’s gross margin was down slightly from 40.9 percent to 39.1 percent, due to the “relatively” inexpensive iPad sale prices. Still, with $15.7 billion in quarterly revenue, Apple posts another company record and posts $3.25 billion in net quarterly profit.

Check out Techcrunch coverage of the earnings call for more detail and Q&A with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer and COO Tim Cook here.