As any iPhone user can tell you, the Apple-supplied EarPods (or earbuds if you have an iPod Touch) absolutely suck as far as fitting. Though they’ve improved greatly with each hardware update, I still can’t find anyone who doesn’t say they fall out of their ear constantly because they simply don’t fit right.

Enter EarSkinz. For $11 you can get these covers that slip on the supplied EarPods/earbuds that claim to not only fit better and add comfort, but improve the sound quality as well. And of course, the 11 color options allow you to choose one that best fits your style.

Replug is one of the most useful gadget accessories I’ve seen in a long time. At only $13, Replug protects your iPhone or computer headphone jack by turning it into a sort of mag-safe adapter like you find on Apple’s laptop line. Put simply, when you jerk your headphone cord by accident, rather than the jack breaking off in the mic jack, it safely just pulls away. Very cool!

Their latest piece of link-bait is a piece titled “iPod. iPhone. iPad. Why Apple is Done Inventing New Devices.” This mind-numbingly long article (which I won’t even bother linking to) asserts that Apple will stop inventing new devices and focus on finding new ways to make money selling what they already have. For decades. Yeah, you read that right.

What bothers me about the article is not the 15 paragraphs of well-known Apple history that their target readership don’t need a lengthy reminder of, though that’s 50% of the mind-numbing part. No, it’s the idea that Apple has ever “invented” anything at all.

Maybe I have a definition of “invention” that differs from Cult of Morons. It’s this off idea of Apple inventing things that bothers me, and the assertion that Apple will simply sit back for the next decade and try to milk customers for more money using nothing but what they already offer, such as iOS, to do so.

To truly understand what Apple will do in the next decade, you can look back at Apple’s storied history to see that Apple takes existing problems and finds creative, appealing solutions for them that motivate people to buy. Constantly.

Apple didn’t invent the computer, they just put a simple to use computer on the average consumer’s desk. They didn’t invent the computer mouse, they just created an operating system that used it extensively, and that the average person would find easier to use. They were the first computer maker to place CD-drives in a desktop computer, offered the first consumer-level laser printer, and made desktop scanners mainstream, but they certainly didn’t invent them.

The article also implies that the iPod, iPhone and iPad were “new devices” Apple invented. Uh, really? Does the Newton or eMate sound familiar? Palm Pilot? They were around long before the iPad was even a thought. I had a really crappy music player before the iPod was around, and there were certainly plenty of phones, including smart phones, before the iPhone. Apple saw potential solutions for problems using technology already available, but wasn’t being offered in any useful way.

So when you think about those facts, and see how Steve Jobs has taken existing technology and just brought them into the mainstream by innovating how they’re used, comments in the article like “There will be nothing in the coming decade equivalent in newness to the iPod, iPhone and iPad” are just painfully absurd.

“Apple absolutely does not need to keep entering whole new businesses like it did with iPod, iPhone and iPad in order to continue growing and dominating.”

Really? That sounds like something Sony tried, back when they were the king of TVs, Walkmans and audio equipment. They go on to state that they don’t think an Apple-branded TV isn’t something Apple will pursue because they can’t revolutionize the way we use it like they did with the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Again I say, really? Isn’t that exactly what Apple did with those devices, take something already out there and improve it to the point where people feel like they must have it? Is doing the same thing with the television set so outrageous to think about?

“Now that Apple has product lines that offer the best experience for creating and consuming content, both on the desk and on the go, no further product lines need to be added.”

That sounds like something Microsoft would say. I call B.S. The consumer market has clearly shown the last decade or so that they’re always looking for the next cool gadget or service, and have little interest in accepting what they perceive as old technology for very long. You can argue that MS hit a home-run with Windows XP because it has lasted so long, but it’s mostly because Windows users really had no other choice.

I believe Apple will continue to look at “problems” that are out there (real or perceived), and look for a better solution for consumers. That’s what they’ve always done, that’s what made Apple what it is today, and that’s most likely what they’ll continue to try to do.

Photo credits: Steve Jobs by Acaben, Newton by Ralf Pfeifer.

When Apple built their first store here in Phoenix, Arizona I was ecstatic. No longer would I be forced to order Apple-related products online, I could walk into a store and walk out with virtually anything I needed. The atmosphere was fantastic – with plenty of space to move around and try everything, the staff knowledgeable and helpful, and the Genius Bar was such a great resource.

Those days are gone. Probably forever.

The Apple Retail Store has lost virtually everything that made it great, mostly due to their own popularity and success. It’s truly unfortunate.

Let’s start with the Genius Bar, the one thing that made the stores famous. It used to be you could walk up to the bar, sit down and figure out a problem with your Mac, get advice on software or hardware purchases, or just plain have a conversation about anything Apple. See that picture above; when was the last time you saw a Genius Bar that looked like that? From the time the store opens until the minute it closes, the Genius Bar has four or five Apple Genius’ working, and no less than 15 people waiting. And forget about walking up to ask a question, you have to make an appointment (which doesn’t prevent you from having to wait). Heck, the stores are so crowded that it’s a chore just to get back to the Genius Bar.

The Apple Stores used to have a kids area showcasing games and education software. While I never really had the need to visit that area, it was nice for those who did. They also used to have a wide selection of software, plenty of keyboards, input devices, printers, scanners and other hardware to accompany your Mac. All things of the past. Apple replaced those spaces with larger display tables to place Macs, iPods, iPhones and iPads on. The problem is, it almost seems like they have LESS Macs set up for new users to play with.

The cash registers are gone because they no longer accept cash as a payment method. This isn’t such a bad thing if you ask me, but it is making it difficult to actually buy something in the store without waiting what can be 30-minutes or more for an associate to be free to help you.

And don’t get me started on those “knowledgeable and helpful sales associates.” They’ve been replaced with booger eaters and mouth breathers who spend most of their day doing nothing more than pointing you toward the one thing the stores still sell in abundance besides iPhones and iPods – and those are iPhone and iPod cases. If you’re a “pro” Mac user it’s almost painful listening to these dolts try to “help” people. They either aren’t being trained at all, or are simply too busy to be truly helpful to less knowledgeable customers. You can get better advice and answers using one of the display Macs to Google your question – that is, if you could actually get to one.

The stores are simply too overcrowded to be useful. This of course isn’t Apple’s fault, they’re just a victim of their own success. The Mac App Store guarantees we won’t see a return of software to the shelves of the Apple Retail Stores, and with the popularity of iPhones and iPads, there’s likely to be even less space dedicated to 3rd-party peripherals in the future. With the Genius Bar being too popular to handle the volume anymore, it begs the question, “how long before the Apple Stores turn into the very retail experience they were created to replace (ComputerWorld, Frys Electronics, BestBuy, etc.)?

Unfortunately, the thought of even walking into an Apple Retail Store carries little to no interest for me anymore.

By far, the best site I’ve come across for iPhone apps is AppShopper. When you want to read descriptions, reviews, and price watching, AppShopper is the place to go. It’s also the best looking and most organized site of the bunch. The site also offers a free iPhone app to complete the mobile experience.

The original iPod/iPhone site, iLounge, is still one of the first places people go for news and reviews on all things iPhone. In particular, the quality of their reviews of various iPhone/iPod Touch cases cannot be touched by anyone!

FreshApps is another app review site. The site doesn’t have nearly the amount of content as some others, but the layout is clean and I like the quality of content so far.

iPhone Alley isn’t one of my favorite iPhone sites, but it does contain quite a bit of good content, so it’s worth bookmarking.

148Apps is one of the more popular iPhone sites around, and for good reason. App reviews contain useful ratings, reviews and screenshots. This is one site you’ll want to check out when you’re considering purchasing an app. In particular I like the Price Drops section, where you can quickly see which apps have lowered their price or gone free.

Every once in a while, they updated the desktop lines, but with the exception of a really nice iMac update (to what we have today), there’s been little to get excited about outside the laptop and mobile lines.

Now before you say “oh no, not another ‘Apple is killing the desktop’ article,” let me just say that this isn’t. Only an idiot would make the assumption, observation or claim that Apple is going to give up billions of dollars in sales – especially when their new love affair with mobile hardware requires a Mac to be useful.

Apple product sales don’t lie. The Mac is a shrinking revenue stream for Apple, see the graphic below. It illustrates where Apple is making their money, and focusing their efforts.

Apple’s bread is buttered with iPhone and laptop sales. Hell, the iPad is netting Apple nearly as much as the Mac desktop line. And I suspect that a high portion of those desktop sales are iMacs, not MacPros.

While I doubt Apple is going to abandon the Mac any time soon, I think it’s worth thinking twice before buying a new MacPro. Of course some users will require the absolute most expansion and power they can get, but the vast majority of users (including print and web designers) can easily get away with an iMac.

Take my situation for example.

I purchased a 1st generation MacPro. At the time, I had a really nice 20″ LCD, expensive keyboard and mouse, a scanner, printer, speakers, and needed the RAM and hard drive slots for expansion. Plus, at the time the iMac was less than optimal for working on 500+ MB Photoshop files. I really had no choice but to get the MacPro.

Over the years, I upgraded to a all-in-one printer/scanner, and hard drives are much larger and cheaper, and RAM is still at an all-time low price. About two years ago, I upgraded to a Dell 30″ LCD screen which cost me about $1,000. It’s a fantastic monitor. But I still have that same original MacPro, and it’s getting long in the tooth. Don’t get me wrong, it handles everything I do with no problem.

But now my upgrade option is limited to another MacPro if I really want to get my money’s worth out of that 30″ LCD. What I would really would like to do is upgrade to a 27″ iMac. It would probably be a speed improvement (though not a whole lot), and would save a ton of space in my home office.

Buying another MacPro is out of the question for me. The shrinking need for the power and expansion of a MacPro, and Apple’s lack of focus on the desktop in general doesn’t instill a whole lot of faith in it for me to spend that kind of money again. I think the iMac still has legs – probably another ten years or so. But I suspect the MacPro will end up being Apple’s new server product soon. Oh wait, that just happened.

If you’re in the market for a new Mac and you’re the type who keeps a computer for several years, I highly recommend you take a look at the 27″ iMac. You’re going to save a minimum of $500 right off the bat, and you won’t be tied to a computer model due to an existing expense like a large LCD screen. When it’s time to upgrade, you’ll have the advantage of not having legacy hardware to worry about.

On the other hand, if you already have an LCD screen that’s a few years old and you tend to upgrade your hardware every two to three years, go for the big bad MacPro. Either way, the Mac isn’t going anywhere – at least not any time soon.

Evom from TheLittleAppFactory does just that. Evom allows you to convert online video to a number of formats, including iPod, Apple TV and HTML5.

The easiest way I’ve found is to drag the Favicon of the YouTube page containing the video you wish to convert to the desktop, then to the Evom window. Evom does the rest for you. In my tests, it worked on YouTube and a number of other sites perfectly.