I intended to write about Apple going green when they launched the new Macs earlier this year, but I felt the urge to wait, and so I did. Apple has truly done it this time with their entire line of MacBook Pros and the iPhone 3GS.

The MacBook Pros are the greenest Macs Apple has yet to deliver. All models of the machine (13, 15, and 17 inch) are EPEAT Gold rated and meet the Energy Star 5.0 requirements, which isn't even out yet. This makes the machines consume less electricity, and easier on the environment.

Speaking of the environment, both the MacBook Pros and the iPhone 3GS are made mostly out of earth-friendly materials, which are also easily recyclable.

• Highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure
• Mercury-free LED-backlit display
• Arsenic-free display glass
• BFR-free
• PVC-free internal cables

The iPhone 3GS shares a lot of these features as well. All of Apple's products ship inside of much smaller packaging which is great for several reasons: Easier to ship more units per airplane, easier to carry, easier to store, less garbage in the dumps. Everyone wins.

It would be amazing to see companies utilize more environmentally friendly materials. This is a great start, and I am glad that Apple is trying to pioneer being fully green, or as green as they can be. Which other companies, other than the ones that specialize in green tech, actually manufacture products of similar nature? Post in comments below, please. 🙂

I predict that some day, we will have a way to teleport technology we buy straight to our homes. No jetplane delivery, no fumes, no packaging garbage.

In a little under 20 hours from the time this post was published, your chance to get your hands on this amazing app bundle will be up. First thing's first, click the link below to view the MacHeist page with ALL the information.

View the MacHeist Bundle information, and buy it!

Yes, I have purchased this myself and strongly believe that it's steal, not the mention that 25% of every sale's proceeds goes to a charity of your choice. Whether you're a designer, blogger, an online show host, or an advocate of all things cool, in this package you will find something that greatly impresses you.

For $39, it's probably the best investment I have ever made! Well, what are you waiting for? Check it out already!

Just before the iPhone 3.0 software was announced, I was ready to publish an article saying how the Palm Pre was going to give Apple a lot of trouble. Then, I realized how wrong it would have been if I had done so. Now I will tell you why I think the iPhone is here to stay, and push the competition out of the way.

The Palm Pre, for the longest time, had the biggest chance to put a little fear in Apple. And so it did. Just a couple of weeks ago, the iPhone 3.0 software was revealed and most of the iPhone's nuances have been eliminated. I actually believed that if the Pre kept up its game, it would force me to switch, but thankfully, that is no longer the case.

Palm has claimed that OS X on the iPhone is not a true mobile platform, thus it will never be as speedy and sleek as what they are cooking up. I respectfully disagree! Let's just put it this way; Smooth scrolling and seamless portrait/landscape transitions is not what makes a great device. Yes, the Pre certainly competes in the visuals department, but that will only take the device so far.

More after the jump...

Throughout the past few months, Netbooks have been on the rise. There are more companies manufacturing Netbooks than one could have imagined a year ago from today. Acer, Asus, HP, MSI and Dell are all contributing to the game, each releasing various configurations of their machines. I own a 15.4" MacBook Pro that can outperform these machines combined, yet I still find myself craving for one.

What is it that makes Netbooks so attractive?

1. Price. With the current economic state, people are afraid to spend money. They are not as lenient with their wallets as they may have been before the "crisis," so, machines that easily run below $300 are quickly considered.
2. Portability. It's a great feeling to be able to carry stuff with you wherever you go, especially when it's something as useful as a computer. It's light, looks good, and does the job. Screen real-estate may not be there, but people don't seem to mind giving it up for on-the-go productivity (which is another issue on its own). Most of the time, we only need our computers to perform basic (but important) functions, and Netbooks often do a great job at it.

Read the rest after the jump...

Hello there Neeks, this is the first of what could be a new tradition for SOMM, a CrossOver Debate. When Lasha asked me to write a column about “why the iphone sucks as a business machine” due to my devotion of the greatest little business machine in the Blackberry, I gladly accepted the challenge. For those that don’t know me, my name is Frank and I am the Chief Creative Director/Editorial Director of Sliceofmymind.com. Lasha is a great friend of mine and my “to go guy” for anything Apple and I’m his techie for anything Windows related. With the formalities behind us, let’s get straight to the topic at hand.

You can call me a tech savvy person or geek for short given that I can’t keep away from anything technological, but when Apple first announced the iPhone I wasn’t floored like the majority of geeks. I’ve always been a lover of Research in Motion’s (RIM) Blackberry and the iPhone wasn’t going to create any voids in that relationship. I knew the iPhone was going to be killer device, but when I heard some of my friends calling the iPhone a BB killer, I quickly shouted foul. The BlackBerry as a business device is leagues ahead of the iPhone. There are many reasons why the iPhone can’t tackle the Blackberry as a business phone, but I’m going to give you my top five reasons....

Here's a household item that could possibly change your life forever. Are you lazy to leave your house? Well, if you answered yes to that, this is the perfect (or not) product for you.

Once you manage to get this "treadmill" into your living room, consider yourself free of any whiney voices telling you to get off your behind and exercise a little. At a hefty $5,000, I doubt many people will be able to take advantage of it. For that price, you can get a (lifetime) memebership at a gym, plus a heck of a lot more fun than a table with a low-powered treadmill attatched to it. I'm a fan of Steelcase's products but this is just...silly. What do you think?

By now, most of you have probably heard about the rumors of Steve Jobs preparing his retirement. Although we may never know whether or not this is true, it is clearly evident that changes are occuring.

So many famous moments have been recorded into the history books at these events throughout the years, primarily the iPhone. I wonder if Apple is going to do something HUGE for their last and final Macworld appearance, or if it will be a quiet departure.

Continue after the jump for the list:

When companies use efficient technology to operate their business, less people are needed to get the job done. Yes, I am referring to the recent technical specialist layoffs from Netflix due to the simplicity of Microsoft's Silverlight video player. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to easy to use technology, but what's next?

Good design, maybe? I think so. I firmly believe that good design is a major part of what makes something a pleasure to use. Whether it's software or some kind of a device, companies will invest in producing better products to reduce support funding. Now, this isn't exactly the best thing for the job market as it will reduce the amount of jobs for support specialists, but competition will surely be on the rise.

It's too early to determine the exact direction companies will take, but it would be great to see an increase in the design & development departments, working to create better products. We will hopefully see a rise in the quality of products now that mass production does not work as well as it did yesterday. Things will eventually start to pick up again when confidence levels stabilize.

All I can say to the people running these businesses is this: Create, innovate, care, and pay attention!

A little over a week ago, I stumbled across something that had me in awe. Adobe is working on a video editing technology that brings object placement and integration to a whole new level. Instead of trying to explain it, just watch this:

Imagine all the possibilities this will unravel, and the amount of jobs that will be lost because of the ridiculous ease of manipulating objects. Nonetheless, I would love to see the technology implemented into future versions of After Effects and the likes. If you are into video editing, what are your thoughts particularly - is it a big deal, or no so much?

Microsoft, Sony, and Best Buy have joined the fight with Amazon against the terrible packaging! After all the struggling and the thousands of injuries reported by hospitals each year, major players in the technology retail world are joining the fight. Yes, we are all aware that it is because of the security reasons, but designers can invent clever ways of packaging products that won't hurt us, or the earth!

I might even start getting into eco-friendly packaging design semi-professionally, just to help this movement. Plus, I love coming up with new ways of doing things. Death to steel-like containers!