Updated. Apple loves giving Starbucks customers free stuff. This week it introduced an e-book Pick of the Week to go along with the free song and app of the week programs it already has in place. Books can be redeemed through Apple iBookstore, for use with iBooks on iOS devices.

The free app program was started in August this year, and has included titles like Shazam, the music ID app, and Spy Mouse, a game from Firemint and EA. The first book for Starbucks’ Pick of the Week is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which normally retails for $12.99 on the iBookstore. To take advantage of the deal, just pop into your local Starbucks and check near the till for cards printed with redemption codes. Update: Despite no mention of it anywhere in the official Starbucks announcement of the program, sources who’ve used the code say that it’s good for only an extended sample of the book (around 120 pages), not the whole thing.

Starbucks has also said that “TV shows and more from iTunes” will be offered in addition to music, apps and books, and the variety in my opinion makes Pick of the Week much more interesting. Plus, it could prompt more interest in the iBookstore, which I’m sure Apple would appreciate. Anyone planning on trying to pick up The Night Circus?

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The first paid app on offer from Starbucks is Shazam Encore (via CNET), which lets you tag any music you hear with your iPhone, for identification, information or sharing purposes. Shazam Encore normally retails for $5.99 in the App Store, so it’s actually a pretty good deal. No word on whether or not this will become a regular occurrence, but the design of the card seems to suggest that it’s set up to be the first of a series.

This is a great way for Apple to get paid iOS software in the hands of customers who only download free titles or who don’t really use the App Store or third-party applications. The numbers indicate that free apps still get the lion’s share of downloads on the App Store, especially among top-ranked titles. Providing users with a way to check out paid apps without spending any money could encourage them to start buying other titles if they come away suitably impressed. That is, if Apple can keep the cards in sufficient supply. They always seem to be out of stock at my local store.

Free featured apps also gives the App Store another tool in the fight with other mobile software retailers like the Android Market and Amazon Appstore. Amazon also gives away a free app on a daily basis. That arrangement hasn’t proved to be too beneficial to developers, however. It isn’t clear exactly how the revenue picture works out in this case.

Of course, this might also inspire folks to switch coffee allegiances. Anyone planning to get their next caffeine fix at Starbucks in order to take advantage of this deal?

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Your head might be spinning from the torrent of Apple happenings at WWDC this week, but fear not, I’ve got the cure: fresh picks from the App Store.

It’s been an exciting week for TheAppleBlog, with our correspondents posting live from WWDC in San Jose; we’ve been covering the event from all angles. Before we look at this week’s apps, let’s take a moment to summarize the latest Apple news.

We kicked off the week in style with Apple’s official keynote at WWDC. Behind the scenes we had Henry Balanon and David Koff with live reportage from the event. Streamed live to our WWDC coverage page, we hosted over 74,000 readers. If you missed it first time round, replay it here.

In an entirely unexpected turn of events, the 13″ MacBook has now gone professional. Indeed, the new 13″ MacBook Pro includes an SD card slot, up to 8GB of RAM, and a backlit keyboard as standard. Early adaptors of the 15″ Unibody MacBook Pro can join me in irking 13″ MacBook Pro owners by collectively running our greasy fingers down their glossy 13″ screens.

And, as if that wasn’t enough for us early adopters, the 15″ MacBook Pro has also been updated. In a nutshell, the update means more storage and improved battery life. Plus, the pretty much redundant ExpressCard slot has been replaced with a more useful SD card slot. Readers looking for an overview of the updated MacBook Pro line should head on over to Tom Reestman’s article.

Apple has also announced that Snow Leopard, the latest upgrade to their desktop OS, will be released this September. It’s fully 64-bit, features Exchange support, and is basically pretty wonderful, but the best thing about it isn’t the feature set, it’s the price: Current Leopard users will be able to upgrade for just $29. In the meantime, those looking for a quick software update hit should download the official release of Safari 4.

Then there’s the big news, the product announcement that I’ve been waiting months for: the iPhone 3G S. It’s exactly the same form factor except there’s more RAM, greater storage and — this is a big deal for me — a better camera. The iPhone 3G isn’t going anywhere yet, though; it’ll still be available, at least for a limited time, at the new price point of $99.

Just like the MacBook Pro family, it’s not only the iPhone hardware that has been updated, it’s the software, too. Apple is officially releasing iPhone OS 3.0 on June 17. There are tons of new features, more than I can mention here. Rest assured, though, that crowd-pleasers such as cut/copy/paste, MMS and shake to undo have been included in the update.

To celebrate the launch of the iPhone 3G S and OS 3.0, the folks at Polar Bear Farm have given us two promo codes for their latest app. The app is called Face Match; for a chance to win, simply leave a comment telling me why you’d like to use this face recognition tool for the iPhone.

Moving on to the picks, this week I’ve been looking at Photo Zen, Tumblr Gear, Swiss Maker and Spinal Tap.

PhotoZen (Free)
Until I bag myself a new iPhone 3G S, containing upgraded camera and integrated video-editing, my iPhone photography lineup consists of Quadcamera and Flickit. The idea is that since the camera on the iPhone 3G isn’t so hot, I want to take quick, fun shots and upload them efficiently, without having to sync and manage via iPhoto. PhotoZen captures this quick and fun photo-sharing ethos, allowing you to post your own images to a social bonsai tree, receiving images from strangers in return. Sweet, simple and free.

Tumblr Gear (Free)
I’m particularly interested in Tumblr Gear because it’s an alternative to Tumblr’s official iPhone app. That’s not to say I have a problem with the official app, quite the contrary; it’s great for posting new content whilst on the move. Rather than for creating new posts, Tumblr Gear was devised for browsing your dashboard and seeing what your friends have been posting. It’s optimized for the iPhone and efficient to use. For the avid user, this could be an essential app.

Swiss Maker (Free)
In reaction to the Swiss design style — stark typographic imagery featuring Helvetica — the Boston-based marketing agency Dirk+Weiss started a site: anyonecanswiss.com. Their clever site, now available as an iPhone app, lets you design a Swiss-style poster in seconds — just enter a few words and it does the tough job of changing the font to Helvetica and printing the text on a black background. Creative folk will appreciate the app for sure, those who don’t get the joke should download the app regardless — show it to your friends, they’ll think you’re erudite, topical and witty.

Spinal Tap (Free)
Around the release of their 1982 album, “Smell the Glove,” their music was described by one journalist as such, “This pretentious ponderous collection of religious rock psalms is enough to prompt the question, ‘What day did the Lord create Spinal Tap, and couldn’t he have rested on that day too?’” It doesn’t matter what the critics said though because Spinal Tap is back and they’re ready to rock. Alongside finally releasing “Saucy Jack,” the band has put out its very own iPhone app. The app is a hub of Tap-related information, there are new tracks to listen to, a Fan Wall for chatting with other listeners, brand-new videos, and even tweets. It’s good to have Spinal Tap back, both fans and those unfamiliar with the band should download the app immediately.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with more news from the week and picks from the App Store.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

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As a kid, or even as a university student, if anyone had mentioned back-to-school shopping, sales, gear, or anything else this early in the game, I’d definitely have lost it on them. The summer has yet to begin, just let me get my bearings!

Still, if I were to make an exception, I’d make it for Apple’s annual back-to-school promotion, during which the company offers a free iPod to all education customers when they purchase a new Mac.

The iPod in question, or at least the most expensive one that qualifies for the deal, is the 8GB iPod touch (which is probably nearing end-of-life, but hey, it’s free, and it’s still great hardware), which you buy along with your MacBook when you make your purchases. When you receive both items, you fill out and submit an online claim (which must be done by Oct. 8 to qualify), and Apple will reimburse you for the total amount of the iPod — not quite as insidious as a mail-in rebate, but not nearly as straightforward as a complete freebie, either.

If you’re not keen on the iPod touch, or for some reason you just want to save Apple some money, you also have the option of getting any iPod of lesser value, including an 8GB or 16GB Nano, a 120GB Classic, or a 4GB Shuffle with rebates of varying amounts according to which you choose. On top of that, you also get the standard education customer discount on whatever model Mac you’re buying, so the total savings end up being pretty significant.

Not all Macs are eligible for the promotion, so hopefully, you didn’t just read the first half of this article and then go buy a Mac mini and an iPod touch. The mini, along with any refurbished Macs, won’t get you the free iPod, although any other model will, including all notebooks, the Mac Pro, and the iMac. Offering the relatively inexpensive Mac mini along with the discount probably cuts too close to the profitability line for Apple’s comfort.

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I recently received my brand new Mac mini in the mail, and, as it always is when I get a package from Apple, it was a joyous occasion. For once, I didn’t have to find someplace to cram a huge box, since the packaging is size-appropriate for such a small desktop.

My afternoon the day it arrived was spent going through the extremely satisfying computer-lover’s ritual of setting up a new machine. I didn’t do an automatic set-up using one of my existing machines, because the mini was going to be used primarily as an HTPC, and as such I wanted it specially tailored for such a narrow focus. I wanted to devote as much of the 4 GB of RAM, 2.26GHz processor, and 120 GB HD to media playback as was possible, so I skipped a lot of my usual software installs and went with the basics.

Essential Software

The basics included the latest version of Perian, the all-in-one codec solution for Quicktime, and VLC for when that wasn’t enough; Firefox for browsing and YouTube viewing; LineIn, for audio pass-through from my TV to my speakers; and Rowmote Helper, for use with Rowmote for the iPhone, a great supplementary remote application for the Mac. I also installed Logitech Harmony remote software to go with the brand new Logitech Harmony 550 universal remote bought specifically to compliment the new mini. I’m still debating whether or not to also put Hotspot Shield on the machine so that I can watch Hulu outside of the U.S.

Media Storage

I decided to make my iTunes library resident on the Mac mini’s own internal HD, since I don’t like waiting for the drive to spin for music to start up. I also don’t like the extra time it takes to add music from another source, owing to the extra copy time to the USB-attached drive. My extensive video library, however (all backups of DVDs I own, honest) would be impossible to fit on the measly 120 GB HD, so that would have to stay on the external drive. I may yet invest in a drive with Firewire 800 connectivity to make this an even more practical solution and cut down on playback hiccups.

Connectivity and Calibration

For connection, I was forced to use the included Mini-DVI to DVI adapter, in combination with a DVI-D to HDMI cable. My audio goes out to speakers, so luckily no audio connection to the TV was required. I still think it’s pretty ridiculous that no HDMI out is included in a machine otherwise so perfectly suited to the HTPC role. As mentioned in my earlier post on why I was buying a Mac mini in the first place, I also run TOSLiNK to mini-TOSLiNK cable from my TV to the mini’s mic/input port. I still have four empty USB slots since I use Bluetooth-connected control devices.

It took some fiddling with the display settings, but now I’m more than satisfied with the playback of both standard and high definition video files via the Mac mini. Blacks are still not as crisp or clear as I would like them to be, but that’s probably more of a problem with my somewhat older Samsung 32-inch LCD flatscreen than with the computer.

Playback

Video playback, both streaming and downloaded, offered no problems, and the GeForce 9400M has no problems with full 1080p video, although my TV technically only supports a max resolution of 1360×768, so 1080p is downscaled. Even gaming performance (I briefly installed Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy for testing purposes) seems to compare favorably with my iMac (20-inch, mid-2008 with 4GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon 2600 HD).

Verdict

I wouldn’t use it as my primary DVD player, because the mini’s drive produces a lot of noise when it spins, but my Xbox 360 or PS3 can easily fulfill that role. Other than that one minor complaint, and the lack of a true HDMI-out solution, I’m already very much attached to my new piece of Apple hardware. In fact, I’m not sure how I got by without it in the first place. I just hope my iMac doesn’t languish in neglect while I lavish attention on its new younger brother.

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A similar promotion has launched this week, with a few notable differences. Give Good Food to Your Mac (organized by Aquafadas) offers a huge range of different applications, with discounts increasing progressively depending upon the number of applications you purchase.

Claudia Zimmer, Aquafadas’ CEO explains:

We are pleased to introduce the Third Edition of ‘Give Good Food to your Mac’. It’s a chance for us to build a community among developers and together, create opportunities that would not be possible alone. Mac users benefit from it as they can discover our software at great prices.

The Discounts Available

While the promotion doesn’t feature the world’s catchiest name, it does give some great discounts. Buying 3 apps saves you 20%, 4 apps saves 30%, and 5 or more knocks a whopping 50% off the normal retail price. As you add applications to your cart, it’s simple to see how much you stand to save, along with how many more applications you need to reach the next level.

Applications Featured

Rather than the MacHeist route of featuring only a few, large applications, Give Good Food to Your Mac includes a fairly formidable list of developers and apps. Everything from games and fitness apps, through to organization tools and web design software. Several applications which have been featured in bundles previously (such as DEVONthink and Rapidweaver) are present and, while there is some junk in there, the list is fairly impressive:

• AlienConverter from AlienCrypt
• Amigos Number Puzzles from Amigos Software
• Amigos Spanish from Amigos Software
• BannerZest from Aquafadas
• BannerZest Pro from Aquafadas
• Bee Docs’ Timeline 3D edition 2.2 from BeeDocs
• BeFit – Get Fit, Stay Fit, BeFit! from Jon Brown Designs
• Blue Crab from Limit Point Software
• Cheetah 3D from MW 3D-Solutions
• Comic Boom from Toon Boom Animation Inc.
• DejalNarrator 2.0.3 from Dejal
• DEVONagent from DEVONtechnologies, LLC
• DEVONthink Personal from DEVONtechnologies, LLC
• DiscLabel from SmileOnMyMac
• dJay 2.1.3 from Algoriddim GmbH
• Dossier from Vortimac
• Dragoman from Dare to be Creative Ltd.
• FastCut 3.0.6 from TimesForFun
• Flip Boom Classic from Toon Boom Animations Inc.
• Fluffy’s Log 1.1.1 from Shallot Patch
• French Verb Game from Amigos Software
• FunBooth 0.9.3 from SourceBits
• Geoaze Pro from SilverLint Creative Software
• Geoaze Standard from SilverLint Creative Software
• GhostReader English Version from ConvenienceWare
• GhostReader French version from ConvenienceWare
• HoudahGeo from Houdah Software
• HoudahSpot from Houdah Software
• Hydra 1.6 + Aperture plug-in from Creaceed
• iArchiver from Dare to be Creative Ltd.
• iDive from Aquafadas
• iKanji 1.0 from ThinkMac Software
• JABMenu 2.0.1 from JNSoftware
• Kameleon From Option-6 Products
• Librarian Pro from Koingo Software
• MacCleanse from Koingo Software
• MacPilot 3 from Koingo Software
• Mail Attachments iConizer from Lokiware
• Mental Case from MacCoreMac Software
• Money 3 from Jumsoft
• Nutritionist from Dr. Frank Kowalewski
• PearNote 1.0 from UsefulFruit Software
• PulpMotion from Aquafadas
• Pulpmotion Advanced from Aquafadas
• RapidWeaver 4 from Realmac Software
• Relationship from Jumsoft
• Renamer4Mac from Dare to be Creative Ltd.
• ResizeMe 1.2.0 from Dare to be Creative Ltd.
• RubiTrack from Toolsfactory software inc.
• Scorecard 1.4.1 from CynicalPeak Software
• ScreenAudit 1.3 from ArtenScience
• Scribbles from Atebits
• Secret of the Lost Cavern From Coladia
• Share Tool from Yazsoft
• ShoveBox from Wonder Warp Software SP
• Speed Download 5 from Yazsoft
• SplitFuse 1.3 from LikelySoft
• SWF&FLV Player from Eltima Software
• Syncmate from Eltima Software
• Tangerine! from Potion Factory
• Today 1. 3 from Second Gear LLC
• Together from Reinvented Software
• Toon Boom Studio From Toon Boom Animation Inc.
• VideoPier HD from Aquafadas
• Voice Candy from Potion Factory
• VoltaicHD from Systemic pty Ltd. Trading as Shedworx
• You Control: Desktops 1.3 from You Software
• Yummy Soup from HungrySeacow Software

The “kitchen” will remain open between the 17th of November and the 1st of December 2008. It’s worth taking a look at the above list — if any more than 3 applications stand out, you’ll be in for a great discount.

Enjoy the Christmas meal!

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