That budget goes not only towards things like putting a computer in the hands of each employee, but also keeping the lights on and paying the rent. Given those constraints, many non-profits are much more likely to look at sub-$500 Windows computers instead of Macs.

Unfortunately, by making that decision you may be costing your organization in the long term. Here are three reasons why even a non-profit with a tight budget should be strongly considering Macs.

1) Support costs

There are the obvious reasons why Macs cost less to support, ranging from the fact that you don’t need to worry about viruses to the stability of OS X. Less obvious is the fact that recent surveys of IT professionals have found that Mac computers are less costly to manage than Windows PCs.

For smaller non-profits who don’t have an in-house IT department, you’ll also want to consider the value of the Genius Bar. If you have an Apple store anywhere near your office you can simply walk in with a problematic computer and usually have your problem solved quickly and easily. Compare that to the cost of spending time on the phone with Dell or HP support, or the lost opportunity that can accrue if you have to ship your computer away for repairs.

2) Longevity

I’m not one of those people who thinks that all Windows PCs are built like junk. You can certainly find a reliable computer running Windows, but there are two key things to consider. First, your chances of getting a reliable computer at a very low price isn’t great. Second, the odds of picking the right model from the array of available Windows computers also works against you.

By contrast, almost any model of Mac is a solid bet to be a reliable computer for three or four years. Trust me, I’ve been in organizations that have had to replace their entire collection of computers barely a year after buying inexpensive Windows laptops. You have to ask yourself if you want to buy two cheap computers over four years or one more reliable one. If it’s the latter, you’re probably better off going with Mac.

3) Software

This is usually a mark against the move to Macs, the argument being that you will need to repurchase all of your expensive software for another platform. Non-profits can avoid much of this cost due to services like TechSoup, which allow them to purchase software at a steep discount. If you’re a small non-profit iLife provides you with excellent tools to produce multimedia and a simple website without spending a single additional cent.

If you do need to do something more complex you have an incredible array of easy to use, attractive and relatively inexpensive applications to choose from. A few suggestions that would work well in a non-profit setting include Bento, RapidWeaver, iWork, iBank and Acorn. These range in cost from free to well under $100.

The value of any computing platform is defined by what you can do on it, and the Mac is without peer in this regard. There is value in having software that just works, and there is also value in having employees that enjoy working with their platform rather than suffering under it.

Amazon, obviously, got the ball really rolling with the Kindle after years of stagnation in the market. Apple is going toe to toe with them with the launch of the iBookstore. So when I have an iPad in hand I’m going to be faced with a choice, use Apple’s iBooks solution, or stick with Amazon’s Kindle platform.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since the iPad was announced, going back and forth on the issue. On the one hand I have already made an investment in Amazon’s e-book ecosystem, having purchased about 30 books to read on the Kindle app on my iPhone. That’s about $300 invested, but even if I switch to Apple’s iBooks app I can always have the Kindle app sitting next to it on my iPad if I want to read one of those titles. The iBookstore, however, offers several benefits over the Kindle app:

• The ability to purchase books from within the app
• The ability to add any open ePub format book to iTunes and sync it over
• The rumored 30,0000 public domain books that will be available

Given these benefits it might seem like a slam dunk to move over to iBooks, but I’ve decided against it, for one simple reason: cross-platform compatibility.

For me, books are a long-term investment. If I like a book I’m going to read it two, five or even 10 times, and some of my favorite books from my teenage years I’ve read so many times I can’t even remember how many times I’ve picked them up. Books, including e-books, I buy today aren’t something that I’ll one and done like a television episode or even a movie — these are things that I’ll want to be able to access in 10 or 20 years. Given that, it’s important for me to pick an e-book platform that I know will be able to follow me as my tastes and needs for hardware change. What happens if I decide in five years that I don’t want to use Apple products anymore? If I invest heavily into the iBoookstore those books will be lost to me, but with the Kindle there’s a good chance that I’ll be able to read those books on a future Android device, or a Windows tablet or something we don’t even know of today but that I might be using.

It’s hard for me, as an Apple fanboy, to consider the possibility that Apple may not be able to meet my computing needs in the future. But I care more about books than I do about Apple and so I need to be honest with myself about this. When push comes to shove, it’s more important for me to have my books than it is for me to have Apple’s products, and that’s never going to change. So when the iPad comes out and I have one in my hands I’ll be reading my books in the Kindle app.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Evolution of the e-Book Market

This change first drew my attention when the Kindle was originally released with unlimited data access built into the price. This was a sea change in how cellular data is sold, as the cost basically became transparent for the customer. That’s not to say the customer isn’t paying for it, you are, but there’s no monthly line item that you are aware of. Now, the Kindle, and other e-book readers that offer similar services, are something of an extreme example because of the very small amount of data that’s actually used to send a book to the device. The iPad, however, shows that this isn’t an isolated incident.

Let’s take a close look at the iPad’s mobile data plans. For $15 per month you get 250MB of data transfer and free usage of AT&T’s Wi-Fi hotspot network. For twice that amount you get “unlimited” data (read 5GB per month as is standard in the wireless industry) plus access to AT&T’s WiFi network. Despite what many are saying, that $15 plan is actually a pretty good deal for many people. For example, I’m a heavy iPhone user, so the first thing I do every morning is pull out my iPhone and check my RSS feeds. I have it in my hand and am usually accessing the Internet for hours every day. Despite that, I regularly use less than 200MB of data each month. This is possible because I, like most people, have access to high-speed WiFi networks at home and work, where I spend most of my time.

Throw in the free access to AT&T Wi-Fi networks and I imagine that most users can get away with that 250MB of use per month without too much trouble. That means that for the first time people can get everywhere access to almost the entire Internet for the same price that dial-up cost a few years ago. Of course for tech geeks like us we’re going to be afraid that we’ll blow past that 250MB pretty quick and probably spring for the $30 per month plan. Even here, however, we’re getting a pretty great deal compared to the $60 per month that cellular companies regularly charge for unlimited data for your computer, even dinky little computers like netbooks.

Perhaps even more important, however, is the fact that these data plans are available on a prepaid basis and can be cancelled at any time. Up until now, in order to get the privilege of paying $60 per month for 5GB of data for your netbook you would have to pay a couple hundred dollars for a modem. If you want that modem for free you’re stuck signing a contract for two years. The fact that I can get an iPad with 3G capabilities, and then buy service on a month-to-month basis as necessary is pretty great.

The iPad’s data plans are in fact a major competitive advantage for the device. For other companies to compete effectively in this space they’re going to not only have to put together a device that matches the iPad’s hardware and software experience, but that also matches its connectivity experience. This isn’t going to be easy in the short term, and it’s a clear example of how Apple has been able to leverage its relationship with AT&T to get a pretty great deal for consumers (as long as you don’t live in New York or San Francisco). In the long term you can bet that companies like Verizon, Sprint, HTC and Asus are going to be forced to match or beat the pricing and structure of these plans, and that’s going to be a win for all of us, no matter what device we use.

Related GigaOM Pro Research:
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Seeing how much they enjoyed the games I had on there, I went out and bought a bunch of additional games to give them some variety, and now have almost 40 on my iPhone, most of them aimed at a younger audience. Curious about which games they enjoyed the most, I asked each to list their favorites. I’ve decided to share the results with all of you in case you’re wondering which games to go out and buy for kids.

Note: All links point to iTunes.

Animal Memory Match Kids
Endorsed by: 5-year-old
Cost: 99 cents
A matching game with adorable animals on the cards and cute sounds when you make a match. My 5-year-old cousin loves this game, and even challenges herself by switching between difficulty levels, which just increases and decreases the number of cards you have to match.

Brushes
Endorsed by: 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: $4.99
Not strictly a game, I bought this as a curiosity after watching the demonstration of the iPad version during last January’s keynote. I had no expectation of actually using it, as I have no talent for drawing or painting, but a couple of my more creative cousins picked it up and love it. If you believe you might have a budding painter on your hands giving them this app to play with might be one of the best things you could do for them.

Crazy Penguin Catapult
Endorsed by: 7-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: Free (99-cent paid version also available)
The idea is simple: Use a catapult to launch penguins and take out polar bears and other enemies. Launching a penguin involves just a simple swipe across the screen, you just have to time it right. The music is engaging and the noises the penguins make when you launch them are very fun. There’s a second version of the game out now, with both free and paid versions.

Cro-Mag Rally
Endorsed by: 11-year-old
Cost: $2.99
One of a couple of racing games I have on my iPhone, this one definitely lends itself to kids with cartoonish characters, simple gameplay and a fun soundtrack and audio effects. Despite the simple controls, just tilt left/right to steer and use a couple of on-screen buttons, it’s still complicated enough that only the oldest of my cousins mentioned it.

Dizzy Bee
Endorsed by: 5-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: $2.99 (Free version also available)
The idea behind Dizzy Bee is simple: Gather the flowers while avoiding the bad guys. You move Dizzy Bee about using the accelerometer, but your movements also cause the bad guys to move as well, so you’ve got to be somewhat strategic. The bright graphics, fun sounds and gameplay that can get more challenging at higher levels made this a favorite across the range of ages of my cousins. Dizzy Bee 2 is also available.

Frogger
Endorsed by: 7-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: 99 cents
I bought this arcade classic for myself, and found it somewhat surprising that my young cousins enjoy it so much since they didn’t grow up with it like I did. Very simple gameplay and easy-to-use controls — just swipe up/down/left/right to move the frogger — makes this an easy game for small kids to pick up.

Pickin’ Time
Endorsed by: 5-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: 99 cents
The gameplay is exceedingly simple: You pick a vegetable at the beginning and then are presented rapid-fire with images of various vegetables. Simply tap on the screen when you see yours and avoid tapping when it’s a different vegetable. Each time you play you are scored on both accuracy and speed. Although my cousins don’t use it, there’s also a multiplayer mode available.

Tap Tap Revenge Classic
Endorsed by: 7-year-old, 9-year-old, 11-year-old
Cost: $1.99
One of the most iconic iPhone games out there, I wasn’t surprised to see this game endorsed by my young cousins as it combines fun music with straightforward gameplay. So far they’re still working on the built-in songs, but the older girls are definitely getting better at it. I’ve also bought the newer Tap Tap Revenge 3, but for whatever reason the girls prefer the original version.

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Historically I have always been a loyal Safari user. Sure, I’ve flirted with Firefox occasionally, but I always came back to Safari eventually. I’m afraid, however, that I’ve finally found a browser that has led me to leave Safari for good: Google Chrome.

I started using Chromium, the open-sourced branch of the browser, a few months ago and switched to the developer branch of Chrome when it got support for extensions. Even though the Beta version of Chrome for the Mac now has extensions support I’m sticking with the developer branch just because I like getting new goodies before other people.

Whatever version of Chrome you’re using on the Mac, you now have access to most of the features that people will want from a browser, so if you’re ready to take the plunge and make Chrome your default browser here, are a few hints and tips from you from someone who’s been using it for a while now.

Set up custom search engines

A feature that’s been available on other browsers for a long time but was always missing from Safari is the ability to set up custom search engines. This allows you to directly search websites, Google Images, Yahoo etc., by using keywords in your search. In Google Chrome you can set this up by right clicking on the address bar and select Edit Search Engines… from the list. If you’ve been using Chrome for a while you’ll notice that several websites have already been populated, this is because Chrome automatically adds any search engines you use to the list.

To make any search engine easily accessible double-click on it and change its keyword to something easy to remember, such as fb for Facebook. From now on you can use that specific search engine by entering the keyword first in the address bar and then entering your search query.

Sync your bookmarks with Safari and the iPhone

If you’re an iPhone user, one of the problems with switching away from Safari is that your new browser doesn’t synchronize bookmarks with your phone. Thankfully the Xmarks extension offers a handy workaround since it will synchronize both your Chrome and Safari bookmarks with the cloud. Thus when you make a change to your bookmarks in Chrome it will automatically synchronize with Safari and by extension the iPhone.

Get 1Password into Chrome

1Password is my go to password manager and not having it in Chrome was a pain. Thankfully the helpful folks over at Agile are working on an alpha as we speak, and even though it’s not perfect yet, it’s good enough for me to use it on a daily basis. To use the extension you’ll need to download the latest beta build of 1Password, which you can do from your update settings in the program. You can get the 1Password alpha extension here. If you’d prefer to avoid alpha software, which is certainly something to consider, there’s also this workaround available until we get a final shipping version.

Keep track of your tabs

If you’re anything like my wife, your browser windows quickly become crowded with tabs. Finding the exact page you’re looking for is difficult when those tabs shrink down to the size of a thimble. Thankfully there are a variety of tab management extensions available for Chrome. I’ve gone through almost all of them, and have found some unstable and some just plain ugly, but I can heartily endorse VerticaTabs, which is both simple and stable.

Get rid of unresponsive tabs

One of Google Chrome’s most interesting features is that each tab is an independent process. With Safari when a tab became completely unresponsive I was often forced to relaunch the entire browser. With Chrome, however, you can use the built-in Task Manager to get rid of a tab, even if clicking on it does nothing.

Simply go to View > Developer > Task Manager to see a list of all processes, including your extensions. Pick the offending tab from the list and press the End Process button. Please note that you may need to be on the developer branch of Google Chrome to use this feature, as I’m not sure it’s been added to the Beta version.

Get on the developer channel of Chrome

Speaking of the developer channel, if you’re willing to put up with some risk and want Google Chrome goodies before the more stable Beta channel gets them, then you can switch to the developer channel. The developer channel is a bit more stable than the Chromium nightly builds, which include all the latest updates to the open-source version of Chrome, but I can’t promise it won’t crash on you.

It’s not that the iPad isn’t an e-book device, it is. Nor is it that it’s a particularly bad e-book device, everything from the new iBookstore to the book interface on the device look very nice and is probably superficially better than the other options out there. What it’s not, however, is revolutionary in the way that I hoped it would be.

It makes sense for Apple to get into the e-book game with the iPad, it’s an obvious use case for the device. But what I was hoping for from the iPad was a new format of e-books that would be a game-changer in how we consume text. The use of the EPUB format, however, shows that Apple is not yet ready to make that move. Although I applaud the use of an open standard like EPUB, the reality is that EPUB’s interactive features are very limited right now, basically limited to simple images and videos. I was hoping for more advanced features.

What kind of features? How about reading a fantasy novel and tapping a single button to pull up a map showing exactly where you are in that fantasy world. How about tapping on any name in a non-fiction novel and getting biographical information about that character? How about textbooks with graphs that can be enlarged and class networking features built-in? And these are just some suggestions from an unimaginative dolt.

Of course many of these possibilities exist via iPad applications. The New York Times presentation at the iPad keynote indicates some of the possibilities available for print publications. The only problem with that is that I don’t want a device with a hundred different applications, one for each book or magazine that I read. What I want is for Apple to do what it’s best at: creating a standard framework with consistent features and enough flexibility to allow developers to create a rich user experience.

Lacking such a new format the iPad may become the default book reading device for many people, but there’s no certainty that Apple’s new iBookstore will become the main point of purchase for those books. You can be certain that Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others will have e-book applications on the iPad from day one, and you can also be sure that they’ll be working aggressively to integrate as many of these interactive features into their e-books as possible. Perhaps Apple will address this in a student-focused event later this year? I certainly hope so.

Related GigaOM Pro Research:

• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes
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• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes
• 5 Tips for Developers Targeting the iPad

In a blog post on Friday, The Omni Group, a major developer of productivity applications for the Mac, announced that it will be bringing five of its most popular applications to the iPad platform, namely: OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan, OmniFocus and OmniGraphSketcher. According to its announcement, The Omni Group is making a major shift in its development cycles because it sees the iPad as “the best computing device for most of the things people use computers for.”

This news certainly makes one think about the placement of the iPad in the computing world. In the few days since the announcement, many have panned the device, focusing on things like the lack of multi-tasking and a built-in keyboard when arguing that it could not replace a computer for most people. The refrain “It’s just a big iPhone or iPod touch,” has been heard over and over again when dismissing the iPad as a computing platform. After all, the iPod touch is certainly an impressive device, but no one expects it to replace even a netbook, no matter how big the screen is. Even Leo Laporte, usually known as an Apple evangelist, declared himself somewhat confused by Apple’s demonstration of iWork, indicating that perhaps it oversold the device’s capabilities.

The Omni Group’s excitement about bringing its applications to the platform, however, is just the latest indication that some disagree with this characterization. For example Joe Hewitt, the former developer of Facebook for the iPhone, wrote a long blog piece discussing how much more capable the iPhone OS is than people think, and that it only lacked a larger display to really come into its own. Apple has also made itself clear about the capabilities of the iPad with its demonstrations of iWork applications that are not stripped down versions but fully capable desktop-class programs in their own right.

One problem may be in how many pundits view iPad applications right now. Despite Apple showing us just what was capable with iWork, most pundits are still focused on the fact that the iPad can run iPhone applications. They are thus distracted by the idea of scaling phone applications up to a larger device. Developers like The Omni Group and Joe Hewitt, however, make it clear that they are thinking about things from the opposite direction, scaling desktop-class applications and websites down to the iPad. It’s also clear that, like Apple, they see this transition not as a step down to a more limited platform, but as a lateral step to a platform that offers opportunities you can’t get on a desktop or phone device.

It may be that our perspective of the iPhone OS is simply off. Many consider it to be nothing more than a cell phone operating system, so they look at the iPad and wonder how capable a larger device running a phone’s operating system can be. The reality, however, may be that Apple sees the iPhone or the iPod touch as a small iPad, and that what we know of as the “iPhone OS” was actually meant to provide the foundation for a much more capable computing device from the very beginning.

Related GigaOM Pro Research:

• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes
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Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes
• 5 Tips for Developers Targeting the iPad

For a long time now desktops have been in decline, both in the overall computer industry and for Apple. Laptops have become much more powerful and have dropped in price significantly over the past few years. Combined with a laptop’s convenience in terms of mobility, this has driven laptops to the forefront of the computing industry. In fact it is clear that small size combined with small price is a sweet spot for many consumers, which explains the explosion in sales of netbooks.

What Apple has done with the iPad is create a product that is going to compete in large part with netbooks, but will fall short of giving you a complete computing experience. As such Apple expects us to continue buying Macs, while buying an iPad to complement them. If this strategy works, the result in terms of buying strategy for Mac users might change significantly for the laptop versus desktop question.

Let’s take the situation before today. If you were looking to buy a new Mac, the $1,200 MacBook Pro was probably your sweet spot in terms of portability, price and power. Starting yesterday, however, the math could look very different. The best choice from Apple for a mobile device may now be an iPad given it’s light weight and user experience. By itself it won’t match the capabilities of an entry-level MacBook Pro, but if you combine it with a Mac Mini, for example, you suddenly have two devices that probably match the capabilities of a MacBook Pro. And the price? Well, $500 for the iPad plus $600 for the Mac Mini is actually less expensive than a Macbook Pro.

This works as you move further up the market as well, would you rather have a $2,000 MacBook Pro or a $600 iPad combined with a $1500 iMac? The iMac gives you a more powerful and expandable computing platform, while the iPad might be able to fill your mobile computing needs. I don’t think the decision is cut and dry — there is value in having a singe device for all your computing needs — but it is certainly worth thinking about. I know that I’ll be considering the iPad plus Desktop route when the time comes to upgrade my Mac.

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One of the interesting rumors that has come up after the official announcement of Apple’s event on the 27th is that a new version of iLife will also be announced there. Whether or not this rumor is accurate is less interesting than what an Apple tablet might mean for iLife.

As we all know iLife has been a key selling point for the Mac lineup ever since the first version was announced at Macworld in 2003. In many ways it epitomizes the difference between Macs and the competition, as iLife gives any Mac user easy to use and well-integrated tools to explore their creativity on a computer.

Whether iLife, or some version of it, will make it to an Apple tablet is a matter of debate, it depends on whether you think the tablet will be a complete computing platform or just a content-consumption device a la the iPhone. I tend to agree with John Gruber that what Apple is aiming for with the tablet is redefining the computing experience, that is replacing entry-level computers rather than complementing them. That leads me to believe that Apple will try to reproduce at least some of iLife on its tablet device, even if it’s just a matter of consistency in branding.

So what would that look like? Let’s look at each application in turn and consider what might be left in and what would be taken out.

iPhoto

In:
Thumbnail browsing is obvious and I imagine the event browsing view will also be a core feature. I also expect the editing features to remain intact, including non-destructive editing. Uploading to MobileMe, Facebook or Flickr will almost assuredly be included.

Out:
Faces may be the most obvious feature not to make it into iPhoto on a tablet due to its impact on the processor. Places might make it, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it left out. I also expect the ability to create books, calendars etc. wouldn’t make it to a tablet.

GarageBand

In:
This one is tough, I frankly wouldn’t be surprised to see GarageBand left off a tablet entirely. That said if Apple does decide to put the iLife suite on the tablet it’s unlikely to pick and choose apps so what would GarageBand on a tablet do? I’d expect basic functionality, like trimming and arranging audio clips. Perhaps some fun effects and instruments that can be thrown in.

Out:
Don’t expect to be able to record and produce your own music on the tablet. GarageBand has always been one of the most impressive parts of iLife, I would not expect it to keep that badge on a tablet device.

iMovie

In:
At the very least simple trimming of clips will be in (see the iPhone). I also expect the ability to combine clips, add transitions and titles and perhaps even add your own music or voice-over. Uploading to YouTube or MobileMe will also definitely be included.

Out:
Advanced color editing and the ability to pull audio out from a video clip will probably not be included. I also wouldn’t expect the ability to import AVCHD files.

iWeb

In:
Like iPhoto, iWeb’s interface lends itself to a touch capable tablet device. It’s really just a drag and drop operation. Thus I expect most features of iWeb to make the transition to a tablet.

Out:
I wouldn’t expect the ability to export your site to a local folder as I don’t expect a tablet device to have much in the way of a file system. Other than that I can’t think of any major features that might be left out.

iDVD

In:
Ah, the red-stepchild of the iLife suite. Let’s be frank, there’s no way in heck anything resembling the current iDVD makes it to a tablet. That said there have been rumors of a re-worked iDVD that might become the publishing tool for things like iTunes LP. If that happens then some version might make it onto a tablet device.

Out:
Everything.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Rumored Apple Tablet: Opportunities Too Big to Ignore

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Finishing up our series about using your iPhone to achieve your New Year’s Resolutions, today we’ll be looking at iPhone apps that will help you save money.

2009 was no one’s idea of a great year from a business standpoint, except maybe for Apple. I imagine that many of us are looking at our bank accounts after holiday spending sprees and figuring out how we’re going to be a bit wiser with our money. Thankfully there are a ton of good choices to help you manage your money on your iPhone whether it’s saving on the things you buy or keeping an eye on your budgets.

Note: All links point to iTunes store.

PocketMoney
Price: $4.99 (free lite version also available)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
If you want to manage all of your finances on your iPhone, PocketMoney is the app for you. It supports multiple accounts and acts as a simple check register, but also includes the ability to create and manage budgets and allows you to get a good overview of your spending with attractive charts. You can also export your data to back it up or import data from a desktop application.

DebtTracker Pro
Price: $2.99 (99 cent lite version also available)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
The premise is simple, track your debt and set up plans to pay it off. The interface is attractive and easy to use. You can also see what your debt ratio is and track how much you’ve been able to pay off. If you don’t like the default payoff approach, you can create your own custom payoff plans as well. Getting rid of that high interest credit card is a great way to start saving for the new year.

RedLaser
Price: $1.99
Rating: 4 Stars
The perfect comparison shopping app, simply scan any barcode to get a list of competing prices from a variety of sources. You can email yourself a list of scanned products for comparison shopping later and you can add custom URL’s to search for if there’s a retailer that’s not in their database.

iBank
Price: $4.99
Rating: 3.5 Stars
The companion to the popular Mac desktop finance manager, iBank doesn’t offer as wide a range of features as some of the other finance applications out there for the iPhone. It more than makes up for these deficiencies, however, with easy to use transaction entry and over the air synchronization. If you want to manage your budgets on your Mac but want to enter and sync transactions from your iPhone without a problem iBank is your best bet. Note that iBank for the Mac will cost you an additional $60.

Mortgage Calculator Pro
Price: 99 cents
Rating: 3.5 Stars
If you’re thinking about making any major purchases in 2010, it’s a good idea to have a program like Mortgage Calculator on your iPhone. Despite the name, you can calculate car and credit card payments as well as mortgages. A nice feature is that you can save loans so you can look at them later and compare options. You also get a complete amortization table to peruse.

20 Minute Meals
Price: $4.99
Rating: 4 Stars
One of the biggest money sinks out there is eating out, so having a good recipe application on your iPhone to give you fast and easy meal ideas you can make at home is a great way to save money. 20 Minute Meals only has 55 recipes, which isn’t much considering the $5 price tag, but it also includes a helpful shopping list feature and videos to help you prepare the meal. And really, if this app can help you eat in more you’ll save the cost of the app the first time you don’t go out to a restaurant for dinner.

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We’ve already covered iPhone apps that will help you keep a New Year’s Resolution to get in better shape. Today we’re going to cover something a bit more personal, finding romance.

Dating has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, back then putting a personal ad online was considered a bit desperate. Today online dating services, dating gurus and checking potential dates out online is par for the course. Thankfully your iPhone can keep you plugged in to what you need so you can hopefully have someone to take out by Valentine’s.

Note: all links point to iTunes store.

Black Book
Price: $2.99 (free version also available)
Rating: 4 stars
It may be cliché, but keeping a central repository of the people you’ve dated along with their likes and dislikes can actually be extremely helpful. You don’t want to forget on the fifth date that the lady you’ve been wooing hates bowling and accidentally take her to the Bowl-O-Rama. Sure you could keep this information in the notes section of your iPhone’s address book, but having a private place to store your thoughts on dates is probably a good idea, and Black Book offers password protection to keep prying eyes out. For the ladies out there who might want something more feminine, the developer also offers Pink Book.

Match.com
Price: Free
Rating: 3 stars
It’s not the youngest or hippest dating network out there, but then again neither are some of us. Match.com is still one of the largest personals networks and the iPhone app does a good job of giving you access to most of the network’s features, albeit not all. There is a neat location feature that lets you search for people nearby. You can upload photos to your profile from the application as well as receive notification if someone’s winked at you or sent you a message.

Dating DNA Plus
Price: $4.99 (free version also available)
Rating: 3 stars
For those who want to go a bit beyond Match.com, Dating DNA offers compatibility checking, which makes it easier to find someone who you might actually get along with. The interface is clean and simple to use, including a nice coverflow view of potential matches. You can limit your profile’s visibility to those who meet a certain compatibility profile and do location based searches for possible matches as well.

Background Check App
Price: Free
Rating: 3 stars
Going out into the world of dating can sometimes be a bit scary, and if you’re not sure about that guy you met on that dating site a quick background check might not be a bad idea. This app includes three free background checks per week and in addition to standard information like criminal history and property records also finds information about their social networks online.

AstroLove
Price: $1.99
Rating: 3 stars
If you believe the future of your love life is in the stars, figuratively not literally, then AstroLove is for you. Easily and quickly find out how compatible you are with anyone else based on their birthdate. You get easy to read meters for love, stability and passion, as well as more in-depth advice. And even if you don’t believe in astrology, it can make for a fun conversation starter.

iWedding Deluxe
Price: $7.99
If you do get a date, and things go really well, you may find yourself planning a wedding by the end of the year. If so, iWedding Deluxe is your one stop shop, complete with budgeting, to-dos, guest tracking and seating charts. There’s also a database of wedding ideas if you need some inspiration for your big day. The application is well-organized and easy to use, a great way to keep your wedding from overwhelming you. You should note that there’s a previous version called iWedding which is now obsolete, so buy this version instead. There’s no difference in price, just a result of Apple’s poor App Store policies, but that’s a different article.

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With the new year now a few weeks old, it’s time to stop and remember those resolutions you made at the dawn of 2010. New Year’s Resolutions are perhaps best known for the likelihood that they will fall by the wayside. If you’re serious, however, one of the best tools for making sure you achieve your new year’s resolutions is your iPhone.

With the vast array of applications available for the iPhone it might be hard to pick the right ones if you want to get in better shape, save money or get a date this year, so we’re going to pick out some of the best for you . First up we’re going to start with applications that will help you get in better shape.

The most popular new year’s resolution of all time, likely due to the expanding waistline that over one month of feast and drink bestows upon us, getting in better shape can be a frustrating challenge. Thankfully there are plenty of good iPhone applications available to help you keep this resolution. Just be warned, none of these apps will actually burn calories for you, they’ll just help you get the feedback and build the routines you’ll need to make that happen.

Note: All links point to the iTunes store.

Lose It!
Price: Free
Rating: 3.5 stars
This free applications has sat near the top of Apple’s Healthcare & Fitness category for a long time. Attractive and easy to use, Lose It! is basically a calorie counter. Tell it a bit about yourself, how much weight you want to lose and it will give you a daily calorie allowance. You can then track what you eat and how you exercise, all with simple charts to see how you’re doing. The newest version also includes the ability to sync your information with a website and even tweet your progress.

iFitness
Price: $1.99
Rating: 4.5 stars
If you want to start building some muscle mass, then iFitness is a great companion app. The application allows you how to track a large number of different weight-lifting exercises. It includes photos, videos and written instructions for how to properly do each exercise and lets you set up custom workouts.

Weightbot
Price: $1.99
Rating: 4 stars
If you want to eschew the bother of tracking every calorie and just want to keep an eye on your weight, then Weightbot is for you. The interface is gorgeous and it’s extremely easy to use. You can chart your progress over time and immediately get your BMI when you enter your weight.

Nike+
Price: Free (for 3GS owners) + $29 for sensor
Rating: N/A
Apple and Nike’s partnership to track your jogging finally arrived on the iPhone with the 3GS. If you have a 3GS, all you’ll need to do is jump into the settings to activate the Nike+ app, and then go out and buy the $29 sensor for your shoe. The app let’s you synchronize your progress to Nike’s website, choose a playlist while jogging, including the famous power song to get your over that hump, and gives you feedback when you’ve reached a milestone. Unfortunately if you have an older iPhone, you’re out of luck.

RunKeeper
Price: $9.99 (free version also available)
Rating: 5 stars
If you don’t have an iPhone 3GS, or just don’t want to use the Nike+ system, RunKeeper Pro is a great alternative, although we should note it doesn’t work on the iPhone 2G. Using your iPhone’s GPS to track your runs, RunKeeper let’s you track your progress, view your routes and control your music directly from the app. Information can also be backed up and viewed on the RunKeeper website. If the $9.99 price for the Pro version of RunKeeper is a bit too rich for your blood, there’s also a free ad-supported version with the same basic functionality.

iCan
Price: 99 cents
Rating: 3.5 stars
Not specifically related to getting in better shape, but a good app for any resolution, iCan is basically a goal tracker with an inspirational bent. Simply enter in any goal and you’ll immediately get an inspirational quote. If at any point you find yourself lagging, simply press a button for more inspirational text. An attractive and simple way to keep track of your resolutions so you don’t forget them and remember what you’ve achieved.

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Not surprisingly, then, Apple’s moves towards cloud computing have been cautious. MobileMe, iWork.com and in some ways iTunes, can all be seen as cloud-based services, but none of them have offered ground-breaking solutions. It’s obvious that Apple’s cloud strategy is based mostly around complementing its computer based-solutions. It continues to feel strongly that the best place to create and/or edit files is on your computer, where you can take full advantage of today’s hardware and the power of OS X. Looking forward to 2010 I don’t expect this general philosophy to change, but I do expect Apple to move more aggressively towards tying its services even more closely to the cloud.

So, without further ado, here are my 2010 predictions for Apple and the Cloud.

iTunes will begin streaming music

Probability: Guaranteed
Not much of a risk here, Apple has thankfully tipped its hand with its acquisition of Lala.com, a music streaming service. This is the direction the industry is going, with services like Spotify, Pandora and Last.fm all growing rapidly. Adding a subscription streaming model to iTunes and/or allowing you to stream your iTunes library is a no-brainer for Apple. What will be interesting is seeing how such a potential service integrates with the iPhone and iPod lineup.

iTunes will offer streaming movies and/or television

Probability: Possible
This prediction follows logically from the one before. If Apple is going to offer streaming music, why not also offer to stream video content as well? Unfortunately, the likelihood of such a service is as constrained by the veracities of the rights-holders of Apple’s interest, as such I only deem this prediction a possibility.

MobileMe will see a significant price drop

Probability: Possible
MobileMe has always been dogged by sticker shock. Although the $8 or so a month the service costs isn’t that high, paying $100 all at once is a bit more difficult to swallow. What’s more, MobileMe offers very little that can’t be had for free in other places. I’m allowing my Mobile Me subscription to lapse this year as I’ve replaced all the services with free alternatives. Although I don’t expect Apple to make the service free, I do expect it to try and expand the universe of subscribers by offering a drop in price, and perhaps moving to a monthly subscription model instead of paying for an entire year up front.

MobileMe will add photo, music and file synchronization

Probability: Possible
MobileMe is still the best way to keep your PIM data synchronized across your Macs and your iPhone, but one glaring weakness is multimedia and file synchronization. Sure you can keep everything on your iDisk, but this lacks the elegance that is typical of Apple as it requires you to move everything that should be in your home folder to another place. It’s also extremely limited in terms of storage. It would be much more convenient if I could just tell Mobile Me to automatically synchronize my home folder across computers, just as I do with my calendars and contacts. With the speed of Internet connections only increasing, this is not only possible today, but it’s inevitable. Whether it happens next year is less certain, but it will happen eventually.

iWork.com will add document editing

Probability: Possible
As I mentioned above, Apple seems strongly opposed to moving document creation and editing to the cloud, but if it decides to start experimenting with some could-based document editing, this is likely the place where it will happen. Its competitors in this space, Google, Microsoft and Zoho, all are offering document editing to some extent. I wouldn’t expect the entire iWork suite to be ported to the cloud, but I do think the addition of basic editing is a possibility.

OS X is ported to the cloud

Probability: Absurd
It may seem like an absurdity, and I certainly don’t expect it to happen next year, but the idea of porting OS X to the cloud is one that Apple will certainly want to consider at some point in the future. The strength of Apple’s computing platform has always been the operating system and development tools that underly it. If you truly believe that in the long run computing will be a server-client model, than in order to retain its competitive advantage Apple will have to move these strengths to the cloud. Adapting OS X and Xcode to become the foundation of a cloud-based operating system and development environment is the obvious long-term strategy for Apple.

Steve Job’s consciousness will be uploaded to the cloud to ensure he rules Apple forever

Probability: Absurd
Steve Jobs’ health problems last year and his temporary absence from Apple proved once again that the tenure of Apple’s messiah is not assured to run forever. I think Apple needs to turn all of its prodigious talent towards ensuring that Jobs’ genius remains with us forever, and what better way than to upload his consciousness to the cloud? There he can ensure that we continue to pour the contents of our wallets into Apple’s coffers in perpetuity. You can bet Apple’s share-holders will be in support of this, despite that small probability that Jobs-in-the-cloud may someday turn into Skynet.

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With Black Friday rapidly approaching, the time of the year for spending is upon us. Although I’m sure all of us Mac lovers are considering which Apple product we’ll be blowing our budget on (mine will be a Magic Mouse), there are also the other gadgets in our lives to consider.

One of the most important gadgets for Mac users is often the digital camera, what with all those wonderful iLife tools we can use to manipulate and share the photos and videos we take with our digital cameras. As such, here’s a quick guide on picking the right digital camera for you.

Rules to Remember

1) The inverse law of megapixels
Despite what the guy at the Best Buy tells you, more megapixels does not mean better photos. In fact, in this day and age the opposite is true. This is because the more megapixels you pack onto a camera sensor, especially the tiny sensors found on most point and shoot cameras, the worst they become at picking up light. Nowadays you can’t buy a camera with fewer than six or seven megapixels, which is more than enough for most, and you will actually hurt your picture quality if you buy small cameras with more than 10 or 12 megapixels.

2) Think about where you shoot
Most people don’t stop and think about the type of photos they take before they buy, not realizing that there are tradeoffs to be made. For example if you take a lot of photos in low light conditions, buying a camera with a larger sensor and whose lens can open up wider to pick up more light, like the Canon S90 or Panasonic LX3, makes a lot of sense, but such cameras also mean giving up zoom range. The opposite is true if you like to get close to your subjects. You can pick up a pocketable point and shoot with a 12x zoom like the Panasonic DMC-ZS3, but you’re going to give up low light capabilities. If you want the best quality in all conditions you’re going to have to give up portability and carry around a large DSLR.

3) Don’t forget the accessories
Even if you’re not spending a ton of money, a few simple accessories can improve your photography experience. I almost always recommend picking up an extra battery. There’s nothing more annoying than having your camera die on you in the middle of a trip or family event. Another useful accessory is a tripod, which doesn’t necessarily need to be a gigantic. Picking up something like a Gorrilla pod, which is both cheap and small, can let you stabilize the camera when taking shots with a long exposure, like a night scenery shot, and also lets you set up the camera better for self-portraits.

4) Decide how serious you are about photography
If you’re truly a point and shoot photographer, then it’s important for you to pick up a camera with a good automatic mode and wide selection of usable scene modes. If you’re more advanced, or want to learn how to take more control of your camera, then expect to pay more for a camera with full manual controls. If you’re a serious photographer or if you’re ready to take the leap to the highest level of photography, then it may be time to invest in a DSLR, which allows you to swap lenses for various photographic situations.

5) Don’t cheap out
We’re Mac users for a reason. We recognize quality and are willing to pay more in order to get the best. The same is true with digital cameras. The universe of cameras under $150 is enormous, and they’re all almost the same. By paying a bit more, I’d say more than $200 for a point and shoot, you’ll find a significant increase in photo quality and features. That’s not to say that every camera under $150 is poor and every one over $200 is good, you’ll still need to do research, but there’s less chaff to sift through at higher price points and a better chance of picking up something you’ll be happy with.

Cameras to Consider

The cameras below are widely seen as solid performers in their class. If you’re still bewildered by the options out there, these are a good place to start your research.

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

Price: $199

This is a good fit for anyone who wants a reasonably adept camera in a small and slim package. The price is reasonable too, but don’t expect wonders from the tiny sensor in this camera. Expect to use the flash in even slightly dim conditions. On the plus side, you do get face detection, HD video recording and image stabilization.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

Price: $270

Stepping up a bit in price over entry-level point and shoot cameras, the ZS3 is still a very good value considering what you get. That is an extremely impressive zoom range, from wide angle for scenery shots all the way up to a 300mm zoom for getting close to subjects far away. HD video is also a big plus here, with the ability to zoom while recording, something that not all cameras can do. Not all is perfect, however, as the ZS3′s sensor is tiny, which combined with a less than impressive maximum aperture means that this camera struggles in low light situations. If you’re looking for small and versatile, however, the ZS3 hits the sweet spot in a lot of places.

Canon S90

Price: $430

Canon’s newest addition to their high-end point and shoot lineup offers quite a few features that will get advanced amateurs excited. First up is a significantly larger sensor than that found in most point and shoot cameras. Combined with a lens that sports an f/2 aperture at the wide end, this means the camera struggles much less than typical point and shoots in low light situations. You also get a full range of manual controls and an interesting click wheel around the lens that can be assigned to a variety of functions. The S90 doesn’t come cheap, however, and it is missing some features like HD video that you can find on much less expensive cameras.

Nikon D60

Price: $640

DSLR’s like the D60 combine a huge sensor for even better low light photography, with the option to switch lenses to match your particular situation. Be ready to continue spending, however, as in this world it’s the quality of your glass (lenses) more than the camera itself that will dictate the quality of your photos, and lenses don’t come cheap. The D60 is a good choice for those just entering the world of interchangeable lenses as it’s available at a reasonable price and it offers a more gradual learning curve than other more advanced DSLRs. That said, it does lack one of the new sexy features that you are beginning to see on DSLRs: video recording. If that’s a must for you check out the Canon T1i.

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Facebook for the iPhone is one of my most used applications, and I’m not alone as it’s amongst the most popular iPhone applications ever. This success is due to the size of Facebook itself, that the application is free, and that it is very well done. That last is due mainly to Joe Hewitt, who has been the main developer for Facebook’s iPhone application. Unfortunately that’s about to change, as Hewitt tweeted that he is moving “…onto a new project.”

At face value this may not be of any importance beyond a certain sadness to see a great developer leave a platform and an application so many love. In a conversation with TechCrunch, however, Hewitt made clear that the principal reason behind his departure from this project is his unhappiness with Apple’s management of the iPhone app store. Hewitt specifically mentions his philosophical opposition to the review process, indicating that it puts an unnecessary middleman between developers and users. He also fears that it sets a dangerous precedent for other platforms. Hewitt will be moving onto a web project at Facebook, which offers the opportunity to work on an open platform.

Hewitt is not the first developer to abandon the iPhone due to Apple’s perceived mismanagement of the app store, but he may be the highest profile. His departure from iPhone development highlights a critical danger that Apple faces with the app store. For a variety of reasons, ranging from an inability to get your application noticed, the danger of having your application rejected for unforeseen reasons and the very low prices charged on the app store, many developers are growing disillusioned with the iPhone as a platform.

If this trend reaches a critical level it could deal a blow to the iPhone, which has touted the wide variety of high quality applications in its marketing. Even more dangerous is the possibility that developers will move in large numbers to other platforms, with Android being the most likely option. Of course Android has its own problems related to app development, and there are still plenty of developers who are focusing on the iPhone as their principal mobile platform.

It may be, however, that Apple is offering its competitors an opening to create a much more developer-friendly environment and steal one of its key advantages: the quality, not the quantity, of applications available. If Android, BlackBerry or Symbian can attract top developers to produce 1,000 high quality applications for its platform, that will probably be enough to erase the huge lead Apple has today. Who cares if you can’t choose between 500 tip calculators, or 30 different versions of the same public domain book as long as you can get high quality versions of the apps you actually want?

It’s clear that Apple realizes there are problems with the way it is currently managing the app store. The question is whether it can make the necessary adjustments to attract and keep the best developers for the iPhone, or if the Joe Hewitt’s of the world decide it’s just not worth their time.

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There’s no doubt that cloud computing is a growing trend. All you have to look at is the popularity of netbooks to see that many people nowadays will be quite happy with a computing device that gives them access to the web, and not much else.

I’m certainly part of this trend, as I write this story I have the following web-based applications open on my Mac:

• Twitter
• Google Reader
• Evernote
• Google Calendar
• Remember The Milk
• Gmail
• Facebook
• WordPress
• Socialcast
• Lexulous

What surprises me isn’t how many web apps I’m accessing, but how few native Mac applications I am using to access these services. I am using Tweetie to access Twitter, Evernote has it’s own native Mac application and I use BusyCal to access Google Calendar. Apart from that, all of these web services are being accessed either via Safari (Facebook and Lexulous), or via Site Specific Browsers (SSBs), which means I’m using the naked, if you will, web interface for the application.

Two years ago I never would have done this. I actually wrote a whole blog post, on a now defunct blog, about how I eschewed web-based applications in favor of native Mac apps because I wanted a Mac-like experience. As such I used Mail.app to get my email, NetNewsWire for RSS feeds, Omni Focus for tasks, etc. Nowadays I use web-based apps for all those functions.

There were several factors that led me to this place. First of all web based apps have become better in terms of user experience, in some cases even exceeding, in my opinion, the user experience of the native Mac alternative, for example Gmail versus Mail. Although Google’s web apps aren’t particularly pretty, they are well thought out, and some other web apps are almost elegant, like Remember the Milk.

The iPhone has also been a driving force towards web-based applications because they are more likely to offer the ability to easily synchronize over the air. For example, I would love to use Things as my main task manager, but the simple reality is that I never remember to go through the rigamarole of synchronizing via Wi-Fi. If I can’t sync over the air with my iPhone, then I don’t want to use it on my Mac.

Probably the most important driving force, however, has been features. Google Reader is an excellent example of this. I recently went over several native Google Reader clients for the Mac, but despite this range of choices, I’m still using a site specific browser to access Google Reader. Why? Because none of these applications offer the feature set that the actual website does, and I actually use all of those features. I’ve faced similar problems with native Mac apps that purport to give you access to Facebook or WordPress.

The reality is that many web applications have reached the point of complexity that building a third-party client for them becomes very difficult, especially on the desktop where users will demand feature parity, or something close to it. Unless a company is building their own client, such as Evernote, or the service is exceedingly simple, such as Twitter, desktop clients are constantly going to be playing a losing game of catchup.

What all this means for users like myself is that more and more of my computing experience is moving away from the Mac and to the web (subscription required). I love the Mac, I love the combination of stability, elegance, ease of use and power Apple’s computers offer me, but I have to admit that I’m taking less advantage of the platform than I have in the past, and unless something drastic changes, that trend is only going to continue.

Apple doesn’t seem to be making aggressive moves towards building better support for web applications into the operating system, and this may be a dangerous mistake. Someday in the not to distant future something approaching 100 percent of the average user’s computing is going to move online, and when that happens Apple may find itself flat footed in a new world, and I may find myself looking for a computing platform better suited for my actual use.

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