Tablet Computers

Storytelling 10110001101: Comics and Novels Evolve

Ballsy Thief Attacks, Robs Multiple Drivers Stopped at Intersection in Portola

The thief lurked around the San Bruno and Silver Avenue intersection Saturday night. Over a two-hour span, from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m., the thief snatched a handbag, an iPad, and a wallet from three respective victims, who ranged in age from 47 to 59.His strategy was brazen and consistent: Approach the ... More >>

Dumb Crooks Steal iPad, Crash into News Van, Become Today's News Story

CBS News brings us this insane report about another iPad robbery, and this is one story reporters didn't have to chase.The incident started at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, when an unidentified man hopped out of a Mercedes SUV and ripped a backpack, with an iPad inside, from a woman sitting outside a Peet's ... More >>

iPads for School Lunches: SFUSD Woos Applicants with Prizes

Clown Unknowingly Had Steve Jobs' Stolen iPad

If you weren't already freaked out by clowns, you may be now. Kenneth Kahn, aka Kenny the Clown, a Fisherman's Warf icon and onetime aspiring mayor, is in trouble with the cops once more. But this time, it's not for his alleged Ed Jew antics or for juggling fire on a skateboard. No, this time, Kenny ... More >>

Gonzalez Guzman, Drunk and Stranded Club-Goer, Off the Hook for Burglary

Now here's some good fodder for an anti-drinking campaign.A San Francisco jury acquitted a 20-year-old man today of burglary charges and instead convicted him of petty theft and receiving stolen property after he convinced jurors that he was just a drunk, not a crook. Gonzalez Guzman and his buddy, ... More >>

Del The Funky Homosapien on His Favorite Old-School Rappers, New Album Attractive Sin, and His Very First Live Show

It's a weekday afternoon, and Del the Funky Homosapien's mom has just left his house. She was passing through to pick up an iPod the rapper had bought for her -- but left empty-handed, as she wasn't confident about being able to use Apple's dinky little music player. "She's gonna come back in a coup ... More >>

Apple Users to Protest Apple Store ... and Buy the iPad3

​They might love Apple products, but they sure hate the way they are made. Apple fans across the nation are planning a protest Friday outside retail stores, including San Francisco's downtown location, demanding better working conditions at oversea factories. Apple consumers have been rather criti ... More >>

Man Robbed While Peeing in North Beach Alley

Those robbers really took the piss out of him​If you're a robber looking to score an easy victim -- urine luck!Police say that a San Francisco man was robbed as he urinated in an alley at about 1:55 a.m. on Friday. According to police, the man had met friends at a nearby bar, and as they were deci ... More >>

Barnes & Noble Takes on Amazon in Tablet Wars

​A quick scan of this New York Times blog post is all one needs to conclude that Barnes & Noble faces a major challenge against Amazon in the tablet wars. Start with the picture, depicting B&N CEO William Lynch standing in front of a giant graphic showing that the Kindle Fire looks bet ... More >>

Don't Worry About the Future of the Cookbook

Is this the future of cookbooks? (Cross your fingers.)​Yesterday, the New York edition of Grub Street published a great essay by Hugh Merwin on the bright future of cookbooks, even as more and more readers are switching to e-readers and bookstores are flailing. Cookbook sales are still strong, an ... More >>

Bay Bridge Explorer App Lets You Drive on New Bridge

​The ever-changing shape of the San Francisco Bay Bridge is about shift again over Memorial Day weekend as part of a larger effort to retrofit one of the world's busiest bridges. And as you might recall, drivers don't adapt well to the  abrupt changes. Remember the confusion and crashes on th ... More >>

Google to Launch Cloud-Based Music Service Today, Major Labels Not Included

​ The Google I/O Conference is in S.F. The confab's keynote speech is scheduled for this morning. And Google execs say today's the day that the Internet search giant is planning to unveil its long-awaited cloud-based music service -- without any licensing deals from the major labels. Music Be ... More >>

Apple, at $153 Billion, Unseats Google as World's Most Valuable Brand

Secret weapon​A surge in estimated valuation from sales of products such as the iPad has landed Apple at the top of a survey of the world's most valuable brands, displacing fellow Silicon Valley juggernaut Google.Financial-research company Millward Brown set the company's current brand value at $1 ... More >>

A Ban on Live Chicken Sales, Protection for Your iPad Cookbook

​Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media.1. No more sales of live chickens. SF Appeal and other sources report that, after years of protest, a group named LGBT Compassion has managed to get Raymond Young Live Poultry and Bul ... More >>

Yep, Apple Is Watching You

What do they know about you?​Is Apple stalking you? The answer is yes. Yes, it is. And that's supercreepy.But hey, this is America: We should be used to Big Brother watching us by now. A new report claims that anyone who owns a iPhone and iPad is being recorded by Apple. Writers Alisdair Allan and ... More >>

So Is Anyone Else Kinda Thrilled About GarageBand for iPad?

​Among the numerous not-quite-revelations Steve Jobs breathlessly announced today about the iPad2 -- faster processor, thinner case, two cameras -- one especially caught our attention: Apple is bringing its amateur-friendly music production software GarageBand to the tablet computer. (It's also br ... More >>

Meet Appetites, an Interactive Cooking Show for the iPad

​It's been 10 months since the iPad launched, and companies are still figuring out how to tailor apps to the notepad computer. Many have simply enlarged existing, text-based iPhone apps or have treated the iPad as an electronic version of a glossy magazine. A new generation of iPad apps is finall ... More >>

iPad Miracle: Political Mover and Shaker John Whitehurst Saved

You're about as likely to be able to do this with an iPad as you are to get it back when you leave it on BART​There are two hard and fast rules on Bay Area public transportation: Any unidentified liquid is urine, and if you leave the vehicle without your high-priced electronics, you're not getting ... More >>

Apple Sued for Privacy Invasion -- Again

What does he know about you?​The number of iPad and iPhone users that claim Apple has passed around their private information is growing by the day.In December, two separate groups of iPad and iPhone users sued Apple, Inc., claiming the company had created apps that distributed personal informatio ... More >>

iPad and iPhone Users Sue AT&T for Overbilling Customers

Small phone, huge bill​iPad and iPhone users might want to take a quick look at their phone bills -- they could be getting ripped off. In a class action lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco, millions of iPad and iPhone users are suing AT&T for overbilling customers and overstating web traf ... More >>

San Francisco Hacker Charged with Stealing E-mail Addresses from iPad Owners

iHack​San Francisco is home to some of the smartest and most tech-savvy inventors -- and hackers. Federal authorities arrested Daniel Spitler, a San Francisco resident, on suspicion of stealing and distributing the e-mail addresses of more than 120,000 iPad owners. Spitler, 26, and Andrew Auernhei ... More >>

Del the Funky Homosapien: Show Preview

Black Angels: Show Preview

What's the iPad for? Music Apps Prove Surprisingly Popular

Nielsen.comMusic apps are among the most popular of all paid apps for the iPad​Music-related apps are the third-most popular paid apps for the iPad, and come second on a list of frequently used apps for both iPad and iPhone, according to a new study from Nielsen research.This is somewhat surprisin ... More >>

Video: Is the iPad an Amazing Musical Instrument, or a Tool of 'Orchestral Destruction'?

There are many amazing uses for an iPad. Among the device's potentially revolutionary applications, as I wrote back in April, are those related to making music. As several musicians told me, having a 9.7-inch multi-touch screen attached to a fast computer with an audio output opens up a crazy univer ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

iHelp for Autism

For autistic children, the new iPad is an effective, portable device for teaching communication and social skills. It’s also way cool.

iPad Owners Sue Apple In Class Action Suit

Steve Jobs -- and vampires -- need not worry about taking the iPad out in the sun...​If Steve Jobs has been slamming his head into the wall over the iPhone 4 "Antennagate" debacle, here comes another legal slap from unsatisfied customers: A trio of iPad owners are suing Apple in a class action law ... More >>

Pad Try: Are iPad-formatted music releases a new frontier or a distraction?

In Print: Francis & the Lights' iPad Album, Sammy Hagar is a Joke, All Shook Down Fest

Francis Farewell Starlite​Does the album matter anymore? Does anyone care? Do you know what a CD is? Okay, kidding on the last point (kinda), but clearly the music industry is looking for some new, marketable format to sell to music lovers. After all, CD sales ain't what they used to be, and it do ... More >>

Foxxconn Protestors Flashmob San Francisco Apple Store

A crowd of at least 100 people gathered outside the Union Square Apple store yesterday evening for what may be the first large scale American protest of Foxxconn, a Chinese factory that produces iPads and iPhones.

The Case of the Missing iPad Cover: What to Do While Waiting for "the" Case

They're selling for twice the price on eBay.​How can you define your status as an Apple fanboy/girl/hermaphrodite without the official Apple iPad case? With its sleek simple design and unique texture...

iPad Hackers: Obtaining Emails Not Illegal, We Will Fight If Charges Are Pressed

​ According to reports, the FBI is currently investigating the AT&T iPad leak because of the sensitive (read governmental) nature of the data revealed, and Gawker Media is now under pressure to provide information on the legality of the breach, casting Goatse Security, the hacker group that la ... More >>

Apple's Latest Hot Mess: Prominent iPad Users' Personal Info Exposed

A window to your soul​Think Facebook's got privacy problems? Just wait till you get a load of the latest scandal at Apple, which has apparently allowed some very prominent users of its iPad device -- think White House prominent -- to have their personal information exposed in an AT&T security ... More >>

USA Today Duped by iPad Steering Wheel Hoax

Stories about a website hawking steering wheel mounts for iPads that would enable drivers to do their reading en route started popping up all over the interwebs. The idea, or course, is a safety proponents nightmare, and as one might imagine, it's most likely a hoax. Jalopnik did some rudimentary re ... More >>

iPhones and iPads revolutionize beatmaking, piano playing, and symphony conducting

iCat: Best Cat With iPad Video Ever

While you've probably all seen "Cat Meet iPad" in all its iterations, the overwhelming appeal of cats and iPads is not a new phenomenon. Here's the original "When Cats and iPads Collide" video above, with a gratuitous link to "World's Fattest Cat" thrown in for good measure. Note to Steve Jobs: If ... More >>

Apple May Lift Free Speech Limits on Pulitzer-Winning Cartoonist Mark Fiore

Less than a week after he won the Pulitzer prize for editorial cartoons -- making him the first recipient of journalism's Big Prize among online cartoonists -- Mark Fiore is getting a second shot at creating an iPad app from Apple, which had previously shunned his work because it lampoons public fig ... More >>

iPillow Mom Makes iPad Cover

In what is probably the most tech savvy mom situation we've seen since @dabootysmackmom, Drew Olanoff's mom Lynda Harrison -- formerly of "Mom Lovingly Crafts iPhone Pillow for Son" -- has now created an handmade quilted iPad case for her own iPad. As her case was iPad ready for Saturday's releas ... More >>

You Know What Would Be Cool? If the iPad Was Also a Hoverboard.

Yeah, we can't believe the damn thing came out before the hoverboard either.​ We're not among the privileged few that received advanced review iPad units, nor among the prepared few that put in their pre-orders. We're not even part of the contingent of brave souls like Robert Scoble, who had the ... More >>

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