When Apple introduced the third-generation iPod shuffle last year they decided to remove buttons from the device and add VoiceOver commands and buttons on the headphones to control your music. Although an interesting idea, it wasn’t exactly what their customers wanted. I personally loved the look of the third-generation iPod shuffle but the lack of buttons presented some serious shortcomings.

This year, Apple introduced the brand new fourth-generation iPod shuffle and have brought back the buttons. The new iPod shuffle looks like a smaller version of the second-generation model and comes in five colors. The music player retains the popular clip on it’s back and brings Genius Mixes support to the feature-set.

The iPod shuffle is priced at $49 for 2GB of storage, is available for pre-order today, and will be shipping next week.

I’ve been planning a piece here about my current setup for months, and now that I’ve finally updated my About page I thought there was no better time to actually publish it than now. Another big influence for publishing this now is that I’ve now spent a few months with the iPad and it’s finally settled into my workflow.

Currently, most of what ends up getting published here is written on my 20-inch iMac. It was purchased in late 2008 and has a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor with 4GB of RAM. At the time of purchase it was the lowest-end iMac available but has served me well, especially after an upgrade to 4GB of RAM shortly after purchase. I have an Apple wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse connected to it right now but I’m expecting to receive Apple’s newly introduced Magic Trackpad this Christmas. I’m still not sure how well the trackpad will fit into my setup but I’m anxious to try it out.

The only other peripherals I have connected to my iMac are both from Elgato, a Turbo.264 HD and an Elgato EyeTV. The Turbo.264 HD is a beast when it comes to converting video and is the biggest reason I have no urge to upgrade my iMac at this time. I’m talking 5-10 minute conversions of 30 minute videos to an iPod friendly format. The EyeTV is a fantastic piece of hardware that integrates nicely with the Turbo.264 HD. All of the TV shows that I watch are recorded onto my iMac using the EyeTV and are then exported into iTunes so that I can watch it on any device I’d like to.

On the iMac I spend most of my time with Safari, iTunes, and Mail open. I switched from Firefox to Safari when 5.0 was released and haven’t looked back since. I’m still not used to the keyboard shortcuts for switching tabs but a great little extension called “ctrlSwitcher” has eased the pain a bit. Safari is significantly more stable than Firefox has ever been and I love that I don’t have to add bookmarks to two browser in order to keep my iOS devices and my default Mac web browser in sync.

I am a Quicksilver kind of guy, I haven’t spent the time to dig into all of the things Quicksilver can actually do — I usually use it as a launcher — but feel lost when I sit down to use a Mac that doesn’t have it installed.

Notational Velocity has become one of my favorite applications. Not only is it a dead-simple notes application, but it’s ability to sync with Simplenote has changed my life. I write all kinds of stuff in it, whether it’s a shopping list or I just need to jot down an idea, Notational Velocity is where I put it.

The other apps that keep me going include iCal, LittleSnapper, SuperDuper!, Time Machine, and Transmit.

My other Mac is a 1.83GHz Core Duo MacBook with 2GB of RAM. It was my first Mac, I’ve had it for nearly four years, and unfortunately the AirPort card just gave out on me a couple of months ago. I haven’t decided whether I want to spend the $200 or so to get it fixed, but even if I don’t, four years is about twice the lifespan of any PC I’ve ever owned.

I use a 500GB Time Capsule as my router and the only gadgets hard-wired to it are an HP Photosmart C4480 printer and a 320GB hard drive. Everything else on the network is connected using Wi-Fi. I have one of the newer dual-band Time Capsules so my 802.11n devices aren’t slowed down too much by the 802.11g devices on the network. I’ve read a lot of articles criticizing the Time Capsule but I’ve been very happy with it. I haven’t had any of the problems with the hard drive that others have and I don’t remember ever having to restart the thing for anything other than configuration changes.

I own an iPhone 3GS, an iPad, and a Kindle 2. These devices are what I use to do nearly all of my reading. I don’t read books but I always have something to read in Instapaper.

The majority of the time I use my Kindle is when I’m on trips. The devices’ fantastic battery life just can’t be beat. I’ve only purchased one book for my Kindle, “Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. Instead of reading books, I keep my Kindle full of content with a combination of Instapaper and Ephemera. Ephemera is a great little Mac application that keeps your Instapaper articles synced to your eBook reader. I have it setup to automatically launch and sync when my Kindle is connected to my computer and it automatically ejects when it finishes the sync. Ephemera is super simple and makes my Kindle infinitely more useful.

I currently own a 32GB iPhone 3GS, although that might be changing sooner than I’d like. The back of my 3GS has two small cracks near the dock connector and the headphone jack now refuses to recognize the controls on Apple’s fancy headphones. I’m not eligible for early upgrade pricing and had already decided to wait until the iPhone 5 came out before I purchase a new device. However, the cracks in the casing might force me to bite the bullet and buy an iPhone 4.

I don’t have a lot of applications installed on my iPhone (only three home screens worth and none of them are filled) but I do have a short list of favorites. Camera+ (with volume button shutter enabled), Twitter, Outside, Fever, Instapaper, Calcbot, Mint, and Simplenote are the only third-party apps on my first home screen.

Most of the free time I have with my iPhone is spent in Fever, Shaun Inman’s fantastic RSS reader, which I’ve saved to my home screen from Safari. Shaun clearly spent a lot of time optimizing Fever’s experience on the iPhone because it is fantastic. I know there are a lot of people that prefer to use Reeder for their RSS reading but I don’t think anything beats Fever’s experience. Fever is beautifully designed and its “Hot” section is a fantastic way to catch up on the important news when you’ve been away for a while.

The newcomer to my setup is a 64GB 3G iPad. I pre-ordered it on day one and received it as soon as it was available. It’s changed the way I’ve worked and I have no plans on looking back. At this point my iPad gets way more use than any of my Macs.

Like the iPhone, I don’t keep a lot of applications installed on my iPad at any given time. Ashes is generally the first application I launch when I pick up the iPad in the morning. Ashes is a Fever client that — although a little crashy from time to time — is the best way to read feeds on the iPad. I’ve been working on a review of Ashes for a few weeks but have decided to wait until an update addresses stability before I publish the review. The application is new and is interfacing with another application’s new API, I wouldn’t want to publish a review without giving it a fair chance.

I use Twitterrific for iPad because nothing better has come along and I use The Weather Channel Max to check the forecast.

I have iTeleport installed so I can remotely access my iMac wherever I am. There’s still a lot of tasks that aren’t possible or are difficult to perform on the iPad and iTeleport allows me to perform those tasks without having to walk to the other room or bring the MacBook with me when I’m on a trip.

At first glance it doesn’t seem like I do a whole lot on my iPad, but you’re likely underestimating just how much time I spend reading RSS feeds, checking email with Mail, or browsing the web in Safari. The iPad has a large display, it’s light-weight, and easy to use. It’s the first device I pick up in the morning and the last device I put down at night. It’s easy enough for my not-so-computer-literate family members to use but powerful enough for me to do nearly everything on. The iPad was the best purchase I’ve made this year and I can’t wait for the first opportunity to pick one up for my girlfriend.

Right now I’m pretty happy with my setup, though there are a few upgrades I’d like to make. I’ve really been interested in solid state disks as of late and have been thinking about buying one for the aging MacBook once I get its AirPort card replaced. I also plan on getting a second Apple wireless keyboard specifically for the iPad and would like to purchase Twelve South’s Compass stand for the iPad. I’ve read a couple of reviews online and no one’s written anything too terribly negative about the Compass.

My dream setup isn’t too different from what I have now. A second monitor, an iPhone 4, and a new MacBook Pro would be nice. But to be honest, I can’t imagine my dream setup making me any more productive. And if I’m not any more productive than what’s the point?

I’d feel nothing but guilt if I didn’t give credit to Daniel Bogan’s The Setup and Shawn Blanc’s Sweet Mac Setups for inspiring this write-up. I love reading about what other people use to get work done and thought that others might like to hear about what I use.

Financial Times:

Sony will begin its latest attempt to fight back against Apple’s dominance in the digital media field on Wednesday, when it unveils a new music and video subscription service to run across a range of its devices.

The announcement is expected to be made in Berlin at the IFA technology show, just hours before Apple’s own music-themed press conference in California, which is expected to include updates to its iPod, iTunes and Apple TV products.

Sony started with an ad campaign and is now planning to announce a “me too” service on the day of Apple’s announcement. It’s an interesting strategy, I’m not sure if it’ll get much attention from the announcement. It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t get this announced before Apple’s event.

Ronald Grover and Peter Burrows reporting for Bloomberg:

Apple Inc., preparing to announce a new set-top box that delivers video to consumers’ TVs, will include programming from Netflix Inc., according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

The big question remaining is whether Netflix streaming will be built into the OS or if it will be an app?

But for those who aren’t Netflix subscribers, the Wall Street Journal’s Shira Ovide reports that ABC and Fox are on deck to offer 99-cent TV show rentals through iTunes.

I guess 99-cent rentals from two major networks is better than none but this isn’t going to make me go all-in on iTunes quite yet. Add NBC, CBS, and a few major cable networks to the list and I’ll get really interested.

Another bit worthy of note regarding tomorrow’s Apple event is that Apple will be live streaming it on their website using HTTP Live Streaming. You’ll be able to watch the event live on either a Mac running Safari on Snow Leopard, an iPhone, iPod touch, or an iPad. My initial reaction to this announcement is that there is no reason for Apple to deal with the headache of live streaming for any reason other than to show off the technology that will be used to stream TV shows and movies through iTunes.

Nilay Patel writing for Engadget:

breach of fiduciary duty has always struck us as TechCrunch’s strongest argument, and the court’s now effectively ruled that Fusion Garage and TechCrunch were indeed involved in a joint business venture with legal obligations to protect each others’ interests. That’s not a bad position from which to proceed — although TechCrunch now has to prove that Fusion Garage actually violated its duty by releasing the Joojoo on its own, which is a whole new fight.

Just like everyone else, I’m not sure why this is going on. It’s pretty clear at this point that the JooJoo tablet isn’t selling like hot cakes.

Palm has released their developer beta of webOS 2.0 today and PreCentral’s Dieter Bohn has taken the time to detail all of the new features.

My feature in 2.0 is “Just Type,” which is a beefed up and rebranded Universal Search.

Dieter Bohn:

The more exciting changes here are underneath the hood: developers can now open up their apps to Just Type searches, making them fully searchable from anywhere on the phone. […] Just Type will be able to both search and initiate actions directly from the interface. So, for example, a developer could make a “Tweet This” Just Type action so users could type a tweet and send it all from the Just Type Interface.

The best way to explain it is: Quicksilver for webOS. I would love for Apple to open up their iPhone search feature to developers. My life would be a lot easier if I could search emails, tweets, and Instapaper articles all from one search box.

A few days ago an update was released for Netflix’s streaming application for iOS which added support for iPhone and iPod touch. The application runs well, although the scrolling feels a little sluggish. You can search for movies, browse movies by genre, add them to your instant queue or play them immediately.

The only downside I’ve been able to find is that you can’t output video to a television with the app. In anticipation of this release I had an iPod touch hooked up to the TV in my bedroom that I planned to watch Netflix movies on. But, with the current release this isn’t possible, hopefully it will be added in the future.

Netflix – Free

Jim Dalrymple reports for The Loop that Apple will be holding a special media event on September 1 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California.

Historically Apple has held events in September to announce new iPods and other music-related products. And make no mistake, there has been no lack of rumors since invitations went out just a few days ago.

Although the guitar image in the invitation implies that music will be the focus of the event, this doesn’t rule out the possibility of a “one more thing” announcement at the end of the event unveiling a new Apple TV. This seems even more likely when you consider the numerous reports of a new $1-per-episode price point in iTunes for TV shows.

Cult of Mac’s Leander Kahney claims that someone with connections inside Apple has told them that Apple will be announcing $1 TV shows soon, likely at this upcoming event. But instead of $1 per episode, that fee would give you access to the entire catalog of a given TV show. E.g. pay $1 per month for the Office and have access to all of the shows episodes as long as you continue to pay the fee.

Cult of Mac’s information doesn’t jibe with Bloomberg’s reports of $0.99 TV show rentals with 48 hour viewing windows. I suppose we’ll have to wait until Wednesday for more information, unless somebody leaks it early.

Apple’s iPod announcements haven’t been left out of the rumor mill, though. Jeremy Horowitz reports in iLounge that The fourth-generation iPod touch will lose the dome shaped back and go back to one that looks more like the first-generation iPod touch’s back. He has heard that the rear-facing camera will be there and that the iPod touch will likely have a microphone and not a camera flash.

There have also been rumors of a much smaller iPod nano that would use that 1.7-inch touchscreen that was floating around last month. iLounge has published images of, what are claimed to be, cases for the next-generation iPod touch and iPod nano. Adding more credence to the rumor, Neil Hughes and Kasper Jade report on AppleInsider that the iPod nano will be shrunken to a size more similar to the iPod shuffle’s size but will retain its 30-pin dock connector.

In the aforementioned AppleInsider piece they also mention the possibility of a new iLife suite the the potential for a 3G-capable iPod touch. Like I said, there is no lack of rumors. There’s even rumors of an iTunes update that will add more social features.

But just like most other Apple events, it is highly unlikely that all of the rumors will be incorporated at this event. If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on an iPod touch with FaceTime, a new iPod nano that will use that 1.7-inch touchscreen, some sort of $1 price point for TV shows, a new iOS based Apple TV, and iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod touch (not iPad).

Unfortunately, I have to work on the day of the event so I won’t be able to follow along at home as I usually do. But if a $99 Apple TV is announced, I’ll come home with credit card in-hand to place my order.

In a follow-up to his piece late last month, Hugo Miller reports in Bloomberg that RIM will not be using BlackBerry OS in their BlackPad and instead will be using an OS developed by QNX Software Systems, which RIM acquired for $200 million in April.

The BlackPad will include Wi-Fi technology so it can connect to the Internet wherever the wireless technology is available, including a home or office. When not near such Wi-Fi “hotspots,” people could connect wirelessly to their mobile phone with Bluetooth technology and then to the Internet. The device will not be able to connect directly to the cellular network the way some iPads can, two people said last month.

I think it’s wise of RIM to use a different OS for their tablet. BlackBerry OS just isn’t cutting it anymore on cell phones and I doubt they’ll be able to make it work on a tablet. It’s time to start from scratch.

On the other hand, not including 3G in the BlackPad sounds like an awful idea. I own an iPad with 3G and even though I’ve only paid for one month of data and only used it over one weekend, I’m still incredibly happy that I have the option.

Being able to tether your BlackBerry device to the BlackPad for 3G data may be their saving grace but I think it’s shortsighted at best. Unfortunately, if RIM has already decided to keep 3G chips out of the BlackPad than tethering exclusively to the BlackBerry is their only option. But, what happens if a BlackBerry and BlackPad owner decides to switch to another handset that doesn’t support tethering with the BlackPad?

Lee Mathews:

Yes, our source tells us that Google is building a Chrome OS tablet. It’s real, and it’s being built by HTC. No surprise there, since HTC churned out the Nexus One for Google.

Why hasn’t Google realized that Chrome OS is splitting their market into two groups, the manufacturers and customers that choose Chrome OS and those that choose Android.

Android has a lot of momentum at this point, don’t screw it up.