Filed under: Multimedia , Internet Tools , iTunes , iPhone , Music The problem is, we just don’t know where they’re going. In a Saturday blog post, the company announced it is “…taking a new direction” and won’t be offering their current apps to new users

Filed under: Gaming , Software I’ve been working like crazy for TUAW here at GDC 2010 (and there’s a lot more coverage yet to come), but I did take a little time for myself this afternoon and go see the demo that Firaxis is showing off here of this fall’s Civilization V . The latest and greatest Civ is quite different from the past iterations. As you can see in the above photo, the squares have become hexes for the first time ever, units will no longer stack (I know!), and culture will grow only as you pay gold to grow it, one hex at a time.

Filed under: Retail , Rumors , iPad Apple Store Sydney by Shaondiwakar – Flickr In the wake of yesterday’s iPad sales estimates of 50K in the first couple of hours (now revised by Silicon Alley Insider and Apple 2.0 to about 91,000 in the first six hours), we have an unconfirmed but plausible number from inside the retail stores. According to our source, the in-store pickup reservation count differential between the start of the day and closing time was about 41,000; that represents reservations for the WiFi iPad only. If you’ve got a pickup reservation and you happen to know your ID number for it — and you made your reservation either at the very beginning of the day yesterday, or at the very end of the day — let us know in the comments and we’ll start doing some arithmetic.

Filed under: Tips and tricks , Odds and ends , iPhone If your iPhone backups and restores are taking a ridiculously long time, Apple suggests you take a quick peek at your Camera Roll. In a new Knowledge Base entry, Apple reminds users that photos are backed up each time you do a sync, even if there are no changes to the Camera Roll. The result can be a sluggish backup or restore

Filed under: iPad It seems that a lot of Apple-related events happen while I’m on cruise ships. Back in 1998, for example, I was aboard a cruise ship when I read the headline that Apple had decided to drop the Newton MessagePad . Before we went on this trip, I knew that Apple would start taking iPad pre-orders and reservations on March 12, so I expected that I’d just be able to pull up the Apple website early in the morning, pop in my reservation, and then go on with my vacation

Filed under: MobileMe Many folks were excited when Apple announced Back to My Mac as part of MobileMe . Being able to remotely access your Mac from anywhere sounded like magic. We’re used to products from Apple that “just work” but for most people most of the time, Back to My Mac “just doesn’t.” To maximize your chances, you’re supposed to use a supported router , but even that’s no guarantee

If – like me – your fridge is black, then these shiny iPhone app fridge magnets from Jailbreak Collective will look very smart indeed displayed on the door. Just 13 bucks gets you a set of these icon almost-replicas

Filed under: Retail , Apple , iPad According to MacDailyNews , shoppers who placed iPad pre-orders this morning are being told by Apple Store employees that demand could affect their plans for in-store pickup. It seems that several customers ordered iPads this morning, opting for at-home delivery.

Soft Sailor is a tech blog I’ve not encountered before, but today I stumbled across a very odd post indeed. Published just yesterday, it recommends downloading something a little bit unusual: Internet Explorer 5.2.3. Which is only, let’s see now… about seven years old

Filed under: Retail , Apple Financial , iPad The early adopters are out in force today. Based on analysis from Fortune ’s Apple 2.0 blog & the investors of the AAPL board on Investor Village , it seems that as many as 50,000 iPads were pre-ordered in its first two hours of availability this morning.

Filed under: Apple , iPad Considering AppleCare for your iPad? I know that I am. For $99, AppleCare extends your iPad warranty coverage to two years from the date of purchase.

If you’re in the market for an iPad — and you know you are, because it’s killer — you’re probably wondering which model to buy. Naturally, you’re looking at the cheapest $499 iPad, which has Wi-Fi only, but you’re thinking you might also want 3G

Filed under: iPad Much as I love AT&T’s prepaid services, their interactive system for purchasing feature packages… well, it kind of sucks.