We know spring doesn't officially start for another two weeks, but the way the weather and the sun have been playing with our minds lately, it feels like it might really happen on schedule. Of course, if we know winter, there's always at least one more trick up its sleeve. But this weather! It almost makes us not want to be inside playing with our tech toys. 

So load up these links on your iPhone and get stepping out like us, because it's another sunshiney week of the best of the best from Mac|Life.


Features:

- 10 Reasons Why You Can't Always Rely on GPS on the iPhone - We like to laugh when we see people with smartphones and a GPS system; it seems so redundant. But the iPhone's GPS isn't perfect (none are), and you might find yourself needing and not wanting. Here's how it can happen, in ten easy steps. Worst case scenario isn't the bear, however; it's having to use Bing maps.


How-Tos:

- Getting Started with Final Cut Pro - If there's anything as complicated and as ever-changing as digital video editing, let us know, because it makes our head hurt. Apple's good for taking the sting out of lots of things, and Final Cut Pro goes a long way toward doing so, but if you're just getting started, it's good to get a little help from your friends. Of course we mean your friends at Mac|Life.


Reviews:

- CarMD 2100 Handheld Tester - It seems only yesterday we were talking to a coworker who needed just this exactly little handy device. Well, actually, it was over a year ago, but you get the picture. If it had been yesterday, we'd have shoved this article under his nose and told him to diagnose his own car trouble in a snap. The CarMD 2100 plugs in under your hood, downloads a list of what ails your auto, and lets you figure out what made that ticking noise all on your own.

- Logitech Performance Mouse MX - The only drawback to this amazing little mouse is that it's for righties only. Logitech might have a lefty version in a back closet somewhere, and if they do, snag one of these babies. It handles like a dream and can even navigate on a glasstop desk. Mice have come a long way since the trackball days, and Logitech leads the pack.

- Dew Motion Quiver - Looking like a dork's a small price to pay for not getting your earphones tangled in something and your iPod jerked out of your jacket and dashed to the floor. Dew Motion's Quiver is a handy little device and spares you that pain, but $100 is a lot of dough to willingly pay for safe dorkiness.

- Roxio Popcorn 4 - As we said about Final Cut Pro up above, the bewildering array of video codexes and formats can make your brain feel like mush. Roxio's Popcorn is a tasty bite of software that turns downloading videos to watch on your iPhone or iPod (or soon, your iPad) a snap. Factors like DRM and Blu-Ray are beyond Roxio's scope, and that's about the only thing keeping this from being a must-have.


News:

Do you think iPad rumors will stop once the darn thing is actually here? Nah, us neither. This week saw the "will it be delayed? no, it won't be delayed" cycle run past us in record speed. Then Apple cut through all the nonsense and dropped some solid dates on us for pre-order and for shipping. Well, all rightie then....speaking of rumors, since Apple's announcement we guess we can credit this one about Apple Store employees getting to fondle our dreams a couple weeks early to orient themselves with the iPad; now I'm going to have to listen to my brother-in-law rave. Sigh...gamers have a lot to look forward to with Apple's shiny new baby; for instance, have a gander at these gorgeous shots of one of the iPad's first new games. Amazing...also amazing? Penguin Books approach to the iPad with their vision of interactive e-books. Could the iPad make reading cool again?

What's not beautiful is what Google's smartphones could look like if Apple has their way in patent court. The thing is a beast without all the innovations Cupertino brought to the market...Google is behind their hardware partner HTC all the way in court, which isn't much of a surprise, further widening the tech giant rift...of course, is the suit a solid legal strategy or is it just Steve blowing his top? Who knows, but theories abound, as usual...not that news that Android's market share has grown while the iPhone's has shrunk has anything to do with it either; (anecdotally, everyone we know with an Android cites AT&T as reason numero uno for going with Google,)...although this map suggests that the iPhone is still pretty darn dominant around the world in terms of mobile browsing...and if anaylsts are to be believed, the iPhone has been a major cash cow for Apple. No wonder they're going after HTC so hard in court...

Speaking of going after. First Cupertino took our sexy away (then sorta kinda gave it back), now they've targeted our beloved WiFi stumblers. Consider it incentivizing the purchase of a 3G iPad...because AT&T has got some news for you too; in a little tag-team action, the carrier insists, despite things they've said, that metered usage is coming to wireless networks whether you like it or not...of course, if Apple wants you to keep your video in the cloud, then WiFi is really just about the only way to work...this happens to be something Netflix has noticed as well, and their surveys of users about possible WiFi delivery just about screams iPad...the online video store isn't the only one thinking about development; Sony, in a rather late to the game announcement, has decided they want a piece of this mobile pie. Lots of luck, guys...not that mobile/digital products are the money maker we've all been led to believe. The New York Times crunches the numbers on e-books and doesn't find fat bags of cash there either. Another get-rich quick scheme down the drain.