Every year in September Apple has its music focussed event which normally focusses on new iPods, but occasionally Apple also releases interesting new devices as well…

Now if we look at the invite for the event its a guitar with a Apple shaped hole behind the strings, so clearly Apple is sticking to the music theme this year. But this might also hint towards Apple’s iLife suite which has the Garageband app. Its been 18 months since iLife ’09 was released. The typical release date for past releases of iLife was in January at the Macworld conference, but since Apple does not go to Macworld anymore, an announcement for a new version of iLife might be very possible.

Captain Obvious will also tell you that new iPods are on the way. Updates to the current iPod might look something like this I reckon:

iPod Classic: All evidence suggests that the hard drive based iPod is on the way out. With all of Apple’s focus on touch based interfaces, it would be very strange of Apple to keep selling the Classic. But there is a sizable number of people out there with massive music libraries that want it all in their pockets. So if Apple drops the iPod Classic, expect some outcry.

iPod Nano: There are currently pictures out there from case suppliers that suggest that Apple might be changing the Nano a lot. Expect a small clip like device, almost like the second generation iPod Shuffle. Bizarrely this device will use a 3 inch touch screen.

I am somewhat skeptical of this, and I guess I would have to see how one would pull off a touch based interface on such a small screen that actually works well. I am instead hoping for a smaller sized iPod Touch shaped device.

iPod Touch: My opinion is that the iPod touch and Classic would be fused into one product. I reckon the iPod touch might change its name to simply “iPod”. Looking at the iPhone 4 its easy enough to predict what we might see. Expect higher resolution Retina displays, front facing cameras for using Facetime calls and a more iPhone like design scheme that uses matte steel and black steel.

iPod Shuffle: In the past year, the Shuffle was the dud of the iPod lineup. Without a decent control scheme, I expect Apple to shift to another design. Or alternatively, if the rumors of a much smaller iPod Nano is to believed, it might be entirely possible that the Shuffle can be scrapped altogether.

One more thing: New AppleTV (or iTV). I expect a more simplified version of Apple TV to arrive soon. Current rumors suggest an iOS based interface, smaller on board storage and an much lower price. I have no idea how they would implement iOS on a screen without a decent control scheme though. Maybe a Wiimote like pointer?

The big what if for me: When is iPad users getting iOS4? Apple told us that we can expect it Fall 2010. Well – its that time Apple. Problem is that there has been no public beta of 4.1 for iPad. Therefore I expect at least the announcement of the iPad iOS Beta program to start. Call it iOS 4.1, iOS 4.2, heck, call iPadFixed, just give us some feedback Apple. But I don’t want to get off on a rant here – you can read my current issues with the iPad here.

But its only a day until we will know how wrong I am…

This year’s Tech-Ed conference is once again in Durban, and is one of the premier training oppurtunities for just about anyone who works with Microsoft’s suite of products, technologies, solutions and services. If you are a technology professional involved with building, deploying or maintaining IT solutions, Tech-Ed Africa is a great conference that will give you many insights into dealing with present and future challenges.

I attended last year, and I have to say it is one of the most well organized, informative conferences I have ever attended. The sessions are informative, and I really appreciated the information on upcoming products, and how businesses should ready themselves.

This year there is more than 200 technical solutions, all delivered by Microsoft and industry experts. These technical sessions are very open, and attendees always get an oppurtunity to get there questions answered.

Tech-Ed is running from 17 to 20 October, and if you book within the before 30 July, there is a super early bird special.

If you want more info on Tech-Ed 2010, click here.

Source: Mashable

Quirk Education’s new digital marketing course, Applying Social Media to Business Challenges, kicks off on 28 June.

The content for the 5-week online course is largely drawn from Quirk’s own recent case studies, including campaigns that Quirk eMarketing has run for brands such as Mweb, Sun International, SA Tourism and Neotel.

Amongst other things, the course will look at:

• the challenges and opportunities in the social media landscape
• using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs
• building communities around brands or topics
• how businesses can take a strategic approach to social media
• how to run integrated campaigns using both online and offline elements
• best practice for social media campaigns

This is not a basic introductory course, but rather an in-depth look at practical application.

“In the past year we’ve had amazing success with Social Media implementation for some of our big clients and they’ve reaped huge rewards as a result,” says Lyndi Lawson, Minister of Education at Quirk Education. “It’s on this experience that we’ve based the content for the course.”

Places are limited, and registrations close on 25 June. The cost of the course is R5,900 (including VAT), and there is a 10% discount on group registrations of three or more, and a 20% discount for OPA members.

Visit the Quirk Education site to register.

FEMTECH is a six-month business support programme aimed at women who own and run technology-enabled businesses.

Participants will

• learn how to determine whether their concept is feasible
• learn how to develop a plan to take their new product or service to market
• get help and support from a business coach
• become part of a peer network of women facing similar challenges and opportunities

The course includes workshops, ongoing personal mentorship and coaching and women-centered peer networking.

To be eligible for the programme, you must be a female business owner with demonstrated entrepreneurial skills, who is currently running a business, preferably one that is technology-enabled. Alternatively, you must have plans to introduce an innovative product or service into an existing business, or to spin out a business from a corporate environment.

You also need to be within travelling distance of Pretoria, and must be able to attend training and mentoring sessions at least once a month between July and October.

Applications close on 31 May 2010. Twenty applicants will be chosen to complete the programme. Visit the FEMTECH website for details of how to apply.

If you missed Net Prophet on 13 May, you can now see all the videos of the day’s sessions on the Net Prophet blog.

1. Vinny Lingham – Building a global business – lessons learnt
   
2. Stefan Magdalinski – Observations from building a technology business in Africa
   
3. Adriaan Pienaar – The WooThemes story
   
4. Stuart Ntlathi – The next generation
   
5. Richard Mulholland – The side-effects of social media
   
6. Patrick Kayton – Shaping the future of internet publishing by shrugging off the past
   
7. Arthur Goldstuck – The Sophisticat, the Elephant, and the Secret of the Digital Native
   

The 20th Cape Town GeekDinner will be taking place on Thursday 27 May at Da Capo (52 Shortmarket Street, Greenmarket Square).

As always, talks will be finalised just before the dinner, but talks that have been offered at this stage include:

• The Open and Distributed social network wave, why it’s not an easy problem to solve (by Joe Botha)
• 5 Life Changing Moments (by Jonathan Endersby)

Anyone is welcome to offer a talk for GeekDinner, so if you have something you’d like to share, add it to the wiki. But do take note of the following pointers from the GeekDinner organisers:
“We want short, interactive talks – a quick overview of a cool idea, or an interesting way of looking at things. We prefer to stay away from the how, and the technical nitty-gritty, and get an idea of the what or maybe the why. We like to keep the talks short – about five minutes, plus questions. Bring your slides on a USB stick if you have any, we will provide a laptop and a projector.”

The main list is full at this stage, but if you’d like to attend, add your name to the waiting list and keep checking whether you’ve been bumped up – there are always cancellations, right up until the evening of the dinner itself.

You can also sign up to the announcement list or follow CTGeekDinner on Twitter to be notified about the next dinner as soon as the date and venue have been confirmed.

27Dinner will be taking place in Johannesburg on the 27th of May, and in Durban on the 28th.

Speakers at the Johannesburg event will include:

• Vinny Lingham, founder and CEO of Yola, who’ll be talking about lessons he’s learnt in the process of building a global business
• Eve Dmochowska, founder of Crowdfund and Geekspace, who’ll be talking about how these two initiatives will help the South African tech industry
• Mark Stacey, founder and owner of Aphelion, who’ll be talking about the impact of social media on decision-making in an enterprise environment

Speakers at the Durban dinner will include:

• Lungile Zondi, who will be discussing her initiative www.myshuttles.com
• Briget Ferguson of www.myr260car.co.za, who will be talking about her approach to this social media campaign

The Johannesburg dinner will be taking place at Metro Café & Bar, Benmore Gardens shopping centre, Sandton. The cost per person will be R100 (cash only), which includes a meal of your choice plus a welcome cocktail.

The Durban dinner will be taking place at La Bella Café, on the corner of St Thomas and Essenwood Roads in Musgrave. Attendees will be able to buy dinner off the menu, and there’ll be a cash bar.

You must add your name to the sign-up list if you’d like to attend. Spaces are filling up quickly, particularly for the Jo’burg dinner, so head over to the 27Dinner website right away to book your spot.

Reconstructed Living Lab is hosting a social media workshop in Athlone on 4 May, aimed at civil society and non-profit organisations.

Participants will be given an introduction to social media and will be educated in the use of social media tools such as blogs, wikis, file-sharing sites and mobile social networks. Guidelines and suggestions will be offered for how organisations can best utilise and benefit from social media, and the topic of drafting a Social Media Policy for non-profits will also be covered.

This is a hands-on, practical workshop, which means that participants will have an opportunity to use some of the social media tools and will come away with real skills that they can immediately put to use in their respective organisations.

The workshop will run from 09h15 to 13h30 at 66 Tarentaal Road, Bridgetown, Athlone (Western Cape). For more information, call Reconstructed Living Lab on 021 699 1453.

The NetWeb business community is hosting a networking event this evening (28 April 2010) at the Southern Sun Hotel in Main Road, Newlands. There will be an hour of presentations on issues facing entrepreneurs, followed by an hour of networking.

Bruce Wade of The Entrepreneur Incubator will talk about becoming a “20-tweener” in order to understand the new rules of business engagement, while Peter Greenwall of Logical Stupidity will present on “Pulling Ideas From Your Aspirations For Financial Gain”. The cost to attend is R70 per person, and snacks will be provided. The event runs from 18h30 until 20h30.

Find out more about the event on the NetWeb site, and book your spot by emailing Pamela Tosh at pamela@pamelatosh.co.za.

We heard about this event via the Cape Town Startup Digest. Join the Startup Digest mailing list to make sure that you don’t miss out on any startup and tech-related events taking place in Cape Town.