Author: Chris Ryan

If there’s even been a more sure sign that new iPhones are coming in the immediate future, it’s the fact that Walmart slashed the price of Apple’s iPhone to $97, representing a savings of $100 if you’d purchased it from them last week.

Is this a result of new iPhones around the corner? Does Walmart still have a significant inventory of iPhones to sell off? Looking back a few years ago, Walmart was one of the first third-party distributors outside of Apple and AT&T to offer the coveted iPhone for sale.

With such a huge savings, one can’t help but speculate that a new iPhone is coming in the next few weeks and Walmart plans to have plenty of room to sell it.

The 16GB iPhone 3GS still carries the requirement of activation and a two-year service contract with AT&T. Couple this with AT&T’s recent increase in its early termination fee means that while this phone is a great value, it’s still going to be a while before you can upgrade to whatever Apple announces at WWDC in a couple of weeks.

Still, this could be a good value for some who may not wish to upgrade, who are dissatisfied with AT&T or who may not see any appeal in the rumored fourth generation iPhone. AT&T certainly hasn’t brought tethering to its customers and if the new iPhone does sport a front-facing camera, I get a sneaky vibe that the cost of the unlimited data plan is going to go up.

Walmart’s price for the 32GB iPhone remains unchanged at $297. Historically speaking, larger capacity devices tend to be the best sellers. Undoubtedly, the lower price on the 16GB iPhone 3GS will cannibalize sales of the larger iPhone, so it’s likely that Walmart’s stock of the smaller iPhones is very plentiful, compared to the 32GB version.

Adding to this news are rumors of a new iPhone around the corner is that Apple has slowed or stopped shipments of iPhones to its third-party vendors. Steve has something up his sleeve for week after next and Walmart intends to be ready.

Can you hang on two more weeks to see the new iPhone? Or is it time to upgrade your original phone to an iPhone 3GS for less than $100?

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While those who recently graduated may be missing their Apple discount, those who are going to be heading back to school this fall can take advantage of Apple’s standard college student discount with the added bonus of a free iPod touch.

Similar to “Back to School” promotions offered by Apple every summer, college students as well as faculty and staff members of any K-12 school or college in the U.S. are eligible for the promotion. Simply head into an Apple Store, purchase any Mac (except a Mac mini or refurbished Mac) and buy an iPod at the same time. The rebate is for $199, so even if you are coveting that awkwardly classic 160GB iPod or a larger iPod touch, you can still get it, though you’ll only get $199 back. Unfortunately, the offer doesn’t apply to iPhones or iPads.

The promotion runs from May 25, 2010 through September 7, 2010. Traditionally, these promotions have served as an effective way for Apple to clear out its remaining inventory of iPods, so you can pretty much plan for new iPods to be released around the first week of September. These promotions also tend to move a lot of Macs and iPods out the door, so this quarter for Apple will probably look pretty rosy.

If you’re considering the switch to Mac, this is one of the best times to save the most money on switching. From the lucrative discounts on hardware (ranging from $50 on the entry-level MacBook to $200 on the MacBook Pros) to the $100 rebate that you get when buying an eligible printer with your Mac, you can seriously save some cash. Add in a MobileMe subscription for $30 off retail and a free iPod touch ($199), why wouldn’t you switch? Oh, by the way, if you were wanting iWork with your new Mac, you can get that for $30 off too.

For those looking to learn more about their Mac, including iWork and iLife, check out our 101 series of screencasts (subscription required).

However, there are a few disclaimers. Unfortunately, the Back to School promotion is only available to U.S. customers. If you are wanting to buy a new Mac, but will require some custom configurations, such as different graphics cards or hard drives, you’ll need to complete your entire purchase online instead of in the store. For more details on any of these promotions, visit Apple’s promo website.

Even if you already have an iPod touch or printer, if you’re in the market for a new Mac, find a college student and go save some money. If you end up selling your printer or iPod touch on eBay, you’ll still come out ahead. Have you been waiting for this promotion to switch to the Mac or upgrade your current setup? Do you really need one more iPod or Mac in your family? Tell us your thoughts!

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Whether your presentation tool of choice is Keynote or PowerPoint, when you give a presentation on your Mac, the last thing you want is for something to go wrong. Here’s my top 10 list of helpful tips that will help you get the most out of presenting with your Mac.

1. Run Through Your Presentation Before Presenting

PowerPoint and Keynote will play together, but they don’t always play well together. If you’re moving presentations between applications or even just between computers, give your presentation a good run through before showtime.

2. Test Out the Hardware

If you’ll be presenting with an external display, using external speakers or something similar, test all of this before your presentation. Your Mac’s screen will flicker as it adjusts screen resolution to match what it’s connected to (if you’re mirroring displays). Test all of this beforehand so you’re prepared and not dealing with unexpected complications.

3. Simplify Your Slides

This one is purely a stylistic suggestion, but you’ll be doing your audience a favor if you simplify the text on your slides as much as possible. Do you enjoy reading a lot of text when it’s displayed on your television? Neither do your viewers.

4. Use a Soothing Color Palette

Make you presentation stand out with a color palette that works well together. If you need some inspiration, visit Adobe’s Kuler website to see a variety of color palettes submitted by users. Search for one that fits your needs or upload and share your own.

5. Turn Everything Else Off

When you are presenting, make sure any unnecessary applications are closed. Growl notifications, incoming iChat messages and bouncing dock icons are not appropriate for a presentation. If you’re the type of presenter who uses a few slides but speaks at great lengths on each one, make sure your screensaver and sleep settings (if using a laptop) are disabled to prevent your Mac from accidentally going dark. You can adjust these settings in the Desktop & Screen Saver and Energy Saver panes of System Preferences (subscription required). Remember that portable Macs store energy saver settings differently when you use your battery and when you use your power adapter!

6. Presenting a Website? Load it Beforehand

If you’ll be presenting websites alongside your presentation, go ahead and load those beforehand. This will save you from wasting time while the pages load and will still be able to serve its purpose in your presentation even if you are unable to connect to the Internet when you are presenting. Better yet, you could even include screenshots of the website you want to show. That way, if for some reason the pre-loaded version in your browser doesn’t work, you’ll still have something to show. While you’re at it, if you’ll be displaying any other application while presenting, go ahead and have it loaded too. There’s nothing more frustrating than staring at a splash screen for 30 seconds while you and your audience wait for Photoshop to load.

7. Got an iPhone? Use the Keynote Remote App

Apple’s 99 cent Keynote Remote app will let you use your iPhone or iPod touch to remotely control your presentation. It can advance slides and return to previous slides and can even show you your presenter notes. The only catch is that you must have a Wi-Fi network to use it. If you do not, you can set up a computer-to-computer network with your Mac.

8. Don’t Have an iPhone? Use the Presenter Display for Keynote or PowerPoint

With this mode (accessible under the preferences of each application), you can customize a view to display your current and upcoming slide, show your presenter notes, view a clock and a timer. With Keynote, you’ll need to make sure that your primary display is set to the projector or whatever device you connect to your Mac. Since Keynote uses the “alternate display,” you will need to make this change so that the Presenter Display will show up on your Mac and not your external display.

9. Bring Handouts

So many people overlook this tip, but it’s just about as important as backing up your computer (and we’ve all been guilty of not paying attention to that tip too). If technical difficulties get the best of you, you’ll still have physical copies of your presentation to fall back on. Plus, handouts make a great way to give your audience a leave behind, should you wish to give them out at the end, or they give your audience something to follow along with and add their own notes if you hand them out beforehand.

10. Make A Good Impression

Saving the best for last, a snazzy PowerPoint or Keynote is nothing if the presenter stumbles their way through. Take the time to be familiar with your slides and be able to speak to them with comfort. You don’t have to be the next Steve Jobs, but take your time and be able to present your actual topic.

Do you present with your Mac? Found any great tips that work for you? Give us and your fellow readers your thoughts in the comments below.

Related TechUniversity Screencast: Keynote Transitions & Effects (subscription required)

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