When it comes to the MUG Event Calendar, the iPad will be on everyone’s agenda this week, whether it's an officially listed meeting topic or not. Even so, there are plenty of other topics and presenters on the schedule.

Apple Senior Systems Engineer Dave Marra will be at a New Jersey group, Daniel Busse of Apple will be in Illinois, and an unspecified Apple presenter will visit a Nevada group, and we bet they’ll all be focusing on the iPad. The folks from Smule will show off their latest creation to a California group, Elgato’s Mike Evangelist will be the guest of an Illinois group, and Eric Paquin of Microsoft will talk visit a group in Ireland.

Outside of iPad demos, presentations and general banter, topics on the list for this week include Apple TV and EyeTV, Pixelmator, Skype, video asset management, Bluetooth, Google Docs and Calendar, iMovie, and more.

"The MUG Event Calendar" can be found at The MUG Center (...

The iPad could offer "significant" cannibalization of Apple's laptop sales, according to "Seeking Alpha" (http://seekingalpha.com/article/196954-mac-notebook-cannibalization-from...).
"Seeking Alpha" estimates that there could be $15 (6%) downside to Apple’s stock if iPad sales were to eventually cannibalize about half of Mac notebook sales. Such a scenario could materialize if the majority of prospective Mac notebook buyers are primarily content consumers rather than content creators, the financial site says. )

About 18% of Apple’s stock value is attributable to the company’s Mac business. Mac notebooks are the most valuable component of the Mac business, constituting about 8% of Apple’s stock. In comparison, we...

macProVideo.com has released a tutorial-video about Native Instruments Kontakt sampler plug-in, called"Native Instruments 105: Exploring Kontakt" (ttp://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/nativeinstruments105).

In this tutorial, composer and sound designer Scott Freiman shows you how to use Native Instruments’ Kontakt 4 sampler. Tips and tricks are scattered among this courses interactive tutorial-videos.

After a brief series of “getting started” videos, Freiman gets right into music making with Kontakt. He introduces Kontakt's features. Topics include creating a database of your own samples, using Kontakt as a plug-in, automating Kontakt with MIDI, and getting the most from the Kontakt browser. The course also takes a detailed look at each of the sample collections that make up the Kontakt Factory Library.

This tutorial is priced at US$39.50 for the HD Download, which users can download to their computer and review anytime, or $25 for unlimited monthly access to the...

There was good news for Apple today with new research from price comparison site Kelkoo UK stating that 40 per cent of consumers are ready to ditch their laptops for a tablet PC like the iPad, reports "V3" (http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2260785/four-ten-uk-consumers-fancy").

When it comes to the iPad, 23% felt its functionality was too limited at the moment, while 32% said they didn’t see the need for one at all. However, Bruce Fair, managing director of Kelkoo UK,says the iPad could do for the tablet market what the iPhone did for the smartphone market and pave the way for a host of imitators.

“When it comes to transforming the fortunes of niche markets, Apple undoubtedly has the ‘Midas touch’,” he told "V3." “The iPad is a hybrid of Apple’s best loved products all under one roof, which is good for consumers as it could lead to significant cost savings. Like netbooks, the iPad provides the basic functions offered by a laptop at a margin of the cost -- which in the...

DODOcase (http://www.dodocase.com/) is announcing its limited first edition iPad case. Hand built and designed in San Francisco, CA the DODOcase takes the best of the traditional hardcover book/journal and brings it to an iPad case with inspiration from the Moleskine writing journals we all know and love, says Patrick Buickley, founder and CEO of DODOcase.

The DODOcase's protective cover is constructed using traditional book binding techniques. The iPad is held in place by a carved bamboo piece with foam inserts for added protection. Lightweight, strong and eco-friendly, the DODOcase design enables easy access to your iPad on the go with a fold around cover and a simple lift out for when you want to take the iPad from its case, says Buckley.

Orders are being accepted now at DODOcase online. Due to high demand cases will ship in 3-5 weeks. The price is normally US$49.95, but, for a limited time,...

iPresentee (http://www.ipresentee.com), a developer of add-ons for Apple’s iWork and iLife applications, released Mail Stationery 1.0 templates to be used with Apple’s Mail software. It's a collection of 65 templates for Apple Mail.

What's more, iPresentee is presenting 15 free Easter Mail Stationery templates. Most of the templates includes extra design variations. Messages created with Mail Stationery can be read by popular webmail services and email programs on both Mac computers and PCs.

Moreover all Messages created with Mail Stationery can be viewed on iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. New Mail Stationery templates comes with an installer to make sure the templates end up in the right place and would be displayed in Apple Mail New Message Stationery menu automatically. 

Mail Stationery 1.0 is priced at US$25 and requires Mac OS X 10.5n. Free Mail Stationery templates for Easter holiday...

MusicSkins has launched a new line of vinyl skin products for the iPad. Available today, the new line of MusicSkins covers the entire back of the iPad, custom-cut to allow for complete functionality. 

The new line of fully removable entertainment-themed skins for the iPad feature MusicSkins’ entire catalogue, encompassing musical genres like rock, rap, country, R&B, pop and reggae, as well as fashion, art, models, Adult Swim and other media themes. Through its partnership with Live Nation, MusicSkins has gained rights to market skins from some of the largest acts in the industry, including The Beatles, Jay Z, Black Eyed Peas, Sex Pistols, AC/DC, Madonna, Lil Wayne, and Kiss, as well as acts from other companies such as Bob Marley, Taylor Swift, The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Rihanna, Linkin Park and among others.

Jed Seifert, MusicSkins executive vice president, says the MusicSkins line of device skins are made of premium quality vinyl that provides a high-gloss...

On the new "MacVoices" (http://www.macvoices.com), Marco Arment is "the guy who does everything for Instapaper," talks about the origins of Instapaper.

He reveals his method of beta-testing, explains why graphics aren't included in Instapaper-processed articles, and what drove his feature set and pricing decisions for the two versions of the program. Arment also discusses his iPad expectations, and why he thinks it will be important to have an iPad-native version of Instapaper available as soon as possible.

"MacVoices" is an Internet show and podcast that delivers in-depth discussions with the most influential people in the Mac industry, as well as "the individuals who are out there making it happen on the front lines of the global Apple community," according to host Chuck Joiner.

FileMaker (http://www.filemaker.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has announced the immediate availability of its Bento for iPad on the Apple App Store for US$4.99.

The app is based on Bento for iPhone with enhancements to make the most of the big, beautiful iPad screen, says Ryan Rosenberg, FileMaker vice president of marketing and services. The new app enables users to manage contacts, track projects, plan events and more, and can be used by itself or synchronized with Bento 3 for Mac.
 
Bento for iPad works in both portrait and landscape views, automatically switching between views as the user rotates the iPad. Users can touch the screen to edit information in choice, date and rating fields and checkboxes. A new quick tap lets users watch videos, view photos and send e-mails. Customers can even browse web links in Bento without leaving the app. 
 
The app features new...

iLuv (http://www.i-luv.com) has unveiled a line of cases and sleeves that provide protection for iPads.

Ranging from casual fabric cases to leather cases to silicone cases, this series also includes protective water resistant neoprene sleeves which will feature two front cover pockets for protecting your iPad protected while on the go. Go to the iLuv web site for details and pricing.

CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC are adapting episodes of their TV shows to be viewable free of charge on the iPad, according to people familiar with the matter, reports "The Wall Street Journal" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230333830457515673000868093...).

The two U.S. networks are planning to stream their TV shows over the Internet with commercial breaks, similar to on their existing Web sites, people briefed on the plans said. CBS plans to stream episodes of TV shows through the iPad's built-in Web browser, while ABC plans to stream its shows in an iPad window, says the "WSJ."