AllThingsD shared the not-at-all surprising news that the iPad 2 continues to lead the tablet market. Shocking, of course. With millions of sales expected for the next quarter, the competition is a handful of also-rans that would be thrilled with a tenth of the market.

Samsung Galaxy Tabs, BlackBerry PlayBooks; and Acer Iconia Tabs have all shipped hundreds of thousands of units—in some cases millions. But the flood-the-market strategy only works if you’re the company who regularly packs stores with obsessive, regular buyers on opening days—like Apple.

While competitors rush to turn out new generations and features like Hail Marys in the unwinnable game, Apple is sitting on two next releases, squeezing as much out of the market as they can before rolling out the next inevitable best seller.

Fastcompany.com pointed out the tablet war’s most tragicomic event: the second best-selling tablet in history is the now-discontinued HP TouchPad.

Before finally giving it the ax, HP slashed TouchPad prices to just $99 from the original $499, and saw a sudden, massive surge in sales, pushing them into the hundreds of thousands of units sold. They couldn’t sustain a profit on this price, though. Apparently there isn’t a profitable way to compete with Apple.

Apple has decided to hold off on releases of next generation tablets for the year—the next model will probably come out in early 2012.

iOS for iRene

As Missy Elliot would say, time to get your freak (out) on. Betabeat's cabbie earlier today explained that he was from the Dominican Republic and would be battenting down the hatches at his house in Queens with techniques passed down in his family through the generations.

For those of you without tropical storms in your pedigree, here are a few must-have apps that will help you get through what must be the only week in New York City history to feature both an earthquake and a hurricane.

1) Hurricane HD: For $2.99 you can track Irene in high def as she barrels towards your borough. Betabeat recommends using the Boxee app to get this puppy up and running on the biggest screen in your house.

2) Foodspotting: It's day six without power and you've run out of Ramen. You're hearing reports over IRC chat that a cache of gourmet catfood has been discovered nearby and is being prepared as delicious tacos. Should you venture outside in search of sustenance? Pics or didn't happen.

3) Emergency Radio Free: This free version of the easy-to-use radio scanner can stream police, fire, emergency, and HAM signals from all over the world. It has a pretty simple interface for tracking down the station you need (New York City NOAA Weather Radio) and even gives you a crib sheet on what particular codes mean that regularly are heard on the channel. It’s good in an emergency for knowing when the next helicopter is going to circle past your brownstone, and it’s also fun in a voyeuristic way to listen to police scanners.

4) Foursquare: The only way to really experience a natural disaster is to check in to one on Foursquare. If you're going to lose your house, at least earn a badge.

5) Emergency First Aid and Treatment Guide: Covers the basics of dealing with a choking victim, fear and panic or a flesh wound.

6) Zaarly: While Betabeat hasn't had a lot of success with this service yet, a hurricane seems like a real sellers market. If you're brave and looking to make a little extra cash, this is the place to find work delivering rations to the housebound and hungry.

7) Home Inventory on iOS / My Home Pro on Android: The quickest way to start filing insurance claims is to have itemized, photographic evidence of the before and after.

8) Uber: Your car's underwater and your bike is probably out of the question. Put down those rollerblades and let an Uber cab rescue you. Sure it's a little pricey, but this is a special occasion.

9) Battery Pro Boost Magic: Since you may not have a way to charge your phone if the power goes out, go ahead and download Battery Pro Boost Magic ($.99). This app gives you ways to conserve power, helps you extend battery life, and gives you a better estimate of remaining battery life. It also has some cool bonus features, like a tool that cycles your screen through a test pattern of colors so you can see where dirt, smudges, scratches and other wear has appeared on your screen. This one has far reaching use beyond the Hurricane, but it will give you some help in waiting out any blackouts.

10) GroupMe: In the post-apocolyptic New York that we'll emerge into next week, only the strong will survive. Tribal loyalty is key, and there is not better way to keep in touch with your clan than the current king of group texting apps.

Hmmm...where can I find me shows?

A week after Fox made users wait to watch new shows on Hulu for free, tech site TorrentFreak says they've seen a drastic rise in the volume of illegal downloads of Fox shows.

TorrentFreak reported that over the first five days of Fox's service change, Hell's Kitchen saw an over 100 percent rise in illegal downloads compared with three previous episodes, and that MasterChef saw a rise of over 189 percent for the same comparison.

Fox instituted the delay to mollify the cable companies, who pay them the lions share of their revenue in re-trans rights. A week of exclusivity makes these incumbents feel better about the pretty penny they are shelling out for content.

For consumers of course, waiting over a week for a new episode (or making personal schedule changes to catch it in primetime) is far from an ideal or realistic expectation, especially for audiences members who have grown accustomed to on-demand viewing.

TorrentFreak also pointed out that Hulu.com and other legal online content venues had decreased illegal download traffic, proving that a lot of viewers want to watch legally if they can, even sitting through multiple ads online.

Now customers who used to watch their favorite shows on Hulu.com the day after they aired have three options: they can wait eight days for the show to appear for free as usual, they can pay for the content, or they can pirate it online. And after having their content provided for free for years, the majority of the slighted viewer base probably isn't going to line Fox's coffers to have it back.

NBC and the other wait-and-see networks are likely watching very closely as Fox tests the waters of the pay wall. But the real question, as bids come in today from the giants of the tech world who are interested in leveraging Hulu for their burgeoning web TV empires, is whether this will take even more of the sheen off an already-battered brand.