According to reports and speculation, Apple will be announcing a new product next week and the buzz it that it has to do with the iPod. Could be a video enhancement? Possibly. Could it be larger storage on the mini or shuffle? Don’t see why not. Could it be a cellphone iPod? Hmmm, that sounds good too.

I really don’t see Jobs & Co. blasting us with all 3, but one never knows what the kooky folk are up to in Cupertino. But, seeing that the next Mac with an Intel board is tech-commerce light years away, Apple has to do something to hold their shareholders over.

With the recent BETA release from Google of their “Talk” application, many things spring to mind. First, no Macintosh compatible version ( ). So that basically means I won’t be testing it. However, I have seen some of its specs on the Google site and certainly have some opinions about this little program.

As much as Google touts this BETA program, it comes missing a lot of features that many have come to think as basic. No emoticons. Unlike Skype, Talk doesn’t have the same ability to make actual phone calls, it’s more like Apple’s iChat AV in that regard. You cannot initiate a File transfer or change the font with Talk, not yet anyway. It is, however, FREE!

But, to be honest, Talk is built to work with Gmail. If not quite there yet, it will be. Google makes its money from advertising revenue, and they make a lot of it. No advertising models are with this BETA release, but I’m sure some will come. I really hope we don’t start seeing text ads in our chatting windows ##- for those using Talk, that was an emoticon for a sad face.

But for now, there really isn’t any compelling reason to switch. Google Talk certainly doesn’t enjoy the clear advantages over competitors that Google Search or Gmail had at their introductions. Google has to do something to make its new service outstanding. After all, who wants to use a communications service that has no users?

Courtesy: Wired.com

Coming as no real surprise, Google has updated it desktop search tool. Apparently the new features will help learn you, and how you search.

Although there is still aways for the search giant to go, it’s becoming eerily big-brother-esque. What does Google know about you?

We’ve heard word that Amazon.com will be selling “The Pirates of Silicon Valley,” which stars Anthony Michael Hall and Noah Wyle. Being a technology web publication, we are all over that DVD and will probably buy several copies just to review. I myself, have never actually seen the movie, but will certainly be primed to purchase it at Amazon’s rate on August 30, 2005 when they release it to the web.

We will certainly keep you updated on any deals until then, and will post our great affiliate links to amazon so we can get our teeny-tiny 5% on the sale (thank you btw). I think Mike knows how to do pre-order links, so maybe we’ll have something up later today for you. Until, arrrgh!

“This dramatization of the tangled history of Apple Computer and Microsoft, based on a book by Paul Frieberger, hits enough of the right notes to make its failures all the more frustrating. The script follows the entwined paths of Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates with a pointed sense of the cultural divide between the hip, self-absorbed Apple cofounder and the brilliant alpha geek behind Microsoft’s eventual software empire, contrasting the Mac’s countercultural underpinnings with the PC’s more strait-laced origins.”

My dual 800Mhz G4 has sat atop my desk for over 3 years now. I bought it refurbished at a great discount from Small Dog in Waitsfield, Vermont. Fortunately, it has served me well. And, actually still does (’knock on wood’). For awhile now I’ve glanced the many computer retail sites looking for great deals in the event I actually do upgrade. The problem: do I have a need to upgrade?

We always hear that the upgrade will save you time and money, and etc… but does it really?

For my work I use the web intensely. I also use apps like the Adove and Macromedia suites. Aside from needing around a gig in RAM (which I have), I’m not so certain that I would experience a great leap in productivity if I were to upgrade to, say, a G5. Nonetheless, I still salivate at the idea of getting my perky-little-paws on one

A very dear and close friend of mine recently purchased her first cell phone in a few years. Recently? It was actually less than 24 hours ago. She ended up going with a company I somewhat despise, my carrier Unicel (Unicel Sucks!). She did choose them, however, because they had a plan that didn’t require a lengthy contract, and she can cancel at anytime without a cancellation fee.

In any event, the entire transaction/activation period was about 1 hour. Long? I’m not sure. Some of that time was trying to decide what phone she wanted. They didn’t have a lot to choose from, I think maybe 5 models at the store location. A couple had phone options with a 1/2 megapixel resolution ## nothing to woo about. The cheapest camera-phone package was around $140 with a $30 rebate if purchase of accessory was made. So, that’s what she went with.

Now, my phone doesn’t have a camera in it. My screen is monochrome, hers is color. Her phone is lighter and a bit smaller. Mine cost me $20 with a yearly contract. However, she’s the one wondering if she really wants the phone she has. It’s built to use their GSM network, but that turns out not to be as fast as they said it was going to be (supposively it was suppose to be around DSL speeds, hahahaha, try more like dial-up). I guess that’s fine if you’re just checking email. The big kicker is the monthly $6 fee to actually use the photo sharing service.

What a crock? Right? You pay $40 a month for the plan, another $100+ for the camera-phone, and then $6 a month for the photo service… This has to be the biggest nickel & dime market next to the automotive industry. I’d love to see a provider come and give offer an all-inclusive plan and it could probably cost ‘whatever’ because the reward is not having the hassle of little fees here and there.

I never consider myself a tech guru, not in the slightest. I do write on this technology blog, and I do own a website design and development firm in Burlington, Vermont, but I still don’t consider myself a tech guru. Some folks that know me well, would call me a tech guru even though I believe I am something completely different.

I would consider myself a technology strategist and implementationist. But, I would never call myself that. Keeping up-to-date on all of the gadgets and toys out there is a never ending job. Researching and realizing the importance and real-world functionality of new technology (today or years from now), is what I enjoy and thrive at.

What about you? How are you with technology?

Macnews.com reported earlier today that Hewitt Packard will stop selling the Apple / HP iPod:

The Wall Street Journal today reported that Hewlett-Packard has decided to stop selling its branded iPods, notes Marketwatch. “They’ve decided that reselling iPods doesn’t fit with their company’s current digital media strategy,” the Journal quoted Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton as saying in the report. HP will phase out its iPod sales immediately.

What does this mean? Well, I bet HP will be, if they haven’t been already, working extremely hard to roll out their own personal music device to compete with Apple’s iPod. I’m not incredibly familiar with Apple’s revenue from the arrangement, but it apparantly wasn’t significant enough for HP to continue.