Apple has just released their newest line of iPods right on time. Obviously, like every other blog out there I have to get my point of view across.

Firstly, there's the new iPod Nano which is actually nano this time around. Unfortunately they have replaced the click wheel with a multi-touch screen which can fit four icons on it. In my opinion it seems kind of gimmicky but I am sure Apple will prove me wrong with this being the next must have gift. The new Ipod Touch, as predicted will include all the new features of the iPhone 4 except for the phone, making it just an "i". As well this there is a new iPod shuffle which has the same button arrangement as the first gen shuffle but it is in the shape of a square. I guess they realised that a buttonless design was just plain stupid.

There is a new iTunes version out. It seems like iTunes 9 just came out yesterday but here is iTunes 10. They have released a ping feature which lets you "socialise" with your favourite artists. So another 90MB download awaits you when you finish reading this post.

On top of this, a new Apple TV is on its way which is actually tiny. It basically lets you rent HD movies (NOT buy). for a low price which is sure to inflate for international markets.

Enjoy the pictures!!!

Whoops, almost forgot the iPod Classic, just like Apple did. There are NO improvements whatsoever.

The perfect PC means different things to different people. If you search hard enough, you may find a factory-made ma­­chine that matches your ideal, at a reasonable price. But if you'd rather not wait for a major retailer to hit all the right notes, consider building your own system.

Don't worry--putting together a PC is a lot easier than you might think. And there are plenty of good reasons to do it.
If you've ever had to ship your computer back to the manufacturer for a checkup, the experience may have encouraged you to think seriously about rolling up your sleeves and doing your own troubleshooting. Lengthy turnaround times, or hours spent sitting on hold with customer service are maddening enough. But if your machine happens to be out of warranty--or didn't have a very good warranty to begin with--the cost of getting a part or the entire system replaced could be more than you bargained for.
Most of all, building your own system is fun. Technology has be­­come increasingly complex, but PCs are modular--and with our step-by-step guide you can put together a dream machine that's just right for your needs and budget.

Note: The do-it-yourself process is a double-edged sword. Whether you've had positive customer service experiences in the past or not, having a single seller to turn to if your equipment goes haywire can simplify troubleshooting (and replacing parts). Getting a faulty component replaced on a home-built machine entails working with individual product manufacturers, which may increase the overall hassle.

Caveats aside, you'll be hard pressed to find a computer that suits your needs better than one you build yourself. The first and most important step in building a PC is to know exactly what you want it to do. The only thing worse than wasting timeassembling a subpar system is spending far more money than you need to, cobbling together a quad-core behemoth that you'll be using just to check your e-mail.

Once you have identified the functions that you want your PC to perform, decide how much you're willing to spend.
A system designed for gaming or video editing will require a larger investment than one intended for nothing more demanding than surfing the Web. Our parts lists enumerate the components that we chose, and explain our rationale--beyond sticking to our budget--for choosing each part.

Read Full Story at PCWorld

What do you guys think? Do you like this new theme or prefer the old one? Or do you think I should use something different?

I have been using the Firefox 4 beta since it was released to the public and so far I have found it very useable. The new interface looks really clean and the browser is pretty fast. There are a few new features which make it worthwhile and I am sure more will come in the near future. I am sure you have heard of how fast the browser is and how great it is going to be. However I have noticed quite a few flaws with the product which seem like oversights.

• Next to the new Firefox button are a whole heap of empty pixels, just sitting there. Wouldn't it make a bit more sense to move the tabs up into that area so we get more real estate on the screen. This will give precious space to those on netbooks and low resolution monitors. Below is a picture to show you what I mean:

Instead the bar could look more like this:

• Next there is the download manager. It is hidden in the bar below and to see the full manager like in the previous versions, you double click on the logo in the status bar. However, when the download finishes, the little thing in the status bar disappears and unless you have told it to save the file, it will disappear. There seems to be no way of opening the file otherwise without re downloading the file in order to open the download manager. For some reason, the Firefox buttons contains the add-on manger but no download manager. Update: You can open the download manager with Ctrl+J or by pressing Alt and going into the tools menu. Still more difficult than it has to be though.

• Finally, every time a new version comes out, Firefox automatically downloads the new version. This is good but then when you restart Firefox, random menu buttons seem to appear and disappear. For example the feedback button disappears after updating and there is no way to bring it back. Then after a couple of days it magically pops back up again. As well as this, comparing this browser to chrome, it is not that fast. Chrome opens a lot quicker, in fact sometimes when i am impatient I just open Chrome instead of Firefox.

I am sure many, if not all of these issues will be fixed by the time the full version is released but for now, these are my major gripes with the beta.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCEA) announced today it will be partnering with Australian media portal Yahoo!7 to deliver the PLUS7 catch-up TV service on PlayStation 3 consoles.

The new IPTV service is due to launch by the end of August 2010 and will allow PS3 users to access an optimised internet video streaming service via their console, in order

to watch full-length television episodes from channels Seven, 7TWO and other content partners.

The content will be available to stream from anywhere between seven to 28 days depending on the program, and will be updated regularly. Users can searching for names alphabetically, and will be able to pause, fast forward, and rewind programs.

The service will be customised specifically for the PS3 console and a Yahoo!7 icon will display under the TV icon on the console's XMB interface. Because the content will be streamed via the internet, it will be counted against a user's download limit.

A Sony spokesperson said "at the moment there aren't any deals in place" with ISPs to provide the content data-limit -free, and said the company wasn't currently in negotiations with any ISP to provide it either.

Read Full Story at CNet

Sure, the iPad is a great device for Web surfing, book reading, and movie watching. But it's also getting a lot of interest in corporations as a possible business device for field forces, nurses and doctors in hospitals, and knowledge workers in the office and on the go.

That interest is obvious from the top iPad downloads from the Apple App Store, where Citrix Receiver, an app that makes the iPad a portal to server-based apps such as Microsoft Office and SharePoint, has stayed in the top five almost every day. Also in that top-downloads list are Apple's iWork productivity trio (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) and two Microsoft Office-compatible productivity apps (Quickoffice Mobile Connect Suite and DataViz Documents to Go Premium).

I decided to see how well the iPad could fit into a business environment. The short answer: awkwardly, but with lots of promise. (Note that all the apps mentioned here are available through InfoWorld's "no-junk business iPhone and iPad app finder" Web page.)

The iPad is very portable and has long battery life (six to eight hours in my experience, although the more networking you do via Wi-Fi, 3G, or Bluetooth, the less time you get). So it is very appealing as a laptop replacement, at least for short trips. For many users, it can indeed replace a laptop. Which users? Certainly those whose lives revolve around email, Web access, and basic office productivity work. For other users, it depends greatly on the software availability for your work tasks.

Here's what you can do, and what could get in your way.

Read the Full Story at PCWorld

One of the largest technology companies on this planet is Apple. They are the creators of many of the products we use in our everyday lives such as the iPod and the iPhone. Whenever Apple releases a new product, they have a lot of market hype. Every technology blog, including this one, has to report on Apple's latest product. They were the ones who made having a lowercase "i" in front of a product name cool. On top of this, I notice a large traffic increase whenever a new Apple product has been released. Apple's Macs are far from the worlds most popular computers, this title goes to Dell. But for some reason, every time a new Apple product is released there is more hype surrounding it than any other product. People wait in nerve wracking anticipation when Steve Jobs hosts another keynote and journalists from around the world wait to be one of the first to hear about Apple's latest product. Whenever Apple does release a new product, you want to buy it. often it has its limitations but you still want to buy it. It just looks so cool. You merely have to a take a trip to your local Apple store to experience this feeling. But what is the reason for people's fascination with Apple, so much so that no matter what product Apple releases, you can guarantee a line will stretch for miles and it will be sold out in every store within a couple of days.

Take a look at the iPhone 4. It has had a few issues such as introducing video calling which is so limited that it is almost useless, and the dreaded antenna problems. By the time these issues had been found, many people in the US had already bought them and were upset over the antenna issue. You would think that on its worldwide release, the new iPhone's sales will suffer incredibly. This was not the case though, just take a look at the headline on The Sydney Morning Herald on the day of release:

"iPhone 4 Sold Out Around the Country"

"A Stronger than Expected Reception for iPhone 4"

As you can see, the antenna problems bothered no one. The phone was still selling like hotcakes. Apple's fan base is so dedicated that they are willing to accept Apple's band-aid solution in order to get their hand on the next big thing. Then, we look at the iPad. So many other companies have tried and failed in releasing their own version of the tablet. Often, more powerful but less user friendly than the iPad. Apple on the other hand managed to create a whole new segment of the market and convince people to buy a device they previously didn't need. Instead of telling people to replace their laptop, they should use the iPad to complement their laptop. On top of this, they managed to get above their expected sales and have basically made the tablet the next must have device. Something which other companies have been trying to do since the year 2000. They managed to bust the myth that e-readers must have an e-ink screen in order to compete. Despite the critics of the product, it sold more than anyone expected.

So what gives Apple this degree of control over their consumers? How can they convince someone to buy a product they don't really need and get them to buy something which has a lot less features than a cheaper alternative?

Well, there is no simple answer to this but I am going to give it a go. Apple's dominance of the market started with the release of the iPod in 2001. They had changed the market completely with a simple, easy to use media player providing a better alternative than most players out there in that day and age. Then they released a second generation model and expanded the line to fit new market segments. This made it the most popular mp3 player in the world and as you moved on to newer generations, more followed the iPod trend because of its coolness. Everyone had to have one and through this, people feel the need to upgrade to newer models and become first time owners of the iPod. From this, Apple got their loyal fan base with people always wanting a new model of iPod coming out much like people anticipate the release of a new operating system. Once someone has an iPod, they are likely to stick with the iPod and when a new model comes out, rather than consider an alternative, they will buy another iPod. Then, with the release of the iPhone, they combined the phone with the iPod and a completely revolutionary interface. People had been dreaming of having an iPod like interface on their phone, something which was easy to sue and brought the iPod to popularity in the first place. This is probably what boosted the sales of the iPhone in the first place. Then as each subsequent version came out, people felt the need to upgrade. This consumerism is what led to Apple developing a following behind the iPhone.

Apple's Mac was selling nowhere near as much as the iPod and so Apple took this opportunity, with a large following behind Apple and many people with iTunes on their computers, to convince people to go the whole hog and convert to a Mac. They reinvented it and made it support Windows. This left no excuse for anyone not to switch to Mac. As its popularity grew, they made it cool to own one. So through the aesthetics of the product, Apple has managed to win fans of its products. They get people to associate the Apple logo with quality devices and something which will make you look cool to be seen with. Through this brand recognition, they have made the younger generation look at Macs differently. They want to buy one to show their friends. How many times have seen someone with an iPhone and asked them if you can play around with it? Or when you go to the shops, how many times have you rushed to have a go on the iPad? This is how Apple's marketing technique works. They have no need to advertise on TV, it is all done through the  logo and Apple stores. They have made their product appeal to the younger generation and the older people who want to feel younger. When Apple introduces their own product, it will be even more popular because people just look at it and buy it because of the Apple logo.

Other companies have not built up the same reputation for their brand. They have not put in the time and effort into making their product look good and still have excellent build quality. This makes Apple the only company which has done this, making them unique and this is why people are so fascinated by Apple and their products.

In today's day and age, when you go out to buy a new computer or upgrade your existing one, there are so many choices out there. You can get a bargain basement computer which will need to be replaced in a couple of years or you can buy a top of the line PC which has the best of the best components but its value is halved in six months time when better components come out. There is a point when you go up in models where you end up paying double the amount of the model down just for a tiny performance gain. This is unrealistic for most people and so there is always a sweetspot when looking at computer components. This is a special consideration you have to make when building your own computer and on this post I hope to show you the best value computer you can get for your money today.

First, the most important part of the computer, the CPU. There are so many different types of CPU out there and so many different brands but if you are looking for the best value CPU out there, you cannot step past the AMD processors. For example their new Phenom II X6 1055T at 2.8GHz is a 6 core processor and goes for the unbelievable price of AU$240. Intel's 6 core processor will cost you well over AU$1000. If you're looking to upgrade an Intel processor, a good value one is the i7-930 which is 2.88GHz quad core. Although not the fastest, it costs only AU$340. if your budget doesn't stretch that far, have a look at the i5-661 which will set you back $240. If you are building a new PC, AMD has the best value processors by far. Not to mention in some cases they are significantly faster than Intel's alternative.

Of course, different people have different budgets. So if you have $750 to spend on a computer, you aren't going to spend half of that budget on a CPU just because it is the best value. The CPUs listed in this post cover the needs of an average user with an average budget of around $1000 to $1200. So when looking at which processor to buy, look for the best bang for your buck but don't be tempted into spending too much over your budget in order to get it. You also have to look at your own needs.

Next time, find out about the best value Video Card

Over the next few weeks, I hope to look at some free programs which I have found incredibly useful and share them with you guys.

10. Virtualbox

Are you interested in visualisation but never wanted to fork out money for it? Have you never heard of virtualisation but want to start now you know you can do it for free?

If the answer to either of those questions was yes, then virtualbox is the perfect program for you. It is a free program supported by Sun and allows you to install any operating you want (legally of course) onto your computer using a virtual machine. The benefits of virtualisation are that you can test your program across multiple operating systems all on the same computer without having to set up a multi boot system. You just run the new OS in a different window as you would with any other program on your computer.  As well as this, you can download programs in a safe environment where if you a virus or suspect a virus, there is no need to worry about it infecting your PC. There are man applications for businesses as well but I figure if you are reading this blog, then you are probably not interested in those.

If you have ever wanted to try out a new OS such as Ubuntu or even run Windows on a Mac without bootcamp, this program allows you to do this. In some respects, it even beats VMWare Workstation, a paid alternative and it is an incredibly light download. It also supports a lot of different operating systems, so whether you run Linux, Windows, Mac or even OpenSolaris, you can use this completely free program. Of course, before downloading it, you should know that in order to create a virtual PC, you need to have a lot of resources as the virtual OS you install will have similar demands to a regular computer. You should have at least 2GB of RAM and you need a processor which supports hardware virtualisation. If you have a Core 2 Duo or later then you should have this support but may have to enable it in the BIOS.

Download it from HERE

(Reuters) - Research In Motion has assured India of limited access to BlackBerry instant messages by September 1, and promised talks this week on monitoring its more secure corporate email, a government source said on Monday.

RIM faces an August 31 deadline to give authorities the means to track and read BlackBerry Enterprise email and its separate BlackBerry Messenger service.

The government, concerned about the potential for militants to use the secure BlackBerry network to carry out attacks, has vowed to shut the services if RIM fails to comply, cutting it out of one of the world's fastest-growing telecoms market.

"They have assured partial access to its Messenger services by September 1 and agreed to provide full access by the end of the year," a senior government source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

New Delhi says it will pull the plug on the two key BlackBerry services if Canada-based RIM does not comply. Some 1 million of RIM's 41 million customers live in India, where upcoming 3G network rollout is expected to boost smartphone growth.

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