Apple announced today that Dr. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, was elected to Apple’s board of directors. Dr. Schmidt also sits on Google’s board of directors and Princeton University’s board of trustees. “Eric is obviously doing a terrific job as CEO of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of Apple’s board of directors,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric’s insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead.”

“Apple is one of the companies in the world that I most admire,” said Eric Schmidt. “I’m really looking forward to working with Steve and Apple’s board to help with all of the amazing things Apple is doing.”
Continue reading Google CEO Eric Schmidt joins Apple’s Board…

Skype and Google Talk may soon be on “speaking terms” according to a newly signed agreement announced by Google and eBay. eBay bought Skype for 2.6 billion dollars last year bringing the “verb” under their corporate umbrella.

“This agreement underscores how much we value eBay as a partner,” said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. “Our technologies will allow us to connect users to relevant advertising across eBay’s international properties. By working together to promote click-to-call functionality through Google Talk and Skype, we are offering advertisers another innovative way to connect with customers.”
Continue reading Skype and Google Talk Soon to be Speaking?…

It now appears that Microsoft’s Zune mp3 player will not be manufactured by Microsoft at all. This is no real surprise as Microsoft has little experience with manufacturing and may end up alienating some of its hardware partners if it tries to now. Zune will be built by Toshiba who has some working prototypes of the device, which will come in white, black, and brown, BROWN? Hey, it might actually be the right color, think about it.

Zune’s key features shown in an FCC filing says it will come with a 30GB hard drive, a three-inch LCD, and an FM tuner. It will play music, store pictures, and show video, and it can be hooked up to a TV set for a better picture. Gee sounds like… an iPod! Zune’s distinctive feature is supposed to be its support for WiFi. Users will be able to send “promotional copies” of songs, albums, and playlists to other nearby users. Probably, time-limited in some way.
Continue reading Toshiba’s Zune, iPod Killer?…

Spaces and Exposé in the forthcoming OS 10.5 Leopard look pretty slick. Virtual desktops will be a much appreciated feature on the Mac. It appears that Leopard will allow you to use Exposé while in Spaces, so you can drag windows from one desktop. Can’t wait!
Continue reading Leopard: Spaces and Exposé…

In a shot heard all the way over in Redmond, Google has launched Google for Your Domain for small to medium-size businesses, universities, groups and organizations, with plans to expand to larger companies by year’s end.

Organizations are now able to sign up for the free beta version of Google for Your Domain that includes Gmail and Google’s Calendar, Talk and Page Creator applications, all of which have either been rolled out in recent months or which the company has been integrating with each other this year. More applications will be added over time, said Matthew Glotzbach, head of products for Google’s enterprise division.
Continue reading Google for Your Domain beta Opens…

After several years of bragging rights by Microsoft, Windows Media DRM has been cracked with an application being offered in forums all over the Internet. This crack renders the DRM that Microsoft licenses to Napster To Go and several other online music stores unprotected allowing them to be played anywhere on any player!

In just a few days of this becoming known, Microsoft is racing to seal up the crack. I only wish they could fix Windows security this fast!

Continue reading Windows Media DRM Cracked by FairUse4WM…

Ambrosia Software has released an improved and now Intel compatible version of my favorite screen capture application, Snapz Pro X 2.0.3. Improvements make Snapz Pro does not just make it Intel Mac compatibility, but adds performance optimization, and some minor bug fixes.

Snapz Pro X 2.0.3 is a free upgrade for registered users of Snapz Pro X 2.0.x. New users pay $29 for the static version and $69 for the movie version.

Snapz Pro X, $69 version allows for QuickTime full motion video of anything on your screen, complete with digital audio, and an optional microphone voice-over. You choose to include the cursor or not. Snapz X Pro can save movies in just about any format that QuickTime can handle.
Continue reading Snapz Pro X Now Universal for Intel Macs…

Continue reading OS X Tip #119: Why Won’t My Mac Boot From Install DVD?…

Like Dell, Apple is recalling batteries that use Sony’s battery cell technology, announced today.

This recall affects users of its iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 laptop models sold between October 2003 and August 2006, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Users are being advised to remove the batteries immediately and store them in a safe place. None of Apple’s Intel-based laptops are affected.

Additional information can be found by calling 1-800-275-2273 or visiting an Apple Web page for the recall. The recall involves 1.1 million batteries sold in the United States and an additional 700,000 sold overseas online and through retail stores and resellers.
Continue reading Apple Recalls 1.8 Million Sony-made Batteries…

Microsoft revealed today that no 32-bit versions of Windows Vista will be able to play back “next generation high definition protected content such as studio-released Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies.

As Microsoft continues to cut Vista’s features, the next up to the chopping block is the ability to play high-def media. Microsoft’s announcement to drop support for playback of studio-released HD movies on Vista is likely to anger the large number of people who were hoping they could use their existing 32-bit PC with an upgrade version of Vista. “Any next-generation high definition content will not play in x32 at all,” said Senior Program Manager Steve Riley during a presentation on Windows Vista security at Tech.Ed 2006 Sydney today as reported by APC Magazine.
Continue reading Another Windows Vista Feature Stripped?…

Visit the Concert Ticket Generator and just enter some text and click the ‘Go’ button. A picture of a concert ticket will be generated for you. Collect ‘em, trade ‘em, put ‘em on your website, or e-mail ‘em to your friends.

The ticket above is not a “real” ticket but easily was created by the Concert Ticket Generator website.
Continue reading Make Your Own Virtual Concert Ticket…

If you run a blog or website and are always looking for better ways to track your sites statistics Google Analytics is another great, free service from Google. It generates useful stats from your website using some javascript that you insert in your webpages.

Mint works very similar, but is not free costing $30 per website for the service. One of the things I like about Mint is your $30 comes with a nice Dashboard Widget to track your site’s statics with a simple F12 push. Well the Dashalytics Dashboard Widget gives you the same experience using the free Google Analytics service. Whats more, is you can track multiple sites with this useful widget.
Continue reading Dashalytics Dashboard Widget…

As it goes in the tech business world. If you can’t beat them, sue them or join them. Well Creative has done both with Apple’s iPod. Creative’s MP3 player business never really put a dent in the iPod. They were bleeding money trying to compete with Apple’s iPod and the iTunes Music Store.

So in May 2006, Creative filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission against Apple on a “patent infringement” case, claiming their patent for “nested folders” that the iPod uses was violated. The state of the US patent office and the way they give out patents these days, I was not surprised. Apple then counter sued Creative claiming Creative was in violation of three of Apple’s patents and later added a fourth complaint.
Continue reading Creative Joins the iPod Ecosystem…

LiquidCD is a donationware for burning CDs and DVDs built for Mac OS X. If you can’t afford Toast and are not happy with the built-in OS X disc burning features, give LiquidCD a try. LiquidCD is a useful GUI-based application for 10.4 or higher that natively runs on Intel-base Macs.

LiquidCD does not make VideoDVD however as it does not contain the MPEG-2 component due to licensing. LiquidCD is not a Toast replacement, but does contain some useful features for a great price, free.
Continue reading LiquidCD Freeware Burning Software for Mac OS X…

If you have ever seen the Gmail ‘Oops…’ error? when trying to send an email with an attachment it may be that your browser’s cache is full and needs to be cleared. Gmail allows for attachments to be up to about 10MB (this includes the email itself). Chances are if your browser’s cache is full and you get this message the email will not go in “a few seconds” either.

To learn how to clear your browsers cache try these instructions from the Google.
Continue reading Gmail Oopps Error Fix…

Google’s Gmail adds the ability to play mp3 audio files attached in emails. Recently the updated version of Google Talk added voicemail messages and now Google Talk users can listen to their voicemail messages right within Gmail.

Similar to how you can view the original size of an attached image or simply download it, Gmail gives you the option of playing or downloading the attached mp3 files from within Gmail. Playing an mp3 file pops up a window with a basic audio player similar the Google Video player.
Continue reading Gmail Adds MP3 Playback…

Dell’s DJ Ditty joins the long list of failed iPod contenders. So much for Michael Dell to claim that Dell would beat Apple when they introduced their own MP3 players. Dell seemed to never have an effect on iPod sales. Now Dell has quietly removed the last of its own MP3 players from their web site without fanfare.

According to iPodObserver, a search through Dell’s Web site comes up dry if you are looking for the DJ Ditty digital music player. The MP3 player page on the company’s site sells the Sandisk Sans m240, e-Series, and Creative Vision:M players. Dell even offers an MP3 player comparison chart to help you pick out the device that’s right for you, but there’s no mention of the Ditty.
Continue reading DJ Ditty MP3 Player Gone…

Continue reading iTunes Tip #41: Convert MIDI to Audio Files…

Continue reading OS X Tip #118: Take Picture of a Screen Saver…