In case you are using Mozilla at least as much as I am, you will be interested in the “Fashion Your Firefox”, which is a new web application which will let us customize our browser based on what we like to do while online. The add-ons inclued the “Shutterbug” which lets users view and share pictures and videos online, “Rock Star” for music listening online. “News Junkie” will get you news and weather and “Shopaholic will get you some of the best deals around. The “Digital Pack Rat” keeps tracks of your favorite sites, bookmarks and blogs while your “Social Butterfly” will let you take advantage of a few social networking and bookmarking sites. “Finder and Seeker” is a search tool which is said to find everything, although I would thing that’s what Google does. The “Decorator” brings you various browser themes while the “Executive Assistant” will help you organize your work.

I’m off trying the new add-ons. Tell me what you think of it.

via FashionYourFirefox

Check out the video above. It contains everything I wanted to tell you only it faster to go through. Bottom line is that the new Google Mobile App containing the Search-by-Voice feature will arrive tomorrow. This is at least strange since people were expecting it two days ago. Does that mean Apple is checking out Google Apps very closely? It might certainly be so. In other words Google isn’t that special when it comes to passing Apple’s apps for iPhone tests.

Anyway the new Search-by-Voice feature is remarkable. If only your accent doesn’t get in the way and if only nobody else is shouting around you and if only AT&T’s 3G service would be fast and flawless, your results will appear as fast and as nicely as in the video above. At least they will be targeted to your location, if the GPS works fine.

Leaving jokes aside, we’ll have to agree that giving voice commands to any kind of computer is the way the future will work. So what about the Storm? Is Google going to do anything about it?

via TechCrunch

If you have a 4th-gen iPod nano you might be interested in this. The 1.0.3 update is out! The new patch includes Cover Flow issues as well as the Apple in-Ear headphones support with Remote and Mic support. The greatest thing about the patch is that it fixes Cover Flow when using TV out slideshows making it easy for you to turn it off when rotating the iPod into landscape position.

So go grab your software update today! It’s only 53MB!

While we’re waiting for Windows Mobile 7 handsets to arrive we can still play with Windows Mobile 6.1 handsets. Or are we going to get Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets?
Motorola’s CEO happened to mention this new version during a conference call in which he discussed the Motorola’s earnings. One of the points he made was the fact that Windows Mobile 6.1 hasn’t been able to keep up with Apple in the “user experience” department.

Does anyone have any idea about Windows Mobile 6.5? Does it exist? Anyone ready to leak something about it?

via coolsmartphone

Linux fans, and those looking to make the open-source jump, will be happy to hear that the latest version of Ubuntu, 8.10, is now available for all to download. But what exactly can you look forward to in the new release?

Well, other than performance gains, 8.10 includes a new Connection Manager that has support for 3G, along with the ability to install from USB drives which will make the spreading of Ubuntu that much easier.

You can head to the official site to get more on the updates, and find out where exactly version 8.10 is available.

Is Psystar trying to get free publicity out of the the whole Apple trial situation? The company has launched a new Mac clone desktop equipped with a Blu-ray and a new NVIDIA GPU. Leaving the fact that Blu-rays and Mac OS don’t quite mix that easily yet aside, Psystar seems unstoppable. No matter what Apple’s lawyers have said so far the company is going forward with its product.

An open notebook is apparently being created by Psystar. Psystar has confirmed it so you can expect to see one soon. I wonder how much the Mac clone notebook will cost. And where will such a notebook be actually built?

via cnet

Besides iPhone firmware 2.2 beta 2, we heard that the Windows Vista SP2 is coming to town. Is it going to fix any problems? Well, did the last SP1 fix any significant problems?

We don’t know when the new update is actually set to arrive and we don’t know all of its features but we have a general idea. The SP2 is said to add Windows Search 4.0, Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack, ability to record data on Blu-ray medua and Windows Connect Now for simpler WiFi configuration. Wow!

Apple didn’t fail to respond to Microsoft latest commercials by bringing in their own “I’m a Mac” campaign. Entitled “Bean Counter” (above) and “V Word” (below) the new videos are way funnier than what Gates and Seinfeld tried to pull off. Apple takes aim at Microsoft 300 million add campaign suggesting that that money could have been invested in fixing Vista. During last Tuesday’s keynote, Apple’s officials counted the failure of Vista as one of the elements that helped them increase MacBooks sales.

What do you think about the new commercials?

That’s right peoples! You can get your Firefox Mobile Alpha working already. Well, there are some minor limitations for now. Like we heard a few days ago the Alpha will be first available for the N810 from Nokia. What we didn’t know then but it’s clear now, is that you can install the mobile browser on your PC, Mac or Linux operated computer. Sure it’s not the final thing, and sure we are a long way to go towards the final Firefox Mobile! But why not play with it if some of it is already available.

Apple and Psystar battle in court is something we are expecting with some kind of interest. If Apple should loose, then we’re going to see more companies starting to sell PC rigged to run on Apple’s OS.

The two company might not let us indulge our pleasure to see them fighting to the death in court. They are going to settle the case with Alternative Dispute Resolution. That’s a process that will involve non-binding arbitration, early neutral evaluation and mediation. Wow! Does that mean that no one will bleed to death? We won’t see any of that since everything will go on behind closed doors.

Everything that’s going to be said will be private. That pisses me off. But in case you’re going to read some posts of us describing the new Psystar Mac-PCs, then you’ll know who was the real winner!

After Apple released its new line of laptops this Tuesday we were expecting it to launch new iMacs too. It looks like the new iMacs will arrive in a few weeks, although there’s nothing confirmed yet.

Apple is expected to launch new 20 and 24 inch iMacs just in time for the shopping spree season. We’d like to offer you real facts about the new iMacs but all we have are guesses for now. We might expect the Intel Centrino 2 platform and the new NVIDIA chips we’ve seen in the new MacBooks. Oh and we’d like some prices too. Anyone ready to leak official details?

We have more news from the Microsoft world. It looks like Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Vista and Server 2008 is already being used by some software and hardware manufacturers. Is Microsoft ready to launch the SP2 for both OS before Windows 7? Windows 7 is supposed to arrive on June 3rd of next year but we’re going to play with beta versions until then. No details have been leaked about the any of the Service Packs, but we’re anxiously waiting for them.

So Firefox is coming to the mobile world. Sure it’s only the Alpha version and we might be in for a longer trip to the final mobile version. But that’s the way to go, baby steps.

What’s surprising is the device that’s going to get the Alpha. It’s not even a phone! It’s Nokia’s N810 open-source internet tablet which will receive the Alpha some time next week. Firefox Mobile is based on Firefox 3 and it will have the smart URL bar and support for various add-ons. Get ready to enjoy the Alpha! The Beta is arriving in 2009. As I said, baby steps!

Nintendo has announced a new feature built specifically for social gaming - the new Wii Speak Channel. The Wii Speak Channel allows users to keep in touch with friends and family a whole lot easier. The new service will be launched across Europe on December 5th this year and will connect users with the free-to-use Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.

However, this isn’t a one-to-one personal chat feature. Wii Speak will connect directly to the console and pick up the conversation from an entire room of people meaning the fun - and also the arguments - are shared all around. This feature will also bring the user’s Mii to life - as each personal character will appear on screen to represent that specific user, it will also speak in time with what the user says.
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Patent number 7,434,177 named “User interface for providing consolidation and access” has been granted to Apple by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the dock invented by Steve Jobs. It was about the time for that to happen. Apple has been waiting for it for almost 10 years or so.

Now Apple has exclusive rights to prevent others from making, using, selling or otherwise employing replicas of their technology for 20 from now. I am pretty sure I have seen some Apple-like docks in other systems already. That happened before the patent was granted right? What will happen to those docks?

In an amazing turn of events we have come into possession of some serious information which will shock you to the core. If you’re not sitting down please do so. What you are about to find out might make you faint.

Steve Ballmer said he isn’t responsible for any problems caused by Windows Vista or the “Vista Capable” computers. He did so under oath in the trial that concerns exactly those capable computers. (more…)

It was only a few weeks ago when we heard that Mozilla will launch their Firefox Mobile browser sometime in 2010. We were rather surprised to hear that we’ll have to wait about two years to get a mobile version of one of the most popular Internet browsers created so far.

But it looks like those were only rumors. We have to trust John Lilly who is only the CEO of Mozilla, when he says that the Firefox Mobile Alpha is coming in a few weeks.

We want to make sure that the Web on mobile is more like the Web than what the mobile industry offers today, which is closed, separate networks and not a very good information-getting experience for the user. The first thing is to bring Firefox to mobile devices. We’re working on that, and we’ll see some alphas in a few weeks.

What more do you need? Waiting for the Alpha here!

You do remember the Samsung Instinct don’t you? It hasn’t been in the news for quite a while, and last time I checked it out people were still reporting various issues with the software. But Sprint managed to release yet another firmware update which might fix some of the present bugs in the Instinct.

The update version BH29 has been available OTA for a few days now. The main fix appears to be browser related. The browser has received a totally new codebase which will hopefully deal with poor navigation and page rendering. Besides the browser fix, the BH29 is said to resolve 249 tickets open since the previous release, the BF30.

Looking for some feedback from Instinct owners. Was it good for you?

Windows XP was supposed to be officially discontinued starting with January 31, 2009. According to a leaked email from a PC OEM, Microsoft has decided to postpone the XP retirement. The new rumored date is July 31, 2009. That gives us a whole six extra months to buy XP instead of Vista. After that you will probably be more likely to choose the future Windows 7 instead of Vista. That’s a nice trick Microsoft is pulling. Especially since they are working hard on promoting Vista.

I guess Psystar fans should definitely see this. While the people who installed a running copy of Mac OS X aren’t trying to sell the tuned Dell Inspiron Mini 9 to anyone, this goes to prove that Appe’s OS could run on PC’s too. Imagine what would happen if Psystar wins it’s trial with Apple! Imagine how Microsoft will go all berserk if a judge will tell manufacturers that selling PC with Mac OS X will be ok! (more…)