Apple recently sent a bulletin asking large retailers such as Best Buy to place an order of iPods and computers to last about a month.  This is a pattern that Apple usually follows when they are about to deploy a new line-up of iPods and computers.  The launch will probably be in early to mid September, in time for the upcoming holiday season. There are hints of new iPod Touches, Nanos, Macbook, and Macbook Pros.

via AppleInsider

Image Courtesy of GadgetsMonkey

I never liked the fat nano. It was too fat for my taste.

That said, the iLounge has rumors that the next iPod nano will have a 1.5:1 widescreen ratio like the iPhone rather than the 1.33:1 ratio of the iPod classic, and a skinnier design will accompany the skinnier screen. The design will resemble the previous nano’s, keeping the trademark clickwheel. Like my mom’s Sansa, you’ll be rotating the iPod to watch videos.

Image Mockup from iLounge

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As Beta 2 for Internet Explorer nears its release, Microsoft is seeking more testers for its product. (Currently, the only way to directly submit a bug report is to be a part of the Technical Beta program.) Beta 1 was focused more on developers, and Beta 2 will be concentrating more on the end user. This might include GUI enhancements, stability fixes, and other similar revisions.

If you’re looking to participate, send an email to IESO@microsoft.com and “tell [them] a little about yourself including why you’d be a great beta tester.”

via the IEBlog

The third and most likely final service pack for Windows XP is now being distributed by Microsoft via Automatic Updates for users everywhere. More than two months after it had arrived on Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, users who have AU set to automatically downloading and installing updates should now see it.

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Apple has released its second beta only a week after the first, this time with several bug fixes. It is available for developers who joined prior to July 11th, reported to be about 40,000 in number.

Amongst the things to look forward to from Apple include a push notification service and maybe even a new iPod Touch.

Many, including myself, have noticed the instability in the applications on their iPhone/iPods. For me, this has included Apple’s own applications such as Safari and the App Store. The instability of the third party apps is probably the third party developers’ faults, but it may be partially Apple’s as well. Hopefully, both the third parties and Apple will continue to fix bugs and by the release of 2.1 the iPhone/iPod will be much stabler.

via Mac Rumors

The new beta firmware contains references to an unreleased model of the iPod, the “iPod2,1.” Whereas the current iPod Touch is the “iPod1,1,” the reference may be to a new iPod to be released soon.

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Google has struck again, this time through a deal with the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education in Australia in which 1.3 million new users would switch to its free email product.

Through the deal, the students and teachers will receive customised Gmail accounts. Although Gmail is free, the costs lie in the tight security and integration with existing systems that Google would provide.

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I don’t know about you, but I hate talking to a machine when I call a company. It takes forever, and it’s a tad anticlimactic when you realize you waited so long just for a number to press. It’s so much easier to just talk to a person.

Your mileage may vary, but there’s always DialAHuman.com, which has a list of companies and ways to get to an operator. The list doesn’t have all the companies in America, but it has major ones such as Paypal, Samsung, Verizon, etc. This may come in handy one day and save you from a lot of time and pills for headaches.

Welcome to the “Mojave Experiment.” What do people think of Windows Vista when they don’t know it’s Windows Vista? We disguised Windows Vista as codename “Mojave,” the “next Microsoft OS,” so regular people who’ve never used Windows Vista could see what it can do - and decide for themselves. Now decide for yourself.

Microsoft gathered some ordinary folks, asked them about their views of Vista, and then let them try out what they called “Mojave,” an identical version of Vista.

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Woot! (woot.com) features a specific item for sale each day. The items are quite often high-quality products being offered as a cheap deal. Each item is accompanied by a rather long, prose-like description and some nice stats as to who bought the item. (Interestingly enough, most items have a buyer within ten seconds and quite a few people buy more than one of each item.)

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