Shape Services, the well known developer behind the popular IM+ universal instant messenger has taken their first stab at the Palm Pre’s webOS platform with their IM+Skype app.  The app brings all of the typical features of Skype to your Palm Pre, including:

• – cost effective voice calls to other phones
• – free calls to other Skype users in the United States
• – instant text messaging with other Skype users
• – easy and intuitive interface.

I am thrilled to see the beginning of new apps dribbling into my Palm Pre.  Hopefully this is only the beginning of a long deluge which could eventually populate the App Catalog.

For more information, head over to Shape Services or type s4palm.com from your Palm Pre’s mobile browser.  IM+Skype costs $9.99, or you can pay a monthly fee of $1.99 to use it.  There is also a 10 day trial.

Kindle-gate exploded when Amazon remotely removed a number of books by George Orwell. At the time  I wondered what would happen to any notes taken on those various books if such a thing were to happen again. And although Jeff Bezos apologized for the action and promised to do better in the future, the question remained.

Well now we have an answer. A student was taking notes for an AP class and found that his notes remained. No problem right? Nope, big problem. It seems the pages referenced were left useless once the book was gone hence the notes themselves were useless too.

So what is the poor teen to do? Sue Amazon of course.

Read the full article here.

It is a bit hard to believe but you can get an iPod for under $40 and a MacBook for under $600 right now. Sure you won’t get the latest and greatest hardware… not by a long shot, but if you wanted to jump into the Apple waters on the cheap here’s your chance.

Visit CultOfMac for details.

RIM has unleashed , quietly released BlackBerry App World version 1.1.  As usual, with the beloved CrackBerry maker, it’s not revolutionary but evolutionary.  The biggest news?  You can save apps archive an app to your microSD card (why yes, it is 2009).  Wow.  An archive.  So you can reinstall an application faster.  Yayyyyyyyyy. Saving an app to your microSD versus the limited onboad device memory would have been huge news for BlackBerry users.  Que cera, cera. Continue Reading

Maybe just maybe the government does get some things right after all. The FCC announced today that they are launching an inquiry into AT&T and Apple over the rejection of Google Inc’s voice application for the iPhone. Apparently this request is part of a broader inquiry by the FCC into exclusive deals between cell phone carriers and handset manufacturers. Part of this request for information is also expected to cover why Apple and possibly AT&T had related third party Google Voice applications pulled from the store as well. Could Google Voice be the crack that starts the mighty iPhone dynasty tumbling?

WSJ

This EZYFlare boasts 8,000 foot (1.5 mile) visibility and a battery life of up to 12 hours. Naturally the problem with all battery life estimates is when you leave batteries in your device for months they tend to naturally decay – and when the moment of truth comes you’re left looking at a slowly dimming light. However if you’re one of those people who regularly replaces the battery in their smoke detectors and is otherwise is diligent about such power matters – this may be a good deal to buy for $6.99 and keep in the trunk of your car or to take on your small fishing boat. Rubber feet on the bottom prevent damage to surfaces and the LED lights pulse when turned on to further increase visibility.

EZYFlare – $6.99

The new BlackBerry Tour has been out for a few weeks now on both Verizon and Sprint. This means it’s time to roll out the accessories for everyone to protect their device. While some people like to clip their BlackBerry devices into a holster for the world to see – I’ve started to us pouch type cases similar to this Outdoor / Wave case line from Beyza. I find it a lot easier to manage my phone is this type of case and I’m not constantly getting hung up by my case on my belt as I get into and out of my car. This morning I received an email from Beyza offering 20% off with discount coupon 1715. Cases are offered in the following color combinations (follow the link below for the images): Brown/Brown; Khaki/Tan; Dark Khaki/Tan; Orange/Tan; Brown/Tan; Red/Red; Yellow/Tan.

Beyza – BlackBerry Tour Outdoor/Wave Cases

Fun Booth 2, from Spoonjuice software is an application for the Mac which lets you snap pictures or take video of yourself wearing all sorts of silly props.

You can then e-mail the photos to friends or family, upload them to iPhoto, Twitter, Flickr, or burn them if they really embarrass you.  :)

The application uses advanced face detection software to move the props into the right position no matter where you position yourself on the screen.

If you’re really crazy you can even chat with your friends in iChat while wearing the props too.

Continue Reading

Last night I paid $10 just for the privilege of swimming in the town pool. I haven’t gone at all this year so I didn’t want to sprint for the $90 annual pass. Now with the new Plustek line of scanners that accept thick media – I could have scanned in my neighbors pool pass and printed out a copy that saved $90! Well of course that would be unethical and I’d never do that. But there are surely lots of legitimate uses for these new thick scanners from Plustek. Medical offices can take copies of driver licenses without worrying that they’ll become jammed in plain old thin scanners. The data that’s scanned is also available for searching via advanced software that creates a PDF. Click through for more information and pricing on available models.

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Escort’s out with their latest radar detector they’ve nicknamed “the muscle car” of all radar detectors. In their press release VP of New Product Development Tim Cooner say’s they took the RedLine out to the Speed Measurement Labs annual shootout and measured signal detection at an eye-popping 13 miles distance. And, yes, I’m sure the 13 miles was on a flat track in the desert – but it’s still an impressive measurement. Priced at $449 this model will appeal to the diehard radar fan and is also compatible with their Laser Shifter ZR4 (laser blocker). New features include dual antennae, totalshield technology to make the detector undetectable by the fuzz, programmable alert lamp, specdisplay to provide numeric radar frequency for any signal, programmable Ku-band for European travel, detects and decodes up to 64 safety warning messages.

Escort RedLine Radar Detectdor

Today is the tenth annual system admin day! We sysadmins get blamed for everything even when it isn’t our fault.  The internet broke?  Yep it’s the sysadmin’s fault.  Can’t get your computer to boot up?  Blame it on the sysadmin!

Today is the ONE day you can do something nice for the guy who gets crapped on every other day.

Continue Reading

The Speck CandyShell line of cases for the iPhone 3G and 3GS is nice twist on the wrap-around case design.  It’s glossy and hard on the outside, yet doesn’t feel too slick in your hands, and provides a fair amount of cushioning on the inside without being too bulky (hard on the outside, soft on the inside – get it?).  The original CandyShell design was released earlier this year, but now Speck has expanded the line with 5 new color combinations that you can see here.  The new colors use a “tone-on-tone” style, according to Speck’s press release, and the new color combinations are BubbleMaker Pink, BatWing Black, AquaBerry Blue, WaxStick White, and JamJar Purple.  The CandyShell is dockable and comes with a cleaning cloth and removable screen protector for extra scratch protection. You can purchase the CandyShell through Speck’s website for $34.95.

On the lookout for a 15″ laptop at a 8″ Netbook price? Take a closer look at this Acer Aspire laptop with 15.6 viewable screen; 2GB RAM; 160GB hard drive; DVD+/-RW; 6 cell battery and Vista Home Basic. The price and reviews on the site are not bad. This deal ends tonight (7/31) via GearSponsor Logicbuy who spotted it on NewEgg.

Acer Aspire AS5516-5474