11:18 AM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

There's a new podcasting service from Yahoo.

"The service -- at http://podcasts.yahoo.com/ -- will allow users to rate and review various shows. It also includes searching functions that allow users browse from a directory with tens of thousands of podcasts from across the Web."

See the story here

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Ok kids, time for the weekly roundup of what we've covered this week:

Current E-Books Trends
MS Office 12 to natively support PDF

E-Book Readers
New PDF Viewer beta for Cybook available

General Chat
Coming soon: 1GHz in your pocket
Open Content Alliance launched
Terabyte Free Email

Other E-Book Resources
Free SciFi e-book: "The Onuissance Cells"

Palm
CNet's five reasons for Palm's slide
DDJ Podcast covers PalmSource-MontaVista Alliance and Linux Devices
Interview with Palm's Ed Colligan
Palm Linux phone by end of year

Pocket PC
TCPMP 0.66e adds podcast support

Portable Audio/Video
Free feature films courtesy of the Internet Archive
Video iPod coming next week?

Sunrise
Sunrise 0.42g released

WiFi / Bluetooth Technologies
Free 2005 Wireless Virtual Tradeshow

07:59 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

"Palm will ship Linux-powered mobile phones this year, say sources claiming to be close to the company. The devices will be powered by Wind River Linux, and pending carrier reaction, may well be the first Linux-powered handsets distributed widely within the US."

Don't expect a Linux Treo. It's probably going to be a Linux feature phone, not a "smart phone" like the Treo. And it's probably a continuation of work that CMS has been doing since before PalmSource bought them.

"As part of its transition to Linux, PalmSource acquired China MobileSoft in a deal consummated on Valentine's Day of this year. At the time of its acquisition by PalmSource, CMS already had about 70 customers using its mobile phone stacks on RTOSes in China, as well as an entire Linux phone OS in the works, according to PalmSource Engineering VP Michael Kelley. Our anonymous sources confirmed that Palm's first Linux-based handsets will use a version of Linux developed by Wind River."

It's good progress, and reminds us that no matter what happens to Palm, we will be seeing a lot of mobile devices based on Linux as well as Windows Mobile. And, with some luck, PalmOS on Linux also. With that sort of competition, along with Symbian and Blackberry/RIM and others, the consumer should see some pretty exciting devices over the next decade to come!

See the full article here.

(Via Palm Addict. If you want Palm news, be sure to visit them!)

10:50 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Just got an invitation in the email that might be interesting to the more technical readers out there. It's a free virtual tradeshow, something that is becoming a lot more common these days. It's being put on by Ziff-Davis on Wed, Nov 16, 2005 and being called "A World Without Wires."

From the site, "The Ziff Davis Wireless Solutions Virtual Tradeshow brings together top mobile and wireless industry experts for a one-day online event focused exclusively on the most pressing wireless issues.

Join us for a series of Keynote presentations and interactive Panel Discussions featuring IT executives, leading industry analysts and government officials who will focus on today's top wireless challenges and discuss the latest advances in wireless computing and communications.

Registration is free! Attend and learn how your business can benefit from the latest advances in wireless technology!"

If interested, you can find more information here.

04:27 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

There's an excellent podcast at the Dr. Dobb's Journal web site... "Peder Ulander of MontaVista Software explains why Linux may be the platform for next-generation mobile phones." Lots of information packed in there, so you may have to listen a few times to get it all.

Remember MontaVista? They teamed up with PalmSource a while back. More related info is available here and here.

Maybe someone will even provide a transcript for the ~5min podcast?

08:17 AM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Wow, I thought I had a lot of storage with 2.5gig in my Gmail account. Now there's new of a service with a terabyte of storage. I remember just a few years ago when large companies had about a terabyte of total storage in their systems. The biggest data warehouses used to be measured by gig. I still can't (affordably) add a terabyte to my desktop. But I have access to a terabyte of free email storage. Attachments can only be 10meg, but I suppose that's necessary to keep people from using this just for free storage of file.

I'm still wondering what the catch is. No need for me to move because I like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, but for those who are interested, here's the scoop straight from the source...

MailNation Solutions developed after years of exhaustive competition in the Emailing industry. Small email companies have come and go, while large email companies such as Gmail (R), Hotmail (R), and Yahoo! Mail (R) have dominated. Privacy policies with major companies are weak, reliability remains questioned, and features are lacking. Attachment sizes remain small and restrictive, and ads plague certain email systems.
It is for this reason that MailNation Solutions was started. We provide a completely free service with an ad-free and simple to use interface. Unlike most free email services, we offer you with an exhaustive list of free features, designed with you and your daily busy life in mind. We offer this to you, completely free of charge, with an impressive uptime, and a very stringent privacy policy. -Vincent Liou. President and Chief Executive Officer

10:27 PM by Brian in Miscellaneous | Lounge

ARM has announced the Cortex A8 mobile processor which will be capable of delivering up to 1GHz of processing power. From the press release:

"ARM today announced its new Cortex™-A8 processor which will revolutionize consumer and low-power mobile devices, enabling the delivery of higher levels of entertainment and innovation to end users. Launched at the second annual ARM® Developers' Conference, in Santa Clara, California, the ARM Cortex-A8 processor delivers up to 2,000 DMIPS making it ideal for demanding consumer products running multi-channel video, audio, and gaming applications. For next-generation mobile devices, the ARM Cortex-A8 processor delivers industry-leading performance and power efficiency while using less than 300 mW in 65nm technology. For the first time, low-cost, high-volume products will have access to desktop levels of performance using the Cortex-A8 processor."

The ARM Cortex-A8 is expected to be available to licensees and device manufacturers starting the first quarter of 2006. With a low-power processor providing 1GHz of processing power, next-gen handhelds and smartphones will truly become mobile computers.

08:23 PM by Brian in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

The Apple rumor site AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has begun production of a video iPod, and it could be announced as early as next week. According to anonymous reliable sources, the device is similar in size to the current 60GB color iPod, a bit thinner, and sporting a smaller iPod Nano-sized clickwheel that allows for a much larger high resolution color screen suitable for watching videos.

A major update to iTunes Music Store is also expected to coincide with the release of the Video iPod, offering music videos and short format video content, according to AppleInsider. AppleInsider is also reporting sightings of a device similar to the AirPort Express but with the addition of video-out that would provide streaming video to a display or TV.

If and when a video iPod is released, new capabilities could include much more than video playback. The current version of iTunes also supports Adobe PDF documents. A Booklets category in addition to Music, Videos, Audiobooks, and Podcasts leads one to wonder if Apple will offer e-book content at the iTunes Music Store for reading on a video iPod device. Current iPods include an address book, calender, text notes, an alarm, timer, and games. In addition, recent job postings at Apple include a handwriting recognition software engineer, and a software engineer position to manage third party software, with required experience in protocol stack software for mobile devices.

With over 22 million iPods sold to date, thousands of iPod accessories and over a dozen automobile manufacturers offering factory iPod integration, the iPod has become a platform. As the iPod platform continues to evolve, mobile computing capabilities will become more likely. Current iPod integration provides audio playback through factory sound systems. Could video playback on factory entertainment systems be next? How about video travel guides for popular vacation destinations?

Update: According to iLounge, Apple has announced a "One More Thing" media event on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 at 10:00AM PST, adding more fuel to the speculation about an imminent video iPod release:

"Apple has announced a “One More Thing” event on October 12, 2005, at the same California Theatre venue in San Jose where the iPod photo and U2 Special Edition iPod were announced last year. The event, promoted to select media, will begin at 10:00am Pacific, and is named after the famed oratory trick of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who uses the phrase as a prelude to a bombshell announcement at the close of a keynote speech."

Read the full article at AppleInsider here.