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Items of Note:
On a non-tech note, please donate to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief. To make a donation, please visit http://www.redcross.org
A new episode of Podcast Nation is out! Check it out at http://www.podcastnation.blogspot.com
I am aware of a feed issue where your podcatcher may be downloading older episodes while getting the new ones. I am working on ways to eliminate this bug. Thanks to all who e-mailed me a heads-up.
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Test a geek:
What new product did Apple Computer launch with a $1.5 million commercial during the 1984 Super Bowl?
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Tech news:
Apple set to release new products. In an invitation sent to select media Apple hints that it will unveil a significant new product. The invitation reads “1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again.” The invitation-only event will take place on Wednesday, September 7 at 10:00 a.m.
Test drive a Mac mini for 30 days. Apple has launched a promotion for its Mac Mini computer, allowing customers to return the machine for a full refund after a 30-day “test-drive.” The deal, which began Wednesday and ends Oct. 31, is available only through Apple’s online store. Customers normally have 14 days to return Apple merchandise. The company usually only gives full refunds for unused machines in unopened boxes unless the product is defective. “We’re so confident you’ll love your new Mac Mini, we’ll let you test-drive it for 30 days with no risk,” Apple’s site states. “If you decide you don’t want it, we’ll take it back.”
Microsoft may open a retail store. Microsoft is looking at retail space once again, apparently with ambitions to create a high-visibility, showcase store. The software giant is inquiring about retail space in New York’s Times Square, a much larger stage than its previous venue in San Francisco, according to real estate brokers.
Microsoft looking to compete with Skype. Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has purchased a small start-up called Teleo, as part of a move to expand the capabilities of MSN Messenger.
The move comes as all the major portal and IM companies are moving more heavily into Internet calling. Last week, Google launched its own instant-messaging service, dubbed Google Talk, with a focus on voice chatting. Microsoft has its eyes set on something more like Net phone company Skype’s service, however. A key part of Teleo’s technology is focused on making calls from a computer to an ordinary telephone, a feature that company executives said would start finding its way into MSN Messenger before the end of 2005.
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How To: Find the best deal for gas
With hurricane Katrina wreaking havoc all over the south, you will be feeling the crunch with gas prices. The news has reported that gas has risen almost $5 a gallon in certain parts of the country. To get by in these times, shopping around is your best deal.
Gasbuddy.com and gaspricewatch.com are both fantastic websites that display the gas prices at stations all across the country. Just punch in your zipcode and instantally you’ll see every pump’s price within your given search criteria. Both these websites work on the simple premise that you pass the same stations every day to work. Because this happens five days a week, you can keep tabs on your particular stations.
To help the cause you first sign up to be a ’spotter’. Then you can begin entering prices for gas at all the stations located. The process is easy and anyone who can fill out a web form can navigate the updating of station prices. If a station is new or has changed, you can update the station information easily. The information, once approved, will be displayed within a day or so. Gas prices are updated instantly.
In situations where gas has jumped drastically almost over night, the prices may not be totally accurate, but during normal times, you can rely heavily on them. As the days pass, both websites will become much more accurate.
Both websites are free to use and definitly are a big help with all going on right now. Being a spotter is easy and helps everyone in this community effort. Check out more at http://www.gaspricewatch.com and http://www.gasbuddy.com
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Ask A Geek:
This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
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Hack:
This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
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The geek’s view:
This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
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