If you’re here it probably means you read my thread and googled me. As you can see I haven’t haven’t really updated this place since back in August 2007 but feel free to take a look around.

Thanks again for stopping by

Due to the recent spam I’ve been getting in the shoutbox, I have had to remove it. This will be put back up as soon as I find a viable spam-blocking solution. However, in the mean time, feel free to use the Chat Room (you can find it in the navigational panel at the top)

Furthermore commenting has been disabled; for the same reason. This WILL definitely be re-enabled when I have time to update the Wordpress engine as well as Akismet (the spam blocker).

Thank you for your patience,

Jeff (Website Administrator)

Apple Inc shares rose more than 5 percent on Wednesday on growing expectations that the company will announce a revamped line of iPods next week. Technology news Web sites have speculated that Apple could launch a new video iPod with a large touch screen similar to the iPhone, and a redesigned iPod nano in time for the end-of-year holiday shopping season.

Others also suggested that Apple may announce a deal for its iTunes online music store to sell albums from the Beatles, the last and biggest digital music hold-out. Apple has also distributed invitations to a September 5 event in San Francisco, but did not say what it would be about.

“The product announcement is likely to include a full line-up of revamped iPods with significantly greater functionality at current price points, including the much-anticipated full-screen video iPod,” Goldman Sachs said in a note, urging investors to buy Apple shares. Goldman said September 5 would bring “the almost certain launch of a new family of iPods” ahead of the holiday season, which accounts for the biggest chunk of sales for that part of Apple’s business.

News source: Reuters

O2 is on the verge of wrapping up a deal to exclusively sell the Apple iPhone in the UK with a view to launching the iPod-based handset by Christmas. A number of Europe’s largest operators have been linked with a deal to sell the iPhone in Europe over recent weeks. It is understood that formal deals are now imminent and that O2 is about to sign a contract to sell the handset in the UK. Rumor has it that T-Mobile, Germany’s largest operator, will sell the iPhone exclusively in Germany, while Orange, France’s largest mobile phone company, has won the race in France.

The iPhone is due to launch across those territories in November. There has yet to be official confirmation of any deals and a spokesman for the UK’s largest mobile operator said: “O2 has not signed a deal with Apple.” None of the mobile phone operators would comment on the process given the complexity of negotiations with Apple.

Competition among mobile phone operators for a deal with Apple has been fierce, with the iPod maker understood to have driven a hard bargain. One source said that securing the most talked about handset of all time on an exclusive basis and making the economics work had proved a tough balancing act.

News source: Independant

After being acquired by Google a month ago, RSS provider FeedBurner plans to make its premium news feed management services available to publishers at no extra charge (manual activation will be necessary).

FeedBurner’s Stats PRO and MyBrand services were previously available for an additional monthly fee of $5. Stats PRO includes tools to allow users to more effectively track stats on feeds, such as ad metrics and a list of sites publishing the feed. MyBrand allows users to attach their own URL to a feed which is being served by FeedBurner. The original charge for the service ranged from $3 to $14, depending on the number of feeds.

Like its parent company, FeedBurner will now rely on ad sales for revenue. Increasing ad sales had been a constant theme for both companies when the acquisition was announced. Susan Wojcicki, vice president of product management at Google, said at the time of the acquisition that the search giant “constantly aims to give AdWords advertisers broader distribution to an even wider audience of users”.

News Source: Vnunet