Just that alone sounds like a nice feature. After all, this would mean that you would not lose your images if you lose your phone — something that is becoming a bigger and bigger issue as more and more people rely on their camera phone to capture those special moments. But that being said, the Everpix set-up also comes with another perk in that it will also pull in your images from other services so you can view and manage them all in one location.

The app is available for free and can be found by way of the iOS App Store. Everpix requires iOS 5.0 or later and will run on the iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS as well as the 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch. Otherwise, the app is currently sitting at version 1.0.1 and the features break down as follows;

• All your photos in your pocket, beautifully presented and accessible anywhere, even offline.
• Automatically uploads your iPhone camera roll photos to Everpix.
• Super simple photo sharing directly to your Facebook or Twitter.

With that, there is one small catch — the portion of the set-up that will allow you to get all your photos from other services into the cloud is currently Mac only at the moment. That portion can be accessed by visiting the Everpix website and downloading the Mac uploader app. Details on this state that it will allow you to get images from Flickr, Facebook, Instagram and more.

Lastly, even without using the Mac uploader portion and pulling in your other images — Everpix sounds like a nice way to make sure your images will not be lost if you lose your phone. The only catch with that, in order for those images to upload automatically, the Everpix app will need to be running in the background.

That being said, Intuit has officially announced the release of the Mint.com app for Android tablets. More specifically, a Mint.com app designed for Android devices running 3.0 or later. The app is available by way of the Android Market and similar to the other versions — it is both free to download and free to use.

With that, those already using (or familiar) with Mint.com will understand the features and most likely be happy that a version has come available for Android tablets. And for those not as familiar with Mint.com, or for those who have been sporting an Android tablet and have been angry and ignoring Mint because of the lack of app — here is how the feature set breaks down;

• Organize all accounts: One tap gives users a complete overview of their finances; helps them review account balances and automatically categorizes transactions.
• Obtain financial insight: Detailed graphs drill into spending by category, such as food, clothing and travel, or spending over time; provide customizable date ranges for a personalized view.
• Stay on top of spending: Personalized budgets track spending help users reach financial goals.
• Get personalized updates: Streaming delivery of account alerts, bill reminders and personalized advice provides the most up-to-date information and helps people make smart financial decisions.
• Track cash spending: Enter cash transactions while on the go to more accurately capture spending.
• Easily find transactions: The search bar helps users find specific transactions or purchases by merchant, category or tags.
• Review finances anywhere: No Internet? No problem. Storing information from the latest download allows easier viewing of finances, anytime, anywhere.

Being the first aside though, this will give those interested in the Square credit card readers another place to check them out in person. And while we were initially a bit skeptical on the use of the word “select” in terms of describing where the Square could be found — a quick check of the T-Mobile website reveals roughly 100 locations across the US. And without listing each and every location, the list includes locations in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Anyway, aside from being able to find out which retail locations will have the Square on-site, lets offer a little bit about just what the Square actually does. In short, Square is a credit card reader that will allow users to accept customer payments using the small reader (plugged into the headphone jack) and a smartphone or tablet (iOS or Android).

When using a Square reader you will be able to accept payments from just about anyone and in just about any location. They make great additions to the small business who may just be considering (or looking into how they can begin) accepting credit card payments. And better yet, in most cases those payments will hit your bank account in about one business day.

With that, those looking to check out a Square reader at a T-Mobile retail location can hit the source link below and find the full list of participating stores. Well, that or visit the Square website directly at www.squareup.com.

7. Students Save Big Money On Textbooks

If you’ve been to a college class any time in the last ten years or so, like I have, then you already know full well how much a college textbook costs. Even used books can cost big money. And considering–at least in my experience–how much of a crap shoot how useful the book will actually be, that’s a particularly galling point for most any cash-strapped student. But considering the price controls Apple’s already put in play, students may be able to get out of a book purchase run for under a hundred bucks at a clip. And that’s better than many are doing right now.

6. School Systems Also Save Big Money

iBooks 2 doesn’t just offer big savings for the students themselves, but for all book buyers in general. When you consider that even small districts may have to buy several hundred copies of textbooks, and even with bulk rates, they might still shell out several thousand dollars just to update one class. And when you consider how many classes are involved with your typical school program, well, the expense only gets higher. But those price ceilings Apple put in, well, that’s got to be a breath of fresh air for cash-strapped districts in a bad economy with declining property tax revenues to count on. And when schools need less money to operate, that should–in a perfect world–cut your tax burden.

5. Textbooks Can Be More Readily Updated

Perhaps the biggest problem with textbooks is that they are, essentially, time bombs. Once they’re bought, it’s literally only a matter of time until they’re rendered invalid. Some take longer than others, of course, but you never know how long it is before a new state shows up, a new president, a new principle, a new wrinkle that suddenly is missing from a student’s education, or worse, a detail that renders portions of the text invalid. But with iBooks 2 books, the books can update as need be via over the air update, or failing that option, can simply be replaced for much, much less than ever before.

4. Textbooks Up Their Engagement Factor

A textbook is just a textbook. But as we’ve seen with books like Our Choice from former vice president Al Gore, textbooks done in the electronic style that iBooks 2 can offer can really up the engagement factor with the kids. Just reading text can get kind of dull. But when you throw in images, that makes things much better. Adding video, even more so. Adding charts and graphs that you can adjust yourself, well, now you’ve got a recipe for getting students to pay attention. The more that the students can do with the text, the more they will do with it, and the more they will do, the more they retain. That makes electronic textbooks a valuable tool for any educator.

3. Backpack Weights And Their Health Concerns Drop Through The Floor

It’s long been a concern of educators that their students are putting a little too much weight on their backs, carrying backpacks full of books that alter their center of gravity and put a lot of strain on their bones and muscles, which in some cases are still actively developing. But there was only so much that could be done, until the electronic textbooks of iBooks 2 made their appearance. Now with students able to carry an entire school career’s worth of books in a space the size of an iPad, well, it takes a lot of weight off the student’s back. And it does so literally as well as figuratively, too.

2. New Textbook Vendors Get A High-Profit Shot At The Market

Selling textbooks wasn’t exactly an easy market to get into. The barriers to entry were absolutely huge, and ranged from the sheer expense of producing textbooks (all that ink and paper isn’t cheap) to the difficulty inherent in making sales to school districts and students who’d likely been buying from the same place for years, or even decades. But now, without the fixed costs and barriers to entry, new vendors can jump in and have just as much shot to get in as anyone else.

1. Apple Gets To Sell Even More iPads

This is perhaps the biggest point of all. The plain and simple truth is that much of iBooks 2 is that much of what’s there is best to run on iPad. And what that means is that all those high school, middle school, elementary school, and college students out there are going to need–or at least very much want–the best platform on which to conduct their textbook business, and right now, that’s the iPad. So if Apple’s sales weren’t already impressive, they’re about to shoot through the roof, and that price tag on the iPad will be precious little against its equivalent in four to five years of college texts.

And so, there you have it. A lot of people win when it comes to iBooks 2, from students to teachers to school boards all the way back up to Apple itself. About the only people who lose in this venture are those who deal in traditional textbooks, because they’re about to find themselves with a whole lot more competition that’s going to need a whole lot less capital with which to operate. How widespread this will go will remain to be seen, so we’ll have to keep an eye out to see just how far this goes. Still, if it goes as far as it could, the entire landscape of education could get fundamentally altered, and in the favor of a whole lot of people.

all pics copyright their owners.

Of course, we only wonder where he will end up because of where he began. Many will remember Jon Rubinstein from recent years — Palm and HP. But before we get into that, lets discuss what has been said in regards to his leaving. The details of his departure have come by way of AllThingsD who report that;

“Jon Rubinstein, the former Apple executive who took over handheld maker Palm and moved with it to Hewlett-Packard in a 2010 acquisition, has left HP effective today,”

And as for what has been heard from within HP, there has been a statement issued by HP spokesperson Mylene Mangalindan;

“Jon has fulfilled his commitment and we wish him well,”

As it turns out, Rubinstein had a 12-24 month commitment to stay with HP. That being said, it looks like that time has come to an end. So far, it was noted that Rubinstein has “no immediate plans” as to where he is heading.

Taking that as a shift point, lets take a brief look back at where he has come. Rubinstein began his career after graduate school with a term at Hewlett-Packard. From there he went on to a few other companies but ended up working with Steve Jobs at NeXT in the early 90′s. Of course, what many will remember though is what came after NeXT — Apple and his work on what became the PowerMac desktops, the iMac and the iPod.

Sadly though, his latest ventures, Palm, webOS and HP did not have quite the same level of success as his time at Apple. Either way though, while webOS may not have been the success that many had thought it could and while the Pre, Pixi and TouchPad devices never reached iPhone and iPad like status — we can comfortably say that Jon Rubinstein has quite a history and we look forward to seeing where his next chapter will begin.

The details have been posted by the folks over at the Google Sync team and break down as follows beginning with the changes to Calendar. In short, you can now configure multiple calendars to sync with your device. According to Google;

“Multiple Calendars is a feature that lets you select which of your Google Calendars are synced to your device. Just navigate to m.google.com/sync on your phone’s browser and configure the calendars you would like to see.”

In addition, once on the m.google.com/sync page you will also be able to set-up the next change — the ability to configure your “send mail as” address within Gmail. This one should help those who have multiple custom addresses set-up in their Gmail account. Another point dealing with the Gmail side of things, this latest change has also brought some improvements for search. This one means that you will now be able to “look beyond the conversations that are stored locally on your device.” In other words, Google Sync for Windows Phone will now allow you to search Gmail for locally stored and cloud stored conversations.

All said and done, while these items may not be anything over the top exciting, they should make things a bit nicer for those who consider themselves more of a power user. And once again, those looking to get this all set-up will only need to grab their Windows Phone device, launch the browser and navigate to m.google.com/sync to get going.

But perhaps the reason that this guy likes Pocket Informant is because it syncs and plays nicely with Google Calendar and Toodledo. That being said, it looks like the folks at WebIS are taking things a step further and have introduced a new offering — Pocket Informant Online. The new service is set to debut in February as a publicly available beta.

Pocket Informant Online will be priced at $15 per year as an introductory offer and then go up to $25 per year as the regular price. According to the description, Pocket Informant Online has been in development for “quite some time” and it will allow you to have “all your PI data synced in the same location.”

Breaking this down a bit further and WebIS is touting this as “complete mobile organization” with features to include calendar, tasks and sync.

Replacing the need for the old style paper planners, or your kitchen wall calendar, our full-featured PIM offers at-a-glance organization! With the available customization choices, you can set your information to show as much or as little as you wish. This calendar is a must have tool for everyone, from the person who just needs a little organizational help, to the power user.

• Add Events easily with just a few taps of a button.
• Choose from Year, Month, Week, Day, List and Today views. Each view is customizable to your specifications.
• Filter your Events per view
• Comprehensive collection of icons available for your Events

• Tasks are completely viewable and editable in the Calendar views.
• Comprehensive collection of pre-made Task Groups.
• Pre-made filters allow you to quickly find your Tasks.

• This is another addition to our great family of productivity software, enabling users to access their information anytime and anywhere.
• This is our own private sync service that will support iOS, Android, Outlook, and a future Mac OS X Desktop version.
• Sync the entire Pocket Informant Calendar, Task, Notes, and Settings between your iOS and Android devices and in the future, Mac Desktop.

All said and done, while I am interested in seeing how well the service works — I will say that I am not entirely convince that this is something I need to spend any additional money on. Then again, having the Calendar and Tasks together in one service could be nice. Anyway, in the meantime, check out the screenshots below.

Basically, NBC Publishing has plans to bring out 30 different titles by the end of the year, with coverage ranging from full-on ebooks down to what they’re calling “digital singles” (think more like novelettes, coverage longer than your standard article, but nothing much over a few chapters), using both new coverage as well as coverage pulled from NBC Universal divisions. It’s also set to open up the doors to some indie authors who are already using NBC’s various archives as sourcing for their own work, giving us some different perspectives than those straight out of the peacock.

It’s not surprising to see this happen, frankly. The move toward the ebook is growing steadily stronger with each passing day, it seems, with more companies offering up content for reading on tablets and ereaders alike, and more companies offering up more kinds of tablets and ereaders on which to read the content in the first place. Throw in the hordes of indies out there that want to publish their own stuff–The Mill River Recluse shining like a beacon in the night to many–and you’ve got a recipe for a whole lot of content making it out to electronic shelves from places you’d never have expected to see it coming.

Of course, many are wondering how much of this is in reaction to NBC’s somewhat dwindling viewership numbers in the face of overwhelming support from cable news and internet based sources, but it’s really something of an ancillary motive, if that. And there’s a pretty good chance it will work, especially when you toss in NBC Universal’s current cable and online presence lending a promotional boost to boot.

So what do you guys think here? Looking forward to seeing what the peacock and company put out? Or do you figure this is just the start of a slow death for NBC and the rest of the broadcast networks? No matter what your stance on this one, we want to hear from you, so hit the comments section and tell us what you think!

The folks out at Global Equities Research are claiming that over 350,000 textbooks were downloaded already, and this within just three days of the service even being available to use. What’s more, Global Equities Research is also reportedly claiming fully 90,000 downloads of the iBooks Author system itself, which in turn allows books to be written for the iBooks store.

Global Equities Research’s numbers, meanwhile, are said to come from a “proprietary system” that they’re not saying much about, so feel free to take the results with as big a grain of salt as you require, up to and including the official Apple Rumor Salt Lick. But still, the fact that they could get numbers like that and believe them credible enough to announce suggests several important things about the whole concept.

One, we all knew that epublishing was taking off. Barnes and Noble is very much personally aware of this fact after seeing its dead tree business slump in recent months to be replaced largely by ebooks. So thinking of iBooks in terms of those kinds of numbers certainly isn’t out of line. Two, Apple has always been a big market, so seeing big numbers attached to the launch weekend of anything Apple is well within normal for anyone who follows Apple.

So while Global Equities Research’s numbers may not be exact against the real numbers, they’re certainly not unbelievable, and do a fine job of underscoring the future value of ebooks to come.

But what do you guys think about this one? Do you figure that Global Equities Research has the right idea about the extent of downloads on Apple’s newest venture? Do you think their proprietary systems are giving us a big load of static? How about the implications of the ebook market? There’s plenty of room for opinion on this one, so head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think!

Of course, looking at the Brookstone Wi-Fi Cufflinks is something of a refined experience in and of itself, with the cufflinks themselves boasting a nice polished silver finish in an oval style. But while that by itself would be impressive enough for many, it’s not worth our time to cover in a tech blog. Until, of course, you consider that both cufflinks have detachable fronts that offer up extra bonuses.

Detaching the front reveals that the cufflinks are actually a very small USB thumb drive offering fully two gigs of storage space.  And, once you’ve plugged the USB connector into a computer’s USB port (and downloading some accompanying software), you’ll be able to use said cufflinks as a wi-fi hotspot for other computers. Better yet, Brookstone says that smartphones, iPads, and most every other wireless device out there will actually work with these, giving you the flexibility to access media servers and the like.

Brookstone bills these as terrific for travelers and business meetings, as well as tech-heads who want to look sharp but still keep their access near to hand, not to mention for those times when you need a little extra storage on the road, or want to keep your favorite files or programs on you where ever you happen to be.

Brookstone’s looking to get $249.99 for a pair of these, and they do look nice, sure enough, but it may be a bit of a stretch to ask people to shell out that kind of money for fancy storage and wi-fi dispersal in a down economy. Of course, being as this is Brookstone we’re talking about, that may not be a consideration at all.

So what do you guys think of this one? Figure that there will be some interest for sharp-looking storage that gives your cuffs some extra fancy bling besides? Or do you figure these will go the way of other high-priced toys that don’t do much? No matter what you think, head on down to the comments section and fill us in!

While Google and Kansas City made an agreement to bring in the extremely fast internet connection some time ago, the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities seems to be getting in the way of the operation, saying that it hasn’t yet received an approval of said agreement. The primary issue seems to be one of line placement, in which Google wants to place the lines for their fiber connection in the same general area as the city’s power lines, and do so without fees from the city. This is almost never done, apparently, due to maintenance concerns (if the Google Fiber wires go down, then they have to have access to the city’s power system to fix it).

As a result, Google is trying to figure out whether to hire engineers to finish the installation, which will result in high up-front costs, or pay market rates to install their wires where the telecommunications firms install theirs, which involves additional fees. This figuring has pushed the project back from its original launch date of the first quarter of this year (they were supposed to start signing up customers late last year, but this did not happen) clear back to a date best described as “no one’s sure”.

Interestingly, a comparable deal in Kansas City, Missouri seems to be proceeding apace, and may well be installed before that of Kansas.

Right now there are probably a couple dozen city employees in the making rubbing their palms gleefully together and plotting their “Vote For Me–I Won’t Get In The Way Of Super-Fast Internet” campaigns. But sheer hypotheticals aside, it’s never a good thing to have access to an impressive piece of infrastructure of the type Google’s looking to put in and then hamstring it with a lot of red tape.

So what do you guys think of this? Kansas City readers, we definitely want to hear from you too! So head on down to the comments section and let’s talk Google Fiber!

The changes were noticed and have been reported by the folks over at the Google Operating System blog where they break it down as follows;

“If you try to create a Google account from Google’s homepage, you’ll notice that Google redesigned the page, but that’s not all. You’ll now have to create a Gmail account, a Google Profile and you’ll automatically join Google+.”

Simply put, gone are the days where you could head over to Gmail and set up a new email account with little information and little time to do so. Previously you had to enter little more than some basic account information and an existing email address. Coming from a look at this new setup, Google will now require your first and last name, username (email), password, birthdate, gender, mobile phone number, alternate email address and evidence that you are not a robot which comes in the form of a CAPTCHA.

Otherwise, in addition to a tiny bit more information being required, you will then be shuffled off to set up your Google Profile page and your Google+ account. Sounds like a sure fire way for Google to bolster their Google+ numbers. Then again, being a user of many Google services, this idea does not seem all that bad to me.

And lastly, as it seems Google has not entirely rolled this out for all (potential new) users or for all properties. Bottom line, you may still be able to sneak in using the old sign-up process, however it looks like that may be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

Hulu Plus, previously, wasn’t working out so well with Android devices, according to reports, and thus the folks at XDA Developers–specifically a member going by Vgeezy–decided to take a look under the hood and see if they could get something together. And what they ended up with was a modified .apk system that will let you get access to Hulu Plus material on Android phones and tablets everywhere.

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and episodes of The Cosby Show. You’re still going to need a subscription to Hulu Plus to get in on this. And you’re also going to need to jailbreak your Android device. Plus, just because it says “any” device, you’ll likely still need to figure in things like your device’s spec loadout before you try to subject the $99 Chinese no-name special to trying to stream video. Still though, if your Android machine of choice has the chops to show video, then you should be able to do all right with Vgeezy’s .apk files and get your hands on some fine streaming video whenever you’re in range of a wi-fi connection.

Smart idea, I’d say, and very much worth the attempt for anyone who likes their Hulu Plus subscription or finds themselves with a lot of idle time near a wi-fi connection. But what do you guys think about this one? A little too much like work to get your streaming video fix? Or a terrific idea to help kill some downtime? No matter what you think, we always like hearing from you, so hit the comments section below and tell us what you think!

iTunes U, in case you never actually had cause to use it, has been around for a while, and provides sort of a central access point for students and teachers to communicate. Often used for professors to record video of lectures and post them to a central site, the concept has had some success previously, with over 100 courses represented, all available for free, according to reports. But it’s not just about lectures, as students can also access course notes, class syllabi (which is also a crucial thing to have on hand, judging from my own college experience, as in several classes plenty of professors never even bothered with the “required textbook” and instead taught from their own syllabi instead, making the book a colossal waste of money), and other supplementary material is on hand, and at no cost.

But the key addition here is that, now, iTunes U will open its doors to K-12 students as well via an iPad and iPhone app, which is available today, and at no charge. And while I question the value of, say, a kindergarten teacher putting up a lesson on the letter U, a high school calculus teacher putting up absolute-quality course notes would have been a huge help to a struggling math student like I was.

It’s a bold move on Apple’s part to get themselves integrated into the classroom setting, where well-meaning parents can justify forking over cash to the Apple machine in a bid to help their kids get a leg up in school. And while there may only be so much value in iTunes U the farther down the age range you go, there’s clearly going to be more than a little value here.

But what do you guys think of iTunes U? Useless gimmick? Or the start of something very smart, for Apple if nothing else? No matter what your opinion here, hit the comments section below and tell us all about it!

In terms of the app itself, aside from coming at no cost to the user — it has arrived as version 1.0, measures in as a 558k file download and requires Android 2.2 Froyo (or later) for use.

“Official Wikipedia App for Android. Wikipedia is the free encyclopedia containing more than 20 million articles in 280 languages, and is the most comprehensive and widely used reference work humans have ever compiled.”

Otherwise, while we can see that some may not be quite as interested in the dedicated app given you can already access this same information using the mobile browser — we suspect there are more than a few Wikipedia fans/users that will be happy to have this on their device. This guy included. And if nothing else, having this as a dedicated app just saves a few clicks as opposed to launching the browser and then clicking for Wikipedia from the bookmarks.

In terms of the app, some of the features includes the ability to save an article to read later or read offline, share articles using the Android “share” functionality, read the article in different languages, search using a nearby mode and using a full screen mode.

With that, the Wikipedia app can be found by a simple search for “wikipedia” from within the Android Market. And in the meantime, those curious can check out the gallery of screenshots below. Lastly, for those heading over to the market on your device, after searching you will likely have to scroll down a little bit as there are more than a few unofficial apps available. But remember, look for Wikipedia from Wikimedia Foundation.

Back in April of last year, we first brought word about Al Gore’s Our Choice book being brought to the iPad. And this was actually quite a step for its time, offering up a book with a lot of built-in animations and the like that might yet prove one day to revolutionize ebooks as we know them, giving us the straight text version we already know and love and adding on a version jam-packed with multimedia. Apple’s textbook project, codenamed Bliss, is said to be inspired by the Our Choice format.

Details on the Bliss are short on the ground as yet, and will likely be fleshed out at tomorrow’s launch, but the current word suggests that Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of internet software, is to oversee the distribution on the new textbooks, but Roger Rosner of the iWork division will be developing the editor that’s used to create the digital textbooks in the first place as well as the reader software that will let people actually consume the books.

And in terms of implications, I’m torn on what to think. Yes, sure, this is a great idea. Kids who would never read a textbook under normal circumstances would cheerfully flip through one that included video and interactive charts and graphs and whatnot. Engagement rates would skyrocket. And cost may not be too much of an issue as all they’d have to recoup were the costs of the labor spent programming, which wouldn’t be too hard when you consider that even a small district might need two hundred of these at a clip.

But still, we’re talking about a very niche product here at a time when budgets are strained to the limit. But even the most cash-strapped school would likely appreciate a book that could possibly even update itself via over-the-air updates. Imagine the look on a school board’s face to discover they’d never need textbooks again.

So what do you guys think about this? Looking forward to hearing about what might be coming our way tomorrow at the big Apple textbook launch? No matter what you think, head on down to the comments section and fill us in!

This one is called Notification Control and as the name implies, it is a site that offers quick and easy access to check (and in some cases edit) what email alert notifications you are receiving from social sites. The sites included on the list are; Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Foursquare, LinedIn, Pinterest and Google+.

And nicely done, each of these sites (links) takes you directly to the appropriate notifications page. For example, clicking the Twitter link will take you to the Notifications page within the Settings and allow you to edit what emails are being sent for things to include Messages, Activity and Updates. The same applies for Facebook in that it takes you to the Notifications Settings page within your settings.

The rest of the other services follow suit with Twitter and Facebook. In short, visit the Notification Control website, click each link and make sure to kill off any unwanted or unnecessary email. Me personally, this should be a good way to get rid of a little bit of clutter in my inbox. I should also take some time and finally get to that MyPermissions site which has been sitting on my to-do list for over a week.

All said and done, these are two simple and relatively quick ways to help keep your online happenings to a manageable level. And lastly, for those who see these sites and immediately worry that you are going to have to authorize and give up something to use them — rest assured in knowing that they contain nothing to worry about as they are simply links to the appropriate pages on the respective services.

The details coming from Google include that the campaign has been dubbed Good to Know and their aim is to make the “web a safer, more comfortable place.” And for what it is worth, Google has noted that this is their “biggest-ever consumer education campaign.”

Of course, some of the TFTS readers may already be familiar with this effort from Google as they have already began in the UK and Germany sometime last fall. It seems that the kick off today is specifically for US based readers. Our take, regardless if you are in the UK or Germany or even the US or some other not specifically named country — there is probably a tip or two that you can use.

As for what the Good to Know campaign will offer, Google notes that it will focus on privacy and security. More specifically, some of the items they are suggesting include using 2-step verifications (when available), remembering to lock your computer when you step away, making sure you have a secure connection to websites and also diving a little further in and covering topics such as cookies and IP addresses.

The Good to Know campaign will bring goodies such as privacy videos as well as other online goodies such as the Google Security Center, the Family Safety Center, Teach Parents Tech and more. Of course, we have also seen some others from Google including the Google Dashboard, Me on the Web and even some features found in Google+ Circles.

Google is also going to use ads in regular newspapers and magazines to help promote this campaign. And lastly, those living in either New York and/or Washington DC may even see an advertising poster in the subways.

Yup, this latest seems to be all about fun. It is also something that we are not sure everyone is going to appreciate. But that being said, we here at TFTS love a good meme as much as anyone else and therefore welcome this new addition. This one is rather simple, Google+ is becoming more meme-friendly.

The latest will allow Google+ users to add “funny text to photos.” Or as we like to say, it will allow users to *attempt* to create that next great meme. Of course, with every great new meme that surfaces we suspect more than a handful will fail and die a miserable and unshared death. But hey, one will have to try.

Anyway, the announcement comes by way of Google employee Colin McMillen who breaks it down as follows;

“Adding a few words can turn a silly photo into a ROFL, or draw attention to what you find most interesting. Today we’re rolling out a feature that makes it easier to add big, bold text on top of your photos.

To try it out, drop a photo into the sharebox on Google+, then click the “Add text” button underneath the photo. Type in something funny, then share and enjoy.”

With that, this new feature will be rolling out over the next few days, which should mean that all Google+ users will have it sooner rather than later. Otherwise, have fun and if you want to try to get your new funny texted photo to stand out, make sure you share it on Google+ and tag it with #funwithphotos.

The Pirate Bay has announced plans to stop serving .torrent files as far as two years back. The site also shut down its Torrent Tracker in November 2009, arguing that BitTorrent trackers have been made redundant by peer exchange and magnet links. TorrentFreak reports that this plan will commence in a month’s time, and that users will no longer be able to directly download .torrent files from The Pirate Bay.

But what does this mean to users? While there might be some initial confusion, the fact remains that visitors will still be able to download files distributed via the BitTorrent protocol. However, this will not be done through .torrent files, but through magnet links. According to The Pirate Bay, switching to a magnet site will mean the service will no longer need a huge amount of bandwidth to support the download of .torrent files, no matter how small these are relative to the actual files downloaded. Another upside is that sites that scrape content off of The Pirate Bay will have a more difficult time securing magnet links than .torrent files.

However, downloads could potentially take longer to start, particularly if a file only has a few people sharing it. This is because the .torrent file itself is downloaded from other users (in peer exchange) instead of being directly downloaded from the server. However, all mainstream BitTorrent clients support downloading from magnet links, which should make the transition easier.

Is this a big win for anti-piracy organizations? Not really. If anything, this might mean that The Pirate Bay itself might be less liable for illegal downloads because not only does it not host the bootlegged files itself, but it doesn’t even host the .torrent files that let users download these copyrighted content. But of course, we can argue that not all content listed on the Pirate Bay is illegal, per se, with some users sharing their own legitimate content and creations.

Google and YouTube are apparently set to put fully $100 million dollars into the development of fully 100 new channels to make their way to YouTube over the course of the next several months. Indeed, they’ll have a whole array of folks involved in content creation, from Stan Lee to The Guild’s Felicia Day to Rainn Wilson and a whole lot more to boot. Basically, YouTube picked these developers out specifically to make YouTube content, and while content will be monitored for quantity–a certain number of updates in a time frame–the actual content itself will be largely hands-off in nature, at least as far as YouTube goes.

Basically, YouTube is figuring that, by 2020 (which is only eight years away, so it’s really not out of line to start thinking in terms of what will be on hand in 2020), fully 75 percent of all video watched will be transmitted via the Internet, and thus, they’re getting ready accordingly.

Meanwhile, I can’t help but look at this and think that they’ve got the right idea here. See, we just saw yesterday how Microsoft got its pay TV plans scuttled once they saw the bill the networks were putting out for services. And we’ve also seen, not so long ago, how Apple’s television plans got a likewise dousing. But if Google develops a line of YouTube-specific releases, no content provider can get in the way of that one. And considering that Apple could throw $100 million at a project several times over, they too may have their content source for Apple television waiting in the wings. And I don’t doubt that Microsoft, even off as it is from its highs, could bring $100 million to the table itself and tell the cable companies where to get off.

The specifics may be unclear, but I like the direction they’re going in. But what do you guys think? Will we see big names in internet video–and in hardware–start putting together their own content like YouTube’s looking to? Or is this just a flash in the pan that won’t follow through? No matter what you think, head on down to the comments section and give us your thoughts on YouTube’s content plans!

The report from ComScore says that Microsoft’s Bing brought in fully 15.1 percent of all searches in the United States for the month of December. Meanwhile, Yahoo brought in 14 percent, which is still very close, but represents the first time in some time that the two traded places from number two to number three. That leaves fully 70.9 percent of all remaining searches, however, and the clear winner in that stake is Google, who holds 65.9 percent of the whole, leaving a mere five percent in the hands of all other search engines and a margin for error.

The news is good for Microsoft, though not as good as you may think. The issue appears to be largely one of people leaving Yahoo, who lost .6 percent of its searches from November to December, while Google saw a .5 percent increase in theirs. The rest, however, went to Bing, and this provides some interesting perspective in its own right, doubly so when you consider two important points: one, Bing’s December 2010 numbers said it only got 12 percent of all searches, and two, Google’s December 2010 numbers said it got a full two thirds of the search market at 66.6 percent.

What this means is that, year to year, Bing is gaining ground while Google is losing. While these are just one year results, which can fluctuate accordingly due to any of a number of possible reasons, it’s worth noting that Bing saw a 3.1 percent gain while Google lost .7 percent of its market. If those numbers hold, and follow a reliable pattern going forward, Bing will pose a serious threat to Google itself in a matter of years. And that’s not even accounting for the effect Siri will likely have on the entire search engine concept.

So what do you guys think here? How many happy Bing users out there have said “never again!” to Google? Do you favor a complete different search engine? No matter what you think, head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think!

That being said, while smaller, they still appear like they will be welcomed by those using Google+ Hangouts. These new changes come as a follow up to the introduction of Google+ Hangouts with Extras that were introduced back in September. In other words, these new features simply “incorporate some of the extras.” And according to the folks at Google, they better reflect Google’s overall design.

Moving past the how and into the what, the changes that you can expect to see include screensharing, bigger video and an overall improved layout. Breaking these down a bit further and we have the following;

• Screensharing: share what’s on your computer screen with everyone in the hangout. This is the first of many extras we’re graduating to Hangouts proper.
• Bigger video: we’ve put more emphasis on the live video itself by optimizing white space and other screen elements.

Bottom line here, while maybe nothing overly exciting in terms of what has changed for Hangouts this time around, we can say that it is nice to see Google rolling out improvements on a fairly regular basis. It also makes us wonder which Extras will show up as regular features in the future. And lastly, just to recap Google+ Hangouts — some of the previous (and fairly recent) improvements included the support for regular telephones which came back in early December and the support for iPhone users which came back in late September. Of course, going back to September and we cannot forget that is when the service switched from being an invitation only offering to an open to the public offering.

The Netgear WNDR4700 looks a bit like the previous generation WNDR4500 introduced in previous CES events, in terms of features. But with a multitude of new functionalities, the WNDR4700 has enough to boast of as an all-in-one hub for one’s home (and small office) networking needs. At CES, Netgear has introduced their latest device, and has touted that the WNDR4700 is equipped with a fast processor for better performance compared with other routers.

The WNDR4700 comes with a built-in 2 terabytes of storage space. If that’s not enough for your games, apps and movie downloads (or office files, perhaps), the storage is consumer-upgradable, and users can swap out the hard drive with a larger-capacity or faster one. Meanwhile, the router comes with two USB 3.0 ports, which offers connectivity with an external hard drive — for even higher capacity storage — or external peripherals, such as printers.

The Netgear WNDR4700 works with Macs and PCs, and can interface with the Apple Time Machine natively, for even more storage. However, the device does not only boast of networked storage as its main feature. The router also supports downloadable apps from the Netgear App Store, which opens up the possibilities for more home and small-office networking features. The router has the following features:

• True dual-band routing, with three-stream N standard (450 Mbps) on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands;
• ReadyShare Vault for continuous backups for Macs and PCs;
• ReadyShare Cloud for remote-access to the hard drive via VPN;
• ReadyShare Printer, which can host any USB printer and share the resources within the network;
• NetGear Genie, which helps home users control, monitor and repair their computers remotely;
• Media Server, a DLNA-compatible media storage service;
• Braodband usage meter, which can help gauge Internet usage and consumption;
• Netgear Live Parental Controls, for restricting access to unwanted sites.

Pricing has not yet been announced, although the WNDR4700 router will be available for retail by mid 2012.

BitTorrent is usually the preferred protocol for sharing large files, because of the multiple concurrent transfers, and the fact that there’s no central repository of data. BitTorrent, Inc. recognizes the advantages of ad-hoc connectivity in file sharing, and is launching a new service that takes advantage of peer-to-peer sharing in order to synchronize files across multiple computers, or share these with friends.

As BitTorrent usually relies on bits and pieces of files residing on different “seeder” computers, BitTorrent Inc.’s chief strategist Shani Ghanem says Share will rely on Amazon EC2 and S3 services in order to deliver seamless sharing between users, without the need for both users to be online at the same time. Files are then removed from the server, as well as other computers, once the file has been shared with the intended recipients — “leechers” in BitTorrent parlance.

BitTorrent Share is initially available for Windows users, and will be available in future releases of the µTorrent client. Meanwhile, Mac users can expect the same functionality in a future alpha release of µTorrent meant for OS X.

BitTorrent’s Ghanem tells GigaOM that the main advantage of the service over similar and competing service is that it imposes no file size limits for sharing. BitTorrent notes that other services have sprung up, but shut down in the past due to burgeoning hosting costs. As such, the Share service will power its cloud-storage and file sharing system with a mix of server resources from Amazon, as well as users’ sharing their own hard drive space and bandwidth in order to sustain the system.

In short, those sporting a BlackBerry who happen to be looking to manage their social networking accounts using one app now have a nice option to consider. The HootSuite app arrives as a free download and brings support for services to include Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and LinkedIn.

“Update your Twitter feed, check in on foursquare, view your LinkedIn connections, and comment on your friends’ Facebook posts wherever you are. Upload photos, receive notifications, view click stats, and more. Simple, elegant, and powerful, HootSuite allows you to send and schedule Twitter updates from anywhere.”

The key features in terms of HootSuite include the following;

• Customizable user interface
• Easy navigation thanks to column swiping
• Schedule tweets or Facebook update
• Update multiple accounts at once
• Save searches
• Track statistics
• Share photos
• Import Twitter lists
• Receive notifications for new tweets or Facebook updates

Also worth noting, one of the perks that come along with the HootSuite mobile apps is that HootSuite also has a web version. In other words, you can set up your account and then have access to the same information from your mobile device as well as on your regular computer. And in addition to the mobile versions, the web version of HootSuite also brings some additional goodies including advanced stats, team workflows, assignments, RSS feeds and more.

That being said, the mobile version of HootSuite for the BlackBerry is free to download and free to use, however there are two pricing structures for the web version — a Basic account for free and a Pro account for $5.99 per month.

First, in terms of the new features, Dropbox (experimental) version 1.3.4 includes the following;

• Selective sync for Windows 8 fixed
• First build with photo importer
• Importing of photos from cameras, phones, and SD cards.
• Batch upload/download of files.

That being said, the selective sync for Windows 8 is probably a nice one, however we suspect that one is not going to affect all that many users at the moment. And that means the big new feature is the photo importing. Or more specifically, photo and video importing. According to the details coming from the Dropbox team, this is a feature they have been working on for a while.

In short, you can plug in your camera, phone or SD memory card and Dropbox will “import your photos and videos so they’re all backed up and accessible and stuff.” Sounds simple enough. But that little statement may end up being way off. While the crew at Dropbox seems to be rather proud of this newly added support — the comments from the users are not quite the same.

It seems that the simple part may be the undoing. Some users are complaining that Dropbox is growing beyond what it was — a simple piece of software that did its job and did it well. One user states rather simply that the “Dropbox application should not overloaded with stuff that is not necessary” while another is asking that they “not let Dropbox become another bloated piece of software” and instead “focus on the core concepts of the product.”

Either way, this feature is still only in the experimental build for now. And if nothing else, if you are not digging this feature, it may be one that keeps you sticking with your currently installed version of Dropbox after they roll this out in a regular release.

First up, there is the NORAD Santa site, which you can find by clicking here. The tracking here will officially commence at 2:00AM EST on Saturday December 24th, Christmas Eve. And as for those tools provided by Google and others — those include a mix of everything from YouTube to Google Maps to Google Maps for Mobile to a Google Earth plug-in. Some other methods include social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

• Follow Santa on Google Maps: Visit www.noradsanta.org to see where Santa is currently flying and where he’s headed next on Google Maps. Click on the video icons to watch “Santa cam” videos from all over the world, and the gift icons will display information about each city along the route.
• Watch Santa fly in 3D with the Google Earth plug-in: If you have the Google Earth plug-in installed on your computer, you can track Santa’s location in 3D and see him deliver presents everywhere from the mountain villages of the Swiss Alps to the white sand beaches of Hawaii.
• Track Santa from your mobile phone: Follow Santa on the go by searching for [santa] on the Google Maps for mobile app.
• Get updates via social media: The NORAD team will be posting updates about Santa’s flight throughout the day on December 24. Follow them on Google+, Twitter or Facebook for live updates.
• Subscribe to the NORAD Tracks Santa YouTube channel: All “Santa cam” videos will be posted on the NORAD Tracks Santa YouTube channel as they’re captured. You can also watch a recap of Santa’s 2010 trip. Check back often for updates!

And that all being said, while you wait for the 2011 tracking to commence, you can enjoy this YouTube highlight clip from 2010.

That being said, the details are coming by way of a letter that was recently sent from Bell to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). In short, beginning on March 1, 2012, Bell Canada and Bell Aliant will stop using equipment to slow down file sharing applications. In other words, those still using a file sharing application on the Bell network may see an increase in transfer speeds beginning in March.

Further details of this letter state that this change will affect customers of both companies as well as “the customers of independent internet service providers who rent wholesale access to Bell’s network in order to connect directly with customers’ homes.” In a letter signed by Denis E. Henry, who is Bell Aliant’s vice-president of regulatory, government affairs and public law and by Philippe Gauvin who is the counsel for Bell Canada on regulatory law and policy it was noted that;

“with the increasing popularity of streamed video and other traffic, P2P file-sharing, as a proportion of total traffic, has been diminishing,”

And just to give a little history on this topic, which went into effect back in 2008. Bell was “selectively” slowing down peer-to-peer file sharing applications between the hours of 4:30PM and 2:00AM. As to those times, that is when Internet traffic was said to be at its highest, and in turn, those using programs that were deemed to not be a priority were slowed. Bell had sated that the file-sharing programs were being slowed because the traffic coming as a result was not as time-sensitive as other programs such as voice calling and/or video.

Bottom line, while this looks to be good for anyone on the Bell network, it could also mean good things for customers of other providers as well. Granted, we are not expecting other carriers to switch their policy overnight, however now that Bell has made the move we may begin seeing pressure from customers for others to do the same.

It’s somewhat ironic, and very unexpected, to hear this, especially when you consider that Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer will be delivering the keynote address at the 2012 CES event, and the reasons behind Microsoft’s departure are unusual, but make quite a bit of sense.

Frank X. Shaw, vice president of corporate communications, ran down the details of what drove Microsoft out in a blog post, saying that, while they’ll still participate in CES, you won’t be able to tell it near so much as they’ll have neither a booth nor a keynote address. But most of Microsoft’s product announcements and other such “news milestones,” as he called them, really don’t show up in January. And as such, Microsoft’s looking to hold its own events to announce its new products, thus reducing the need to get involved on one big show, as well as put more of an emphasis on contact through Facebook, Twitter, its website and its network of retail stores.

Considering that Microsoft has had a relationship with the Consumer Electronics Association, the company behind the CES event, for nearly two decades, this is a big step for the company. And admittedly, continuous marketing through the methods Shaw discusses is likely to be more effective at building and keeping brand recognition than one big shot in the start of the year. But still, this is a big change in the natural order of things, and the shakeup is likely to have wide-ranging effects. How long before no major brands show up at CES and instead focus on launching their own miniature shows throughout the year?

But what do you guys think about this one? Think that we may be looking at the beginning of the end for the annual CES event? Or are we simply looking at a couple big names jumping ship to run their own show? No matter what your opinion on this, we always like hearing from you, so head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think about Microsoft’s (mostly) departure from the CES!

That being said, WordPress for Android has been updated to version 2.0. In terms of the app itself, it remains available for free, measures in as a 1.4M file download and will run on Android 2.1 or later. In terms of using the app, WordPress for Android brings support for those using a WordPress.com account as well as those using a self-hosted WordPress blog. Though, touching on the self-hosted blogs, those must be WordPress 3.0 or higher to be compatible with the Android app.

As for what is new with WordPress 2.0 for Android, those goodies include the following;

• Use the Dashboard and Quick Action Bar to get one-tap access to everything you want to do with your blog.
• All new post editor including a rich text formatting bar and enhanced media features.
• Full support for Android Tablets.
• Post Format support.
• Stats chart improvements.
• Background post uploading.
• WordPress.com Read feature improvements.
• Post Status is now displayed in post list.
• Reliability improvements.

Otherwise, the folks over at WordPress also made mention that this new tablet support includes the “newer” 7 inch tablets. And yes, that includes the Kindle Fire, of which it was noted that the app would “soon” be available by way of the Amazon Appstore. All said and done, it looks like WordPress 2.0 has delivered in the way that you would expect from a major release. In other words, WordPress 2.0 for Android seems to have shifted into something rather nice. And taking that and combining it with a device such as the Transformer Prime (a 10-inch display and a hardware keyboard) and you could have a serious and highly portable writing work station.

And yes, that means Scribbles is now going to be available for those using Gmail on a mobile web browser. Of course, the catch here, that support will only be available for select devices. In terms of which, Scribbles will now work in the mobile browser version of Gmail on devices running iOS 4 (or later), Android 3.1 (or later) and the BlackBerry PlayBook.

As for those looking to begin creating some doodles Scribbles, grab your supported device, navigate to mail.google.com and then hit the scribble button (while in the compose view) to begin your masterpiece. And as Google is so kind to point out, Scribbles could be used rather nicely for everything from sending original comics to your friends to creating the next great meme or something as simple as helping to “brighten a loved one’s day.”

And for those who skipped over the previous Scribble news considering it was initially available only for iOS, here is how that breaks down;

“From prehistoric humans etching in caves to the modern-day thinker sketching a stroke of genius on a napkin, scribbling is a natural form of human expression. Not constrained by formatting or font styles, scribbling is a versatile outlet for expressing individuality and creativity. Not to mention it’s a lot of fun.”

Lastly, for those who feel they have created something special and would like to share with someone other than the person they are emailing, Google has set up a special email address to submit your artwork. Those interested can send their doodle to gmailscribbles@google.com and then share them with the world using #GmailScribbles.

The details of these latest improvements were recently spelled out over on the Official Google Blog where they have stated that the “features will be rolling out over the next couple of days.” In terms of what we can expect to see, the changes will touch on notifications, Google+ Pages, Google+ Photos and the ability to “pump up (or down) the volume.”

And given that last one mentioned may sound like something else entirely, lets touch on that one first. Keep in mind, Google is not referring to volume as in sound, but volume as in the amount of content. According to the details on this one, once available you will be able to adjust the amount of content you see from a particular stream using a slider style control.

When viewing the stream for a particular circle, you’ll now see a slider at the top that lets you adjust how posts from that circle should be blended into the main stream. That way you’ll never miss a post from that special someone, and you can tweak these settings to form your own “perfect stream.”

Moving over to the notifications, these will be “more useful and attractive.” In terms of what will actually be changing, Google will have sneak previews that will show what is new and perhaps more important — why you might care. In addition, the new notifications will include the ability to see the +1′s and shares from your posts.

Next up, the Google+ Pages improvements. These come as some of the “most oft-requested features” and break down as follows;

• You can now delegate up to 50 named managers as administrators for a page.
• A new notification flow will ensure that these managers stay in the loop on all the activity that takes place on a page, giving managers the ability to stay involved in page conversations.
• We’ll now show an aggregated count of users that have engaged with your page, either by +1’ing it or by adding it to a circle. This way, both you and your page’s visitors can get an at-a-glance summary of who is interacting with your page.

And lastly, the improvements to the Google+ Photos experience. This will include a completely redesigned Lightbox viewing experience which features improved navigation. In addition, the comments have been enhanced and Google has unveiled a new photo tagging experience.

With that, Google+ users should be on the lookout for these changes to arrive fairly soon.

And while we would like to see every update come described as being huge, this latest is on the smaller side. This latest update comes as a point release to version 3, it arrives as version 3.4 and while it is on the smaller side as compared — it seems to have a few goodies that will make it worth your time to update.

That being said, Evernote for Android measures in as a 7.5M file and maintains the requirement of Android 1.6 or later for use. And as it had been in the past — Evernote remains free to download and free to use. However on that note, there is also a Premium account available, which will set you back $5 per month or $45 per year.

In terms of this latest update, according to the “what’s new” section in the Android Market, here is what you can expect to see;

• Fix force close when selecting Settings
• Adds single note sharing activation and deactivation options
• New icons to visually differentiate notebook types
• Redesigned login and registration screens
• Faster access to note editing and options

Otherwise, for those who are new to Evernote, here are some of the key features;

• Sync all of your notes across the computers and devices you use
• Create and edit text notes, to-dos and task lists
• Record voice and audio notes
• Search for text inside images
• Organize notes by notebooks and tags
• Email notes and save tweets to your Evernote account
• Connect Evernote to other apps and products you use
• Share notes with friends and colleagues via Facebook and Twitter

And for those considering going Premium, that brings goodies including the removal of the ads (on the desktop apps) along with the ability to upload larger files, top priority support, faster image recognition and the ability to PIN Lock your mobile app.

Perhaps you’ve heard of how the RIAA and MPAA actively pursue lawsuits even against young kids or grandmothers just because their IP addresses are found to have illegally downloaded movies and songs. Some offenders agree to pay thousands of dollars in fines, even though some might not be aware of the actual implications of downloading a few songs from dubious sources.

But a recent effort by freedom-of-information advocates has determined that even major studio labels themselves are downloading bootlegged content through BitTorrent. Torrent Freak reports that they have initially determined a few U.S. based companies to be downloading songs, movies and other copyrighted content through BitTorrent.

• An IP address based in Sony Pictures’ headquarters has downloaded Conan the Barbarian and a variety of music tracks and TV show episodes.
• An IP address from NBC Universal’s Ft. Lauerdale office has downloaded the entire Game of Thrones first season, Cowboys and Aliens, How to Make it in America, and several music albums.
• Fox Entertainment might be doing market research by downloading Super 8, but TorrentFreak says this kind of thing is usually best done by paying for a DVD.

Even Google’s corporate office has been found to have downloaded software and content through BitTorrent. Now, while it’s likely that it’s just a few recalcitrant employees who have been downloading content and media illegally, it’s a double standard how studios and labels treat piracy. Are they dealing with erring employees appropriately, or do they just let these downloads happen right under their noses without doing anything?

Some have claimed that their IP addresses have been spoofed, but this is even welcomed by advocates of free BitTorrent downloads, because this will set a precedent in other legal cases, where the accused may simply use IP spoofing as a defense.

Still, piracy is wrong, and companies like Google, Apple, Spotify and the like, are trying their best to provide legal avenues for watching movies, listening to music and downloading software that are even more convenient than looking for bootlegged copies (although with an added expense). The question is, are the music labels doing their own homework, or are they simply content with suing alleged pirates while being lax within their own ranks?

That being said, the deadline date for the Free Super Saver Shipping option is December 19th. And just to clarify, those who are ordering with Amazon can get free shipping on “eligible” orders of $25 or higher. Otherwise, the remaining order by dates break down as follows;

• Dec. 19: Standard Shipping
• Dec. 21: Two-Day Shipping (order as late as 8 p.m. PST; varies by item; free with Amazon Prime)
• Dec. 22: One-Day Shipping (order as late as 4:30 p.m. PST; varies by item; $3.99/item with Amazon Prime)
• Dec. 23: Last-Minute Christmas Delivery (for Amazon Prime members only; while available; select cities; varies by item; $9.99/item)

In addition, there is a Local Express Delivery option available which means that for some — it will be possible to place your order as late as December 24th. Of course, we should point out that this option is only available in select cities and the cost varies by item.

And for those who wake up on Christmas realizing they forgot something very important. Amazon still has you covered, well, almost covered. In this case, you can order on December 25th and Amazon will send printable gift cards by email.

Otherwise, while free shipping is always nice, this may be a good time to get that free trial of Amazon Prime — especially if you are picking up a Kindle Fire. Not only would this give you additional content for your Kindle Fire, but you also get the free two-day shipping that comes along with.

Breaking that down a bit further and we learn that those 15 additional countries include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.

In terms of what will be available, it looks like the iTunes Store in Brazil will have “an incredible selection of Brazilian and international music from all the major labels and thousands of independent labels.” More specifically, the Brazilian iTunes Store will launch with more than 20 million songs, of which most will be priced at $0.99 on a per track basis and $9.99 on a per album basis.

In addition, the Brazilian iTunes Store will also have more than a thousand movies for rent and purchase. The movies will come from studios to include 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros.

Moving past the Brazilian iTunes Store and back over to those 15 additional Latin American countries, the breakdown of the iTunes Store for those areas will include music from label such as EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music, and thousands of independent labels.

Otherwise, Apple has also launched iTunes in the Cloud for those in Brazil as well as all the previously mentioned Latin American countries. Apple has also launched iTunes Match in Brazil, which comes priced at $24.99 per year.

And lastly, in order to take advantage of these new features, users will need to first download the latest version of iTunes, which happens to be version 10.5.1.

This latest is coming as an “amazing new radio experience.” Or at least that is what Spotify’s Chief Content Office Ken Parks had to say. But perhaps more to the point, this re-launch of Spotify Radio brings a focus on being unlimited — everything from unlimited stations, to skipping, to access.

Perhaps more exciting, this new Spotify Radio set-up will be available to everyone which includes free and paid subscribers. As to when this will be available, according to the folks at Spotify, it will be rolling out over the next few days. And for those who find themselves not being able to wait, rest assured in knowing that a preview is available.

Anyway, while you are waiting for those few days to pass, or simply trying to decide if you should take the preview route right now — here is a further breakdown of all the unlimited goodness that will be included.

• Unlimited stations, unlimited skips – that’s the new Spotify Radio. You can be the DJ and skip between stations and tracks, or choose a station and just go with the flow. If you like what you hear, you can save the song to a playlist or play it again on demand.
• A unique radio experience: Thanks to our all-new intelligent recommendation engine and multi-million track library, Spotify Radio is a music discovery experience without equal.

With that, those looking to get started simply need to choose the “Start Artist Radio” option which will be found at the top of any artist page or by dragging a track to the “Radio” section in the left-hand sidebar.

That being said, Syncdocs is being touted as a “new service that brings Google Docs to the desktop.” In addition, the application is said to have “Dropbox-like file sync” and while we would normally shy away when company uses another popular service to make a comparison like that — from what we can see, they really just mean that the service simply works in the background with little or no effort on the part of the user.

Otherwise, the Syncdocs app is available in two varieties — free and paid. The free version looks like it will be good for the majority of home/individual users. In terms of the details from Syncdocs, “users are only charged when syncing a large number of files.” And bringing the comparison back to Dropbox, Syncdocs also has a refer a friend and get more program available. Those who refer someone will get a bonus of “an extra 250 files” that they can sync.

In terms of features, the Syncdocs application basically makes it a bit easier to access your Google Docs from your desktop. The files will appear in the Finder window as a “G” drive. But perhaps a bit nicer, you can edit those files directly from your desktop as you are used to and then those files automatically sync to the cloud where the can be accessed from any web connected computer.

In short, using Syncdocs will make it easier to have a backup of those important files that you have stored in Google Docs. It also looks to be a good option for those who are not quite as geeky. Basically, this looks like a nice way to set up your not-so-geeky family member with a Google Docs account that backs up regularly and does not confuse them in terms of editing on the desktop because they can continue to edit the way they are already familiar with.

That begin said, the apps include Evernote Food and Evernote Hello, both of which should be showing in an App Store near you very shortly. And as the names suggest, Evernote Food deals with your meals and dining and Evernote Hello deals with meeting new people and introductions. Beginning first with the food app. Evernote Food “allows individuals to easily save and relive all of their favorite meals and food experiences, ranging from fine dining to home cooking to travel and exploration.”

Otherwise, some of the suggested use cases for Evernote Food include the following;

• Meal memory: Capture all the dishes, drinks and atmosphere at a meal
• Recipe building: Track all the ingredients and steps in preparing a dish
• Restaurant reviews: Write personal reviews of restaurants
• Dieting: Manage food intake through photos and notes
• Traveling: Remember food adventures while traveling

And moving over to the Evernote Hello app. This app is said to make it “easy to remember people and shared experiences, as well as thoughts and impressions about encounters.” Otherwise, some suggested use cases of the Evernote Hello app include allowing people to switch phone when they meet to create a “basic” profile. The Hello app will then display your contacts as a swipeable mosaic of faces that when tapped will show the persons profile. From that point, the app will then offer everything from “a history of every encounter the two people have shared, along with other people who participated in the same meetings, location information and any related content from the user’s Evernote account such as notes and photos.”