Apple iPad

(Best Syndication News) Some people call the Apple iPad a glorified iPhone without the phone connectivity, unless you use Skype or some other VOIP service. But remember, this is the first iPad offered by Apple and there will likely be improvements over the coming years.

The goal is to get people to pay for content that they are currently receiving for free. Under Jobs, Apple has been great at figuring out ways to get people to pay for content or service. The iPod was a mechanism to generate revenue through music sales. The iPhone was a way to generate revenue through cell phone contracts. Now the goal is to subscribe people to magazines and sell books.

Apple iPad as gaming machine

(Best Syndication News) Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed-off the new iPad today in San Francisco. This could be a revolutionary device that is way better than a laptop and phone, according to Jobs.

The iPad will come in 3 versions: The 16GB for $499, the 32GB for $599 and the 64GB version for $699. This is far less than the rumored $1,000. It is not a laptop and it isn’t a smartphone. Jobs said it was better than either one, but stopped short of saying it would replace the Mac.

With its 9.7 inch 1024x768 IPS LCD touch screen, it is better than a netbook. "Now, some people thought that was a netbook—the problem is that netbooks aren't better than anything!" Unlike other grayscale tablets, the iPad is full color.

screenshot of Mozilla Firefox 3.6

[Best Syndication News] Internet browsers always seem to evolve, usually for the better, with Mozilla Firefox releasing 3.6 version of their software is it worth the free upgrade? It probably is worth the time to upgrade, there are better security features built into the browser which will check browser plug-ins for the newest release which will help avoid malicious software getting into your system.

For those that want to customize their browser as their own Mozilla Firefox 3.6 has Personas which will skin graphics of your favorite pictures, activities, travel destinations, and more.

What is nice about Firefox is that you can customize your browser with open source plug-ins. They are simple to disable and uninstall if you decide not to use the plug-ins.

[Best Syndication News] The computer industry has been moving towards compact and portable computer systems. The netbook computers have gained tremendous marketshare, however with the advent of tablet computer systems they may also lose market share.

Freescale Semiconductor has announced their smartbook tablet that will retail for $199. This 7 inch touchscreen tablet will use their high-performance, low power I.MX515 processor. The computer will have multimedia playback. They have designed the tablet computer to have a long battery life, use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology to get connected both via the internet as well as with voice on the cellphone. The operating systems that are supported are Android™, ThunderSoft's Millos Linux® and Ubuntu®.

screenshot of sears.gazelle.com website

[Best Syndication News] Sears has partnered with Gazelle to issue gift cards in exchange for your old electronic equipment. Sears electronic trade in program is a further expansion of Gazelle who is the ones that have developed the idea of giving cash back for used digital cameras, cellphones, laptops, mp3 players, video games, PDAs , camcorders, GPS devices, gaming consoles, and more.

Depending on what condition the electronic is in is the amount of the gift card that will be issued. If you don't want a gift card from Sears you can get cash issued from Gazelle as well.

The process is pretty simple. You go to the website you tell them what you have, who you are, and the condition of the electronic that you want to trade in. Based on that they will give you an estimate of the amount that they will offer you for the trade in electronic items. If you want to do it then they will send you a box to send in the items at no cost to you, it is figured into the trade-in amount. Then when the box arrives you send in the item that you are trading in for cash. Once they receive the electronic device that you want to trade in, they will inspect it to see if it matches the condition that you told them. If it matches then they will send you the gift card or cash in the amount that was quoted to you.