Well it looks like iPhone owners will finally get the ability to use custom ringtones with music from iTunes. However, early reports indicate this is going to cost you. Some are speculating it will be similar to the non-DRM pricing where you pay a bit more for the song to have the ability to use it as a ringtone, and a fee to “upgrade” music you have already purchased.

Going through the Apple related forums today I can say users are not to happy about this arrangement. I have quite a collection of music in my iTunes library, and the thought of having to pay to “upgrade” each song I want to use is quite discouraging. I’m going to wait until the “official” announcement is made next week before I get too worked up, but I will definitely be following this.

Tags: iphones, mac, apple, ringtones, at&t

If you have Windows Vista, and would like an easy way to tweak some of its hidden and hard to find settings, then take a look at TweakVista. It was designed to allow casual users to safely use it, as changes are easily reversible, but also has advanced settings for the power users.

For users who are more environmentally aware, there is a new feature which shows the carbon footprint and the estimated running costs of your PC. Other features include:

• Security Handling: Users can now easily and safely adjust the way Windows handles security prompting including the new UAC (User Account Control).
• Memory Optimization: TweakVista knows which start-up services different types of users will typically use and offers recommendations on what services to disable. Users can easily switch between different profiles (including the default) based on their needs to maximize performance and memory use.
• Resource Control: Tweak Vista has several features for keeping an eye on and flagging programs that use excessive amounts of resources (memory, CPU, or system handles) as well as integrating seamlessly with built in hardware diagnostic reports.

For more information and downloads, check out the TweakVista Web site.

Tags: tweakvista, vista, stardock, software

Facebook has undoubtedly become one of the most popular “social networking” sites on the web today, and for those of you lucky enough to have a brand new Apple iPhone, there is now an even easier way to access your Facebook info.

Facebook recently introduced a site made specifically for the iPhone, and after playing with it for several hours I am quite impressed.  The biggest downside I found so far, and this is more of a Safari flaw than anything, is having to enter my login information every time I visit the site.

Check out Facebook on your iPhone here.

Tags: iphone, apple, facebook

If you grew up in the ’80s, or are just a fan of that era, then there is no doubt that you remember the “Johnny Five” robot from the Short Circuit movies. Well now you can bring part of that history into your living room or office by bidding on this full-size, original robot complete with controls for just around $120,000.

Yesterday, Apple released  a “security update” for OS X, but along with that they also released a small update for the iPhone. The 1.0.1 update is labeled as a security fix that addresses a couple of security issues including one that was supposed to be released at the upcoming Black Hat convention.

Some users are reporting this update has also corrected a problem with the low volume issue on some iPhones.  While this is hard to determine, I have noticed the speaker phone on my iPhone seems to have increased slightly.  Hopefully we will get more information about this update today.

The update is available through iTunes and all iPhone owners should update their iPhones.

Tags: iphone, itunes, apple, mac