PC Magazine is running a story now about Dell agreeing to ship some of its’ desktops and laptops with two pre-installed Google apps.  (The actual apps aren’t mentioned but I’m assuming they are Google Desktop [search] and Google Pack.)

Google even has a customized home page on their own site for Dell PC users: http://www.google.com/ig/dell.

Click here to read the PC Magazine article with an oh-so-clever article title: “Dude, You’re Getting a Google.”  Get it?  Uh, yeah.

We’re about to hit 7 million, people! Whoo-hoo!

Anyhoo…

The latest Google rumor comes from Reuters and the TimesOnline this morning, both of which are reporting that Google is in talks to acquire Napster. Meanwhile, both Google and Napster vehemently deny any such acquisition.

In fact, a statement coming directly from Napster on Jan. 23rd stated the following:

“The company is not looking to be sold, the management is not looking to step out. It’s simply not true.”

That doesn’t really seem to be leaving room for any takeover.

Frankly, it makes sense for Google to enter the music market seeing as how it just entered the video market and they already have a domain set up for any such store…googletunes.com. Also, I would love it if Google would buy up Napster and actually make the service a bit more usable. I’m not a big fan of the Napster application, currently in version 2.5. I am, however, a big fan of the subscription music model.

Any updates to the “developing story” will be posted here.

Update: This has since been denied by none other than Google themselves.  Thanks, iansuri.

The big ole’ Redmond-based software company has officially cancelled plans for a Beta 2 release of its’ next generation operating system, Vista. Instead, they plan to rely solely on feedback from its’ CTPs (Community Technical Previews) wth the next CTP release scheduled for February. Although an official Beta 2 launch will not be happening, MS plans on labelling each CTP release from here on out as Beta 2 releases.

This isn’t the only promise that MS has broken in regards to Vista as vnunet.com points out. CTPs were also scheduled for November and January but were cancelled as well. So, another month is left before the geek masses can get their hands on the next taste of Vista.

You can read the story over at vnunet.com and arstechnica.com among others.

Google has released a beta of the latest version of their Toolbar for Internet Explorer. New features include:

• results-as-you-type search box featuring listings from your Google search history, Google suggest, and more
• customized buttons (add one for Gmail, Labs, etc.)
• a “send to” feature which allows you to “share web pages via email, text message (SMS), or blog.“

Another new feature which I found to be most interesting is “bookmarks.”  This appears, at least on first impression, to be a del.icio.us-esque feature allowing you to access your bookmarks from anywhere - so long as you’re logged into your Google account.

More details about these features can be found at the Google Toolbar home page.

These features are currently listed on the Mozilla/Firefox Toolbar page as well but the Download Now button seems to be only offering version 3.

According to BetaNews.com, Sony has discontinued their robotic dog project named AIBO [(A)rtificial (I)ntelligence ro(BO)t]..  According to the BN article, the death of this project is a result of cutting costs in some areas while focusing on areas where Sony already has a nice lead in market share like LCD TVs.
Farewell, ye olde robotic dog…may you find your special place in dog Heaven.

Typical “huge corporation” would rather slaughter millions of dogs than lose some money.  And by “slaughter” I mean “refuse to make replacement parts for them.”  And by “dogs,” I mean metal “robots with feelings of devotion coming from a Sony-branded memory stick.”  It’s best that I end this post now.

(I bet you didn’t know what to expect from that subject line, did ya?)

Google’s Official Blog states that the Earth & Local teams have made updates to their products.  First, the Google Earth team have added “extensive 6-inch imagery for many parts of the U.K.”  Second, Google Local now has the satellite imagery that has been available in Earth for so long.  (Two more zoom levels - it is a nice difference in a lot of areas.)

Read this blog entry and others at http://googleblog.blogspot.com.

I believe this will be the year Google plays catch-up.  They’ve had all of these nice and pleasant utilities out for so long that Yahoo!, MS, and others are now starting to catch up with them and exceed them in some cases.  I think 2006 will be the year that Google takes each of their products several steps forward.  After all, they did just recently add a delete button to their Web mail application didn’t they?

Whew…they’ve got a long way to go.

Google has chosen ZAAZ, a “leading web design and analytics agency,” to provide additional reporting options to Google Analytics customers.  From the ZAAZ announcement page:

“Google Analytics is a powerful standalone tool, but today marketers are seeking more - they need help in understanding how to decipher and more effectively use web analytics to identify opportunities for improvement and act on the findings. We are pleased to partner with Google to provide our comprehensive range of services to their enterprise Google Analytics clients.

Our team of web analysis experts provides consulting, training and best practices for Google Analytics and other leading web analytics tools such as WebTrends and Omniture. Whether your company needs better insight into web site performance, marketing campaigns or other behavioral metrics, we can help you make sense of all the data and ultimately improve your results.” 

Google is expected to announce the partnership later today and because I know that you’re on pins and needles just waiting for this announcement here is where you can find Google’s Press Releases: http://googlepress.blogspot.com.

I’m still trying to figure out how to configure subdomains with my Analytics profile so I don’t think I’ll be visiting ZAAZ anytime soon.  (They sure do have a pretty lookin’ site, though.)

I gave in and downloaded the very unofficial release of IE7 Beta 2 today and it’s somewhat impressive.  Of course, impressive in terms of what I needed two years ago before the arrival of Firefox 1.0.  It’s got everything you’ve come to expect from the popular open source alternative including a new tabbed interface (don’t worry, there are tab preferences for you to set in the internet options window), an integrated feed reader (think Live Bookmarks), as well as a few additional features one of which being “Quick Tabs.”  One of the biggest changes of all comes from the removal of the “Classic Menu” (i.e., File, Edit, Tools, etc.) which is what we’ll be seeing more of (or less of, I guess) in Windows Vista.  The menu is still accessible but only as a “double arrow” on the right side of the browser.
Overall, it’s a drastic improvement over IE 6.0, of that there is no doubt.  My main grief is just how long it has taken for Internet Explorer to get to this state.  Honestly, if I hadn’t been using Mozilla’s star product for so long I would be speechless right now.  To be positive, however, the interface is actually beautiful and, as always, the speed of IE is nothing to be shameful of…it’s always been a very fast browser.

There are a few bugs, as you would expect, but I presume these will more than likely be worked out for the official release of the 2.0 beta.  For instance, I had to switch over to Flock to submit this blog entry because while I was typing in the composition area of Wordpress in IE7, the text wasn’t visible as I was typing…unless I arrowed backwards.  An obvious bug.  Oh, and one more thing I thought was kind of funny, the new Hotmail beta just doesn’t work in the new IE.
Regardless, I’ll be more likely to use IE7 for those stubborn pages that require IE and just won’t work with the second most popular browser on the face of the earth.  Still, even in those cases I have other options such as IE Tab for Firefox and the ever-popular IE-based Maxthon browser which is feature rich…I’m talkin’ 007 feature rich.

For more detailed information (and I mean much more - not to mention decent writing), check out this article at PC Magazine.  Be sure and leave some comments letting me know what you think of the beta - if you had the guts to test it out.

The “blogosphere” (I still feel weird saying that) has been on fire today with the story of a leaked IE7 Beta 2 being available for download at a variety of sites such as JXCP.net and Cybernetnews.com. So, if you feel as though you can’t wait a couple of weeks for the official release then head on over to these sites and download it for yourself but be sure and report all of the bugs you find to Microsoft - I’m sure they’ll be anxious to hear from you.

Update: Microsoft requested that JXCP remove the link but Cybernetnews.com still has Rapidshare and MegaUpload links available.

It appears as though one of my favorite bands, The Postal Service, is “disappointed” with both Apple and the production team that hired to create both TPS’ video for “Such Great Heights” and the new Mac/Intel ad. Why is the band upset?

“It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers’ new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for ‘Such Great Heights’ made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent.” -Ben Gibbard, The Postal Service

I welcome you to check this out for yourself. First, check out the new Apple/Intel ad over at Google Video. Then visit
postalservicemusic.net, check out the downloads section, and watch the video for “Such Great Heights.” Or, to get an even better idea of how blatant the copy actually was, check out a side-by-side comparison at Google Video - put together by ELITEproductionsWI.com

Coincidence? I sincerely doubt it.

(Update: similar story already up on iansuri.wordpress.com with some alternate links.)