And it’s a doozy, too.

Let’s get straight to the goods, shall we?

According to Neowin.net, list quoted the price for Windows Vista Ultimate as $499 Canadian ($450.18 in U.S. currency), while Home Premium will be $299 ($269.71 U.S.). An upgrade to Vista Ultimate will cost $299 ($269.71 U.S.), while an upgrade to Home Premium will cost $199 ($179.51 U.S.), according to the blog.

In a statement through its public relations firm, Microsoft acknowledged Monday that it “inadvertently” posted Windows Vista Canadian retail prices on its Web site, but then removed the information. The company plans to reveal the official U.S. pricing for Vista when it makes available the first release candidate of Vista sometime before the end of September, Microsoft said.

Ouch. That essentially means that you’ll be able to buy computers from Dell, complete with OEM operating system licenses, for less than Windows Vista will cost on its own. Does that mean that PC manufacturers are planning on eating the price? Or do they have some killer deal with Microsoft to get the licenses dirt cheap? Or will the added price be passed on to the consumer? We’ll see.

But remember, Microsoft Windows XP Professional was something like $199 USD for a full license and $99 USD for an upgrade, so this is a pretty significant jump from that. I sense much piracy in Microsoft’s future, I do.

[ PC World :: Microsoft Leaks Vista Pricing Online ]

While Gears and Widgets didn’t make the list, sadly enough, I don’t think we really qualify for the label “classic.” Still, PC Mag delivers with its list of top 101 classic websites of 2006; with sites from newcomer to the job posting community Dice [ http://dice.com/ ] which has entered the market with a splash and a ton of excellent tools and postings that you won’t find at other, bigger sites, daily-reading political news sites like the Huffington Post, [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ ] and well known classics like BoingBoing [ http://www.boingboing.net/ ] and The Onion. [ http://www.theonion.com/ ]

Many of these sites are well well known, like ESPN.com and Food.com, so for many web surfers a lot of them definitely aren’t new, but they’re all useful, and good at what they do-getting information out about their target topic. Take a look, and hopefully add some new bookmarks to your bookmarks folder!

[ PCMag.com :: PC Magazine's Top 101 Classic Web Sites of 2006 ]

Logitech has a penchant for pushing forward in the peripheral market, innovating to the point where a moue isn’t just a thing you use to move the cursor around yoru screen, but also a productivity tool in itself; something that will help you perform easy tasks without having to take your hands off the mouse, and something that makes it a little easier to get things done. This time around is no exception. Logitech has unveiled the MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse and the VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for notebooks, both very very attractive, and both powerful enough to kick the butt of your current mouse, most likely.

The new mice both feature laser sensors for amazing accuracy, a range of up to 30 feet from their recievers, and more. Among some of the newest, most innovative features are a multi-function scroll wheel, a step up from the previous generation, which allows for either line-by-line scrolling that most people are probably used to, as well as a free-scrolling function which allows you to scroll freely through pages of long documents. Additionally, both mice feature a “document flip wheel,” or a wheel near the thumb that allows to move between open windows-think alt-tab on your mouse. Also, one-button search at your favorite search engine and zoom sliders adorn what Logitech is calling the “World’s Most Advanced Mice,” but you’ll have to head over to ExtremeTech’s reviews to see if the MX, at $99.99 USD and the VX, at $79.99 USD, are worth the price you’ll pay for them. (I’ll give you a hint: They are.)

[ ExtremeTech :: Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse Review ]

[ ExtremeTech :: Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse Review ]

Over at his fabulous blog, Phil Ryu [ http://phillryu.com/ ] has taken the veil off of perhaps one of the best ideas to come to time-wasting software in a long long time, and of course, it’s coming to the Macintosh first. InnerTube, reportedly coming soon, looks like an application that blends an iTunes-like user interface with the ability to browse and view videos from the incredibly popular video site YouTube.com [ http://www.youtube.com/ ].

The application, even in its conceptual and design stages looks absolutely amazing, and when this becomes available I’ll be all over it-anything to be able to view YouTube videos without having to go to YouTube.com. Not that I have a serious problem with YouTube itself, but it’ll be nice to be able to surf videos and view them in a more attractive interface, and most importantly to be able to escape the horrendous and hideous comments that follow every single video at the actual website. Seriously, the YouTube community is absolutely worthless when it comes to commenting videos, and every single comment seems to be either “OMG LOL AWESOME” or “OMG THATZ GAY” or something equally ignorant and useless. So bring it on, InnerTube, I’m looking forward to you.

[ PhilRyu.com :: Surfing YouTube With Class ]

Perhaps a more reliable and more attractive speed testing website than the old standby series of java-based tests at BroadbandReports.com that tend to be either sluggish or too busy to run, SpeedTest.net answers the age old question: Are you getting the speed you’re paying for?

If you have customers who are complaining about slow network or internet connectivity speeds even though you know full well they’ve got fat pipes (the series of tubes are clogged!) or alternatively if you’re curious if you’re really getting those huge speed numbers that Comcast or Verizon is telling you that you get in exchange for that check you write them every month, this is for you.

You can select the server of your choice in a physical location, from Austrailia to Moscow to Washington DC, and it’ll run an upload and download test to see what kind of bandwidth you’re getting around the world. Additionally, you can see the results right in front of you as they’re happening, without the problems that those tests have.

Give it a try, see if you’re getting your money’s worth! After you run your test, you get a URL to share your results with the world, so let’s see what you get, feel free to link your results in the comments!

[ http://www.speedtest.net/ ]

Earlier this week Apple announced that they had reached an agreement with Creative, creators of the Zen series of digital media players, to settle the patent infringement lawsuit that Creative had filed against them and to settle the countersuits that Apple had filed against Creative in the process. The legal wrangling, in my opinion, should have gone to court, if for no other reason than for Apple to have thoroughly trounced Creative in court, and for the inadequacies of the current patent review and awards system to be on display in a public court of law, but alas, it isn’t to be this time around.

Which makes perfect sense from a business standpoint. From a principled legal standpoint, I’m unhappy, but from a business perspective, this allows Apple to get back to the business of making and selling iPods, and the $100 million USD that Apple agreed to pay Creative will help Creative hopefully get on its feet and start making digital media players that people actually like.

I still think Apple could have smacked Creative around in court over this, especially in light of the countersuits they filed (which were, in my opinion, stronger than the original suit) but Apple had bigger fish to fry and the stakes were higher for Apple, who could have wound up with an injunction in their hands and not being able to sell iPods or import them from their assembly facilities in China, versus Creative, who’s ship has long since sailed and is now slowly sinking. The stakes were always higher for Apple, and it kind of makes sense that they just want to put this behind them and get back to business.

Still, the money’s no big deal to Apple, Marketplace [ http://marketplace.org/ ] reported that Apple’s got something like 6.1 billion USD cash on hand for things like this, so now they have all of 6.08 billion, and Creative’s stock has soared something like 35% in afterhours trading when the settlement hit the press. In the end, I think this might work out for the consumer-Apple’s had the shot fired across its bow, even if it doesn’t care, Creative now has an influx of cash that hopefully they’ll use to develop better products (although word is they’re going to have to license Apple’s interface design back from them, so some of that hundred million is going right back to Apple…AND they get in on the “made for iPod campaign.” Woo. Do I smell a future aqcuisition on Apple’s part? Hmm…) that will force Apple to innovate and bring new features and products to market. Hopefully the consumer will win, and the digital media player market will keep humming.

Still other reports say that Creative is bleeding cash like a stuck pig, so who knows how long that hundred million will last. But if it does, it works out for the consumer. If it doesn’t, it works out for Apple. Only time will tell.

[ PC World :: Apple Settles iPod Dispute with Creative ]

Apple announced this week that, on top of the existing recall of 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro batteries for fear of heat and swelling concerns (more information on that existing battery exchange program here:
[ https://support.apple.com/macbookpro15/batteryexchange/ ])
that it would also recall approximately 1.8 million batteries manufactured by Sony for its iBook and Powerbook line of computers-batteries which suffered from the same manufacturing defects that led Dell to announce a similar recall of 4.1 batteries earlier this month.

So far, neither Dell or Apple have significantly suffered from the recall, but Sony, who manufactured the batteries, has taken the brunt of the financial burden, with sliding stocks and widespread criticism of both the Lithium-Ion battery technology itself but also criticism of their own manufacturing processes, which Sony claims have long since been corrected. My question though is this: doesn’t Sony use its own batteries in its own laptops? I mean seriously…and I wonder if we’ll see smaller recalls by other computer companies in the future, like Toshiba and Fujitsu, for the batteries in their notebook computers.

Either way, more information on the Apple Battery Recall Program is here:

[ Apple :: Battery Exchange Program - iBook G4 and Powerbook G4 ]

and the news story here:

[ MSNBC :: Apple to Recall 1.8 Million Batteries ]

Dell has announced that it is recalling over 4.1 million batteries, manufactured by Sony under the Dell brand, that have been bundled with and sold for use with its Inspiron, Precision, and Latitude model notebook computers. The battery recall is pretty widespread and expansive, and was designed to recall batteries that have had problems like the Dell laptop shown from this still image above, which reportedly exploded while unattended on a desk at a convention, and another laptop which reportedly exploded and caught fire on board an aircraft, (that was luckily still on the ground) which led to a terrorist scare.

Either way, it’s good that Dell is stepping up to the plate, and now other notebook computer manufacturers are taking a look at the batteries that the same Sony manufacturer produced for them, companies including Apple and HP, who may have had similar battery cells shipped with their computers. Read Dell’s press release here:

[ Dell.com :: Dell Announces Battery Recall ]

But the real meat of the information you’ll need, including specifically which models of laptop are affected by the recall and what information you need to collect and provide to Dell in order to get replacement batteries is at the Dell Battery Return Program website, set up by Dell to be a point of access for people concerned about the recall.

[ Dell Battery Return Program ]

Ars Technica has gotten its hands on a Mac Pro and opened it up to peek at the insides, run a whole variety of benchmarks on the system, and all in all given Apple’s new Intel-based desktop the once-over and returned to us with the results. The Ars reviewers take a look at every part of the new machines, from the Xeon 5100 series, better known as “Woodcrest,” to the system’s new interior design and the hard drive bays to its massive heat sinks (that are still much better than the liquid cooling devices in the old Macs, which the reviewer shows for nostalgic head-shaking) and intricies of the motherboard design. Additionally, the kind of RAM the system uses, upgradability, and benchmarks in both MacOS and Windows XP are available in the review.

All in all, Ars gives the new Mac Pro a good solid shakedown and a good solid review, with surprisingly positive results at the end. The machine scores a firm nine on Ars’s 1-10 scale, and the system looks impressive, even when considering its price tag. ($2499 USD for the default configuration) Head over to check out the review; if you’re in the market for a new Macintosh and have been waiting for the Intel transition to be complete, wake up-it is, and the best of the product line is definitely here.

[ Ars Technica :: Mac Pro ]

Introduction // The Beerwhat?

A while back, a gentleman named Ron emailed me offering some schwag in exchange for a review, and I can report that I happily accepted! Ron is the purveyor of the BeerClip [ http://BeerClip.com/ ] a tool that, when I received it, tried it out in a couple of environments-first at a party with a house full of friends, second by myself in my desk drawer, and finally at a large convention with thousands of people. In each case I was using it mostly for different functions, but all in all the BeerClip is not only a solid product, but actually exceeded my expectations for being useful and pretty damned helpful in the process. What is the BeerClip? Well, imagine a strong metal money clip…with a notch in the rounded edge for opening your bottles. Check out the other side:

I received three BeerClips, each one emblazoned with a custom logo; one for Labatt Blue (similar to the one above) for example, one for Sam Adams, and another with the American Century logo on it. The site shows that your BeerClips can be customized with the logo of your company, your fraternity or sorority logo, or any of the stock logos that you can get your BeerClip adorned with. You can have it engraved and completely customized to your organization or your own liking. BeerClips are $14.95 USD each, engraved with three free letters and one of the stock symbols of your choice; more engraving options are freely available on request.

The First Test // Party!

Shortly after I received my three sample BeerClips, my girlfriend and I threw a small party for some friends at our house; it was her birthday and our friends don’t mind the occasional drink, so there were, of course, bottles that had to be opened-many bottles. That’s where the BeerClip came into play! Forsaking our regular bottle opener, we put out several BeerClips for use by our guests, and all of them remarked on how interesting it was to have a money clip plus bottle opener all in one. Only one of my guests tried using it the wrong way-that is, pushing the cap off from the side of the bottle close to you instead of pulling the cap off from the opposite side, as illustrated below:

Using it the wrong way is a little rough on your fingers, but using it the right way is no problem at all, and takes only a moment to figure out if you did it the wrong way. No worries though, it’s still pretty solid. All three BeerClips survived our party intact, unbent, and in good condition. The BeerClip is made of polished brushed stainless steel, making them attractive to the eye and the touch, and they can take some serious punishment. More on that later.

The Second Test // Chillaxin’!

The second serious test of the BeerClip came in general use. I stashed one in my desk drawer, where I find myself often enjoying a beer after work in front of the computer (I’m a geek, you all knew this) or on the weekends. Nothing spectacular here; but I found the BeerClip similarly easy and messless to use in causal situations-I’d pass it back and forth to my girlfriend who sits next to me in our home office, both of us using it here and there to open a beer, and then stash the BeerClip in the desk until the next bottle was to be opened. By this point we had established pretty strongly that the BeerClip was an exceptional bottle opener…but how about a money clip?

The Third Test // On The Go!

The last test of ours was last weekend at a massive convention that we love to attend every year. We booked out hotel room and stashed a few bucks and some ID inside a pair of BeerClips, since we didn’t want to take all of our cards and ID to the convention itself, in case we lost them. No wallets allowed, only BeerClips. We were skeptical at first since neither of us normally cared for money clips, but the BeerClip was an amazing introduction to using one.

The steel clip is strong-very strong, and your money isn’t likely to slip out of it. At first, you might be deluded into thinking it might be easy to bend because it’s got the bottle-opening notch in the back, but that’s not the case at all. The BeerClip held our money and ID safe in our hands, and it was easy enough to retrieve dollars and ID from the clip that it wasn’t a hassle to use. And of course, back in the hotel room where bottles were opened during the evenings when we weren’t at the convention, the BeerClip saved the day again. We walked on the BeerClip, opened a dozen bottles with it during our tests (probably more) drove it around, tried to bend and break it, and each time the BeerClip stood up to our punishment.

Final Thoughts // Good Stuff!

If you’re in the market for a money clip that’s attractive, strong, solid, and serves multiple purposes, the BeerClip is definitely an option you should take a look at. The polished brushed steel has a silvery look that isn’t gaudy like gold money clips tend to be, and is strong enough to both open all of the bottles you’ll need and hold your cash and cards safe and secure in your pocket, all for a reasonable price and your choice of logo and custom 3-letter engraving. If you’re looking for hand-out gifts or favors for your next party or your company gathering, the makers of the BeerClip take large orders and offer custom engraving of your company logo and name.

Our test drive of the BeerClip is anything but through-Ron was kind enough to let us keep the BeerClips we have now, so we’ll continue using them. In fact, as soon as we got back from the convention, I put one of them back in my desk. Finally I can actually say I’ll never be without a decent bottle opener again, unless someone’s envious enough to steal one. All in all though, the BeerClip is an excellent product for a variety of markets. I look forward to seeing more on store shelves soon, but if you’re interested right now, head on over and pick one up.

[ BeerClip :: Bottle Opener Money Clip - BeerClip! ]

Did you like this story? Digg it here: [ Low Tech Review: The BeerClip! ]