Get more life from lithium-based laptop batteries

• Avoid heat
• Remove the battery when using a power supply for a extended duration
• When not in use, store the battery at a 40 percent charge and keep it in the refrigerator (do not freeze)
• Buy fresh batteries from a retailer who sells a lot of batteries (avoid old batteries)
• A full discharge after every 30 charges will help recalibrate the battery 

POPSCI: Get more life from lithium-based laptop batteries

Possible T-Mobile-Sprint merger

Deutsche Telekom, the owners of T-Mobile in the U.S., are reportedly looking into acquiring competitor Sprint. Together, the two companies would have a customer base that rivals AT&T. Telegraph: Possible T-Mobile-Sprint merger

Choose Which App Opens for Each Camera in Snow Leopard

Previous to 10.6, when you plugged a camera in, it would launch iPhoto or Aperture or whatever program you’d set up as your default.

Image Capture 6.0, in 10.6 takes care of this with a little preference portion in the lower left corner of the app. For each camera you can set a preference as to which program, if any, will launch when that device is plugged in.

Bing Introduces Visual Search Feature

Microsoft today released a new visual search feature for Bing that displays search results in a grid-like image gallery format instead of the standard text links. BING: Visual Search

Cyber criminals targeting small businesses

Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting small and medium-sized businesses that don't have the resources to keep updating their computer security, according to federal authorities. MSNC: Cyber criminals targeting small businesses

Feds tell small businesses prepare for swine flu

Federal officials say small business owners should be prepared to operate with fewer employees this fall as swine flu spreads across the country MSNBC: Feds tell small businesses prepare for swine flu

22 Tools You Should Keep in Your Car

Most people keep their tools at home. But if you aren’t at home, you probably drove your car to get to wherever you are.

Intuit Is Buying Mint.com

Intuit will acquire the free online personal finance service Mint, we’ve confirmed from a source close to the deal, for around $170 million. Silicon Alley Insider first reported a rumor on this. The deal should be announced in the next few days. Techcrunch: Intuit Is Buying Mint.com

Messy Guys Make Millions Selling Green Cleaning Products

Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry were having dinner with their new investors. The 27-year-old entrepreneurs had finally gotten a million dollars in venture capital to kick-start their company, but it came with stiff financial targets. It turned out this was the least of their problems that night. "We were passing our credit cards under the table to each other," Ryan recalls, "but none of them worked, because we had maxed them out. Eventually, we persuaded the restaurant owner we were good for the money." Reader's Digest: Messy Guys Make Millions Selling Green Cleaning Products

Google Android will take off in early 2010, challenge iPhone

An onslaught of slick smartphones running Google (GOOG) Android will goose adoption and send Android marketshare soaring in early 2010, said a source close to the Android team with knowledge of customer trends and sentiment for the Google-powered handsets. "The only thing holding it back is the lack of devices. And by early next year there will be dozens of Android devices online, Marketshare is going to skyrocket," said the source, who has worked directly with the Android team. DailyFinance.com: Google Android will take off in early 2010, challenge iPhone

Good Housekeeping **Green** Seal... what does it mean?

Corporations toss it around to claim they’re being good environmental stewards, consumers are numb to it, and the greenest companies tend not to tout it at all. And, as if the meaning of green weren’t hazy enough, this latest label comes from a magazine that has had a long, cozy, and conflicted relationship with its seal-holders and no plans to modify procedure for the new green label. thebigmoney.com: Why the magazine’s green award is bogus.

GM to offer money-back guarantee

To good to be true... or will GM change the way cars are sold by guaranteeing car buyers that if they don't like their new Chevrolet, GMC, Buick or Cadillac, they have 60 days to bring it back for a full refund. Autos- msnbc.com: GM to offer money-back guarantee

Hands On: Motorola’s New Android Phone Nails Design, Fumbles Software

let’s just say the handset gets a lot of things right: The phone itself is nicely designed and feels impossibly thin (for a slider), the touchscreen is responsive and the social networking options are subtly ingrained into the phone — they don’t come out and slap you in the face. But let’s also say this that the Cliq suffers from feature overload. The UI is messy and challenging to learn — it attempts to bring together too many mobile features and can be confusing and clogged. Wired Gadget Lab: Motorola’s New Android Phone Nails Design, Fumbles Software

Twitter's New Terms of Service

The revisions more appropriately reflect the nature of Twitter and convey key issues such as ownership. For example, your tweets belong to you, not to Twitter. Twitter's Blog: Twitter's New Terms of Service

Facebook Lite: Kickin’ It Old School

Originally intended to be used in countries where high speed Internet connections are sparse or non-existant, apparently Facebook has realized there’s a real desire among all its users to have a smaller version of the service. TechCrunch: Kickin’ It Old School: Facebook Lite

Invite two-way communication with every email

When you're using email marketing to communicate with your audience -- as in, you're not just trying to sell them stuff -- you're building customer relationships. And relationships flourish when two parties engage in a dialogue. That's true of your best personal friendships, and it's also true in business.

Email communication is a great way to let subscribers know more about your expertise, business, service, or organization. But if you're only using it as a one-way street to spread your message, you're missing out on a wonderful opportunity to engage with your readers and build long-term, trusted relationships. That's important because..

Smile! It just might help the economy

Although human emotions don’t spread quite like colds, they are contagious. And when intense emotions spread rapidly it can contribute to irrational behavior, exaggerating economic highs and lows. An emotional pandemic can blow more air into a bubble, and suck more out during a recession. msnbc.com: Studies show that moods can affect economic behavior

Motorola’s First Android Phone Takes Aim at Social Networks

Motorola today introduced the Cliq, the company’s first phone based on the Android mobile operating system. The device will have a custom interface called Moto Blur that will bring together e-mail messages, text messages, Facebook and Twitter feeds, and photos into a single interface. Wired Gadget Lab: Motorola’s First Android Phone Takes Aim at Social Networks

How Does Malware get on a Computer

Malware, spyware, and other junk software makes it onto your computer for a number of reasons:

• You installed something you really shouldn’t have, from an untrustworthy source. Often these include screensavers, toolbars, or torrents that you didn’t scan for viruses.
• You didn’t pay attention when installing a “reputable” application that bundles “optional” crapware.
• You’ve already managed to get yourself infected, and the malware installs even more malware.
• You aren’t using a quality Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware application.

Facebook Notifications Brings Facebook to Your Mac

Free menu bar application Facebook Notifications brings notifications and status updates from the popular social networking site to your desktop. Get Facebook Notifications

Apple Updates Snow Leopard to 10.6.1

The 10.6.1 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes for:

• Improves compatibility with some Sierra Wireless 3G modems
• Addresses an issue in which some printer compatibility drivers might not appear properly in the Add Printer browser
• Addresses an issue that might cause DVD playback to stop unexpectedly
• Addresses an issue that might make it difficult to remove an item from the Dock
• Resolves an issue in which the Command-Option-T keyboard shortcut would sometimes bring up the special characters menu in applications such as Mail and TextEdit
• Addresses instances in which auto account setup in Mail might not work
• Resolves issues when sending mail with certain SMTP servers
• Addresses an issue in which Motion 4 could become unresponsive
• Includes an update to Adobe Flash Player plug-in version 10.0.32.18

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3810.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

The real-world state of Windows

Performance and metrics researcher Devil Mountain Software has released an array of real-world Windows use data as compiled by its exo.performance.network, a community-based monitoring tool that receives real-time data from about 10,000 PCs throughout the world. Tracking users' specific configurations, as well as the applications they actually use, the tool provides insights into real-world Windows use, including browser share, multicore adoption, service pack adoption, and which anti-virus, productivity, and media software are most prevalent among Windows users.



View the current state of Windows

How Much Is Your Online Identity Worth?

"Answer a few questions about your personal Internet use, and a new tool from Symantec will calculate your net worth on the black market. You'll get three results: how much your online assets are worth, how much your online identity would sell for on the black market, and your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft. Norton Assessment Tool >

Mozilla Releases Firefox 3.5.3 with Security and Stability Fixes

Mozilla pushed Firefox 3.5.3 to servers this afternoon, fixing several security and stability issues. There's nothing terribly exciting in this release, but it's always good to make sure you're using the most stable and secure release, so go to Help -> Check for Updates to upgrade to 3.5.3.

Privacy Plug-In being developed for Facebook

FaceCloak, implemented as a plug-in for Mozilla's Firefox browser, allows a user to designate--using two "at" signs ("@@"), by default--what information should be encrypted and only made available to friends. A FaceCloak user holds a secret access key but also sends two other keys to her friends. Those keys are then used to access the real information, which is held on a separate server. While the same concept could be used on other social networks--such as Twitter and MySpace--Hengartner and his colleagues focused on the largest provider.

Twitter to add revenue-generating features

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told reporters in Mexico City this week that the company expects to add revenue-generating features to the micro-blogging site in the fourth quarter, according to a report from Bloomberg.com.

Apple announces updates to iTunes, iPod, & iPhone OS

Steve Jobs returns and receives a standing ovation.

iPhone OS 3.1 Update - Free.

• Brings "Genius" to apps.

iTunes 9

• Genius database expanded to include "Genius Mixes", which automatically plays songs from your library that go together
• New syncing options: artists, genres, etc. Also for photos and movies. Manage iPhone apps in iTunes: arrange home screens.
• Home sharing to manage copying of songs, TV shows, apps, etc. to up to 5 computers in your house.
• Cleaner layout for iTunes Store.
• iTunes LP: Album packages with tons of bonus material - lyrics, photos, videos, etc.
• Now showing a demo of iTunes 9.
• iTunes Extras: Bonus material for movies. Similar to DVD bonus features, but also includes interactive material.

iPod touch

• price points: $199 for 8 GB, $299 for 32 GB, $399 for 64 GB.
• 32/64 GB versions faster, with ability run OpenGL|ES 2.0 like the iPhone 3GS.

iPod classic

• bumped from 120 GB to 160 GB. Same $249 price point.

iPod shuffle

• New third-party headphones with iPod shuffle controls built-in.
• Now five colors for the shuffle
• $59 for 2 GB and $79 for 4 GB.

iPod nanos

• Video camera
• External speaker.
• FM radio
• Genius Mixes.
• Built-in pedometer for Nike+
• Larger display.
• 8GB for $149, 16GB for $179

Use Facebook Chat without opening Facebook

Facebook includes an awesome chat feature that lets you instantly start conversations with your Facebook buddies without installing any IM software but the only small issue is that you need to be on the Facebook.com website in order to use Facebook chat.

If you find this a bit inconvenient, here are some good workarounds.