[Need help changing icons in OS X? Click Here to learn how.]

First up, Free Streaming Music.

Spotify and GrooveShark are two services that offer huge selections of songs available to stream for free, over and over again. They both offer you the ability to save your favorite tracks in custom playlists. Spotify and GrooveShark also offer a “premium” account which has extra perks like being able to stream on mobile devices without advertisements.

Free Streaming Movies and TV

Netflix has a standing offer for a free one-month trial, all you need to start the instant streaming is an e-mail address. A new e-mail address gets you another one-month trial. After you have had your fill of free, feel free to to start paying if you really feel the service is worth it. I currently pay for the streaming service and they are constantly adding better and better content.

Hulu, lots of free movies and TV shows, no account required for viewing. The selection is mostly limited to ABC,NBC, and FOX content, although there is more.

Below is a somewhat comprehensive list of individual studios that stream their shows online for free.

• ABC – 37 shows
• CBS – 31  -3 most recent episodes only.
• NBC – 35+
  
• FOX- 18
• National Geographic – 11
• History – 16
• Discovery – 33
• SyFy – 23
• PBS – 35+

Your web browser is huge because it connects you to so much content, having a current and secure browser that is optimized for your system and updated regularly is crucial and TenFourFox fills that role for PowerPC users. I’m up to my knees in PowerPC and I don’t feel the need to upgrade to Intel just quite yet.

If you want to read about some of the trials and tribulations that the team encountered with this release you can see it at the TenFourFox Development Blog.

You can find system specific builds (G3,G4,G5) from TenFourFox

Our four favorite gifts for iPad users!

Artisan iPad Skins – These high quality skins allow you to truly personalize your iPad with free matching wallpapers! Each skin is covered with a clear laminate layer (in gloss or matter finish) to protect the design and the device from minor scratches and abuse. DecalGirl has skins available for both 1st and 2nd gen iPads. – $19.99

iPad Solar Charger – This USB based solar charger works with all kinds of gadgets, although it was specifically designed for the iPad. 6 inter-linked solar panels fold and unfold for ultimate portability. – $179

DODO Case – A hand made, book-bound iPad case made in America. Made from black Moroccan cloth and constructed using traditional bookbinding techniques. $59 – $89

Virgin Mobile MiFi – It’s prepaid 3G internet for your iPad, but it works with up to four other wifi devices as well. The MiFi itself runs $149, and plans start at just $10 for 10 days and goes up to $50 for one month unlimited service.

Today’s computers allow us to do everything, and in return, it stores everything. Don’t risk losing your digital photos of family and friends, college term papers or business documents. A stolen briefcase or a dropped backpack is all it takes to jeopardize your digital data. Taking the steps today ensures that any disaster down the road is already accounted for. If make your living on a computer it is even more important to have duplicate backups of all of your work for your various clients and projects.

With internet access becoming more and more widespread, we are entering a new area of storage. Saving our digital life is important, and many don’t even have a back-up of the files on their own computer! The is no reason not to, and if you haven’t backed up your important files, you are begging for disaster.

You don’t even need another hard drive or a blank DVD. Cloud storage allows you to securely backup all of your files to a safe remote location. Options like Apple’s Time Machine are good to a point, but they are vulnerable to physical damage and theft.

Cloud storage is fairly cheap and there are options for every budget and every type of user. All cloud storage services are compatible with all operating systems, which means your files are always available to you online, no matter what computer you are at. All file transfers are done over a secure connection so there is no threat or need to worry about privacy. Online servers make frequent and redundant backups to ensure your data is always safe and available. We used to think having an external hard drive was safe enough, but cloud storage is an even safer and more convenient option then anything else before it.

A good resource of cloud storage providers can be found here. Top UK Cloud Storage

The cable will set you back an even $49 from…. you guessed it.

FireFox 7 adds support for better memory use and management, more HTML5 technologies, improves performance and scalability of HTML5 media elements, updates the WebSockets protocol and adds CORS support to WebGL. Learn more about FireFox 7 here.

Get the download and more info @ TenFourFox

There are six inter-linked solar panels that provide up to 18 Watts on a sunny day. The included voltage regulator converts the 18v down to 5v for USB charging. The SunLeaf is capable of charging any device which charges via USB, not just the iPad.

Thinking about picking one up? Use coupon “promoaa” for $20 off.

From the OWC Blog.

“So I swapped my new 5350ʼs for the 5160ʼs and finished the project.

The End

Boy, I wish I could say that…

You know that story Jerry Clower tells about coon hunting, and his friend John is stuck up in the tree doing battle with a lynx? I think I know how John felt now.

So because Iʼm a masochistic retard, I went ahead with the BSEL mod. Over and over I tried, but it just wouldnʼt work. It would chime (POST) but immediately choke like Cass Elliot on a ham sandwich.

Google, Google, Google.

Read, Read, Read.

You see, to get a 5350 to run at 3.3 Ghz you gotta do the volt mod too.

Wait? Whu’d he say”

A whut mod an a whut mod?”

Continue reading the full story here.

Not Hot: No more optical drive! This is probably okay, seeing as you can pick up an external DVD burner for under $40 online. Besides, we would have wanted Blu-Ray drives anyways, and we all know that isn’t happening.

Hot: Apple’s new Thunderbolt tech is available in both models. That’s 10Gbps. Real life speeds are expected to be around 700MB/s

Not Hot: The difference in tech doesn’t justify a $200 pricing gap. $100 would have been the sweet spot. $499 and $699 would have been reasonable, seeing as Apple just posted $30B in profits in Q3.

Hot Luke-warm:  Comes preloaded with OS X Lion! 

With the removal of the optical drive I would have expected some sort of price drop. Like I said earlier, I believe $499 and $699 would have made more sense.

Looking to pick up a quad-core Mini. Take a look at the new Mini Server!