Leopard is here!

That's right, the next incarnation of OS X is here. Following in suit with Apple's kitty code names, Leopard is primed and ready to pounce. Claiming over 300 new features this release is sure so have something for everyone. Personally I'm looking forward to Quick Look, Time Machine, and updates to iChat. And the new version of Mail included in Leopard might finally be enough to switch me from Entourage.

Macintouch has a detailed report, running Leopard through its paces.

Finally, have a gander at the Leopard Guided Tour featuring Bizzaro Steve Jobs.

Hey yo, what's the 411, hun?

Google Labs has quietly rolled out a new 411 service accessible by dialing 800-GOOG-411.

According to TechCrunch:
"The product is completely automated and there is no way to talk to a human for additional or clarifying information. You tell it your city and state, and then ask for a specific business or business category. In my tests the product was excellent... Results are spoken back or text messaged back to you, and you are automatically put through to the phone number requested."

Yet again, the rug is pulled out from under old school business. Another cash cow lost to progress.

DRM R.I.P.

Apple and EMI announced on Monday that EMI’s entire music and video catalog will be available in May without any digital rights management (DRM) protection. The two companies will also offer higher quality sound songs. These songs will be 30¢ more than their DRM counterparts, but album prices will be the same, $9.99.

While I never really had a problem with iTunes' DRM restrictions, they're fairly unobtrusive, many people did. The thing that excites me the most however is the "higher quality" songs. 128kbps songs just don't sound all that hot in a car or through a home theater system. These new songs will be offered at 256kbps... a happy boy that makes me. Also of note; you can upgrade your current songs by paying the 30¢ difference. I'll be upgrading my entire purchased library.

One can only hope the rest of the music industry follows suit. DRM was DOA and I for one await the ETA of a DRM free industry. <- Acronyms FTW!

I'm sending my kids to this school!

I recently read an article about a University doing things a little differently. Instead of sticking with their mix of Apple and Windows PC systems, the college is doing a 180º spin from your "business norm" and adopting an all-Mac policy on the campus. While I rarely think it's a good idea to standardize on any one platform, if you're going to do it, Macs are a terrific option now. Not only can you run OS X and Windows on them, they are virtually impervious to most security attacks.

"[Scott Byers, vice president for finance and the head of campus IT said] 'We think it will save $150,000 directly, in buying fewer units - even though the Macs cost more per unit than PCs. The school, which enrolls about 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students, will reduce its inventory from nearly 1,700 computers to around 1,450 after the change over... 'By standardizing, the IT department should be more productive, ' Byers said."

I'll take Hummers for $500, Alex

It turns out those tree-hugging, yuppie mobiles, the Toyota Prius isn't so environmentally friendly after all. An article from Central Connecticut State University raises some interesting questions.

"When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis."

Ironically, it's the tree-huggers at Greenpeace who discovered much of this.

The Machine is Us

An interesting video done by a professor at Kansas State University. The syllogism here is that shortly after it was posted last month it had been viewed over 1.7 million times. "The Machine" on autopilot indeed.

What does "Web 2.0" really hold for us? Hopefully it means a smarter client base for me. That is, if I can figure out this whole internet thing.

First post, wheee!

What's this you say, a tech consulting firm without a blog?

Yes, it's true,

Superdoop

finally has a blog. Whoa wait a minute, don't start shopping for a survival ranch in rural Montana just yet, this is not a sign of the apocalypse. I've just been busy with so many projects that I've neglected my own site.

Well no longer!

What will follow will be semi-monthly posts relating to the tech industry and encompassing landscape. That pretty much includes everything, doesn't it? However, you will never see this blog delve into eclectic tales of midgets with

banjos

, or dogs that can bark

Ave Maria

. And there will absolutely be no

Microsoft bashing

.

"Rural Montana", as if there is any other kind.