The Setup – 4/5 stars
Getting it ready to go was easy. I just had to insert the ink cartridge and plug in the power supply. I decided to use my Apple iMac running OS X Leopard instead of my Windows Vista laptop for a chance since the box claimed that it supported both platforms. For some reason installation failed the first time around. After uninstalling everything and reinstalling the software, it seemed to work just fine. I don’t know whether it was just a random glitch on my end or if there’s a real underlying problem. But other than that once it was setup everything looked and ran quite well. The program seems to be a bit outdated for OS X Leopard, however it still worked and got the job done.

Creating Labels – 3.5/5 stars
For my first test, I decided to scan the top of the Juno DVD that was sitting on my desk using my flat-bed scanner. Once I imported the image I cropped it in Adobe Photoshop and imported it into the “Discus for Dymo” application. I then centered and adjusted the image to fit properly on the overlay of the disc it would be printing onto. For the second test, I downloaded a high resolution digital image of the Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron CD. I followed the same procedure to adjust it on the screen, before I proceeded to print anything. Overall the label creator was functional, but could seriously use a GUI update. I also had Roxio Toast 9 Titanium, which included a CD/DVD label creator. The program supported the Dymo DiscPainter and also had a very powerful designing application which was much more modern than the included software. Despite that, I continued to use the included program for the purpose of this review.

Disc Printing & Quality – 5/5 stars
In the end the most important aspect of this entire product is the quality of the discs it produces. Fortunately it did a superb job of printing the discs. The Dymo DisPainter works fairly fast as well, it didn’t take more than a minute or two for each disc. In addition if you happen to be really bored, you can entertain yourself by watching the printer inject the ink onto the CD/DVD since it has a clear cover in the front. The final product looked glossy and truly professional. Although the colors weren’t entirely prefect, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between the blank CD with the Juno label and the original Juno DVD if I had not seen both of them together.

Conclusion
Overall the Dymo DiscPainter is solid and gets the job done. The included software could really use a major overhaul, however for those aware of alternatives such as Roxio’s Labeler will benefit using those. The only downside of this product might be the fact you’ll have to purchase ink specific for this product and purchase special media with printable tops. Continuing with that thought, this is an excellent product for those who plan to be constantly using this device to print labels onto discs. However for those who use this occasionally, I would rather suggest going about using a standard printer with sticky labels since it is a much more affordable route. The DiscPrinter has a MSRP of $280, however it is available for prices around $250 from stores such as Amazon.

Links: Dymo.com DiscPainter
Buy Now: DiscPainter for $250 via Amazon (no tax + ships free)

Yesterday, Apple announced that the final release of the Mac OS X series, Leopard, will go on sale on Friday October 26th 2007. OS X Leopard has over 300 new features including desktop Stacks, a newly designed finder, QuickLook, Spaces, and Time Machine.

“Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we’ve ever released,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version [...] for just $129.”

Just to go over some of the features, we’re going to start with Stacks. Stacks allows accessing and placing files right onto the new 3D dock to keep the desktop clean. With one click, the Stack will spread out cleanly, displaying all the files in it. The finder now borrows a neat feature from iTunes, Cover Flow. In addition, once setup, Mac users can easily search, browse, copy, and transfer files between any other Mac or even a Vista machine. Another feature which will save a lot of time is Quick Look. This pre-installed application will allow fully viewing any image, pdf, or document and even watching or listening to music or videos without having to startup the associated application. This means you can instantly open up a Word Document to read without having to startup Word. However if you wish to modify or edit the file, you will have to open the actual program. If you have used Linux, you probably know that most distributions allow creating multiple virtual desktops. Spaces does just the same thing for Macs, except now it is much more interactive as well as powerful. You can now do neat things such as drag a window from one virtual desktop to another. Although there are ton of more neat features, the final important feature we’ll touch on is Time Machine. This application is a built-in backup tool which allows visually browsing your backups. Instead of having to an entire system restore, Time Machine will allow searching or browsing through your archives to bring the file you wanted “back to the future.” The more hard drive space you offer Time Machine, the better of a job it can do creating more detailed backups.

As mentioned it will be available on the 26th of October at 6:00pm for $129 (single license). Apple is already accepting pre-orders through their online store. If you happened to purchase a new Mac after October 1st, Apple will include the upgrade for just $10 (shipping charge).

Links: Apple OS X Leopard | See 300 New Features
Pre-Order: $109 OS X Leopard by Apple (save $20)

The New Apple iMac:
Apple’s sleeker and aluminum-enclosed iMac now sports Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo Extreme Processors, which support running up to speeds of 2.8GHz. The machine is a powerhouse as it has room for up to 4GB of RAM and 1 Terabyte (TB) of internal storage! With a fast processor, enough RAM, and storage space, the 265MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO makes the iMac perfect for video editing. In addition the iMac now comes standard with a built-in iSight, Bluetooth 2.0, 8x Dual Layer DVD/CD Burner, AirPort 802.11n (+ a/b/g), Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400 & 800 ports, 3 USB ports, Stereo Speakers and a Microphone. Although Mac OS X Leopard won’t be available until this October, it will still be able to run both iLife and iWork 2008. The new iMac is available with a 20-inch or a 24-inch display. Pricing for the 20-inch starts at $1,199 while the 24-inch begins at a whopping $1,799.

The iMac can also become truly cable-free if you spend an extra $50 to replace the wired mouse and keyboard with Apple’s Mighty Mouse and new Wireless Keyboard, which connect to the computer’s internal Bluetooth receiver. In addition the ultra-thin aluminum keyboard includes special function keys such as brightness/volume control, disk eject, iTunes play/pause, Exposé, and more!

iLife 2008:
As iLife has been one of Apple’s strongest selling point for the Mac OS X, it was only appropriate that they released the 2008 edition just in time for the launch of Leopard in October. This upgrade brings a ton of new features to iPhoto and in fact completely redesigns iMovie. The main feature Steve Jobs touched on during his press conference was iPhoto’s ability to automatically organize libraries of photos into events based off time stamps. Events can be split into multiple events and separate ones can be merge back together and named accordingly. With this new feature users may now search for a event’s name and find a neat set of photo instead of having to search through filenames directly. Once photos are rated using the new star rating system, users can hide photos that they don’t like, but do not want to delete. (Just like the system in iTunes) And as for iMovie, the application now supports importing video from just about any HD camcorder in addition to DV and clips from Digital Cameras. With the new faster and more efficient interface, users can quickly skim through clips, preview the movie, drag/drop to re-organize clips, add tracks from iTunes, create voice overs, and use the new effects. The exporting function has been improved to support the iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, and YouTube formats in addition CD/DVD.

And as a bonus for .Mac subscribers, iLife 08 will support easy uploading to share Photos and Videos with both Mac and Windows users. iLife also includes an updated iWeb with new interactive Widgets and an updated GarageBand. iLife is now available online and in stores for a retail price of $79.

iWork 2008:

“Pages and Keynote make it incredibly easy, and even fun, for anyone to create stylish documents and presentations very quickly,” said Steve Jobs, Apples CEO “Numbers rounds out the iWork suite, which is far more intuitive and easy to use than anything else out there.”

And the final announcement was the new iWork 2008, which includes a new innovative spreadsheet application called Numbers and upgraded versions of Keynote and Pages. Numbers features a new concept called Intelligent Tables, which is supposedly revolutionary, while Keynote got new effects/transitions/animations and Pages got a word processing and a page layout mode. iWork 08 also retails for a price of $79 and is also available online and in stores now!

Links: Apple iMac | iLife 2008 | iWork 2008 | Keyboards

Most Google products, in the past, have often been limited to Windows users. However Google is quickly changing and is constantly releasing more Macintosh supported programs. Even heavy duty applications such as Google Earth are now available for Mac OS (still in beta). Anyways Google has created a simple download page for Mac users to download their apps.

Google Mac Apps:

• Google Notifier
• Google Toolbar
• Google SketchUp
• Picasa Web Albums
• Google Earth
• Google Widgets

Most of these are still in beta, but then again almost every Windows application Google has pushed out is still in beta as well.

Links: Google Downloads For Mac
Related: Google Docs and Spreadsheets Launched

If you’re like most computer users nowadays, you probably have multiple applications up and running at the same time. In an effort to “multi-task” it is often be hard and hectic to minimize and open simultaneously multiple windows. (chatting apps, word processor, web browsers, or email clients). Although buggy virtual desktop programs are available, one easy solution is using multiple monitors to create an extended desktop.

What is an extended desktop? As the picture above shows by connecting two monitors to your computer, you the user will now have ability to simply drag a window from one screen onto another. Now not only is it nicer to have to fully maximized applications, but it is also a lot more efficient because more room is available to get work done. Setting up multiple monitors isn’t too difficult either; getting the advantages of a second monitor is actually a lot easier than most people think.

What’s Required:

• Two Monitors – Although it looks more consistent having two same monitors, two duplicate ones are not required. In fact the monitors can be of different sizes (30″ and 15″), resolutions (1024×768 and 1280×800), and types (LCD and CRT), it will still function.
• For the purpose of this tutorial and because ~95% of computers are running it, we are using WinXP. However Multi Monitors can just as easily be setup on most operating systems including Mac OS X.
• Video Card – Almost all video cards sold by ATI and NVIDIA today have two output slots (aka heads). If you currently only have one output slot, either purchase a second compatible video card or a replacement which has two outputs. Note: For basic usage such as web surfing and email, a combo between a DVI and a VGA output won’t be an issue. However if you are a heavy duty gamer or video editor, I suggest getting a video card that has two DVI outputs.

Hooking It All Up:
Turn off your desktop and plug in the second monitor into an available head slot. Once plugged in, startup your machine and continue to proceed with the following steps. Note: The following procedure will work for most persons; however slight modifications to the procedure may be necessary for certain individuals.

1. Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display
2. Select the ‘Settings’ Tab in the Display Properties Window
3. Select the Secondary Display from the dropdown menu
4. Once choosen, check ‘Extend My Windows Onto This Monitor’

After applying the settings your second monitor should now rather be an extra screen instead of a duplicate image of the contents on you main display. You should now be able to drag any window from your main screen right off the edge onto the second display. I also recommend dragging around the two monitor icons found in the Display Settings to match the actual physical positioning of your two monitors.

Multiple Monitors will also work for laptop users. Just plugin a monitor into your laptop’s video output. Place your laptop besides the secondary monitor. Then to set up just follow the same steps 1-4 given above.

P.S. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us through the comment below. This is also the first post by our new author Tim Severeijns. We hope you liked this tutorial.

On August 27, 2006, during the Emmys, Apple showed off three brand new “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” advertisements. Steve Jobs had stated that he had over 20 more “in the can” during the WWDC, when he announced the new Mac Pro. These ads are a powerful marketing scheme for Apple and on a plus side many of these are quite true, but a few are just innacurate.

Apple Ads Summary:

• Accident – MagSafe power cords prevent Macs from being yanked
• Angel/Devil – Pre-Intalled iPhoto easily allows organizing photos
• Trust A Mac – Mac OSX can’t get a virus or any spyware or viruses

Taking a look at these three, to begin with the “Accident” ad is appropriate because the MacSafe power cord is a unique feature which is only offered on Macbooks and Macbook Pros, while no other equivalent feature is offered by other hardware manufactures. However the second Ad, about iPhoto, is a bit overdoing it since there are thousands of applications to manage photos for Windows. Although Macs may come ready with iPhoto software, plenty of free organization and editing tools are available for Windows. The third Ad claims that Macs don’t get viruses. Since Apple’s Mac OS only holds a few percent of the market share, most spyware apps and viruses are usually targeted at larger audiences. Although their claim may be true for the time-being, more Mac-targeted viruses will find their way as more users start using Macs.

Links: Apple ‘Get a Mac’ TV Ads
Related: Apple: ‘Most Powerful Mac Ever’ – Mac Pro

Today at the WWDC “06 Keynote, Apple announced the long awaited Mac Pro. The new Mac Pro, a G5 replacement, features a Intel Dual Core Xeon 3GHz Processor, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA 512MB Video Card, Up To 2TB (terabytes) of Storage, a 16x Dual Layer DVD SuperDrive, and PCI Express Expansion Slots. This new 64bit system is supposedly 2x the speed of the top of the line configuration of its predecessor. Also note that with the launch of this machine, Apple has finally fully transitioned over to Intel.

Apple Mac Pro Specs:

• Processor: Two 2/2.66/3GHz Dual Core Intel Xeon
• Memory: 2GB / 4GB / 8GB / 16GB Configurations
• Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB w/ Dual-DVI
• Displays: Dual-Screen Support (8 displays max)
• Hard Drive: Max 2TB (w/ 4 bays 500GB in each)
• SuperDrive: 16x DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW (2 max)
• Wireless: Bluetooth 2.0 + AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g
• Wired Communication: Two 1GB Ethernet / Optional Modem
• Peripherals: 2 FireWire 800 / 2 FireWire 400 / 5 USB 2.0
• Audio: Analog In/Out + Optical Digital In/Out
• Software: Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger

As stated at the keynote, the Mac Pro will begin to ship today and pricing will start at $2,500 with the bare minimum configuration. Apple also released a new Mac OS Xserve Server and previewed the upcoming Mac OS X Leopard. Getting back on track, this is an extremely powerful machine and therefore is expensive. However if you are like most average consumers you probably can’t afford to spend that much. I wouldn’t worry because knowing Apple, they most likley release a new product called the “Mac” within a few months just as they did by launching a low-end “MacBook” after the launch of the pricey “MacBook Pro”.

Links: Apple Mac Pro | Mac Pro Specs
Related: Apple Press Release | Bluetooth Mighty Mouse

On July 25, 2006, Apple released a wireless bluetooth, laser guided, and AA powered Mighty Mouse. The new and improved Mighty Mouse has many changes from its predecessor, which was released in August ‘05 and was still wired. The Mighty Mouse’s bluetooth will work up to 30 feet away, uses laser precision tracking for improved accuracy, has a touch sensitive left/right-click buttons, a 360° scroll wheel, and extra side “squeeze” buttons. All buttons can be manually programmed in System Preferences.

One problem with this product is the fact that it still requires 2 AA batteries. Most other wireless mouses these days usually have a special built-in rechargeable battery and a dock on which to charge it upon. Although this may be a wise solution for those who travel, it may not be the best for those who spend long hours on their computer. However some innovative features include the right/left-click which are detected using touch sensitivity and without any hardware buttons.

The Mighty Mouse is already available from the Apple Store and is priced at $69. The bluetooth Mighty Mouse will unfortunately only work on Mac OS X, luckily there is a cheaper ($49) USB-wired version which will work on Windows and older Mac OS machines and has most of the features.

Links: Apple Mighty Mouse | QuickTime VR
Recent: PSP Firmware v2.80 | Digg Search Widget

Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a very popular device and has sold a few million units, but when compared to Apple’s iPod, the PSP lacks storage space. Luckily, the PSP has a built in WiFi card to make up for this disadvantage. With a few simple steps, all of which are included in this tutorial, anyone can stream any non-copyright music from their iTunes library to their PSP. To get started, you will need to have the following:

• PSP With Firmware v2.60
• Networked XP Home/Pro Comp.
• WiFi (802.11b) Network Router
• Apple iTunes v6.0.4 Installed
• Songs in iTunes Music Library
• At Least 1 Playlist With Music

The 5-Step Setup Procedure:

1) Download iTunes-PSP-Server.exe and save it to your desktop.
2) Disable any firewalls and/or keep port 8080 open.
3) Launch iTunes and then click on the iTunes-PSP-Server after.
4) In IE/Firefox open the page “http://localhost:8080″
5) Setup is complete if an “iTunes RSS Server” page appeared.

If the iTunes RSS Server page didn’t appear make sure your firewall has authorized “iTunes-PSP-Server.exe” to access the internet completely. You may also want to add a rule into your firewall to keep port 8080 open. The “black box” is the server, DO NOT close it.

Before going any further make sure you know the IP address of the machine running iTunes and the iTunes-PSP-Server. To find you Local Area Network (LAN) IP go to Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections -> Click on your Network Card -> Support Tab. Your local IP address should look something like this “192.168.1.xxx”. Another method is to go to Start -> Run… -> type “cmd” hit enter -> type “ipconfig” in the window. Your IP Address should be displayed there. Once the 5-Step Procedure is complete and you have found your Local IP Address, proceed to the next step.

The PSP Setup Procedure:

1) Turn on your PSP and go to Network -> Internet Browser.
2) Enter “http://IPADDRESS:8080″ into the Address area.
3) When iTunes RSS Server appears add it to your bookmarks.
4) Now click on any orange RSS icon and “Add This Channel”.
5) Close Internet Browser and go to Network -> RSS Channel.
6) Select a playlist you added and YOUR’RE DONE!!!

This tutorial only demonstrated how to access your iTunes Library over a Local Area WiFi network. If you wish to access your iTunes Library music from any “HotSpot” or external location, you will need to forward port 8080 in your router to allow your Local IP to be accessible externally.

Other Notes: To close the iTunes-PSP-Server just select the black window and press CTRL+Shift+C and it should close. If you update your iTunes library once the server has already been started, selected “Reload Library” on the webpage in your PSP browser. The server can only stream non-copyright protected (DRM-Free) MP3 and AAC files. (no video support yet)

Downloads: iTunes-PSP-Server.exe | Apple iTunes
Links: iTunes RSS Server Development | Google Groups Support

NEW – Stream iTunes To PSP, Part 2

04.13.06 – Mozilla has just released a minor, but important update for Firefox. In this version, 1.5.0.2, Mozilla has made the application more stable and has several security fixes. However, the importance goes to the Macintosh edition, which now has native Universal Binary support for Intel-based Mac OS X machines. This means Firefox will be much faster and users will see much better performance than before because it no longer needs to run through Apple’s emulator (rosetta). This update is not that important for Windows users, but ALL Intel Mac OS X should update right away. (If you have Firefox 1.5 or above go to Help -> Check For Updates)

Links: Mozilla Firefox | Release Notes
Recent: Firefox 1.5 Released | Firefox Extensions

The Skatter Tech Team has created a “Digg Search Widget” for all Digg users. The Widget runs on the Yahoo! Widgets Engine (aka. Konfabulator) and will function on both Windows and Macintosh machines. The widget can be used to search all of Digg’s archives simply by entering text into the highlighted field and pressing enter. Pressing on the digg logo will launch Digg’s homepage (digg.com) in the default browser. The best feature this widget has allows the user to set Advance Search preferences, which are available on Digg’s Advance Search page. (digg.com/search) To set the preferences you like right-click on the widget and press on Widget Preferences. If you have any questions, suggestions, or other remarks please reply in the comments below! (See Change Log)

Update: v1.60-1.68 now includes multiple themes, more search preferences, a slightly re-done interface, a collapsible rss reader, custom feeds, user set update intevals, update on demand, alerts, and more!

Update: Digg Search Widget v1.70 Released
Update: Digg Search Widget v2.00 Released

Download: Digg Search Widget
Links: Get Yahoo! Widgets
Related: Skatter Tech Widget

A site called MacShrine has been posting image of full screen iPods for the last few weeks. Almost every image they have posted has been proven to be a FAKE. Most of these were photoshoped images of the current iPod (video). MacShrine had also claimed that Apple was supposed to release this unit on the Special Apple Event on February 28th. However, the only things that came out were the Intel-based Mac Mini & the iPod Hi-Fi.

The reason we are posting this, even though there is a pretty good chance this is fake, is because the images look more realistic than any of their previous ones. They have currently posted three pictures: iPod Nano besides the “new” iPod AV, iPod AV in someone’s hand, and the iPod AV in the iPod Hi-Fi dock. MacShrine currently claims that Apple plans to release this product on April 1st, 2006, which is Apple’s 30th “birthday”. (founded on April 1st, 1976) Anyways take a look the “possibly fake” images and decide whether they are real for yourself. Also click here for the 3rd image (next 2 ipod nano).

Update 1: As expected the first image has been proven to be completely fake. (Actually is a G5 iPod) MacShrine is offically “full of crap!”

Update 2: It turns out that the image we just linked to above which proved the iPod AV to be a fake is also fake! So pretty much everything here is photoshoped. More like these are sure to turn up soon :(

Update 3: We got bored so we made an iPod Nano AV!

Links: MacShrine | Apple iPod
Related: Agent 18 iPod Video Case

Albumart.org — search for an album or artist and get 1000x of album covers.
Red dot = water damage? — red dot on phone means water damage.
Plans for Firefox 2.0 — mozilla makes some statements on FF v2.0.
iPod Wiki — access all of wikipeida’s archives from your iPod.
Free Thumbdrive — microsoft giving away a thumbdrive for a quick survey.
Vista won’t suck? — a bunch of reasons why vista may actually be good.
DVD on iPod — tutorial on how to put dvds onto your ipod video.
Sony PS3 Late — sony admits they are behind on releasing the ps3.
Google Pages — google pages for anyone with a gmail account.
PSP 3.0 Pics — some screen shots of the psp v3.0 in action.

Admin: First post by Skatter Tech’s new author, Sharath Shroff.

Today (February 28, 2006), Apple announced two new products at a special Apple event. The first product was an Intel based Mac mini (Intel Core processors) and the second was a stereo system called the iPod Hi-Fi (compatible with all iPods). Another minor release was $99 leather cases for the iPod nano & video.

“Fifty percent of our entire product line is now available with Intel processors, in less than sixty days,” – Steve Jobs, Apple CEO

Two versions of the Intel Core Mac Mini were announced. The first one has a 1.5GHz Intel Single Core processor, 60GB hd, DVD/CDRW, and costs $599. The second edition has a 1.67GHz Intel Dual Core processor, 80GB hd, dual-layer DVD±RW/CDRW, and costs $799. Both have 512MB of ram and an Intel 64MB graphics card. They also have WiFi, Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400, and more. The Mac Mini now has an infrared port for the remote which controls the Front Row program that it now includes. Front Row allows easy access to photos, music, and movies; a new feature now allows sharing content across networks.

The second product was the iPod Hi-Fi. The Hi-Fi is a stereo set, which as a dock atop to connect either the iPod nano or video. (iPod shuffle can be plugged in using a port on the back) When the iPod is plugged in, the backlight will be turned on and album art will be displayed. (will also charge your iPod) The Hi-Fi can also run on 6 D-cell batteries, but is unlikely most will carry such large speakers around. (17″x 6.6″x 6.9″) This is pretty much an expensive Apple branded pointless speaker set to compete with 3-party devices.

Overall the entire “special” event was a disappointment. The Mac Mini with an Intel processor was expected to be released eventually just as an Intel based Mac G5 is expected. Next, the iPod Hi-Fi was a completely pointless invention and is way too expensive for anyone. Finally, the new leather iPod case is unusable while in the case, making it useless! Therefore, nothing really impressive was announced at the keynote.

Links: Mac Mini | iPod Hi-Fi | Leather Case
Related: Apple.com | Apple Store
Recent: A Faster MacBook Pro | 1GB iPod Nano

1) iTunes v6.0.2 was released on 01/10/05. (Mac and Win) The program mainly includes fixes for stability issues that existed in v6.0.1. The update can be found on either Apple’s website or can be updated using the Update Feature in iTunes. This new version also has a new iTunes mini-store which is visible in the bottom menu while viewing your library. It also allows converting videos in your library into an iPod Video compatible format, which eliminates the need for 3rd party programs.
Link: Get iTunes | iTunes Home

2) QuickTime v7.0.4 released on 01/10/05 as well. It comes bundled with iTunes if you udpated that, but you can also update the QuickTime program from Apple’s website or the Update Feature built into the program. 7.0.4 has many bug fixes and H.264 decoding and encoding performance improvements. Apple reccomends that everyone updates to this version as soon as possible. *This progam is required if you want to use the video transcoding features in iTunes.
Link: Get QuickTime | QuickTime Home

3) Two new Google Earth editions have been released. The first one is for Mac OS X. This is the first release for the Mac OS and is obvioulsy going to be in BETA editions for a long time. (requires 10.4 or above) The second release is for Windows and infact this release marks the end of BETA for the Windows edition of Google Earth. Google reccomends running Google Earth on win computers that have at least a 32mb Video Card, 512 MB of RAM, 1.2GHz Processor and a High Speed Connection.
Link: Get Google Earth | Google Blog Announcement
Related: Hurricane Katrina Satellite Images

4) Skype v2.0 with Video support released. A BETA edition with video features was available for a long time, but this has finally been done. The entire interface has been updated and looks much better. Ton of new features have been added. Skype has also enabled many new API features. The program loads up and runs much faster than previous versions. The video quality in the new Skype is just as amazing as the audio quality is. But if you have both running at the same time, the quality of the audio might be reduced.
Link: Get Skype | Skype Blog | ChangeLog

5) Mozilla Thunderbird v1.5 has been released at last. It has been over a month since Firefox 1.5 was released. (This is a major update) First most important thing is the fact that you will no longer need to download 6mb files each time you need to update your program after you upgrade to 1.5. Future updates will be done through the program as “patches” and will only be about 0.5mb. Thunderbird now has SpellCheck as you type, Search through Folders, better Phishing detection, Podcast support and more… Another neat feature allows deleting attachments from messages to save space. The program also has improved security, program stability, interface, and filters. If you use Thunderbird I reccomend getting this new version as soon as possible. All content in you client will not be touched if you just download the new version and run it over the previous program.
Link: Get Thunderbird | Release Notes
Related: Get Firefox