With that said, there are plenty of places and articles floating around the web outlining some of the features now available in the still-in-beta “project” from Google, so I’ll spare you the rehash. Instead, I’d rather focus on what you can be doing right to get ready for when your Google+ invite arrives.

First and foremost, it’s important to keep in mind that you already have a major portion of your Google+ profile filled out if you’re using an @gmail.com email address. Remember those changes that Google’s been rolling out over the past few years? Your YouTube address was associated with your gmail address, if you had hosted images at blogger, they were all moved to Picasa, etc. All of these are now tied to your Google+ account, if you join the network with your primary gmail address.

Now for me, I have a pretty obscure and outdated email address. It held relevance when I first ventured away from Hotmail, but today, it’s a jumble of numbers and letters that, to be honest, is a bit difficult to remember. So with that said, I’m currently testing Google Plus with my old account details, but once the invite button goes live again, I’m going to switch over to an address I’ve had kicking around for some time, but haven’t really utilized. Why you might ask? Well, as we all know, branding is everything. And normally, I could care less about my email address, given that it’s most probably copy/pasted, and very rarely needs to be remembered. All that changes with Google+.

Remember that mad “land grab” when Facebook custom URL’s went live? I for one was up at 6am Central European Time in order to grab facebook.com/dantaylor, only to be beaten to the punch by another Dan Taylor. Ok, so I ended up with dantaylor1. Certainly better than dantaylor253 or some other derivative, but you start to see the importance of your custom URL. With Google+ your custom URL is directly tied to your Google profile name. And with that name, comes along your entire Google identity.

As with any writer, I had to cut my teeth somewhere, and waaaaay back in the day, I too had a blogspot.com blog in operation, tied to my Google account. Since launching turnthescrew.com some 4 years ago, I hadn’t really touched that old blog. In fact, I pretty much forgot that it was still in existence. Needless to say, Google+ dragged all those “My god…what a piece of garbage. Did I really write that?” memories out of the closet, and suddenly at my feet yesterday. So much so that I took the drastic step of exporting the blog (safety first) and deleting it altogether.

Why? Well, first and foremost, the content was by no means focused. Posts ranged from, literally, what I had for dinner last night, to found humor images, to YouTube repeats. Not awful, but certainly not the way I’d choose to represent myself today.

Likewise, a quick poke around the “Your Albums” section brought up a host of images that I’d virtually forgotten about, and as with the blog, didn’t necessarily want to have linked to me. Thankfully, there’s a feature within G+ that allows you to completely hide the albums from public view. As with the blog, I’m not 100% ready to delete this album, but I’d rather lock it down.

So…to get prepped for the day when your Google Plus invite arrives:

• Ensure that the account you want associated with your Google Plus identity is one that is memorable and speaks to who you are. Yaddabla184 is probably not the best representation. No, that’s not the account I used.
• Login to Picasa and Blogger under this account, and double check that you’re not confronted with mountains of yesteryear images and text. Unless of course you’re 100% happy/comfortable with your archives being on display.
• Head on over to your Account Overview and start adding the details about yourself that you’d like to be on display to the world

Speaking of your Account Overview, one thing I found particularly interesting was how search results will be affected my Google Plus. From Google:

Your name and any other fields you make public in your profile are searchable on the web and may appear in Google Search results.

This is a crucial bit of information that I believe will truly change the way people present themselves on the internet. As you can see from my screenshot (I’ve blocked out the specific URL, and you’ll see why in a second), my location, work title, bio, and the top three links I’ve added to my profile are displayed. For me, the links are the most crucial of the entire bit. Bios and titles are one thing, but pointing to other examples of your internet presence is huge.

And as I draw to a close, I myself am at a bit of a crossroads. As stated above, the email address that I entered Google Plus with holds no particular relevance to me (or anyone else) any longer, and it’s time to phase it out. With that said, as soon as the invite switch is returned to the ‘On’ position, I think I’ll invite my other, more meaningful @gmail account to the project, and then repeat the process of adding people to my circles – which might be a whole lot easier thanks to Google Takeout. A grind, for sure, but in the long run, a wiser, more focused approach to what I believe is the first service to give Facebook a run for it’s money in quite some time.

There’s been quite a bit of talk about Nokia lately. While the Finnish manufacturer might be losing market share in the smartphone area, they still remain on top as the world’s largest selling mobile phone manufacturer. Following the massive outlet of top Nokia management, as well as the incoming, former Microsoft Executive Stephen Elop, Nokia has taken a dramatic shift over the past few months, and it looks as though the electronics giant is finally ready to speak.

Announced in London this morning, Nokia has outlined their marching orders, with a strong focus on changes in leadership, their operational structure, and perhaps most importantly, their speed of execution (Meego says what?).

The debate was up in the air for quite a while whether Nokia would go Android, continue on the Meego Path, or go with Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Meego is obviously a dead horse, and so we’re really down to a two horse race. And low and behold, Nokia is going with Windows Phone as their primary smartphone operating platform. This is part of a newly announced deep strategic partnership with Redmond. But honestly, does it come much as a surprise? See Elop above.

Additionally, Nokia is committed to a renewed approach to capture volume and value growth, ultimately resulting in connecting the “next billion” to the internet in developing countries. Remember the mention of largest selling handset manufacturer above? These non-smartphones are the developing countries handsets, and it looks like Nokia now wants to bring the internet to these same Nokia handset owners, with a bit of help from Microsoft.

“Nokia is at a critical juncture, where significant change is necessary and inevitable in our journey forward,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. “Today, we are accelerating that change through a new path, aimed at regaining our smartphone leadership, reinforcing our mobile device platform and realizing our investments in the future.”

The Nokia/Microsoft partnership now offers a valid competitor to both Apple and Android. It should be quite interesting to see how Nokia deals with it’s new collaborator, as by themselves, they were just players in Android/Apple’s world, but together, they are/will be a force to be reckoned with. The Microkia partnership will take advantage of the best of both companies; Nokia’s expertise in hardware optimization, software customization, and language support and scale, while Microsoft will leverage it’s massive scale, product variety, geographical reach, and brand identity (be that a good or bad thing).

MeeGo Where?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak to MeeGo’s future plans. While I had very high hopes for this project, and still do, it looks as though MeeGo is going the way of the original Symbian experience. At least in the way of open-source. The quasi-abandoned project from Nokia/Intel will serve as a longer-term market exploration of next-generation devices, platforms and users experiences. With that said, Nokia still plans on shipping a MeeGo based device later this year. Here’s to hoping that MeeGo will become the hacker’s platform of choice.

From The Top Down

In addition to striking deals with his former colleagues, CEO Stephen Elop’s new team looks drastically different than it did just days ago. Effective today, Nokia’s new executive board consists of: Stephen Elop, Esko Aho, Juha Akras, Jerri DeVard, Colin Giles, Rich Green, Jo Harlow, Timo Ihamuotila, Mary McDowell, Kai Oistamo, Tero Ojanpera, Louise Pentland and Niklas Savander.

The new team-at-the-top is expected to be much more nimble than their previous counterparts, thus allowing the company much more efficient decision making processes, placing a heavy focus on speed, speed, more speed, and results, speed, and accountability. Did I mention speed?

Two Roads in the Woods

In addition to partnering with Microsoft, putting MeeGo to bed (sorta), and shaking up the board, Elop is also splitting Nokia down the middle (divide and conquer?). As of April 1st (and no, this isn’t a joke), Nokia will effectively be split into two unique business units: Smart Devices and Mobile Phones. Each unit will have it’s own focus, the former, high-end smartphones, the later, mass market mobile phones (read: developing world…connecting the “next billion”). To put the units to task, Elop has designated that each unit will be responsible for their own profit-and-loss, as well as a stringent end-to-end accountability standards. What this means is that the smartphone unit needs to deliver and can not rely on the profits of mass phone sales, and vice versa.

Conclusion

As a member of the Nokia test program here in Austria, I’ve said it for quite a while now; Nokia – great hardware, absolutely crap OS. Oh, and the Ovi Store needs a serious makeover as well. However something tells me that with Windows Phone now on board, things at Nokia are about to get very interesting. I’ve seen Windows Phone 7 (thanks @datadirt), and while it’s still not my beloved iOS, I must admit…it was better than I expected. I’m currently testing a Nokia N8 (review forthcoming), and I truly wish that I could wipe Symbian today and load up WP7. Nokia was once the bright shining beacon of what a mobile phone should be, and unfortunately over time, they’ve been the sluggish giant that simply couldn’t keep up. That is, until now. I truly believe that planting Windows aboard a Nokia built device is one of the smartest things the company could have done, and here’s to hoping that Microkia can give Android and iOS a run for their money, because at the end of the day, it’s us, the consumers, that will come out on top.

Hats off to you Mr. Elop. It’s never easy being the “new guy in charge,” and I applaud your brevity. Now get out there and make me think twice about buying the iPhone 5.

Launched in conjunction with CERN, The LEGO group, National Geographic and Scientific American, the Google Science Fair is the world’s first global online science competition. Any scientist between the ages of 13-18 with access to a computer, the internet and a web browser is eligible to share their projects to the world. Future Teslas and Curies are free to build and submit up to three individual projects, either as a solo effort or collaboratively in a team of 2 or 3.

Google is promoting the Science Fair as a true opportunity for youths from Canada to go head to head with brains from Cambodia; Irish scientists will be challenged by Israelis, etc. No longer are students bound to regional/national restrictions on just how far their idea can go. A nod from Google can’t hurt either.

And it’s not just a blue ribbon and a pat on the back that winners are competing for. Prizes range from a full trip to the Galapagos Islands accompanying the National Geographic Expeditions team (a visit to Dawin’s living laboratory included), to a 12 month subscription to Scientific American, and include a host of goodies along the way. Visits to CERN, Google, The Lego Group, and Scientific American are all on tap and up for grabs, as well as a $50,000 Google backed scholarship.

Students may enter and register online, and must use a Google Site to submit their project. All submissions must be received by April 4th, 2011, and a parent or guardian must provide consent in order to be eligible to compete. Semi-finalists will be announced in early May, and the public will have a chance to view and vote on their “people’s choice” award (a $10,000 scholarship provided by Google). 15 finalists will be invited to Google’s HQ in Mountain View, California on July 11th for the final judging. Amongst the finalist judges are Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN, Google’s Director of Research Peter Norvig, and Kary Mullis, a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

So there you have it budding brains. Google’s offering a trip to the Galapagos, or a $50,000 head start on college bills, real-world work experience at CERN, and a plethora of other top prizes. The only downside I see to the Google Science Fair is that I’m far too old to enter. For us old folks, Google’s set up a range of social networking channels, Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, and Blogger so that you can follow the progress of events.

Announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Harman has partnered with Sierra Wireless to bring automotive customers 4G broadband connectivity in-dash. Harman will now support the Sierra Wireless AirPrime embedded modules for LTE networks, offering motorists robust in-vehicle wireless connectivity. So what does this mean? The AirPrime tech will enable high bandwidth (read:fast) telematics, navigation, and online information/entertainment applications. Think of it as a Plex for your car.

“Harman is leading the industry to bring the best “always on”, ultra-fast connectivity experience to enable the rich multimedia applications and information systems that drivers and passengers are coming to expect,” said Sachin Lawande, Harman Chief Technology Officer and Co-President, Harman Automotive Division. “Just as Harman is meeting today’s demands for integrated navigation and infotainment solutions, we are pleased to work with Sierra Wireless to address the emerging requirements of automakers for an increasingly connected car.”

AirPrime modules take advantage of widely adopted, industry standard API’s, thus opening the front doors, and inviting software developers to provide solutions for connectivity, location, and manageability. According to Sierra Wireless, users will be able to access wireless data at download speeds of 100 Mbps, with uploads as high as 50 Mbps on LTE networks. With these speeds, both firms are touting a, “true multi-faceted media, office, and online experience within the vehicle.” In addition to driver friendly real-time mapping and traffic updates, passengers riding in a Harman/Sierra Wireless equipped vehicle can take advantage of online services, available apps, and a wide variety of gaming, streaming video, and full internet access that can be shared across across multiple devices.

“We are excited about the potential for 4G/LTE in the connected car, with its ability to provide a richer multimedia experience that can increase both safety and convenience for passengers and drivers,” said Philippe Guillemette, Chief Technology Officer for Sierra Wireless. “This collaboration is a first step in realizing this potential, and we are thrilled to work with Harman, a recognized industry leader, to bring these solutions to life.”

According to Strategy Analytics, 70 percent of all vehicles produced globally in 2009 have some form of wireless connectivity, and they expect this number to increase to 95 percent by 2012. Harman is clearly pushing to establish themselves as the industry leader in this field, and this partnership with Sierra Wireless moves them one step closer to this goal. Outside of Sierra Wireless, Harman helped lead the expansion of the ngConnect Program to China in July 2010.

Launching in conjunction with the print version, the SI swimsuit 2011 issue hits streets and screens this coming February 15th. The 3D Swimsuit video will be available for rental or purchase via the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service on the PlayStation 3 (PS3), as well as their “Video On Demand powered by Qriocity” 3D compatible and network enabled BRAVIA HDTVs and blu-ray players. While aimed at the 3D market, Sony ensures that a 2D version of the video will be available, as well as a free three-minute sneak peak will become available later this year.

“Just when you think the bar couldn’t get any higher for the Swimsuit franchise, we’ve raised it once again with our partners at Sony,” said Mark Ford, President of the Sports Illustrated Group. “Swimsuit in 3D has extraordinary potential and we’re thrilled to deliver its millions of fans a new perspective through the exciting world of 3D video.”

And if smokin’ hot ladies in binikis isn’t enough for you, Sony has tossed in the entire kitchen sink, with 12+ hours of additional footage available for rent or purchase. This additional content includes a 1 hour “Making of” segment, as well as four 30 minute shorts featuring the 2011 Swimsuit photo shoot locations, presumably, in case you’re ready to make some hot shots yourself. These additional features also focus on the history of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit issue. PS3 owners can purchase SI swimsuit focused Dynamic Themes that cover iconic SI model photos from the 1990s (mmmm…Elle MacPherson).

“The combination of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit brand with the amazing 3D capabilities of Sony’s network-enabled devices makes for a great consumer entertainment experience,” said Tim Schaaff, President, Sony Network Entertainment. “We strive to deliver unique content to our users, and are delighted to offer this first-of-its-kind high definition 3D Swimsuit video.”

The day after Christmas, some call it boxing day, I was digging through some bookshelves only to be reminded that I’ve got an old (and I do mean old – circa 2006) MacBook that’s just collecting dust. Hmmm…well, I didn’t get a mac mini for Christmas, but let’s see what the old black beauty can do.

After checking to make sure that I had all the cables and adaptors needed, I blindly started assembling my media chain. First and foremost, just to give everybody the best possible chance, I reformatted and applied all the updates to the MacBook. I then added the fresh Snow Leopard installed machine to my local network. Personally, I use a NetGear WNHDEB111 5Ghz N-wireless bridge from my Netgear WNDR3700 router, so I left airport off. A quick click on the sharing options from my main iMac, and the new MediaCenter (the black MacBook) can now see and access the files that I’ve designated within the sharing properties.

Great. I’ve installed VLC, and should be ready to go. Yes, but let’s be honest, VLC plays just about everything, but isn’t the snazziest of players to look at. I was on the hunt for something a bit nicer. After a short internet search, I stumbled upon Plex, and let me just say…this app has completely changed the way I view media in my living room.

Plex is a stand alone app that functions as a media interface for your mac. Initially, I started out with it only on the MediaCenter, but have quickly added it to all of my Macs, as well as my iOS devices. At it’s core, Plex does the exact same thing that Apple’s FrontRow will do, but does not limit you to the iTunes (read: .mp4 format), and…looks a whole lot better to boot.

Setup of Plex was fairly easy. Since the MediaCenter was already a member of the network, and I could freely trade files back and forth between the two, I only had to tell Plex where to look for my media. A quick setting here and there, and a library refresh, and boom – the best looking media server I’ve ever seen.

Not only will Plex keep your files organized in an easy to find and watch format, but will add value to the entire experience. If you’re familiar with how the Sony PlayStation handles media, you’ll know that it’s extremely basic: a folder and a thumbnail (if you’re lucky). It seems as though the development team behind Plex was just as disappointed in this interface, as they’ve gone in the complete opposite direction. In the Plex Media Server interface, you’ll find the option to update show, film, and music information as pulled from various sources around the internet. So instead of getting a thumbnail and a file name (PS3), I now get an overall synopsis of the show, and if I drill down further, specific information about the episode of Lost I’m about to watch. Pretty snazzy.

But the fun doesn’t end with just your own media. Thanks to the Plex Online feature built into the app, you can search hundreds of streaming media apps to install on your version of Plex. For example, I normally download the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams video podcast. Or, I should say…did download, as Plex has an MSNBC app that will stream Mr. Williams smiling face right to my MacBook – no podcast needed. And better yet…with the Plex MSNBC app, I’ve got episodes on demand. Meaning, if I’d had the podcast, I probably would delete it the minute a new episode arrives, but what if there was something I want to show a friend from last week? I’m outta luck via iTunes, but with Plex…click, click….and streaming. Awesome.

Sadly, because I live in Europe, I’m forced to crumble under the laws of Geolocation, and can’t view everything I’d like. NBC (not MSNBC) for example is a no go, as is Hulu (that was the one I really wanted). During the setup phase there were also streams that I could hear but not see. As it turns out, this is a Flash problem, and not a Plex problem, with a very simple fix to be found here.

The Plex group even goes above and beyond in this highly detailed tutorial (and tool) regarding tuning your DVI-out display to perfectly fit your monitor. If you’ve ever experienced the dreaded Overscan option, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about and how to fix it. With that said, this calibration isn’t 100% necessary, as the app offers it’s own overscan compensation tool. But let’s be honest…if you’re reading this, chances are, you’re a Geek-Like-Me, and are going to tune it anyway.

The Plex media server for mac app is completely free, and available via plexapp.com. Sadly, I couldn’t find a “Donate” button, so I did the next best thing – I bought the iOS app. In addition to supporting an awesome group of developers, I now have the added benefit of being able to keep on watching Lost while I’m on my way downstairs to pick up the post. I know…I know…perhaps a bit “Do you really need that?”, but hey, at a total cost of $4.99, go ahead – live a little.

Plex for Mac – it changed my media viewing experience; what can it do for you?

Even with outdoor light, the AMOLED display shines through

Right off the bat, the first noticeable feature of the E7 is it’s gorgeous 4″ AMOLED display. When Nokia says ClearBlack, they aren’t kidding. Clearly this new display is targeted directly at Apple’s Retina display now found in the iPhone 4, but when compared side by side, as much as a fan of the iPhone that I am, the Nokia E7 wins. From what I could see, it’s not the resolution that looks any better or any worse, but rather, the colors on the Nokia just seemed to “pop” a bit more than the iPhone 4. Additionally, I’ve always found Apple’s “white” to be slightly too blue for my taste, an in this respect, again, the E7 wins. Nokia’s whites are white, and blacks are black. And when I say black, I mean…really black. Like squid ink black. If you’re wondering why I’m so concerned about whites and blacks, ever watch an episode of Colbert on your phone? If so, you know that the difference between, “Ah, a TV show on your phone,” and “Wow…what is that???” hangs on the richness of colors and deepness of blacks.

One feature about the E7 that really makes it shine is its integrated QWERTY keyboard beneath the main screen. And that’s not to say that there’s a lack of touch screen friendliness. As an iPhone user, I’ve become accustomed to touch screen typing, but every once in a while, I’d love the convenience (and speed) of a mini-keyboard along for the ride. Sure, I could add BoxWave’s Keyboard Buddy, but Nokia has provided the best solution yet: build it into the device, and let the user decide.

Admittedly, I’m not too familiar with the onboard Symbian OS, but the newest iteration of Nokia’s long successful Communicator line is fully loaded with the new Symbian 3 OS, which promises over 250 new features never before available, including pinch-and zoom support.

Touch and QWERT interfaces make for business and social speed.

And now for said OS. While it took me a second or two to get used to a mobile device with an OS other the Apple’s iOS, that’s about it. A second or two. The main display screen isn’t the tidiest of presentations, but everything that I could possibly want was readily accessible; all with a single click (I later learned that you can have multiple home screens). With 256 MB of built in RAM, there’s plenty of power to multitask to your hearts’ content. Oh, and did I mention that the phone will perform system updates over the air? No need to dock and sync, the E7 is already on it.

If you (or the company you work with) are a Microsoft Exchange user, you’ll love the ease of which the E7 syncs your mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks. Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications are handled in an instant thanks to the Quickoffice application.

And once the “serious business” stuff is handled, Nokia’s E7 is ready to dish out the lighter side of mobile: fun! As any smartphone on the market today should; The E7 allows you to keep in touch with all your social networking contacts (via the home screen, no less). Photo and video capture and sharing is accomplished via a built in 8MP camera with a dual LED flash, that also doubles as a 720p video camera – including a built in HDMI output. Nokia’s even thought ahead, and offers low-cost VoIP calls via the E7. Now that’s smart.

Angry Birds – not angry with Ovi

And apps? Sure Apple and Android have the highest levels of visibility, but don’t quite count Ovi out just yet. I, personally, paid around $100 for the TomTom app for iPhone when it was first released, and while it’s a great addition to my iPhone, getting it for free would have been a bonus. Well, enter stage left, lifetime navigation and turn-by-turn voice directions – for free. Additionally, you can sync, backup and transfer documents and data via the Ovi Suite. These are just a few offerings that the E7 can run, and there’s plenty more at the Ovi Store ready to be consumed.

Overall, I’m impressed with the Nokia E7. With a revamped OS waiting under the hood, all the essentials (and then some) that you’d expect in a modern smartphone, and a screen that will simply have you coming back for more, I’d imagine the E7 will serve as a flagship in the Nokia fleet for some time to come. The Nokia E7 is competitively priced at a suggested market price of 495 € and available this December 10th (early 2011 for Austrian consumers), just in time to catch the eye of eager tech hungry holiday shoppers.

The survey was conducted over a period of 8 months, January 2010 – August 2010, and shows that Android overtook Apple’s iOS in late March/early April. The current state of the market finds Android with a 32 percent market share, while Research In Motion and Apple are tied in a statistical dead heat at 26 and 25 percent, respectively.

And while more Android OS based devices have been sold over the past 6 months, Blackberry still holds the dominant market share, with 31 percent of all smartphones out there today sporting the Blackberry logo. This lead however is on the decline, as the Nielsen survey found 28 percent of all smartphone owners pocketing an iPhone, with only 19 percent reporting Android devices.

Whenever I acquire new gear, I generally have the same rule of thumb, find the top of the line item, and then back it off one or two. The same applied to my iMac 27. I don’t have the 2TB drive, and I don’t have the maxed 16 GB of RAM, but rather 1TB and 8GB. Therefor, whenever new updates like this come out, I’m not completely behind the curve.

Starting at $1,199, the new iMac line features Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 options, with dual core speeds up to 3.6 GHz and quad core doing 2.93 GHz. Add to that blisteringly fast processing power an ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics card, and daaaang skippy, that’s one nice all-in-one you’ve got there.

But processors and graphics cards aren’t the only shiny new toys for iMac. In addition, Apple has beefed up their SD card reader to now include SDXC format, sure to please any digital photog or those using cutting edge high capacity storage cards.

And speaking of storage, and it looks like I missed it by one generation, Apple has finally added an SSD HDD option to the iMac lineup. iMac 27 customers will have the option to include a 256 GB solid state drive in either the primary or secondary role. With data transfer speeds of up to 215 MB/second, can you say “primary drive startup and program launch in the blink of an eye” ? Yeah. Me too. ?

And what would a product line update be without a little fun. Completely unnecessary, but falling under the, yes, I want one category, Apple now has an oversized touchpad (similar to those found in the MacBook line) for desktop users. Dubbed The Magic Trackpad, it houses the same technology as Apple’s notebook pointing device, and offers the same intuitive gestures as it’s smaller cousin.

Specifications from the low-end 21.5” 3.06 GHz i3 – $1,199:

• 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM;
• 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight® video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one SDXC SD card slot;
• one FireWire® 800 port;

And on the other end of the spectrum, the 27” 3.6 GHz i5 – $1,999

• 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
• 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 5750 discrete graphics with 1GB GDDR5;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• one SDXC SD card slot;

“We took the world’s best all-in-one and made it even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the latest processors, high-performance graphics and signature aluminum and glass design, customers are going to love the latest iMac.”

Again, the only thing I’m really missing is the SSD option, which I’m happy to see Apple now offering.  These new iMacs are sure to make a welcome addition to any desk, and hey…Apple, if you’re listening – Retrofit an SSD option to previous iMac generation owners?

In their “Christmas in July” giveaway, Play N Trade is giving 16 lucky winners a randomly selected video game. However, it’s not just Play N Trade that’s in with the goods. There’s a $4,400 Origin Genesis PC up for grabs. If you’re not familiar with Origin, think back a few years to Alienware pre-Dell phase. Remember how sweet those machines were? Well the team at Origin IS the original Alienware team.

Logitech has jumped on board as well with 3 gaming bundles including a G15 gaming keyboard, G500 gaming mouse, and the G35 surround sound headset worth $300 each. Last, but certainly not least, 2 winners will receive a Logitech G13 advanced game board, retail value $80.

The available titles that Play N Trade will be giving away:

• PS3 UFC 2010
• NDS Book Worm
• PC Borderlands
• PC Dragon Age Awakening
• PC Shrek Forever After
• PC Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway
• PC Assassin’s Creed
• PC FarCry 2
• PC Rainbow Six Vegas 2
• PC Code of Honor 2
• PC Art of Murder: Hunt for the Puppeteer
• PC Art of Murder: FBI Confidential
• PC Chronicles of Mystery
• PC Zuma’s Revenge
• PC Plants vs Zombies
• PC Escape Rosecliff Island

“The Christmas in July giveaway is something we are very pleased to offer,” says Play N Trade CEO, Larry Plotnick. “After experiencing increased sales growth and unprecedented support from gamers nationwide during the past few years, we think it’s only natural for us to reciprocate with an exciting giveaway.”

The contest runs through July 27, 2010 and is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, Play N Trade will be running in store discounts on various games and peripherals throughout the month of July.

The Play N Trade “Christmas in July” giveaway is being held in cooperation from popular gaming site Avault.com, and includes sponsorship of The Avault Podcast, Stevie FTW and The Evil Ed Podcast, as well as a number of other prominent video game media properties.

To enter The Play N Trade “Christmas in July” giveaway, head on over to avault.com/christmas, give ‘em your deets, and say your prayers until July 28th. And no worries, they’re not there to collect your email address. As per the Terms and Conditions:

The operating company does not maintain any mailing lists, will not send you unsolicited emails, and takes reasonable measures to keep the information disclosed secure.

Wow … better than EA or Sony.