iPhone Price Down $200, New iPod's Introduced

Apple freaks who waited in long lines in June to be the first to own hot new iPhones may have come to regret their purchases after discovering on Wednesday that Apple was cutting the price of the devices by $200. The market wasn't too happy either, as Apple's shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market fell a few dollars Wednesday following the news. They started the day lower on Thursday but began to slowly rebound.

Those who feel they were cheated, however, may find solace in one of the new or upgraded iPods that Apple also introduced this week, including the iPod touch and revamped iPod nano.

On a pace to sell one million iPhones by the end of the month, Apple ramped up the iPhone marketing machine a notch, lowering the price tag of its eight-gigabyte model from its introductory $599 to $399. The new price will be offered in the U.S. through Apple and AT&T retail and online stores.

For those itching to invest in another Apple music player, the company now offers an iPod with a touch user interface similar to the one found on the iPhone. The eight-millimeter (0.3-inch) thin iPod touch is the first iPod to include Wi-Fi wireless networking and supports use of the Apple Safari browser. The eight-gigabyte version is priced starting at $299; the 16-gigabyte version starts at $399. Both come with a 3.5-inch wide-screen display. Apple is now also offering the ability to access the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store over a Wi-Fi network directly from an iPod touch or iPhone.

Apple also unveiled a new iPod nano on Wednesday that has a larger, two-inch display with 204 pixels per inch that rivals the resolution of Apple's video iPod. The new four-gigabyte iPod nano comes in silver for $149; the eight-gigabyte model is available in silver, black, blue or green as well as a red special edition for $199.

Rival Microsoft is hoping to capitalize on the mixed reactions to Apple's news by cutting the price of its 30-gigabyte Zune digital music player by $50 to $199. While Microsoft has made no official announcement regarding the price cut, the move was reported on the Zune Insider blog written by Cesar Menendez, a Microsoft employee working on Zune.
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Apple Reveals Next Generation iPods

Associated Press - (APTN)

Sep. 05, 2007. 08:12 PM EST

CEO Steve Jobs showed off the newest members of Apple's iPod family. Among the new products were the first iPod with Wi-Fi and the iPod Touch. Jobs said his company is also slashing the price of the iPhone by $200. (Sept. 5)

Facebook Giving Your Information To Search Engines

Facebook, the hugely popular social networking site, risks provoking anger from its users by opening up details of individuals to the web at large.

A new public search feature will soon mean that basic Facebook user profiles carrying names and photographs of the site’s members are accessible through search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

The move appears to be designed to drive more users to the privately owned site in an effort to boost advertising revenues, but has sparked privacy concerns.

Facebook attracted more than 30 million visitors last month, and is expected to make a profit of $30 million this year on revenues of $150 million. But analysts suggest that it is far from realising its earnings potential.

The network is regarded as a potential goldmine to advertisers because of the data it holds on its users, such as their birth date, interests, events they plan to attend, holidays and musical tastes.

In September last year Facebook users revolted when it unveiled a “news feed” feature, which informs everyone on a contact list when the user has made a change to his or her profile page. Hundreds protested against the move, but the feature was retained.

Security experts have also voiced misgivings over the amount of personal data available on social networking sites. Social networking sites should be a source of fun, not worry, but there are people out there who spend their time trying to exploit people through their private information.

Facebook users often provide details such as mobile numbers or employment history and these can be used to hack or steal a user’s identity.

A spokesman for Facebook said: “The Public Search Listing of a profile shows the profile picture thumbnail and links to interact with a user on Facebook. People will always have to log in or register to message or add someone as a friend. A user can also restrict what information shows in their public listing by going to the search privacy page.”
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Using Facebook To Look Up Roommates

WSYR ABC 9 Syracuse - (WSYR)

You've probably heard about employers looking up prospective hires on websites like MySpace and Facebook, and now parents of incoming freshmen at Syracuse University and colleges across the country are checking up on their children's dorm roommates.