This evening Apple made iPhone software version 1.0.1 available to the masses via iTunes, an update that primarily addresses security issues. Perhaps the biggest security fix in this update is “Safari - CVE-ID: CVE-2007-3944″ which emerged last week and allowed the iPhone to be completely taken over by a Web site serving up malicious code. There are reports of other features that iPhone owners are seeing that were not there pre-update, but nothing official has been announced from Apple.

For your viewing enjoyment here are some screenshots I captured during the updating process:

1) New iPhone software version 1.0.1 available

2) iPhone software update important information

3) iPhone software update license agreement

4) Extracting iPhone software update package

5) Verifying existing iPhone software

6) Updating iPhone firmware

7) Updating iPhone software

8 ) Verifying updated iPhone software

9) iPhone has been updated and is restarting

10) iPhone software version 1.0.1 as displayed in iTunes after updating

All-in-all a useful little update that is well worth installing (who wants their iPhone taken over?). However it’s clearly not the big update we’re all hoping for with MMS messaging capability, a filesystem that we can save to, and MS Exchange support, but every little bit helps.

Google Analytics has become one of the most popular online analytics tools since opening its doors for anyone to make an account and track a multitude of sites. Yesterday Google announced that it had added a series of new features to the already stellar suite of offerings currently available. Here are some of the major upgrades:

Hourly reporting
Due to user complaints about the new interface it launched recently, Google Analytics has re-integrated a “View by: Daily/Hourly” switch that allows users to sort the data they’re viewing by day or hour.

Clickable URLs
Now you have the ability to click straight through to an external page from any link referenced in one of the reports. Simply click the icon next to any link listed in the “Referring Sites,” “Top Content,” “Top Landing Pages,” or “Top Exit Pages” report.

Cross Segmentation According to Network Location
Many users were upset with the fact that you couldn’t cross segment reports based on network location, but now that capability has been added.

More Rows of Data Per Page
The previous limit of viewable rows on a report page was 100, however now you have the option of upping the amount to 500.

Bounce Rate Color Changes
Previously increases in bounce rate (which is bad) were listed in green and decreases in bounce rate (which is good) were red. These colors have been switched.

Adwords Integration
Google has made it easier to integrate your Adwords account into your Google Analytics account.

Some other less notable additions include:
- recognition of aol.fr, club-internet.fr, voila.fr and mama.com search engines
- data from newly added reports to the dashboard is linked to more detailed versions
- help resources added to Email Reports interface
- more countries to choose from during the Account Activation process

All in all some nice upgrades. Keep up the good work Google!

Switching from Windows to Mac OS X can be a frightening concept for the average computer user who has never known anything other than what Microsoft releases into the wild. This is especially true for the adult generation which was not raised with computers. Learning the PC the first time was bad enough, why on Earth would they want to go through the whole ordeal again? However what people like this somehow fail to understand is that all computers do the same things: email, word processing, photo management, etc., and the main differentiating factor between Mac OS X and Windows is simply the way in which you tell your Mac or PC how to accomplish such tasks.

Since getting my Macbook a few months ago I’ve had to make a few adjustments and learn how OS X performs many common, everyday tasks differently than Windows. But what I’ve found is that, although troublesome initially, once you embrace the following adjustments that you have to make when switching to Mac OS X from Windows, you will see that the way Mac OS X does things much easier and more efficient than Windows.

Single-button mouse
This can be incredibly annoying at first, as coming from Windows we’re used to being able to right-click on whatever we want to access additional menu options. In Mac OS X, you have to hold down CTRL and click the mouse on an item if you wish to replicate the action of a right-click.

The Apple key
On Windows we use CTRL+key to perform many standard keyboard shortcuts such as cut, copy, paste, etc. In Mac OS X the Apple key is used to accomplish such keyboard shortcuts.

Window Behavior
Windows allows you to click on any side of any window and drag it however you want to re-size it. In Mac OS X you have to click and hold on the bottom right-hand side of a window in order to re-size it. Also, in Windows the buttons to minimize, maximize or close a window are located in the top right-hand corner. In Mac OS X these buttons can be found in the upper left-hand corner of a window.

Installing Applications
To install an application in Windows we need to download the appropriate installation file — usually an .exe file — and double-click to run it and progress through a series of menus. However, in Mac OS X an application can be installed by downloading the installation file and dragging it into the Applications folder.

Completely different user interface
The user interface of Mac OS X is completely different than that of Windows. There’s no quick way of learning it, you just have to use it to learn it. But once you use it enough it will become just as second nature as working on a Windows machine.

These are some of the adjustments I’ve had to make as a Windows user that switched to a Mac. As you can clearly see there really aren’t any life or death issues. Using a Mac is remarkably easy as Apple has made these machines to be as user-friendly as possible. A little practice will make perfect in no time.

Redmond has begun work on Microsoft Kitchen, the first of many to come in a suite of customized Windows platforms designed for specific areas around the house. The Windows “Kitchen Client” will complement your Windows Operating System while integrating with current and future Windows Live services.

Some of the features planned for Microsoft Kitchen include a family calendar, recipe center, a shared bulletin board and entertainment features. According to sources, “the Kitchen Client is expected to encompass both customized user interface and middleware that will allow developers to further customize the environment with their own products and services.”

My worry is what happens when you get the BSOD (blue screen of death) while you’re halfway through banging out a casserole? You can’t CTRL-ALT-DEL a quiche.

Unfortunately there’s no word on when this will hit shelves or how much it will set you back, but feel free to unleash any cooking-related Microsoft puns. Cue Stevio Ballmerali — my apologies, I had to at least try.

It doesn’t matter who your carrier is, unlocking your cell phone can be a huge pain. Call your carrier’s customer service department and ask them about unlocking if you don’t believe me. Why do I need to unlock my phone you ask? Well, you don’t need to, but there are a few reasons why you might like to. First, unlocking your cell phone allows for it to be used on different carrier networks. For example, you could unlock a Cingular phone and use it on T-Mobile’s network. The only thing to keep in mind with using phones across different network is that GSM and CDMA do not mix together. Secondly, a phone that is application unlocked allows you to install basically whatever you want on it, making it essentially as customizable as you want.

Before we get into how to unlock your T-Mobile Dash, I want to note that there are two types of locks on a cell phone: SIM and CID. The SIM lock is what marries the phone to a specific service provider, and as mentioned above removing this will allow you to use it on multiple carriers. The CID lock is what ties the phone to a specific OS and software, and as I just said removing this will allow you to install whatever you want.

OK now that we know what we’re doing and why we want to do it, let us proceed.

Unlocking your T-Mobile Dash is very easy but not free.

1. Go to http://www.imei-check.co.uk/dashunlock.php

2. Enter your IMEI into the form and hit continue. To find your IMEI number just dial *#06# on your Dash.

3. Complete the necessary PayPal form — comes out to around $40.

4. Save the DASHv2Unlock Program to your computer — downloadable from the Web site in Step 1 .

5. Go into your email account on file with PayPal and save the UNL file that matches your IMEI to your computer.

6. Turn on the Dash and establish an ActiveSync connection.

7. Extract and run the DASHv2Unlock program from Step 4.

8. Supply the DASHv2Unlock program with the UNL file from Step 5.

9. That’s it, just wait until the program finishes and your phone reboots.

This isn’t exactly breaking news as it happened about 2 weeks ago — and I’m surprised I never saw this anywhere — but Gaim, the open-source instant-messaging client, has not only released a new version but has re-branded itself as Pidgin. For those unfamiliar with Gaim Pidgin, it is an IM client for Windows, Linux, BSD, and other Unixes that allows you to talk to friends on AIM, ICQ, Jabber/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, QQ, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, and Zephyr all at the same time.

I don’t have all of the details, but from what I gather on their Web site they were having legal issues with AOL over trademark naming issues.

This release owes a special thanks to a bunch of people, but I especially want to acknowledge The Software Freedom Law Center, which has represented Pidgin in its negotiations with AOL and helped us form Instant Messaging Freedom Inc. … Now that our legal worries are behind us and the huge undertaking of 2.0.0 is complete, we’re all looking forward to continuing to actively develop Pidgin, Finch, and libpurple, and returning to our regular release cycle.

I’ve been a big fan of Gaim for many years since I started using Linux, as it was and probably continues to be the best Linux IM client in my opinion. As I just re-formatted the Windows PC I’m on right now, I needed to install an IM client. I figured hey let me throw Gaim on here seeing as AIM is slow as a dog nowadays, and to my surprise Gaim is now Pidgin. So the end result was installing Pidgin which so far is operating very nicely.

Let’s close this one out with some screen shots of Pidgin I captured during installation and first operation:

Yesterday I received (via Borchers) an invitation from GigaOm, NewTeeVee and Joost to participate in the Joost beta testing program. For those who haven’t heard of Joost — pronounced “juiced” — it is a free internet TV service broadcasting hundreds of shows from some of the best channels around the globe. The official description on the about page is:

Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.

So with the introductory details out of the way, let’s get down into it. Joost is simply amazing. For one it’s free — can’t beat that. One of the biggest reasons I like it is that I don’t get MTV, VH1, National Geographic, etc. in my apartment, so just getting access to those channels is pretty great. However, where Joost really separates itself from other online video entities is quality. My wireless signal isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread, yet the video signal from Joost still came in crystal clear, and as you can see in the demo video, it streams very nicely.

Now let’s check out the demo video I recorded. A quick disclaimer — the quality of this video is not great at all for two reasons: 1) this is the first video I have ever recorded and posted to YouTube and I haven’t got the brightness and audio levels all that great; and 2) it was recorded with my Dash. Alright with that out of the way let’s check it out…

So as you can see, a pretty amazing little program. Let’s take a deeper look at it through some screen shots.

(Click images for full size)

1) Joost opening screen

2) Channel Catalog — select a channel by category, popularity, or featured status

3) Widget Screen — invite friends, chat with others watching the channel

4) My Channels — a list of your favorite channels

5) Gtalk — yes, you can talk to your fellow Google users within Joost

6) Search Feature — search by keyword for content across categories

As you can see Joost is very impressive thus far, and as it’s still in private beta we can only expect it to get even better before it launches officially — no word on when that might be. I must note however that when trying to view some shows I received program errors and Joost would close itself unexpectedly. Installation was very easy, however, and there is ample documentation on Joost.com to aide you if you need assistance with anything.

Last week I gave up on the Sidekick 3 in favor of the Samsung t629, going for a lower end phone to hold me over until the arrival of the iPhone. Yesterday, however, I decided that I had had enough. I exchanged the Samsung t629 for the T-Mobile Dash (as I was still within the 14-day grace period) and only had to pay a small difference fee.

Why did I give up on it so quickly you ask? For starters, the obvious lack of the qwerty keyboard. Having used the Sidekick 3 for so long, I was accustomed to having a full keyboard at my disposal for typing text messages and emails. Secondly, email, the Samsung t629 did not have the ability to access email how I was used to doing on the Sidekick 3. And finally, the lack of any decent organizational structure within the OS of the phone software itself.

So now the question that begs is, well, why the T-Mobile Dash? For one, it alleviates the issue of the qwerty keyboard, as the Dash has a beautiful keyboard with very nice, tactile feedback when pressing the keys. Secondly, email, the Dash has a myriad of email capabilities and will certain allow me to send and receive almost any email I want. And finally, the organizational structure; the Dash came with Windows Mobile 5 and as of today I can now upgrade to Windows Mobile 6, so it essentially puts a computer in the palm of my hand, and as I am a very mobile-connected individual, I really need that type of all-the-time connectivity.

I have yet to upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 but you can rest assured that when I finally do I will be posting about it. Cheers!

Yahoo IM (YIM), the world’s second most popular instant-messaging platform, has launched a new version that will allow users to send and receive instant messages via their Web browser, and does not force them to install software any longer (similar to how GTalk is integrated into Gmail).

Yahoo is seeking out the tens of millions of users who use the Web from Internet cafes and are unable to install their popular IM client. In addition, business professionals and office workers whose companies do not allow software installation will now be able to access YIM.

“Too many people have been restricted from benefiting from this type of communication,” Brad Garlinghouse, Yahoo’s senior vice president in charge of communications, said in an interview.

In addition to greater accessibility, why should YIM users care about this new Web browser platform? One reason is an archive feature that will allow you to search through all of your past IM conversations with any contact (*cough* GTalk *cough*). Another feature is the ability to manage a dozen or more conversations in a single IM chat window.

This new Web-based IM service will start in Brazil, India, Malaysia, Philippines, the United States and Vietnam, will additional countries getting access later this year. Yahoo has 88.5 million IM users worldwide, second only to MSN/Windows Live Messenger. AOL’s AIM is the most popular instant-messaging client in the United States.

I for one have never used Yahoo IM, but it certainly sounds like a nice upgrade for die hard YIMers.

Beginning after midnight tonight T-mobile Dash users will have the option to upgrade, free of charge, to Windows Mobile 6. How do you upgrade your Dash you might ask? Tomorrow to go http://www.t-mobile.com/wmupgrade/ and you will see the WM 6 upgrade file. Download it to your computer, plug in your Dash and reflash the firmware with WM 6. It’s that easy!

Before upgrading your Dash, however, there are a few things you must do:

1. USB sync cable must be connected to your computer (and your Dash obviously)
2. Close all running applications
3. Ensure that an ActiveSync connection is made between your computer and your Dash
4. Backup your personal data to ensure you don’t lose anything if something goes haywire accidentally

So now that we know what must be done to upgrade your Dash to WM 6 you might be saying, OK that’s great and all, but why would I want to upgrade to WM 6? Well, to answer your question here are a few items that will be available in WM 6 that were previously unavailable in WM 5:

• Improved e-mail set up which allows you to go to one place on the device to set up e-mail accounts (POP3, MSN, Outlook, etc.) and doesn’t require that you know any server settings for the most popular service providers.
• An improved Windows Live client with tabbed IM sessions, voice notes, etc. (you can record a small clip and send it via IM)
• T-Mobile’s myFaves service now includes e-mail as communication option
• Added Voice Command (voice control software) and Office Mobile (ability to edit Word, Excel)

If that’s not enough to whet your appetite then you either a) don’t have a Dash, or b) shouldn’t have a Dash. The Dash is a great phone it just has some major usability drawbacks, which I’m hoping WM 6 will help to alleviate. Right now only Carin has a Dash but if I like hers after the upgrade who knows!