os

Apple's engineering department isn't sparing the horses for iPhone OS 3.0. It has released beta 2 to developers along with the green light for developing applications with push notifications. Beta 1 was released only two weeks ago.

Like most Apple updates, the new beta 2 includes several stability and performance enhancements that might make the beta more pleasing to use if you are testing it. We've heard from some early beta 1 testers complaining about the number of issues they were experiencing with the first release.

Stability is good, but now there are reports cropping up … Read more

Microsoft likes to tout the cost savings that derive from paying Windows-skilled employees less money.

That's great, if you're an employer, but if you're an engineer who needs to feed her family, the money is in Linux and Mac OS X skills, as highlighted in a recent post on the site of the Free and Open Source Software Learning Centre:

Of course, once you look past the operating-system data, it's clear that open-source skills do, on average, command less of a premium, perhaps because they're in more abundant supply. Because students are more likely to … Read more

Gmail is becoming more popular by the day, but it's far from perfect. Let's take a look at some tools that will extend its functionality and makes it an even more worthwhile service.

gBooks: If your browser's bookmarks folder doesn't do enough for you, this clever tool turns your Gmail account into a bookmarks server. It makes your bookmarks available to you any time you log in to your Gmail account from anywhere.

gCount: If you don't feel like firing up a browser to check your Gmail account, use gCount. Running on Mac OS X, the lightweight app sits in your Dock and gives you real-time updates on how many e-mails you have in your in-box.

Gmail Drive: Gmail Drive (for Windows) creates a virtual file system on top of your Gmail in-box. It lets you upload documents, photos, or practically any other file to Gmail Drive. Those files are available for download anywhere you can access Gmail.

Gmail Loader: Gmail now makes it easy to import e-mails to your account, but one solution for Windows or Linux PCs works just as well. This software reads the e-mails in your current e-mail program (most of the well-known services are supported) and automatically forwards them to your Gmail account. E-mails can be sent to either the in-box folder or sent items folder.

gMail Notifr: Gmail Notifr is an open-source tool for Mac OS X that allows you to check your Gmail in-box at specified intervals. It includes Growl and sound notifications. You can check multiple accounts simultaneously.

gotMailG: gotMailG is a dashboard widget that just tells you how many unread messages are waiting for you--useful if you don't want your primary workspace cluttered with Gmail icons or alerts.

GPeek: If you don't want to read through every message but want to see what just came in, use GPeek. The service lets you see the subject of an e-mail, the sender, the time it was received, and the first few lines of the message. It supports multiple accounts, so you can check all your e-mails in one sitting.

Jiffy Gmail Email Creator: The Jiffy Gmail Email Creator makes configuring and maintaining your Gmail account easy. It allows you to create an auto-responder without going online. You can also forward messages automatically, use random names, enable POP3, and use multiple exporting options from your desktop. It's for Windows only.

Send to Gmail: Send to Gmail (for Windows) makes it easy to upload any file on your hard drive to Gmail in just two clicks. Simply find the file you want to upload, right-click on it, and you'll be given the option to "Send to Gmail." Once you click that option, the file is sent directly to your Gmail account.… Read more

Apple has set the dates for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, to be held once again in San Francisco during June.

The company will host about 5,000 engineers in San Francisco's Moscone West convention center the week of June 8 through June 12, it confirmed Thursday. Some Apple developers were starting to get nervous that Apple had yet to confirm the dates in order for them to make travel plans.

Apple did not post any explicit information about whether there would be the usual opening keynote at WWDC this year, except for an offhand reference to the "… Read more

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Wall Street analysts, still upbeat about the Pre's prospects, are beginning to fall in love with Palm.

These folks are betting that demand for the Pre--and the WebOS that rides shotgun--will be strong enough to make Palm a strong market player again. However, if you follow the money, it's clear that Palm doubters abound.

Simply put, Palm garners Wall Street kudos even as much stronger companies, such as Research In Motion, fall out of favor. According to Thomson Reuters data, there are eight analysts rating Palm shares … Read more

Justin calls Wilson out for being happy with his life, so they decide to name the show after the popular '80s song Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves. Meanwhile, Justin hates his life because New York City ruined his evening. Stay tuned for that story on today's The 404.

Jeff talks about a dangerous e-mail chain letter about entering your PIN number in reverse to call the police during a robbery. Too bad, it ain't true. You might just get stabbed in the stomach if you try this one. Speaking of your health, you can help stop the spread of the flu this year with Twitter. We also suggest not licking the subway poles, but hey--to each his own.

Also, Apple quietly introduces data tethering to the iPhone OS 3.0. Apparently, it takes a little minor hacking, but you'll be able to tether your iPhone 3G to your computer over USB. Bluetooth support is a few more hacks away. Hopefully, you don't take down the entire AT&T network when you BitTorrent the latest "Battlestar Galactica" over your iPhone 3G connection.

Microsoft releases the latest version of Internet Explorer 8 for download. The tech community gives a collective yawn (except for IT managers), while we get creeped out by a Japanese robot model.

Finally, our tagline contest is coming to an end, and before we decide on an official winner, we'd like you to chime in by taking our poll. Click here or look up and to your left. Jonathan Coulton had to reschedule but will make his appearance in the coming weeks, so hold onto your horses. Be sure to support our very own Natali Del Conte's Smackdown for Charity!

A clarification was made to this story.

The iPhone Dev-Team says the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0 can be jailbroken but issued a warning to some 3G users eager to get that shiny new copy-paste feature.

Apple unveiled on Tuesday some of what it says will be 100 new features coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch with the new version of the mobile operating system. A beta version was made available immediately to everyone in the iPhone Developer Program, and it didn't take long for developers to get cracking on iPhone OS 3.0.

The Dev-Team confirmed that … Read more

debbiefromtoronto from the chat room joins The 404 today all the way from Canada. Of course, she brings her special Canadian goodies, like ketchup potato chips and Smarties, on to the show. Justin falls in love with her when he finds out that she has a bachelor's degree in printing! And she reveals that she was the one who actually coined the phrase "ear douching."

On today's show, we touch on the iPhone OS 3.0 news. Mostly, Jeff takes credit for the shake-to-shuffle feature. While Wilson flips out over the new dock input/output features. We also speculate on the new iPhone revision this summer. Also, a really bad Chinese iPhone joke: Ping Guo i-Dian Hua San-Ge. Ask your Chinese friends what that means.

In other phone news, we get a little excited over Google Voice. Wilson was previously a Grand Central user, but may pick it back up now that Google Voice forwards SMS messages as well. Justin thinks about signing up for an account to call Debbie when she goes home to Canada.

Finally, a man gets shot while wearing a Joker costume. He was holding a shotgun. He wasn't shot for his lack of creativity. And in other shooting-related news, Sega breaks the record for most f-bombs in a video game for House of the Dead: Overkill. Apparently there are a 189 f-bombs.

As the smartphone stakes heat up, Apple isn't resting on its iPhone laurels. On Tuesday, the company introduced version 3.0 of the gadget's underlying system software, and if there was nothing earth-shattering, it did deliver on some features for which users have been clamoring.

Here's a look at the iPhone OS 3.0 event in short video segments:

-- Copy and paste --

-- Search --

-- MMS --

-- In-application purchases --

-- Peer-to-peer connectivity --

-- Push notification --

-- Leaf trombone World Stage --