iTunes 6.0.5 allows you to sync your Nike + iPod workout data to nikeplus.com, where you can easily track your progress, set training goals, challenge others, and much more. Visit the Nike Sport Music area on the iTunes Music Store to download workout mixes, Athlete Inspiration playlists, Nike podcasts, and more.

The Nike + iPod Sport kit is no longer a pre-sale item. It is avaliable for purchase. It shows a shipping date of 4-5 weeks.

The local Apple store in iMall in Tampa does not have them yet.

Looks like Google has been working hard on getting merchants to use their new service. Check out this page that lists a bunch of companies now accepting Google Checkout.

They even have about 16 stores where you get $10 off a purchase of $20 or more. These stores include: Starbucks, uBid, Magazines.com, eCost and more.

Some major stores I shop at are included in taking Google Checkout already. Buy.com, Aeropostale, Fossil, Dockers, and weaKnees.

This new product is going to change the face of online purchases. It’s cheaper and easier than PayPal, why wouldn’t you move your online business to Google Checkout?

It’s quick, it’s easy, and it works with adsense. There’s a nice little video that explains the whole service.

First, it’s not Paypal…it’s a way for merchants to take payments thru your Google account. You can store unlimited billing/shipping addresses, credit cards, etc. Google doesn’t share your critical information with the merchant, and won’t spam you.

Anytime there is a shopping cart icon next to a Google Ad you know that site offers Google Checkout, and it’s easy to buy.

You can add items from any website that accepts Google Checkout, and finalize your order whenever you want….even if the items are all from different merchants.

You can easily use Google Checkout on your own site by signing up for an account here. Process sales for free.

“For every $1 you spend on AdWords, you can process $10 in sales for free. For sales that exceed this amount or if you don’t use AdWords, you can process them at a low 2% and $0.20 per transaction. There is no monthly fee.”

Google Checkout accepts all major credit cards, but not a check over the internet.

I have to say, this is pretty awesome. I can’t wait to see merchants offering an alternative to Paypal for accepting payments.

Here is a sample button for a donation to me for $1:

I previously posted about Carbonite as a backup service that offers that I was a bit skeptical about, being as it would take over a month to backup everything on my multiple hard drives.

Well I’m glad I didn’t make it past the free 2 weeks. They canceled my account. Here is the email they sent me:

Dear Carbonite User,

We regret to inform you that you are in violation of Carbonite’s Terms
of Use –> www.carbonite.com/termsofuse
Your pending backup size exceeds that of our average user by at least a
factor of 10. Your account has been disabled temporarily. You must
either reduced your pending backup size so that it falls below 100GB or
cancel your account. If you have already purchased Carbonite you may
request a full refund. Please let us know how you would like to proceed.

Sincerely,

Carbonite, Inc.

So, wait…why does it have to be under 100gigs if it is UNLIMITED?!? Let’s check the TOS:

YOU WILL BE IN VIOLATION OF THIS POLICY IF, WITHIN ANY MONTH, YOUR USAGE GREATLY EXCEEDS MORE THAN THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF MONTHLY USAGE OF CARBONITE’S PAID SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMERS GENERALLY. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS POLICY, “USAGE” MEANS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF BANDWIDTH OR STORAGE REQUIREMENTS GENERATED BY BACKING UP YOUR COMPUTER, AS DETERMINED BY US IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION. (I.E., USAGE WITHIN ANY MONTH IN EXCESS OF MORE THAN THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF MONTHLY USAGE OF OUR PAID SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMERS GENERALLY).

So unlimted is limited to the average of all users? That is false advertising if I’ve ever seen it. The ironic part is the above image is directly from their main page and even trademarked. How can you trademark UNLIMITED, if you aren’t going to offer it?

Finally a new look and feel for Yahoo IM. New features include avatars, sounds, display images, OS X Dock indicator, conferencing, Universal Binary, support for iSight, etc.

This is beta 1, and by the time the final release is out, the ability to chat with anyone using Windows Live (MSN) Messenger will be included.

I prefer to use adium for all of my IM needs in one client (AIM: NickStarr, YahooIM: NickStarr_cc, Gtalk:NickStarr).

Download it today.

Lots of fixes in this software update. Here’s a few:

iPhoto was updated today as well. “This update to iPhoto contains a variety of new Greeting Card and Postcard themes for use with Apple print services, including invite and thank you card designs for summer parties, weddings, birthdays, etc.”

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