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CWL Tech Weekly – Week Of October 22nd

This week I’ve been pretty sick – coughing up my lungs is never fun. but, as the tech industry rolls along, so too does the CWL Tech Weekly. Take a look at the many interesting things going on in the world of Technology.

Ray Ozzie steps down – Microsoft announced this week that chief software architect, Ray Ozzie would be transitioning into retirement. Ozzie is well known as taking on Bill Gates role when Gates stepped down as well as being part of what eventually became Lotus Notes. Coverage: BGR, Cnet, AppleInsider, Windows7News.

Embedded Automotive – Microsoft this week announced the release of Embedded Automotive 7. This software is used by car manufacturers to control systems and entertainment – or, as Microsoft calls it “Infotainment”. Coverage: TheWindowsClub, ZDnet.

3.0 Terabytes – Western Digital this week launched a 3TB SATA hard disk in their Caviar Green line of drives. That’s huge. More: HotHardware, Slashdot, Dvice, SlashGear.

Office 365 – Microsoft this week announced the beta of a new product – Office 365. This new product from Microsoft is an attempt to sell an integrated cloud-based suite of applications in the cloud. This includes the basic office applications and software like Exchange Server Online and SharePoint Services online. Expect this all to go live in the first half of 2011. You’ll also need a locally installed copy of Office. Expect pricing between $2 and $27 per user, per month. Coverage: Zdnet, TheWindowsClub, TechCrunch.  Take a closer look in a video about the service below:

Apple Mac Event – This week Apple announced a number of new products:
– iLife version 2011 including Facetime for Mac (more: TheNextWeb)
– Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, on track to be released in Summer 2011 (more: Dvice)
– New Macbook Air laptops in 13.3 and 11.6-inch versions from $1,000 to $1,600

Some notes about Apple:
– There are nearly 50 million Macs out there
– The Mac market share is now 20.7%
– 13.7 million Macs were sold in 2010
– 600,000 Mac Developers

Skype 5.0 – Debuting this week, Skype 5.0 is released with Facebook support, call recovery, group video calls, and more. Coverage: Techcrunch, SlashGear, BGR.

Traditional Media In Decline this week:
[Wireless Communications] – Another study shows U.S. and Canada have the highest priced cell phone plans in the world. As if we didn’t know that. More at Ars Technica here.

Tools I found interesting this week:
DimDim – This online software allows you to share out a desktop and run online meetings as well as video conference on screen. Boasting a 30-day trial and a unlimited use (per month?), it seems to be a solid option if you’re looking for software to help you run that next meeting.
isitraining.in – This site will tell you, yes or no, if it is raining right now, in the location you specify. For example, try Toronto. Is this useful? I’m not sure. /via lifehacker
PC Decrapifier – There is a type of software that exists between a legitimate application and malware – this utility is meant to clean those very annoying types of software. Great idea.
Eset Sysinspector – A free utility for those looking to get diagnostic information about what’s happening in Windows. You can do better than this – but some of the tools are cool, like seeing registry entires for Internet Explorer and filtering by risk.