MadZ Software announced the release of version 1.2 of its DVD to iPod Video Converter software. DVD to iPod Video Converter 1.2 rips DVD video files and converts them into MP4 format so that they can then be uploaded to and played on an Apple iPod Video. Just connect your iPod Video to your computer as you normally do, and instantly the converted video files will be uploaded to your iPod Video in the same way as your Apple iTunes purchases. With DVD to iPod Video Converter, you can convert practically all DVDs for play on an iPod Video, including purchased DVDs, original DVDs, DVD copies, even downloaded DVDs.

With the latest release from Earthcomber, travelers with smartphones and PDAs can wirelessly retrieve free maps and data over-the-air, giving mobile users a convenient way to explore their surroundings for places that would make their trips complete. Earthcomber is a free, location-based service. It employs patented search technology to match the user’s interests with nearby locations and alert the user when one of their needs or desires is nearby. Unlike Web-style mobile searches, there’s no need to stop and enter search terms, one by one. Instead, Earthcomber scans the area for the user’s entire list of favorites, interests and needs.

Vodafone Australia, Palm, and Research In Motion announced the availability of BlackBerry Connect for the Palm Treo 650 smartphone on the Vodafone mobile network in Australia. The BlackBerry Connect software enables Vodafone’s new and existing Treo 650 users to enjoy push-based wireless email and calendar synchronization with BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

BoxWave has released their Replacement Stylus for Pocket PCs. Ever experience a time when your stylus was lost or missing? Because BoxWave’s Replacement Stylus is designed to fit in your handheld’s built-in stylus holder, you’ll never have to worry about being without a stylus again. This is a great solution for replacing a missing stylus and for keeping an extra one at home, the office, or in the car. And for added convenience, the Replacement Stylus has a retractable design.

Tim Berners-Lee is the originator of the World Wide Web and was listed by “Time” magazine as one of the 100 greatest minds of this century. His inspiring work on the Web set the stage for a world of changes in the way people do business, entertain themselves, exchange ideas, and socialize. In this podcast, Berners-Lee talks about his early history with the Web, opportunities and challenges at present, emerging technologies, and his current project: the semantic Web.

Bob Jones has a lofty idea for improving communications around the world: Strategically float robotic airships above Earth as an alternative to unsightly telecom towers on the ground and expensive satellites in space. Jones, a former NASA manager, envisions a fleet of unmanned “Stratellites” hovering in the atmosphere and blanketing large swaths of territory with wireless access for high-speed data and voice communications. The idea of using airships as communications platforms isn’t new–it was widely floated during the dot-com boom. It didn’t really fly then, and Jones is the first to admit the latest venture is a gamble.

Notebook PCs are rapidly moving toward a future filled with more pixels and more screen real estate, thanks to the unexpectedly rapid proliferation of widescreen displays. Once fairly rare beasts, widescreen notebooks–notebooks with screens that have an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 16:10, as opposed to the 4:3 of standard screens, and are thus wider and able to display more information–have rapidly been increasing in numbers of late. Now, having begun out-shipping notebooks with standard screens for the first time in the first half of 2006, widescreen portables are set to take over nearly 100 percent of the market by 2008, said a new forecast by market researcher IDC, based in Framingham, Mass.

Electric Pocket Limited has released a new version of BugMe! for users of handheld devices based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Pocket PC platform. BugMe! Mobile version 5.0 supports Windows Mobile 5.0, the latest version of the Pocket PC operating system, and leverages the capabilities of the newer models such as Palm’s Treo 700w, to provide users with more options for capturing and sharing notes, sketches and screen captures. BugMe!, which is nearing its 10-year anniversary as the top note-taking and alarm application for mobile devices, has been updated significantly in this latest release. One of the most notable new features is the ability for users to use the photo picker feature and camera of Windows Mobile 5 devices to capture “screen shots” off their handheld, insert a handwritten or typed note onto the image, and then email the image to friends, family or co-workers.

Two AOL employees were fired and its chief technology officer has left the company following a privacy breach in which the Internet search terms of more than 650,000 subscribers were publicly released. The researcher who released the data and that employee’s direct supervisor were fired, said one person familiar with the company’s decisions. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because release of personnel information was not authorized, would not say whether Govern’s departure was voluntary. AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., admitted earlier this month that it had made a mistake in releasing three months’ worth of search terms.

Sprint Nextel said on Monday that Chief Operating Officer Len Lauer was leaving the company and his responsibilities would be assumed by Chief Executive Gary Forsee amid moves to improve the company’s performance after two quarters that disappointed investors. Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless provider, said in a statement that the COO position would not be filled. Analysts said Lauer had likely been pushed out as a result of the company’s recent weaker-than-expected growth.