NormSoft and GlooLabs announced a partnership to launch a service that allows mobile users to navigate and listen to their home music collection using the Pocket Tunes Deluxe application. To be released in Q4 of 2004, the service will be hosted by NormSoft and powered by GlooLabs’ GlooNet technology.

PalmSource said that it is releasing the application programming interface needed to combine Research In Motion’s wireless BlackBerry email service with the Palm operating system. The API is designed to let developers create secure mobile data applications to help with customer relationship management, sales force automation, supply chain management and other services for mobile devices using the Palm operating system and BlackBerry connectivity.

Verbatim has signed an agreement with Hewlett-Packard to make discs for HP’s LightScribe technology, which lets computers label discs. With the LightScribe technology, the drive’s laser that ordinarily reads and writes data also can print labels on specially prepared discs.

The matter has been simmering for years as wireless gabbing takes place in more and more settings. Peter Post, great grandson of etiquette maven Emily Post and director of the Emily Post Institute, said the cell phone has warped people’s sense of politeness. When the little brick rings, he argues, people lose sight of how they might be bothering others.

Computing Unplugged Magazine, a publication of ZATZ Publishing, is announcing Hype-a-palooza. This, our first ever Hype-a-palooza, is designed to promote awareness of the under-appreciated Tapwave Zodiac. The Zodiac is a multimedia handheld computer that runs the Palm OS, and is the first to incorporate a dedicated video processor and 3D engine to optimize it for video, audio, and game play. You can find in-depth coverage of the Zodiac in the August issue of Computing Unplugged Magazine. The idea behind Hype-a-palooza is to create your own special ad for the Tapwave Zodiac, and, if our band of judges love your creation, you win one of a ton of killer prizes!

Matsushita Electric, best known for its Panasonic brand products, announced it will introduce PRO HIGH SPEED Series 1GB and 512MB SD Memory Cards that double the internal data transfer rates. The new PRO HIGH SPEED Series SD Memory Card can achieve data transfer speeds of up to 20MB/s when used with SD products that comply with a newly upgraded interface.

GFI is launching a freeware version of GFI LANguard Portable Storage Control (P.S.C.), its new network security product that can prevent unauthorized users from taking information from the network or introducing malware via USB (Universal Serial Bus) sticks and other removable media. The product also allows administrators to control the connection of devices that can register storage in Windows, such as iPods, smartphones, digital cameras and handhelds. GFI is offering a full version of GFI LANguard P.S.C. for five machines as freeware.

SplashData announced the release of localized versions of its SplashWallet applications for Palm Powered ™ smart mobile devices. The individual applications, which can be purchased separately or collectively as part of the SplashWallet suite, include SplashID, SplashMoney, SplashPhoto and SplashShopper. Localized versions of these applications will be available in French, German, Italian and Spanish languages.

Apple Computer is offering free replacement screens to owners of 15-inch PowerBook models whose machines have a flaw that causes the screen to display white spots. Apple said it will cover machines for two years from the date of purchase, up from the one year of coverage that is provided as part of Apple’s standard warranty.

palmOne announced that Riverside Health System’s three non-profit, community hospitals in Virginia are using Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device Treo 600s by palmOne on the Sprint PCS Vision network with the MData Enterprise System from MercuryMD, Inc. Physicians using these devices can take advantage of the Sprint Nationwide PCS Network to quickly and easily access patient data from virtually anywhere inside and outside of the hospital, making them more efficient and better able to provide the highest quality of care.