Looks like Quicken will get a breath of Mint.com air.

Last week, Intuit, the maker of Quicken and TurboTax financial software, announced its purchase of Mint.com, an online financial service company.

Mint.com offers an easy to use Web site to help users manage their personal finances. Since its launch in September 2007, the site serves over 1.5 million users, tracking billions of dollars in transactions and assets. The service also helps users save money. Currently, the Web site is free for its users.

“With this transaction, Intuit will gain another fast-growing consumer brand and a highly successful Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that helps people save and make money,” said Brad Smith, Intuit CEO.

With Mint.com, Intuit will serve as the main online-based financial service for its consumers, while Quicken Online will be geared towards allowing online access for Intuit’s software products.

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2009.

So far, there’s been an outcry against Intuit’s new acquisition. Wonder if Mint.com will survive if its members jump ship for other financial Web sites? :-|

[Mint.com via Macworld]

Guess it was inevitable for the classical opera world to cross paths with modern social networking.

The Royal Opera House in London will use tweets submitted by Twitter users to compose a new opera about a man kidnapped by a group of birds. The opera will be performed later in September with music by composer Helen Porter.

This creative project is ROH’s attempt to make people become a part of the creative process in creating an opera. People can send submissions for the opera to ROH’s Twitter account.

What an interesting way to create an opera from crowdsourcing. Hope it’s better than having a bunch of monkeys pounding on keyboards. ;-P

[From BBC News]

A couple days after the Palm Pre was introduced, Apple answered back with a new iPhone.

On Monday, Apple released the new iPhone 3G S at their annual World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Retaining the same shape as the iPhone 3G, the new model features a new camera, video recording and longer battery life.

The smartphone also uses a faster processor and increases better graphics performance. It also features voice control, a digital compass and the new iPhone 3.0 operating system.

The iPhone 3G S  will be available on June 19. It will cost $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model with a two-year contract with AT&T.

As for their notebook line, Apple migrated their aluminum 13-inch MacBook models to the MacBook Pro line, leaving the 13-inch while plastic model as the remaining MacBook model.

The new 13-inch and 15-inch models feature a non-replaceable battery lasting up to seven hours. The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,199 and the 15-inch model starts at $1699. Apple replaced the ExpressCard slot on the 15-inch model and placed an SD memory card slot on the new models.

Although the MacBook shuffle is a bit confusing, at least FireWire is back on all of Apple’s notebooks. :-D

[From Apple]

At the University of Missouri, Columbia, journalism students will be required to purchase an iPhone or an iPod touch for the fall semester.

However, the requirement will not be enforced, according to Brian Brooks, associate dean of the journalism school.

According to the Columbia Missourian, a community newspaper published by the journalism school, by putting the popular device on the requirement list, students on financial aid can add the iPhone in their financial need estimate. However, students will be allowed to use notebooks to review their lectures if they decide not to buy an iPhone or an iPod touch.

One student created a Facebook group to protest the requirement.

Hey mom and dad, I need to buy an iPhone for class. ;-P

[Columbia Missourian via Macworld]

Looks like Amazon is preparing for a post-paper revolution with the release of the Kindle DX last week.

With a 9.7-inch black and white e-ink screen, 3.3 GB of memory and a price of $489, Jeff Bezo, Amazon CEO, hopes to position his company as a major player in the nascent ebook industry.

Besides selling novels, Amazon also made deals with several newspapers and textbook publishers to sell their products through the Kindle Store.

The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post will offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price to readers who live in areas where home-delivery is not available.

Textbook publishers Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley will begin offering textbooks beginning this summer.

Kindle DX will compliment the smaller Kindle, which retails for $359 with a smaller 6-inch screen.

Yes, my etextbook cost only $25! Oops, I forgot to charge it last night. :-T

 [From Amazon]

After conquering the chess world with Deep Blue, IBM is taking the next step as Watson will be competing with human contestants on the television show Jeopardy!

IBM has been working on Watson for two years. It is a super computer with massively parallel analytical capabilities designed to handle semantics, the meaning of words. The computer will use statistical methods to determine the validity of its calculations. It will not be connected to the Internet or outside databases.

Jeopardy! is the long-running quiz game show covering a wide range of topics contestants need to quickly and accurately respond to.

Deep Blue was an IBM supercomputer designed to calculate over 200 million chess moves per second. It defeated World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.

“The essence of making decisions is recognizing patterns in vast amounts of data, sorting through choices and options, and responding quickly and accurately,” said Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Watson is a compelling example of how the planet – companies, industries, cities – is becoming smarter,” Palmisano said. “With advanced computing power and deep analytics, we can infuse business and societal systems with intelligence.”

First chess, then Jeopardy! Next, Survivor. o_O

[From IBM]

Google decided to take an environmentally friendly approach to clear weeds and brush to reduced the risk of fires.

They rented the herd from California Grazing, which sent the goats for a week, eating the grass and fertilizing it.

How cute while reducing Google’s carbon footprint. ^_^

[From Google]

After Sun Microsystems was ditched by IBM, Oracle decided to make a deal worth $7.4 billion for the beleaguered company.

Today, Oracle announced it will purchase Sun’s common stock for $9.50 per share in cash.

“The acquisition of Sun transforms the IT industry, combining best-in-class enterprise software and mission-critical computing systems,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

With this major corporate acquisition, Oracle now owns Java and Solaris. Java is a programming platform used for Internet and desktop applications. Solaris is Sun’s UNIX-based operating system for its SPARC and x86 computers.

Oracle expects to integrate these technologies to enhance its database offerings. Oracle Fusion Middleware, a suite of integrated middleware, is based on Sun’s Java language. Sun’s Solaris OS is the leading platform for Oracle’s database programs.

Besides Java and Solaris, Sun Microsystems sells network software and hardware, as well as providing open source software such as MySQL and OpenOffice.

Oracle is the world’s largest enterprise software company, selling business software and databases to corporations.

“Oracle and Sun have been industry pioneers and close partners for more than 20 years,” said Sun Chairman Scott McNealy. “This combination is a natural evolution of our relationship and will be an industry-defining event.”

The transaction was unanimously approved by Sun’s  board of directors and the deal is expected to close this summer.

Oracle’s stock closed at $18.82 and Sun Microsystems closed at $9.15.

Wow, this is a big and unexpected development in Silicon Valley. With this acquisition, it looks like Oracle is muscling up for upcoming battles against IBM and Microsoft in the business and network markets. On another note, we’ll have to wait and see what Larry is going to do with MySQL and OpenOffice. :-T

[From Oracle]

Available through Apple’s iTunes App Store for the iPhone and the iPod touch, the application lets users access the Web site through a dedicated application. CNET notes the application is currently free, even though the Journal’s Web site requires a paid subscription to access its contents.

The iPhone app gives users access to articles, video and podcasts. Articles can be saved or e-mailed to other users.

Other newspapers providing free dedicated iPhone apps include the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and USA Today.

Looks like some newspapers do understand what today’s wireless readers want. :-D

[CNET via MacRumors]

The HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) cyborg suit, developed by Cyberdyne in Japan, will allow users to electronically enhance their normal body strength. It is expected to cost $4,200. Photo from Cyberdyne.

For $4,200, you can now make your secret Iron Man dreams come true … Sort of.

The specs don’t include the ability to fly, but the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) suit will augment a user’s movements by sensing bioelectric signals to increase a user’s strength through the exoskeleton by up to tenfold.

Developed by Cyberdyne, Engadget reports the company began mass production of the HAL suits with the Daiwa House Group. The suit is advertised to help people with disabilities, help with heavy industrial tasks and entertainment.

Cyberdyne is a Japanese venture firm commercializing research by Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai and his laboratory at University of Tsukuba.

Cyberdyne and Daiwa expect to produce 400 HAL units annually. International availability is current still being planned.

Guess those guys in Japan are some serious science fiction fans. :-D

 And in 2010, the USSS Discovery’s backup AI Skynet was accidently activated during salvage operations taking place around Jupiter’s orbit, which caused the onboard maintenance robots to come online and overloaded the communications antenna. ;-P

[From Engadget]