LG Electronics Canada has issued a recall for its LG 150 model phone, as routine tests have determined that it is no longer meeting government standards in regards to allowed radio frequency. The problem is thought to be due to a errant hinge on the phone, which is not properly grounding its antenna

The recall is voluntary but rather large, with over 129,000 phones (all of the LG 150 model) being affected. The recall is specific to phones produced between August of 2007, and February of 2008.

Those who own LG 150 phones manufactured outside those dates are also able to return their phone if they wish. Over 200,000 LG 150 phones have been sold in total.

The blogosphere is abuzz with rumors that Amazon is readying to launch a successor to their popular Kindle e-book reader offering. The rumors come as Amazon has announced a press conference set for February ninth, and as you might recall, the last time Amazon held a press conference it was in 2007 and included the announcement of the first Kindle.

What’s the new Kindle likely have in store for us? Well, the name is likely to be a simple “Kindle 2″, and it is thought to be lighter, thinner and feature an increased ease of use which will chiefly help newcomers to the device. Also the current “click-wheel” is likely to be replaced with a joystick. This is known as photos were leaked on BoyGeniusREport.

Unfortunately for Canadians, we’ll still have to take a trip south to get our hands on the e-book reader as the Kindle is so far a US only released device.

E-commerce applications have existed from the early days of the Internet, but not all software is created equal. The Interspire shopping cart software stands above its competition since it was designed with the store owner in mind. The software is loaded with numerous useful features and offers a fully customizable interface for both the front and back end, requiring no HTML or server-side editing. Some elements of the control panel are Ajax based which further enhance the layout’s user friendliness.

Interspire comes integrated with some of the world’s most popular payment and shipping providers such as PayPal, Google Checkout, VISA, MasterCard, USPS, FedEx, UPS and others. This ecommerce software also has built-in tools for marketing and business intelligence such as Google Adwords, e-mail Marketer and traffic analysis tools providing every update about the new visitors through maps, graphs and charts. The shopping cart allows for selling of physical and digital Items, from t-shirts to ebooks, with advanced product variations (such as different colors and sizes). You can also add email marketing and FAQ’s to your store with just a few clicks.

To see how the Interspire shopping cart works, check out the demo on the company’s site. You can also watch the video tour, see live stores running the Interspire shopping cart or take a look at the numerous store designs that are fast and easy to customize from your Internet browser.

According to reports from British PC security experts, over fifteen million computers from countries spanning the globe have been infected by a new computer virus. The virus, which is of the worm variety, goes by a variety of names including Downadup, Kido, and perhaps most commonly, Conficker. It is estimated to have spread to over six million PCs in the last three days alone.

While the virus has infected a large number of computers, including some British hospital PCs, it is unknown at this time if the “Conficker” actually has any effects. Some believe it was created simply to demonstrate the skill of its creator, but others believe it may be capable of stealing personal information such as passwords and online log-in IDs. Its also being considered that the virus may include a “rootkit”, which would give the virus creator remote access to the infected to computers.

It may seem hard to believe, but nevertheless, the Macintosh computer company released their first computer what is now twenty-five years ago. You may not know that the name “Macintosh” actually was given by Apple employee J. Raskin, who worked on the first Mac, and wanted to name it after his favorite Apple.

What were the specs of this now dinosaur of a Mac?

Well, the first Mac included a meager 128 kilobytes of RAM and a primitive 8 MHz Motorola-68000 micro-processor. Also of note, its monitor was  nine inches, and was only able to display in black and white. And of course, it featured a 3.5-inch floppy drive.

One thing the first Mac and current Macs have in common? They were and are expensive! The first Mac was almost $ 2500! When you keep in mind this was back in the early eighties, that’s quite a steep price!

As a small business owner, and someone who comes from a family that owns a medium sized business, I know how important it is to run any company in the most efficient manner possible. Of course, to know if our business is being run in an efficient manner, we first need to track the current operations processes, and then analyze where improvements can be made based on the information collected.

Some improvements will be obvious from analyzing the necessary data, and others will take more planning and thought, but there are certainly improvements that can be made by any business, no matter the industry or sector. The more information we have collected on our operations, the better we will be able to streamline our processes, and in turn, cut down on costs. Any time we can lower overhead and increase production will result in increased profitability.

Computer software has the ability to help businesses better track performance, organize operations, and ultimately improve efficiency. I would say that in most industries, using a performance tracking software is necessary for success. One software supplier I have found that offers a range of business software solutions is called IBS. They offer supply chain management software which can help your business remain competitive by collecting and providing the data that your business needs in order to work in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

One thing I noticed while browsing the IBS website, is that they offer distribution software which is specifically tailored to companies looking to improve the efficiently of their warehousing operations. The software is designed to help businesses better optimize their warehouse by better managing delivery orders, managing large volumes of transactions, and helping to eliminate errors in the order entry process. The software is able to span multiple warehouses, and has a large range of functions which will be useful to the business owner or warehouse manager.

IBS also offers software solutions for other types of businesses, so check them out if you’re looking to improve the efficiency of your business operation.

Apple leader and demi-god to many, Steve Jobs, has announced that he will be taking a six month medical leave of absence from his CEO role with the tech company. He had recently announced his diagnosis of having a hormone imbalance, but now concedes that his condition is more complex than initially thought.

There had been rumors abound of Jobs diminishing health for some time now, as he had lost a noticeable amount of weight in the last year. His lack of a key-note speech at this year’s Macworld conference only served to intensify such rumors. Jobs is a survivor of pancreatic cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2004.

Apple COO Tim Cook will handle Jobs’ day-to-day duties while he is away.

The use of plastic bags in the Canadian city of Calgary is possibly  to coming to an end. A recent city council gathering saw huge support for an effort to considerably reduce the usage of plastic shopping bag, and included suggestions of affordable alternatives for businesses to supply their customers with.

Stats were recently released which seem to move more and more people to join the movement to have Calgary become a plastic bag free city. The numbers indicate that a vast majority of plastic bags end up in landfills, with only four percent being recycled. A further report with more information and suggestions is expected to be released by May.

Major corporations, financial institutions and other large organizations require encryption software to protect their valuable online and offline data. Often, it is also a matter of regulatory requirement. PGP.com is a leader in providing File Encryption Software for businesses. PGP provides specialized software to secure data at every point, from securing FTP servers to bulk data transfers to backups etc’, for such applications as mobile data protection and secure email messaging.

In addition, PGP.com offers hardware protection with harddrive encryption for Mac and PC laptops and desktops as well as removable media.  The chances of corporate data loss and identity theft from, let’s say, a stolen laptop can be considerably reduced with harddrive encryption as offered by PGP.

The PGP data protection services being offered are based on the size of a company, the industry the company belongs to, the compliance initiative, as well as by the role that the software buyer plays within the company. Notably, the PGP Encryption Platform is cost effective, simple to deploy and easy to use.

Check out the PGP website if you do not have a current method of protecting confidential company information or if you are unhappy with the current data protection software you have. You can also email or contact PGP by phone to receive further details on this vital issue.