An Engadget tipster found Wal-Mart’s entry for the Microsoft Zune portable media player, revealing a price of $284, just under the $300 that many have been expecting for the player.

Apple’s recent addition of Dr. Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, to their board of directors has led to speculation about whether this will lead to closer collaboration between Apple and Google.

“Is it possible that when iTV ships next year, you may also be able to choose a menu item called Google Video, and then zip through the best of the thousands of user-submitted videos on the search giant’s service?” asks Newsweek’s Steven Levy. “Google’s consumer product chief, Marissa Mayer, tells me that indeed, the two companies are engaged in talks.”

The idea of the two companies together to deliver Google content via iTV makes sense. Earlier in the year, Google demonstrated technology that allowed AdSense-like dynamic video ad insertion into television content. In order to expand its advertising business, though, Google needs to actually get people to watch its video content.

Since most people would prefer to watch Internet video on their television, a Google-Apple mashup could give Apple content to move its iTV box, and could put Google in the position of competing with local broadcasters and cable companies.

via VPN: Will Google Provide Content for Apple’s iTV?

Former Rocketboom anchor Amanda Congdon has announced plans to vlog her way across America at a new site, Amanda Across America.

Despite the issues many tech-savvy music fans have with digital rights management and encrypted media files, it looks like the future of digital music will be based on closed, proprietary systems.

Apple’s iTunes/iPod combination has rapidly risen to dominance, a fact that has caused both the music industry and other portable media player vendors a considerable amount of grief.

Apple’s competitors are figuring out that they can’t compete on features alone; they have to provide systems that just work.

Microsoft’s Zune is one of the most notable examples of a new portable media solution built around closed systems. According to the company’s announcement, Microsoft is abandoning Plays for Sure, its licensed DRM media solution, with the Zune. Microsoft’s system will be closed, like Apple’s, trading off flexibility for something that (hopefully) just works.

But Microsoft isn’t alone in moving towards closed, proprietary digital media solutions.

RealNetworks and SanDisk have announced plans to release a portable music player system that will compete with Apple’s iTunes/iPod combination and Microsoft’s Zune.

The companies plan to release the Sansa Rhapsody, a portable music player based on SanDisk’s e200. The e200 series is priced starting at about $110 for a 2GB player with a color screen.

The Sansa Rhapsody will come pre-loaded with music and with software to connect to Real’s Rhapsody to Go subscription service.

A growing number of pundits are taking a pessimistic view about the prospects for Apple’s iTunes/iPod platform, suggesting that it’s doomed because of increased competition (such as the Zune), that people are shunning the iTunes store or that iPods just aren’t cool anymore.

In a article in The Observer, David Smith suggests explains Why the iPod is Losing its Cool.

“Sales are declining at an unprecedented rate,” he writes. “Industry experts talk of a ‘backlash’ and of the iPod ‘wilting away before our eyes’. Most disastrously, Apple’s signature pocket device with white earphones may simply have become too common to be cool.”

The BBC suggest that iPod fans are shunning the iTunes store. They point out that the average iPod owner has only purchased 20 tracks from the iTunes store.

At the Loose Wire blog, Jeremy Wagstaff comments on the long slow death of the iPod:

“It makes a lot of sense to listen to music on your phone if your collection is somehow fed to you by your cellphone operator,” writes Wagstaff. “Subscribe to songs and they are on your music phone when and where you need them, and the whole ripping/syncing thing is going to seem pretty antiquated.”

While it’s easy to point out problems with the iPod/iTunes combination, these commentators seem to ignore an important point: most people don’t buy portable media players like the iPod to be cool and most people don’t buy them because they want to buy music online. People buy portable media players to make their existing media portable.

Sonos, a developer of wireless multi-room music systems, has released Sonos System Software 2.0, an update to its digital music system.

The update lets you schedule daily updates to your music library, which can be used to get Audible content or podcasts.

Sonos 2.0 also lets users connect directly to millions of songs and thousands of radio stations using Rhapsody Web Services, without any need to install an application or turn on a computer. The system opens the world of multi-room digital music to anyone with a broadband connection.

The software update includes plug-and-play support for RealNetworks’ Rhapsody online music service, alarm functionality, improved multi-national Internet radio, additional language support, and other feature enhancements.

Law professors at California Western School of Law are taking their expertise from the classroom to the iPod. On Law in 10, California Western’s weekly podcast, professors provide legal analysis on current news topics, all in 10 minutes or less.‚ÄúAlthough a handful of other law schools use podcasts for lectures and speaker events, we believe California Western is the first law school to offer a weekly news commentary,‚Äù says David Bowers, assistant dean for external affairs at the San Diego law school. ‚ÄúOur purpose in launching this effort is to introduce our faculty members to ‚ÄòGen iPod,‚Äô the 19-24 year old college student with an interest in legal issues. We believe others will develop an interest as well.‚Äù

A recent podcast looks at the JonBenet Ramsey case (MP3).

Some are speculating that Microsoft is abandoning its Plays for Sure partners, because the recently announced Zune media player won’t play protected Windows Media files. Audio and video files purchased or rented from Napster 2.0, Rhapsody, Yahoo! Unlimited, Movielink, Cinemanow and other Microsoft partners are sure to not play on the Zune.

“The media that Microsoft promised would Play For Sure doesn’t even play on Microsoft’s own device,” said the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Derek Slater.

Microsoft’s announcement for the Zune (Word document) notes that “Zune software can import audio files in unprotected WMA, MP3, AAC; photos in JPEG; and videos in WMV, MPEG-4, H.264.”

In other words, if you’ve previously purchased Windows Media Plays for Sure files, don’t expect them to play on the Zune.

Griffin Technologies introduced several new iPod accessories at the Apple Expo show in Paris last week.

Of most interest to podcasters, is the iTalk Pro. The microphone iPod attachment records in stereo at 44.1 kHz CD-quality sampling. The iTalk Pro comes with twin built-in microphones, but also will let you connect an external mic via a stereo 3.5mm input jack. The iTalk Pro is slated for a Q4 launch.

The iTalk Pro works with video iPods and second generation iPod nanos.