Don't tell me you don't like freebies, because I won't buy that in a thousand years! No matter how far would go some people in saying they don't want anything to fall from the sky, freebies aren't exactly like that, after all. Even when I have to speak for myself, I must tell you that I always enjoy things I worked for more than freebies, but let's get to the point - iPhone 3G cases for free!

I know some may think "Wow! For FREE!!! Where do I sign up?" and start looking for some text entry fields to drop their personal data and receive their Shades for iPhone 3G, but things are not that simple... you will pay, my friends, you will pay, but that's what we'll find out more about a bit later.<-125x125 Button - right-> Now, pay attention, will you?

In my opinion, there's a point where you start looking for the right case to protect your iPhone 3G, iPod, or other device - price! If it's free, that's even better, but I think price is the first thing to have in mind, because there are a lot of products doing basically the same thing, but for completely different prices. If you miss these free Shades, you don't have to worry - one is priced at $16.95, so you won't have to break the porcelain pig to get it!

Next, there are only a few things I need to get from my gadgets' cases, like easy access to the ports and controls, decent protection to shocks, and a nice color. For me, anything goes, as long as it's black! I don't need them to be washable, because I am not rolling in the dirt with my gadgets on, but for those of you that really need to take their gadgets in dirty places, here's what the Shades for iPhone 3G is offering:

- Light Polyurethane build, with only 0.4 mm in thickness
- For those green ones of you, it should be a pleasure to find out that the Shades cases are 100% recyclable
- Easy access to iPhone's ports, so you won't have to remove the case when docking
- A wide range of color schemes available - Clearly Original for full transparency, Aqua, Serene Green, Rosy Red, Sunrise Orange, Sunshine Yellow, Midnight Black, Cool Blue, Hot Pink, Ultra Violet, and Black & Clear.
- Easily washable with water and soap.

Of course you'll still be able to use the touchscreen after gently sliding your iPhone 3G into the protective cover of the Shades, and once you've done that, your beloved iPhone will be as secure as a child in his mother's womb, but be sure not to use it for playing darts or football! After all, this is just a case for your iPhone, not a safe!

Now, the final part of the October giveaway - to enter, be sure to drop a comment below and tell us what's your favorite color from the list above, and why. A little story about that color, true or fictional, could also help!

At last, you can also try your luck with the Shades giveaways from our friends at TechPin and CameraPhonesPlaza. These being said, I only have to add one thing: Good Luck!!!

In some areas of the world, people involved in politics are (almost) all right. In the US, as far as I can tell, things are black & white. Well, that's better than in other countries, believe me! As the race for the most powerful president in the world continues, it seems Barack Obama accomplishments list is the first one to include...a very interesting and handy iPhone app!

Less than a day ago, the Obama campaign team released an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch to allow supporters track and coordinate volunteering efforts, while being able to receive the latest news about their favorite candidate, wherever they may be - <-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->as long as their device can access the Internet, of course.

I know this is not one of the personal Barak Obama accomplishments, but it is surely something worth checking out, and here's the list of features that should make you try this (free!) app, or maybe start working on one for your favorite candidate, if Obama is not the one:

- Call Friends: A great volunteering tool that lets you make a difference any time you want by talking to people you already know. Your contacts are prioritized by key battleground states, and you can make calls and organize results all in one place.
- Call Stats: See nationwide Obama ‘08 Call Friends totals and find out how your call totals compare to leading callers.
- Get Involved: Do more. Find and contact your local Obama for America HQ.
- Receive Updates: Receive the latest news and announcements via text messages or email.
- News: Browse complete coverage of national and local campaign news.
- Local Events: Find local events, share by email and get maps and directions.
- Media: Browse videos and photos from the campaign
- Issues: Get clear facts about Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s plan for essential issues facing Americans.

The system requirements are decent, since there's only one big thing to keep in mind - the iPhone 2.0 software update, as well as one of the following - iPhone 3G, iPod Touch, or the original iPhone, of course! All in all, Obama '08: The Official iPhone Application is a program that may change the way political campaigns are going to take place from now on, since this one is probably the first of its kind...

It doesn't matter I said it before, because I will say it again, and this is not the last time - I am not crazy about the share market, but I consider it a very interesting area, and if I find the time, I enjoy checking the evolution of my favorite companies. Why? Good question! Well, I like to know what's happening around me, and the share market is a good indicator, especially since the world seems to be going down these days, but...

...Apple is not a company following too many rules, that's for sure! Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about the way they treat those clone makers or companies making devices called "AirPod," for example, although these devices have nothing to do with Apple's field of expertise. Today I have to tell you about Apple's move against the flow - while most companies' shares are going down, the Cupertino-based company keeps going up!<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

Before talking about the Apple market share, it is also worth mentioning that Mac presence on the Web went sky high last month, accounting for over 8 percent of all traffic on sites tracked by Net Applications. I know this is not much, but since we're talking about a nearly 5 percent increase when compared to previous month, things seem to look great for Apple, especially because...

... Citi and Goldman Sachs have both denied those claims that Apple may be in danger, saying that strong iPhone and MacBook sales will surely help in keeping Steve Jobs' company on the sunny side of the game. Analysts from both companies mentioned above reiterated their "Buy" recommendations, and this should say it all!

At last, it is also worth being mentioned that 1 out of 5 notebooks purchased in US retail outlets during this back-to-school season was a Mac, more than 35 percent growth, when compared to the same period of the last year.

Seeing Apple market share rising is surely a pleasure for those who own Apple stock already, but I don't think it's too late to go ahead and follow the advice of the analysts from Citi and Goldman Sachs - buy, buy, buy!

Sometimes, it seems the paint is worth more than the object covered by it. Can you believe such a thing is possible? Well, I am not talking about some car worth $500 with special paint on it, since I used "car" thinking about the iPhone, and "paint," thinking of all those Dior iPod cases in the wild. Whoops! What have I done? What have I done??

Oh, that's it - I must admit I ruined the surprise of introducing the Dior iPod cases properly, but how can you introduce a case that's more expensive than the device it is intended to protect? And if I think that I considered "expensive" getting a $20 hard case+screen protector+leather case kit for my $60 MP3 player...what can I say about a case for the iPhone worth more than $200???<-125x125 Button - right->

More than just an iPod case, the Dior Homme iPhone Holder, made of top-quality leather, can also serve as an iPhone case, since its target is the iPod Touch. Considering that the price is - hang on tight - $450(!!!), I think it would be better to get an additional iPod for the money, and two decent cases. Anyway, I don't know if Dior will also add a lifetime warranty that no harm will happen to your beloved gadget, because that way, the price would seem a bit more...human.

Just as a side note, if the above is not enough for you, you can try the Louis Vuitton iPhone case, the "alligator" version, for "only" $1,120! Now, back to the Dior iPod cases...

...with the less expensive Dior iPod cases, unfortunately only available through the UK Dior Online Store, as far as I can tell, like the Dior Sport Homme iPod Nano Holder, the Dior Sport Homme iPod Video Holder, both retailing for over $100...too much!

Just one final note - if you want to buy Dior iPod cases, it's your money, do as you wish, but I have to warn you that the Dior website is really hard to navigate, so I would rather go to my favorite local luxury goods store and grab some leather case for a less outrageous price!

I don't know if you had the pleasure of using Safari for Windows so far, but I must say that version is not far from the Mac OS X one. In fact, Safari running on Windows machines is more reliable than a lot of browsers specifically created for that platform, and that should say it all! If you say that is not true, then you surely need to check the latest Windows version of the software, and not rely on the impression left by the earlier Betas. Anway, this is not about Safari for Windows, since there's something more interesting than that I have in store - OmniWeb for Mac, a browser based on the same framework as Apple's Safari!

As you probably know already, WebKit is the first page rendering engine to score 100/100 in the Acid3 test. Just for your reference, Opera 9.52 gets 84/100, and Firefox 3, a modest 71/100. WebKit, an open source web browser engine, is also the name of the Mac OS X system framework version of the engine that's used by Safari, Dashboard, Mail, and many other OS X applications, including the browser from Omni Group I mentioned earlier, OmniWeb, now at version 5.8.<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

The latest OmniWeb for Mac version, described by Omni Group as "advanced web browsing that's easy and fun" includes all the security updates present in the latest Safari version, such as downloadable fonts, CSS animation, HTML 5 media tags and client side database storage. The feature list looks great, since OmniWeb has auto-saved browsing sessions, workspaces, ad blocker, and a built-in RSS reader.

When talking about new things in the latest OmniWeb for Mac browser, there's the Google Chrome user agent option(already?!?WOW!), upgraded toolbar icons, a bugfix for Leopard's Spaces, as well as support for Non-POSIX file URLs, together with a bunch of other goodies, especially compatibility improvements.

I left the sad news for the last paragraph, because I always consider that such things must come in last place, but you have to know that OmniWeb for Mac is priced at $15 and requires at least Mac OS X 10.4.8. Fortunately, a 30-days free use demo is available, so you may want to give this browser a try, because it's for sure one piece of software worth trying!