Apple’s iTunes online music download service has moved into the number 2 position as the second largest U.S. music retailer, beaten out this time only by Wal-Mart. We had seen just last July that iTunes had moved into the number 3 spot, beating out Amazon and following both Best Buy and Wal-Mart, and the trend so far is continuing in Apple’s favor.

A group at Princeton University has found an exploit in common computer hardware that allows them to break codes and retrieve the encrypted data stored on the computers hard disks. The process at its most extreme involves direct access to the computer using a can of compressed air held upside down to freeze the DRAM chip(s) to access the encryption key stored in memory.

When stored data is encrypted, the software usually will use a key to encode and decode the data. That key is most often created and stored into a computer’s memory after a user logs into the computer with a password. According to the researchers, a common misconception is that once the computer is turned off, the DRAM memory disappears and so does the encryption key. In their studies, partially funded by the Dept. of Homeland Security, they found that data is actually retained in the computers memory for many seconds or sometimes even minutes after the computer is turned off. They also found that by freezing the memory chips with liquid nitrogen found in a common can of air for removing dust, they could get the data to remain in memory easily for as long as ten minutes, and often longer.

We’ve gotten another word about the Wii Fit availability, this time pushing its U.S. release up a day to May 19 instead of the 20th. The Wii Fit is a motion and weight sensitive balance board for use with Nintendo’s Wii game console which will provide new types of interactive games and exercises.

Along with this, Nintendo has also announced that the WiiWare service will also launch in the U.S. in May. This service allows third party game developers to create games for the Wii that take advantage of motion sensitive controllers. Once this launches we are sure to see some more very interesting uses for the Wii remote and Nunchuck. These games will then be available for download through the Wii Shop Channel.

Six American film studios have filed a lawsuit against the Chinese file-sharing firm Xunlei Networking Technology for copyright infringement. They were offering hundreds of movie downloads illegally. The firm is part owned by Google. The studios are seeking more than $1 million in damages and costs, according to the Motion Picture Association, though that seems a low number.

The MPA trade group said in a statement on Friday that in addition, the plaintiffs are seeking a public acknowledgement of the infringements and a pledge from Xunlei to stop them. The MPA said that Xunlei facilitated the unauthorised transmission of hundreds of Hollywood movies produced by its members, like “Spiderman 3,” “War of the Worlds” and “Miami Vice.”(Who the hell watches Miami Vice? Now that they have, I assume they have learned their lesson. Some movies aren’t worth the trouble.)

Americans are dumping their land lines for mobile phones. This alone probably does not surprise and you may wonder why anyone cares. Well there is a segment that does care: telephone surveyors. You know those pesky callers you get right about the time you’re about to dig into that yummy Tater Tot casserole.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2006, one out of every eight households did not have a land line. CDC researcher Stephen Blumberg said that there was a trend towards fewer land lines in the last several years but it seems to have increased in 2006. The 13.7 percent of homes without phones represents those that have mobile phones and those that just don’t have a phone. The assumption is that many consumers are using …

A preliminary analysis from iSuppli states that they estimate the iPhone from Apple has over a 50 percent gross margin which all comes back to Apple since they do not allow carriers to subsidize or discount the phones.

“With a 50 percent gross margin, Apple is setting itself up for aggressive price declines going forward,” said Jagdish Rebello with iSuppli.

According to iSuppli, the total expense to manufacture the 8GB iPhone is estimated to be about $280, leaving $319 in profit $599 price tag. The firm did not have an actual iPhone device available to them to take apart, so this estimate was made from the knowledge and experience with similar parts from other products.

The firm estimated that the cost for the flash memory was the most expensive component of both the 4GB and the 8GB iPhones, which …