When it comes to buying software I typically prefer to have CDs or DVDs that I can keep up with rather than a digital file that I can lose or erase accidentally. Still, I can see the appeal of having all the software you use in digital files so you don’t need to keep up with discs.

The Dell download store announced today that it has added the ability to download Microsoft software like Word, Excel, and Outlook. The advantage of getting the software as a digital download is that you can save a bit of money.

One of the things I have always liked about Apple is that it bundles much of the software a user needs or wants with the computer. For instance, photo editing applications, web authoring, and DVD making are all included in the iLife suite.

Apple’s latest iLife version is now available for purchase. As of today iLife ‘09 is available for Mac owners for a $79 single license upgrade. Users with more than one Mac in the home can get a family pack with five licenses for $99.

We covered the Zune Pink project rumor regarding a Zune phone by Microsoft; however, the latest rumors indicate is that the mobile arena isn’t looking at a single Microsoft branded mobile handset, but an instead an entire software and services platform.

The news is that Project Pink may include Zune Mobile support, which may render into a Zune Mobile software package for Windows Mobile that could well be more robust media support than any previous Microsoft powered mobile phone, and could also predict a mobile downloads store.

Like lollipops or Popsicles, some of us like our software on a USB drive. So, looks like some German guy is offering a no-install, “lite” version of the Google CHROME BROWSER. Google on a stick if you will. On a USB flash drive. Carsten created a portable version of Google Chrome that has all the features of the main browser but requires no installation. Just unzip all the files and start using it. It will run directly from the USB stick on any Windows computer and all of your user settings like web history, cookies, etc. will also get saved to the same folder on the stick. The software is downloadable.

Older computer geeks, circa mid-1990s, may well remember Central Point Software, developers of the original PC Tools collection of software utilities which gave Symantec a run for its money. Symantec acquired Central Point in 1994, putting an end to its major competitor at the time. The PC Tools name faded for awhile, before becoming the name of another software company in 2004. This company, in turn, was just picked up by Symantec today.

Symantec said it would be acquiring PC Tools for an undisclosed sum, keeping the company as a separate brand (for now). PC Tools, the modern company, is known for its variety of software products which handle privacy, anti-virus, computer maintenance and other tasks on Windows computers. This, again, is much like the original PC Tools. Did Symantec see the writing on the wall, again, and just decide to nip a potential …

SimTech Systems, developers of the MindMapper creativity and personal productivity software, have taken MindMapper portable. It is know available as the MindMapper 2008 USB Edition, priced at around $150.

The MindMapper 2008 USB Edition comes in the form of software installed on a 4GB USB flash drive. It automatically starts up when you plug in the drive, eliminating the need to install the software on your PC.

Microsoft has made no secret that it likes the idea of subscription based software. A subscription service has often been rumored to be a potential distribution method for all sorts of Microsoft software from productivity applications to operating systems.

The first product to come to market from Microsoft as a subscription service was announced today and is called Microsoft Equipt. The Equipt service will cost users $69.99 per year and includes a combination of Microsoft Windows Live OneCare and Microsoft Office Home and Student.

iPhones will now control aircrafts from the ground, thanks to some geeky iPhone app developers. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have apparently broken Apple’s terms and conditions when they used the iPhone to guide unmanned aircraft. The Apple Software Developer Kit agreement states that the applications are not to be designed or marketed for automatic or autonomous control of aircraft.

Too late now. And why would they care anyway, they’re having way too much fun. The team uses Mobile Safari to input coordinates and then selects tasks for the unmanned flight that are relayed to the aircraft through a web server. Check out the video below.

Older geeks listen up. Do you miss all the fun of using a good old fashioned rotary dialler? You know, back when just entering seven digits took forever, accompanied by that sound of the dial turning back in place with each number.

The iDial is an application for your iPhone that might just bring back memories. Those days were pretty damn inconvenient, but on some levels you might say that we actually had more interaction with our devices. I guess that’s because we did half the work. The iDial is just a download away.

A rather strange landmark of the Albany, New York skyline is The Egg, a local performing arts venue. This oddly designed building could well be an omen for Microsoft’s freshly announced “Albany” subscription service - a big, fat laid egg.

Albany, as discussed by Microsoft product manager Bryson Gordon, will be an all you can eat service for consumers which gives them all the Microsoft goodness they can handle under one desktop. You can, for x amount of dollars, gain access to Office Home and Student 2007, Windows Live OneCare and Windows Live Mail, Messenger and Photo Gallery. This is on top of security updates and the like.