When talking about new Apple products it’s only natural that most of the attention goes to the iPhone and the MacBook Air. Machines like the Mac Pro and the iMac are still solid performers, but it’s tough to get excited about them because they’re getting pretty long in the tooth.

One unique item that’s gotten lost in the shuffle over at Apple is Time Capsule.

Time Capsule is an automatic, wireless backup system that works in conjunction with Leopard based Macs on your wireless network to simplify backing up your important data.

As we continue to embrace our computers and our lifestyles become more digital, the more important it is to back up data on a regular basis. Backups used to be a hassle because it meant setting aside time to backup your stuff, and often hooking up another drive in order to protect your data. Of course as files got bigger - and the data became more abundant - traditional drives grew to be an impractical means of storage.

Apple pioneered seamless backup through their iDisk, which enabled .Mac users to buy disk space on Apple’s servers to backup their data with an Internet connection. Automatic backup became available with OS X, which meant that users didn’t have to “remember” to back up. They could specify which files they wanted to backup automatically and it would happen whenever they got online.

Still, purchasing backup space on outside servers is impractical when you have multiple computers in the house. Now that home-based wireless networks are beginning to dominate, a device like Time Capsule arrived just in time.

Time Capsule comes with either a 500 GB or a 1TB hard drive, which should be plenty of space for the average user. Backups are performed through Leopard’s backup program, Time Machine. Apple states that the initial backup of your hard drive could take several hours or more, but once it’s complete, the only files that automatically backup are the ones that have changed.

In addition to the storage capacity, Time Capsule is also a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station that allows every computer in your house to be hooked up to a wireless network.

One of the big advantages of the Time Machine/Time Capsule system is that backups always take place in the background so you’re not interrupted when you’re doing work or just messing around. Also, users don’t have to set aside a day in which to backup their files because it happens automatically everyday.

It’s still wise to back up those files you simply can’t afford to lose to an off-site location. The reason is that, devices like Time Capsule are still vulnerable to breakage or damage in a catastrophe.

Requirements for using Time Capsule are a Mac running OS X Leopard with wireless networking capability.

Prices for the systems are: $299 for the 500 GB and $499 for the 1 TB model. And when you consider that you’re also getting a wireless base station, it’s a pretty good package deal.

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VoIP is gaining popularity everyday due to the low monthly rates and virtually unlimited areas you can call to. AOL has had several forays into the VoIP arena, but hopes their new AIM Call Out will be the one that will stick.

AIM Call Out is a new outbound pay-per-use service from AOL that allows AIM users to bridge two PSTN numbers that appear on the AIM dashboard. According to a post by Tom Keating at VoIP & Gadgets blog, AOL’s technical manager Gavin Murphy said, “This is an outbound-only pay-as-you-go product used through the AIM 6.5 or later client. We provide competitive rates to over 200 countries. Also included is our WebConnect feature that allows you to bridge two PSTN phone numbers through an interface on the Dashboard. The Dashboard also provides lots of handy features like a Call Log with click-to-call capabilities, and access to your AIM Address Book contacts.”

To use AIM Call Out users buy credits in $10 or $25 increments, which appear in the AIM dashboard. Then it’s just a matter of entering your phone number and the number you want to call. The rate for the call appears on the dashboard so you can gauge how much it’s going to cost versus how much time you’re going to talk. Users also have the option of setting up Auto Refill, which tops off their credit when it drops to a dollar or less.

When using Web Connect to place calls globally, the caller will have to pay the rate of the country they’re calling, PLUS their own rate. To be fair, the rates currently listed on the AOL calling map are very reasonable and users can alleviate this by engaging in PC-to-PC calling, which is free.

The big advantage for AOL in bringing out AIM Call Out is that millions of people around the world are already AIM users, which makes for a substantial installed user-base that can be easily tapped. Depending how AOL markets this service, it could be a huge boost in revenue now that dialup Internet is in decline.

However, AOL is at a disadvantage right out of the gate because they charge for bridging two numbers when using their Web Connect feature. Call Out’s big competitor, JaJah offers free calls between JaJah users.

Another downside to AOL’s AIM Call Out is that Mac users are left out in the dark, whereas Skype offers Mac compatibility, and JaJah is a platform independent, browser based product. Granted, this isn’t a huge issue for AOL as there are far more Windows users worldwide than there are Mac users. Still, with AOL being a shadow of the company they once were during the early days of the web, you’d think they’d do everything they could to bring as many people into the fold as possible.

Time will tell whether AIM Call Out will be a player or merely an also-ran. Right now, they’ve got a hill to climb because the VoIP revolution started without AOL, and they’re going to have to play catch up. Clearly, their first priority is to target the huge, installed base of AIM users. AOL will need to convert them before they go after their direct competition.

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Daily Lit - It’s an interesting concept. We each read through a multitude of emails every day. So, what if you could take some of that email time and read books? That’s what Daily Lit is all about. You choose a book and each day they will email you a portion at the time you specify. They even have some of the classics such as Pride and Prejudice that you can read for free. The reader can control the size of the excerpt they receive from the book each day. So, we tracked down the web site’s founder. Her name is Susan Danziger and this is her interview.

BetaFlow :: Okay, so I have to ask you, have you read any books by email and if so which ones?

Daily Lit :: I’ve read a number of books via DailyLit, including Pride and Prejudice, THE THREE MARTINI PLAYDATE, BEST OF TECHNOLOGY WRITING 2007, and HOW TO LIVE ON 24 HOURS A DAY, a fun 19th century self-help book. I just started Berlitz DailyLit Spanish Lessons.

BetaFlow :: Cool. So, let’s pretend you do not own Daily Lit. Seriously. Let’s say you’re a mom trying to balance your career while taking care of your three kids. Suddenly you have an inkling to read the famous novel Pride and Prejudice. Why would you choose to read it through Daily Lit instead of in print or direct download?

Daily Lit :: Not sure if you knew this, but funnily enough, I AM a Mom with 3 kids trying to balance a career - so no need to imagine that!  In fact, the reason I started DailyLit was that I had absolutely no time to read, running from work to the kids - and at night I was totally exhausted.  Since DailyLit installments come directly into my Inbox (I’m always reading e-mail), I’m able to fit books into my incredibly busy life.  Each installment can be read in about 3 minutes, and if I have a little downtime, I can use the “send me the next installment immediately feature” to keep reading.  Books via direct download would just never get read, and print books are inconvenient and heavy to carry - they’re never there when you have a few extra minutes, and my bag is already too heavy as is. 

BetaFlow :: Well… I obviously had no idea that you have three kids. For all I know you are a tech savvy nun. So, now that we all know betaflow has special powers and is much more than JUST a web site and speaking of nuns let me ask you this… What about devotionals? I know it’s common for Christians and others to read daily devotionals. It seems like that would be perfect for Daily Lit. Is this genre a major part of your client base?

Daily Lit :: Daily devotionals - or rather DailyLit Devotionals! - is a great idea and one we’re currently pursuing.  In fact, we’ve been signing deals with some major publishers to expand our section on religion - not just Christianity but other religions and spirituality in general.  We’ve also serialized in short installments major parts of the Bible http://dailylit.com/search?search=religion and plan to launch a serialized version of the Qur’an and other major religious texts as well.

BetaFlow :: I am curious how and why you get started in this. So, can you fill us in on the history of Daily Lit?

Daily Lit :: We started DailyLit after seeing the New York Times serialize Breakfast at Tiffany’s in special literary supplements to their newspaper (the supplements came every few days, I believe).  It was a great way to read this book since we always brought the newspaper with us while commuting.   Then it dawned on us - what do we carry around more than a newspaper but our Blackberries.   Albert, my husband, who has a PhD from MIT in Information Technology (he was previously President of Deli.ci.ous that was sold to Yahoo) mocked up the initial DailyLit program.  We started reading classics ourselves and then added books requested by friends, and it all took off from there.

BetaFlow :: Recently I came across a discussion around Steve Jobs’ interview with the New York Times when he commented that more than 40% of Americans didn’t read a single book in the last year. This seems very alarming - what are your thoughts?

Daily Lit :: Assuming that’s true, I think the problem is that traditional books don’t fit into today’s busy lifestyle.  To find a few hours to sit down with a book is nearly impossible these days with family, work, the Internet, TV, and movies.  Books are heavy to carry, and they’re rarely around when you have a little down time.  The great thing about DailyLit is that books are able to integrate into your life.  They come directly into your inbox (or RSS feed) in installments that can be read in under 5 minutes so it gives you that little nudge to read books every day, and with the on-demand component, you can read more if you happen to have a bit more time.

BetaFlow :: I noticed a section on your site where people can post pics and stories of unique places where they have read book excerpts from Daily Lit. So, what are some of the most memorable?

Daily Lit :: I love the one of my husband reading his DailyLit installment on a blackberry on a ski lift in Utah.  I’m still waiting for the underwater shot or the one of the astronauts reading in space.

BetaFlow :: Final question, if one day the internet dies and with it Daily Lit dot com, what will you do?

Daily Lit :: I suppose I’d run a bicycle route to hand out daily installments of books –think of the health club costs I’d save by biking to over a million folks every month!

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