That business is tied to declines in PC shipments suffered by HP, Dell, Acer and other computer builders in calendar Q3 -- historically a productive back-to-school buying quarter.

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This software alerts users to incoming e-mail and calendar appointments while the computer is in sleep mode.

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On a computer, people want things like calendar and contact integration, and have complicated folder, tag and color systems.

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Indeed, Apple's iSync--a tool for synchronizing personal information between the computer and disparate mobile devices--and its calendar software iCal both saw upgrades just last week.

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Apple has eliminated all (valid) complaints about iOS (notifications, computer dependency and the anemic mail application being the biggest ones), launched a free mail, contacts and calendar server for all iOS and Lion users, and promoted iOS devices to be computer-independent, all while delivering the biggest concession from the music industry we have seen so far in a side-note.

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Unfortunately for anyone considering this as an alternative to a kitchen computer, there's no full-fledged web browser, calendar apps, or the like, but it will at least give you weather updates, and could well be further improved by some of the promised firmware updates.

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After the computer boots up, simply log into your Google account and all your apps, e-mail, calendar appointments and contacts load instantly.

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