Just how big has YouTube become? Well, in the three and a half (!) short years since it was introduced to the public, it has become a serious venue for political ads and a legitimate rival to television itself in the number of viewers it attracts (especially of the younger generation). Millions of people worldwide now dream of getting famous via YouTube videos, skipping the traditional Hollywood route altogether. (The site has even propelled one struggling young actress to a role in a major Hollywood film (more…)

From time to time, we like to spread the word on particularly useful resources that can help provide you — online entrepreneurs and Internet newbies alike — with a valuable assist on the road to success.

To that end, we want to draw your attention to Leo Laporte, an internationally famous technology guru with an impressive reputation as author and all around tech expert. Anyone interested in consumer tech, or with any kind of interest in popular technology, be it amateur or professional, would be wise to check out his radio show and netcasts.

Laporte’s credentials are solid — he’s been an author and tech expert since the 1980s, with a breadth of knowledge that spans every aspect of technology. Over the past several decades, he’s hosted award-winning TV and radio shows throughout North America and written numerous well-regarded books on technology, including a number of best-selling almanacs. He’s also written software for Macintosh, PC, and open-source programs. A true Internet pioneer, Laporte operated one of the very first bulletin board systems, going way back to 1985.

But his resume aside, Laporte’s biggest claim to fame is his weekend radio show — essential listening for those of us who like to keep up with the ins and outs of consumer technology, the Internet, and the companies that keep the tech world spinning (and those that soon will). These entertaining and informative weekend radio shows, in which he expertly (and entertainingly) fields questions from callers all across North America, run from 11am to 2pm (Pacific U.S. time) every Saturday and Sunday on Laporte’s nationally syndicated radio show, as well as on satellite radio. Find out where you can listen.

Leo Laporte is not associated with Aplus.net in any way. He’s simply an industry expert that you should be aware of, who offers six hours of top-notch tech advice for free each and every weekend. That’s the kind of value we can all appreciate. From the latest news on net neutrality to info on market-leading big screen TVs, Leo covers it all. Check out his show this weekend.

A common question facing a lot of business owners and managers these days: BlackBerry or iPhone?

BlackBerry has been the dominant business phone for years, but the iPhone has made a solid push into their territory in recent months with strong efforts to make their notoriously consumer-oriented product more business-friendly.

As a response to this invasion of its territory, the makes of the BlackBerry are incorporating into their soon-to-be-released latest version some of the features that makes the iPhone such a consumer favorite — in particular, the iPhone’s famous touch-screen feature, which the new BlackBerry seeks to not only copy but improve upon.

From the Associated Press:

Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry, is taking on Apple Inc. with a touch-screen phone that puts a new twist on the technology.

RIM is known for its e-mail-oriented phones with large keypads. With the new model being announced Wednesday, the Storm, RIM is for the first time giving up the physical keypad in favor of a large screen, just like the one on Apple’s iPhone.

But RIM has listened to users who find the iPhone’s glass screen awkward to type on because its virtual buttons provide no tactile feedback. The Storm’s whole screen is backed by springs, and when pressed, it gives under the finger.

The long-rumored Storm will be available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and from Vodafone Group PLC overseas before the holidays, the companies said. No price has been disclosed yet.

Read the full story by the AP’s Peter Svensson here.

In Miguel Helft’s tech blog for the New York Times, it was announced today that T-Mobile will be unveiling details of its new, highly anticipated, Google branded mobile phone next week in New York — on September 23, to be precise. The phone will be the first to utilize the Google Android application.

From the article:

The phone itself, which is being manufactured by HTC, is not likely to be available until next month. But top executives from Google, T-Mobile and other companies are expected to unveil details about the phone’s release date, pricing, plans and software at the press conference.

The phone is expected to become a challenger to other high-end phones like Apple’s iPhone and the BlackBerry line of devices made by Research In Motion. Other manufacturers and cellphone carriers are expected to introduce Android-based phones in the coming months.

Google is promoting Android phones as a way to ensure that its services, as well as other services that may use its advertising system, are available on a broad range of mobile phones. But Google also stands to benefit from the popularity of devices like the iPhone, whose PC-like Internet browser has greatly increased the likelihood that its owners will conduct Web searches on their phones.

Google also (probably) stands to benefit from a general sense of dissatisfaction with iPhones among the business community. Although Apple has eased that discontent a bit with the latest release of the model, there’s still a big potential market there that’s looking for an alternative to the consumer-oriented iPhone and the limitations of the BlackBerry (which is often said to have a browser that’s inadequate for high-powered business applications).

What do you think? Are you eagerly awaiting an alternative to your iPhone and/or BlackBerry? Are you anticipating this new phone, or do you think it’s unecessary? (And is anyone else starting to get a bit nervous at the prospect of Google dominating yet another product market?)

The first day of availability for Mozilla’s Firefox 3 saw more than 8 million downloads of the browser. Guinness is verifying the number. They were hoping for more than 1.6 million. Congratulations!

OTHER THINGS THAT ARE 8 MILLION:

The number of millionaires in the U.S.
The age in years of a bacterium found in ancient ice.
Number of people who watched So You Think You Can Dance last week.
The number of sharks that are accidentally killed each year off the coast of Africa.
The quantity of mobile homes in the U.S.