Microsoft’s upcoming operating system debuts next Thursday, Oct. 22, and while many will wait to try it when they buy a new PC, others will install the software on their existing PCs. Here’s what you need to know before you start.

One of the world’s hottest music producers joins forces with one of the hottest video games companies. The result? A PSP (and soon, iPhone) application called Beaterator that lets you create music with more than 3000 loops and sounds, or your own.

Apple and Palm are locked in a cat-and-mouse game. Every time Palm manages to make the Palm Pre sync with iTunes, Apple puts out an iTunes update to block it. Annoying? Yes. Avoidable? Yes!

Those USB thumbdrives are inexpensive and convenient ways to carry around your important files between PCs. But what happens if you lose the small drive and someone else finds it? Here, I’ll walk you through how to encrypt your USB so that the contents of it can’t be viewed by anyone but yourself.

Keeping track of your many passwords is tiresome but necessary. Free application KeePass can help store your many passwords with a secure master key.

The free Skype app for iPhone is now available in Canada, allowing those in a Wi-Fi hotspot to make totally free calls to any other Skype user in the world. Here’s a short video that talks about the new downloadable application.

J. Vincent from Vancouver, B.C., asks “Is it legal to copy DVDs to my computer or iPod?”

If you’re one of the millions of iPhone or iPod touch users who surf the App Store in search for new downloads, you know the free ones can be hit and miss. So, what if you can get “paid” apps at no cost?

How good are you in bed? Don’t ask your lover — turn to your iPhone. A new downloadable application claims to rate your skills between the sheets.