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This is an update of a deal from last year. Also, I'm on vacation this week, so deal posts will be few and far between.

Could you use a good tool for sharing and organizing your photos? How about a utility that optimizes Windows? And maybe something that helps with home design?

Software developer Ashampoo is giving away all that and more. Specifically, you can get five Ashampoo programs (Windows) absolutely free. Just enter coupon code ASH-3BGO, click "Get downloads now," and then download whichever program(s) you want.

Your choices are as follows:

Clay Shooter Mania is a clay-pigeon shooting game that uses the iPhone 4 accelerometer and gyroscope features to make for a unique gaming experience, but you're going to need room to move around to play it.

One of the more-amazing features of the iPhone 4 when it came out was the gyroscope, which enabled users to move the device and view an object as though the iPhone screen were a window into a different world. There have only been a few apps so far at the iTunes App Store that take advantage of this feature (Eliminate: GunRange, for example).… Read more

PITMAN, N.J.--In this corner of the music universe, you won't find many limousines, groupies, or people lighting guitars on fire.

While the public often associates the music business with jet-setting rock stars and lavish living, this place is marked by minivans, Phillies and Eagles fans, and, very soon, people without work.

Pitman, which has 9,365 residents and is about 17 miles southeast of Philadelphia, is home to one of Sony's two remaining U.S.-based CD-manufacturing plants--until March 31. After that, the company will shutter the facility and 300 workers will be out of jobs. … Read more

When a blank CD or DVD is handled by the Finder, a special burn folder is created for that disc which appears on the Desktop or in the Finder sidebar. Burn folders in OS X usually are static folders that remain until you remove them, but the ones representing optical discs should be created when the disc is inserted, and then destroyed when the disc is either ejected or burned. Despite this, some people may find that after managing a number of blank CDs or DVDs, the Finder will retain a few burn folders in the sidebar that are labeled &… Read more

Blu-ray is poised to cement its position in the entertainment space.

This year, worldwide "pre-recorded" Blu-ray disc production is expected to reach more than 400 million units, representing a 60 percent increase over 2009 production, research firm Futuresource announced today. But that figure will pale in comparison to Blu-ray shipments just a few years from now.

Futuresource said that in 2014, it expects 2 billion Blu-ray discs to be shipped worldwide.

Much of the growth in the Blu-ray market is due to "growing player ownership and falling disc prices," Futuresource senior consultant Michael Boreham said in … Read more

You don't have to be an audiophile to appreciate good sound and music, so I've put together a healthy selection of great gift ideas, all priced under $100. I'll soon post another blog with under-$300 gift ideas.

The AIX Records "Audio Calibration Disc & HD Music Sampler" Blu-ray ($25) is loaded with exceptional-sounding Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio music tracks. AIX refrains from using dynamic range compression, equalization, or signal processing, so the sound is as close to the original session as can be. And with the release of "Goldberg Variations Acoustica" AIX has ventured into producing original 3D video programming. The Blu-ray was shot with four prototype Panasonic 3D A1 cameras, and the sound was recorded in 96 kHz/24-bit high-resolution audio.

My pick for the best full-size headphone for less than $100 is the Grado Prestige Series SR-60i ($79). It's an improved and updated version of the original SR-60, which was a budget audiophile favorite for more than 10 years. The SR-60i sounds great at home or plugged into an iPod. The sound is nice and full, and since the SR-60i is an open-back design, you can hear the world around you. Highly recommended.

If you'd prefer an in-ear headphone, you should get the NOX Audio Scout ($79). The design features "balanced armature technology," which is rarely seen in headphones in the Scout's price class (I actually don't know of any others). It's very comfortable, the flat ribbon cable is as tangle-free as they come, and the sound quality is extraordinarily good.

Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band On The Run" Special Edition is a two-CD, one-DVD set ($30). Recently remastered by the team responsible for the Beatles 2009 remasters, "Band on the run" has never sounded better. The second CD has nine bonus tracks of rare demos and alternative takes. The original remastered album and bonus audio content are also available on a two LP, 180 gram audiophile vinyl edition that comes with an MP3 download of all 18 tracks. … Read more

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Microsoft is expected to show off new tablet computers at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show

Dell is acquiring Compellent Technologies to focus more on cloud storage

Google launches TeachParents.org to help you give the n00bs in your life simple computer tutorials

A new study shows that Americans spend as much time online as they do watching TV

Another study shows that sales of physical disc media will fall by $4.6 billion by the year 2014

The R2-D2 headphones are the perfect gift for the Star Wars geek in your life

Blu-ray Disc technology will receive an Emmy award at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, the format's backers announced yesterday.

Panasonic, Royal Philips, Sony, and TDK will accept the 62nd Annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the same organization that gives out awards for television shows and actors. Blu-ray joins a long list of Emmy winners that include consumer camcorders, the DVD, and many others.… Read more

TapDisc for iOS combines a unique and challenging mixture of timing, strategy, and unique gameplay to create an interesting and fun new style of touch-screen game.

The more innovative games on the iOS platform tend to take advantage of the more notable properties of a touch-screen interface. TapDisc attempts to do the same with a stylized "tap-to-save" gameplay that creates a pretty interesting and addicting game environment--if you're patient enough to learn it.

TapDisc requires its players to "save" floating discs as they bounce around the screen attempting to avoid harm-inflicting orbs along the way. Discs change colors signifying how long the saving sphere (where the user touches) must be on screen to save the disc.

Keeping up?… Read more