Thanks to the estimable Bob LeVitus for his kind words about our efforts to provide original, thoughtful content in TidBITS!

Derrick Story has found yet another hidden feature in iPhoto '09 8.0.2. You can Control-click a photo with geotags attached, choose Copy, then Control-click another photo (or selection of photos) and choose the new command Paste Location. Sneaky, but useful!

TidBITS Security Editor Rich Mogull talked with MacVoices host Chuck Joiner about the facts and fictions surrounding Macintosh viruses and the recent "botnet" fuss. Listen to this MacVoices podcast episode for real-world advice about both avoiding malware and evaluating security stories in the media.

We recently noted that Microsoft Office 2004 will hit its end-of-life date (after which it won't receive any more updates) on 13-Oct-09. You can look up this date for other Office products at Microsoft's Web site, or just keep in mind that Microsoft offers "mainstream support" for a minimum of 5 years or 2 years after the successor product is released, whichever is longer.

In a surprise move, database developer Oracle has agreed to acquire hardware maker Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion, taking over after talks between Sun and IBM failed. Despite this merging of computer industry heavyweights, the effect on the Mac world will likely be relatively minimal, with the main question being the future advancement of Sun's Java and MySQL technologies.

YouTube, in what appears to be an effort to compete with sites like Hulu, has launched a premium content section which includes movies and television shows. YouTube's owner, Google, has announced the initial content will be provided by studios including Sony, CBS, MGM, Lionsgate, Starz, and the BBC. The new material will be available free of charge, and supported by the recently announced Google TV Ads. While Google hopes the new section will garner extra revenue, the user-generated content for which YouTube became known will remain the main focus of the site.

CNET reports that Apple recently topped the list of computer companies in a customer satisfaction survey conducted by Forrester Research. The survey, comprising almost 4,600 consumer responses regarding 113 companies in 12 different industries, found that Apple received an overall satisfaction rating of 80 percent. Though Apple may outperform its peers (second-place Gateway scored only 66 percent), it does so in an industry that receives poor ratings overall; according to the survey, PC companies are only slightly better liked than insurance companies and cable providers. Nevertheless, these rankings are interesting in light of recent Microsoft ads targeting Apple, and the company's response to them.

Newsweek reports that the United States Army has begun equipping soldiers with iPod touch devices for use in language and gesture translation, analysis of data from satellites and drones, and more.

Interested in data that goes beyond the fact that Apple is closing in on the billionth iPhone app downloaded from the App Store? Ben Lorica shares some interesting statistics about iPhone apps on the O'Reilly Radar blog.

CinemaView has announced that it is releasing the first Mini DisplayPort-compatible monitors. The company is currently offering 19, 21, and 24-inch models for $299, $399, and $499 respectively. With cast aluminum construction, and black-bordered optical glass fronts, the displays capture some semblance of Apple's design, and with the 24-inch model being $400 cheaper, these monitors might become attractive alternatives to Apple's high-end Cinema Displays.

Ars Technica is reporting that Apple has updated the lowest rung of its educational desktop offerings from the otherwise-obsolete 17-inch white polycarbonate iMac to a 20-inch aluminum model. The updated model includes a 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1 GB RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, a SuperDrive, and Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics processor - quite an upgrade considering the price will remain at $899. Unfortunately for most of us, this deal remains available only for schools and not for individuals.

Rich Mogull, computer security expert and TidBITS Security Editor, was recently interviewed by the New York Times Gadgetwise blog. In the wake of the Conficker virus scare, New York Times blogger Riva Richmond asked Rich about security on the Mac, and how Apple users can stay safe. The interview piqued enough interest to prompt a followup article as well.

Trial software is commonplace on the Internet these days, but it's not so easy to do with massive suites like Microsoft Office that are generally sold through resellers. Microsoft has now made a 30-day trial version of Office 2008 for Mac available, though downloading it requires running through a cart and registering with Microsoft for periodic followup messages. You can unsubscribe later, if you wish. It's a 545 MB download.

If you use the notetaking service Evernote and the microblogging/discussion service Twitter, you can now have specific tweets saved to your Evernote account (available via the Web, the Mac, the iPhone, and more). Not groundbreaking, but a nice way to link two popular Internet services.

Apple is on the verge of selling the one billionth app in the iTunes App Store. To celebrate the occasion, any customer purchasing an app between 12:01 AM 10-Apr-09 and when the one billionth app is sold will be entered into a contest with the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, or a MacBook Pro. A list of the official contest rules is available on Apple's Web site.