Have you visited the Apple website lately? If you haven't, you should go check it out especially if you're concerned about climate change and politics. Apple put on a message - loud and proud - congratulating the former U.S. Vice-President for winning the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Gore is regarded by some as one of the geniuses of our time, becoming one of the biggest voices in the fight against global warming. Aside from the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, Gore won an Academy Award for his documentary on climate change "An Inconvenient Truth."

The message in the official Apple site reads:

Al has put his heart and soul, and much of his life during the past several years on alerting and educating us all on the climate change crisis. We are bursting with pride for Al for this historic recognition for his global contributions.

The internet started getting massively popular more than a decade ago, and with it came a lot of nice nuances that aimed at giving users that whole digital multimedia experience which was all the rage those days. The age of internet entertainment was indeed heralded, but internet TV didn't catch fire as fast as other Media.

Of course there were a lot of reasons why web TV came later than web radio and web games. Technical issues such as slow bandwidth, licensing gridlocks and the lack of available resources were among the factors that slowed down the dawning of an age. Nowadays, however, the world works a bit differently. Almost everyone can afford broadband connections and Youtube found a way around the licensing knot to tear the market wide open.

Admit it or not, YouTube may be the single, most powerful force that changed the way we think about internet TV and videos. By bringing in users who upload videos for other users, it created a viable network wherein just about every imaginable video. Everything from cartoons to porn was there and it was very easy to access.

Apple followed up with its launch of fifth-generation iPods that can play videos as well as acquire them by purchasing them from the online iTunes market set up by Apple. Podcasts were also conceived and now, anyone with enough time and tech savvy can do a broadcast to the web en route to iPods of millions of owners.

And that's not all, with the Apple TV coming up, a seamless bond between the computer, the home entertainment system and the iPod can be forged. Networks are also getting into the act with Al Gore's "Current TV" which features a hodgepodge of professional and amateur content that can be seen on cable channels and its website.

Dan Hett wrote a very informative essay tackling the digital age of entertainment and its implications. He also extrapolates on what the future holds for digital entertainment and who we can expect to play key roles. To read the entire discussion, follow the read URL.

Apple Inc. and environmental group Greenpeace never got along - despite the company's efforts to improve their green practices. Greenpeace argues that since Apple is shaping up to be a leader in design and product innovation, they should also be a leader in recycling and other environment-friendly activities. Well, Greenpeace is once again pounding on the gates of Apple because of an upcoming Apple board of directors action.

This time around, the target is former vice president, Apple board member, and environmentalist Al Gore. Apparently, the Board has two proposals that would strengthen Apple's environmental policies. But according to Apple, shareholders will be informed that the Apple board is "unanimously" against the plan when the said proposals are sent to the shareholders for voting.

So with that, Greenpeace is urging Al Gore to support the proposals and use his leadership ability and environmental track record to improve Apple Inc.'s environmental policies. For now, former VP Gore has no comment about that.

There's nothing quite like free stuff, and thanks to Al Gore and his tube-powered brainchild, getting freebies has never been easier. Take today for example. Right now we're focusing the QJ spotlight on Freeware OS X's freeware picks for the month of January.

Freeware, folks. Free. For an unlimited time. Not only that, these applications run the gamut from video and media players to programming apps, making the collection a must-have for all of you Mac lovers out there. Read on for a list of the applications.

• Video: VLC Media Player
• Audio Editor: Audacity
• Chat: Adium
• Graphics: Blender
• Portable Applications: Audacity Portable
• Programming: Smultron
• Torrent: Transmission
• Screensavers: LotsaWater
• Utilities: Yep
• Word Processing: TextWrangler

You can get all of the apps above by giving the "via" link below a little click.

Apple, the leader of providing consumer-designed technology to the industry, might want to rethink their future should co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs decide to step down. The news about Steve Jobs could have been responsible for the recent faked backdated options, which forced a 5.8% percent drop in Apple's stock. Apple director and former U. S. Vice President Al Gore stepped up to clear Steve Jobs of the allegations and brought back a miraculous 4.9% rise in stock.

His creativity, his closeness to the prospects and directions of the company and stockholder confidence in his leadership strengthens Apple's progress. Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Company Inc. in New York, believes that Apple's value might fall as much as a third of its current value if Jobs were to just suddenly leave.

The creativity Jobs possesses is unquestionable, as he has turned himself into a fashionista icon of technology over the past five years with the iPod and further solidifying his position with a new Apple mobile phone (no, not an "iPhone", sorry) that plays movies and music. He is also able to transform a conservative product introductions into high-profile media events, with celebrities such as U2's Bono and Kanye West.

Piper Jaffray's Munster said, "The biggest risk to Apple is not competition or markets or products. It's probably the reality that at some point Steve Jobs is going to leave. That's just the wild card that investors have to deal with."

Apple will then have to make a selection among the jeans-wearing executives who also imitate Job's words "cool," "awesome" and "revolutionary." But in our opinion, because the void that would be left behind would be quite vast to fill, the only way Apple could survive is if the one filling it equals or exceeds Jobs' qualities.

Now where can you find someone like that?