A few technology related things that just happened are very important and require your attention. First of all, 1.5 million australian students have replaced their Outlook/Exchange with Gmail.

Techcrunch says:

The cost savings are substantial. The Outlook/Exchange platform involved a AU$33 million contract and took four years to go live, although it’s unclear why it took so long.

I believe it will also benefit the students, and everyone else using gmail in several ways. The fabulous way of organizing mail on conversation topic, the super powerful search possibilities and the ability to use your mailbox anywhere requiring only an internet connection are winners. Way to go, Google!

Another big item is Nokia acquiring Symbian. The company turned over all software to the Symbian Foundation. The original press release by Nokia is here.

Now what does all this mean for us, regular phone users? That depends. It is clear that Nokia understands the threat of Google’s Android platform and seeks defense. Although I believe Symbian is a solid platform, it might be time for Symbian to be replaced with the operating system that is slowly taking over all portable devices: Linux.

Some Apple news is the discovery of a requirements page for the company’s MobileMe, the replacement of .Mac. This is not breaking news, as it is no secret that MobileMe is about to be released in the wild. It is nice to see progress in that area though.

(Credits for this news to TUAW’s Cory Bohon)