Nine new iPhone wagers

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1. Nine new iPhone wagers - 2007-06-26 16:25:34-04
   If you're into betting, here's the latest round of Apple iPhone related wagers that can be placed on BoDog.com Will a shipment of Apple iPhones be hijacked before reaching its destination? How many Apple iPhones will be sold between June 29 and June 30? Will the Apple iPhone feature a dedicated RSS application? Will there be a news report of a fight breaking out in a line-up of people waiting to purchase an Apple iPhone? Will the Apple iPhone feature a VPN Client? Will the Apple iPhone feature QuickLook? Will the Apple iPhone feature iChat? Which company's stock will finish with the largest percentage gain in stock price for the June 29th iPhone launch date? What will happen to the...
   
2. Report says first iPhone reviews due tonight will criticize keyboard, network - 2007-06-26 16:34:21-04
   Business 2.0's Apple 2.0 blogger Philip Elmer-DeWitt notes that some of the very few journalists and bloggers given iPhone test access thus far will be able to start posting their reviews starting tonight at 9 p.m . ET/6 p.m. ET. Philip reports that the reviews will be generally positive, but will note disappointments in the process of typing on the iPhone's virtual keyboard and enduring rather slow downloads on AT&T's current cell network. We'll gather up some of the reviews later tonight.
   
3. Facebook for the Enterprise = Facebook - 2007-06-26 17:23:31-04
   Guest post: AccMan blogger and deep thinker on enterprise software Dennis Howlett, offers his take on Facebook as an enterprise, not just consumer, play and patches together opinions from the Enterprise Irregulars: Facebook is a phenomenon that's capturing enterprisey attention. Jeff Nolan and Jason Wood, two of my Enterprise Irregular colleagues recently provided interesting analyses in an effort to parse what Facebook means for the enterprise. Jeff looked at the distribution aspects while Jason emphasized the platform. Jeff said: ...enterprise vendors consistently put themselves at the center of the universe like an aging movie star that doesn't realize s/he is told old to play the role (think Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2). SAP/Oracle/Microsoft/IBM may be the gorillas in the...
   
4. Cartoon: is this man literally dying to get an iPhone? - 2007-06-26 17:50:35-04
   From the totally cool Geek and Poke cartoon site. All in fun of course, but in regard to getting that iPhone on Friday, this cartoon draws only one response: GET A LIFE!
   
5. Ellison: Oracle to continue acquisition binge - 2007-06-26 17:53:25-04
   Oracle had a good final quarter in it fiscal year, and a good year overall financially, fueled by several acquisitions. Q4 revenue grew by 23 percent and sales by 20 percent to $5.83 billion.The way CFO Safra Katz said the company is "humming on all cylinders" and has a big pipeline for future growth. During the conference call on Q4 earnings, CEO Larry Ellison was asked if he plans to continue the rapid pace of acquisitions--30 in the last several years and 5 in the last quarter, including Hyperion for $3.3 billion. "We expect the pace to continue," Ellison said. "Our target is 50 percent margins, but it is happening more slowly than envisioned because we are growing the top...
   
6. Codeweavers 10-step program - 2007-06-26 19:16:15-04
   Codeweavers, the company behind CrossOver, an engine that provides Mac and Linux users the ability to install and run some Windows applications without a Windows  install or license, have just released a 10-Step Program for Computing Nirvana. It's a very tongue-in-cheek poke at Microsoft and the dominance they enjoy over the computing world. I'm warning you up front that if you're a Microsoft zealot, you're probably going to hate this. If you're a Microsoft basher, you're probably going to get at least a few laughs out of it. And if you're hewing to the middle ground and refuse to succumb to either of these magnetic poles, you'll probably see both the truthiness and folly in this sort of thing....
   
7. And the first iPhone reviews are in: "beautiful," "revolutionary," but flawed - 2007-06-26 19:21:03-04
   Walt Mossberg of WSJ loves it: "beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. " Doesn't mind lack of a physical keyboard: The iPhone's most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt -- who did most of the testing for this review -- was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly. But the iPhone has a major drawback: the cellphone network it uses. It...
   
8. Today only: free red BlackBerry Pearl offer on AT&T Wireless site. - 2007-06-26 19:33:50-04
   The page you want 2go2 is here. That's a splash page. Free Pearl comes around once every three page views. Keep hitting refresh and you'll get there. I am thinking this offer is intended to capitalize on the folks who are bombarding the AT&T site in the faint hope the iPhone is available now. Or better yet are looking for more clues. Of course you need a two-year plan. As if....
   
9. iPhone NDAs expire: reviews hit the MSM - 2007-06-26 19:52:30-04
   Today must have been the day that a bunch of iPhone Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) expired because a couple of tech writerr are out with their reviews. First up is the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg with Testing Out the iPhone where he says: We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions. The Apple phone combines...
   
10. Powerful and free CSV export utility for Outlook - 2007-06-26 20:24:50-04
    CodeTwo Outlook Export is a free add-in for Microsoft Outlook (98 - 2007) that provides much greater flexibility than the built-in export feature in Outlook. All folder types are supported (including Post and Journal) and the utility provides an easy interface that will be instantly familiar to anyone who's poked around in the backwaters of Outlook to customize views and forms. This will come in handy for anyone looking for an easy way to eport Outlook data for use in a spreadsheet or database application. H/T to Slipstick
    
11. Reviewer offers iPhone finger tap tips - 2007-06-26 21:03:08-04
    Ed Baig, who reviews gear for the nation's most widely circulated newspaper. That'd be USAToday. In his iPhone review (iPhone isn't perfect, but is worthy of the hype") Ed offers some tips for those prospective iPhone users who might, just might, need to adjust to a lack of a physical keyboard on the device. "No stylus is provided," Ed writes. "Your fingers control everything; you 'tap,' 'flick' and 'pinch. ' " Then Ed gets down to the Tao of finger-tapping the iPhone: "Finger-tapping takes getting used to," he writes. "Best advice: Start typing with one finger before graduating to two thumbs. You also have to learn to trust the device; an intelligent virtual keyboard auto-corrects mistakes on the fly...
    
12. More on the RIAA front from my hometown - 2007-06-26 22:52:04-04
    The Tacoma News Tribune is reporting that the University of Washington will be passing on pre-settlement letters from the RIAA to its students, using server and DHCP logs to identify anonymous students tagged by the recording industry watchdog. UW officials state that "This isn't a matter of the university cooperating with the recording industry," [Vice Provost for Student Life] said. "We all concluded that to not pass these along to our students would be unacceptable and more costly to them." Students reacted with concern, particularly citing the casual way in which so many users share files: A lot of them just offhandedly download a song and put it on their MP3 player, or even have a friend who downloads something...
    
13. Google Docs redesign looks great - 2007-06-26 23:49:07-04
    The new intervace is very usable, and addresses many of the issues people were asking about. Let's talk about each of the improvements individually. First, you will notice the interface. There isn't just one thing about it that I particularly like -- it's all pretty good. It's speedy, AJAXy and makes me want to use it. You can even drag and drop things into folders -- I'm sure some Gmail users are hoping the same thing comes to their inbox soon too. Next, the whole folder structure is brand new. Strangely enough, Google abandoned the "tag" and completely replaced them with folders. Earlier today a friend of mine called me up to ask how to make folders in Google Docs...
    
14. An argument for laptop carts - 2007-06-27 00:25:58-04
    Laptop carts are handy in any setting, but it can be difficult to justify the cost. While laptop prices continue to fall rather drastically, it still remains cheaper to set up a desktop or thin-client lab than purchase 20-25 laptops and a rolling cart to hold and charge them all. Adequate wireless infrastructure is also required to ensure appropriate bandwidth to each machine. Standalone labs can be easily wired for gigabit speeds now. However, I received a call yesterday from our district special ed office. The secretary reminded me that I was hosting online training in for all of the special ed staff in the district in one of our computer labs since we have the largest labs in the...
    
15. Sue-happy RIAA gets hit with malicious prosecution claim - 2007-06-27 00:27:57-04
    In their crusade against illegal file sharing, it looks like the Recording Industry Association of America has taken their job a bit too seriously. Ars Technica reports that one exonerated defendant may bring suit against the RIAA for malicious prosecution, and there may be more. Tanya Andersen, a disabled single mother who lives in Oregon, was sued in 2005 by the RIAA for file-sharing, but denied the claim, stating that there was lack of any evidence of infringement apart from an IP address. Despite this, the RIAA forged ahead with the lawsuit and partook in what Andersen claims were malicious acts including fraud, racketeering and deceptive business practices by the record labels. Even an employee at the Settlement Support Center,...
    
16. iYawn - 2007-06-27 00:32:12-04
    I was expecting that the early reviews of the iPhone would blow away any doubts that I had about needing a $500 ($600 for the 8GB model, $500 only buys you 4GB of storage).  While Apple's marketing had failed to convince me of how much my life would be better if I had an iPhone, I was expecting that Walt Mossberg/Katherine Boehret,David Pogue, Steven Levy and Edward C. Baig would show me the error of my ways.  I was wrong.  The iPhone has become the iYawn. It's not a tool, it's a shiny baubleHaving read the Mossberg/Boehret and Pogue reviews, I'm realizing that Apple had given already us enough information about the iPhone already to see the strengths and weaknesses of the...
    
17. Website gathers all things Gore, even as the big guy turns away from politics - 2007-06-27 00:35:00-04
    Even though Al Gore isn't running for president, he still has a fan club. His fans have made an all-things-Al-Gore website where a user can get continuous news feeds, blog posts, campaign info and so much more, reports Tech President GoreHub.com is a one-stop news portal which has links to sites to draft Al Gore into the campaign, information on how to volunteer, an Al Gore video library and links to all the official campaign websites. The site was started by Dylan Hassinger who, with the help of Google, RSS and Yahoo! Pipes, was able to put the whole thing together in "less than a week." Hassinger is also working on a Gore video library at YouTube. If Gore does...
    
18. Ellison: Oracle to continue acquisition spree - 2007-06-27 01:23:13-04
    During the Q4 earnings call Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said that his company is not going to slow down its acquisitions binge. Oracle has acquired more than 30 companies in the last five years, including five in the last quarter, led by Hyperion for $3.3 billion. "I expect the pace to continue," Ellison said. More acquisitions is key to Oracle in reaching its goal of 50 percent margins and 20 per cent earnings annual growth. CFO Safra Katz said the company is "hitting on all cyclinders": The reality is high pipelines look fantastic frankly for Q1, going into Q1 it will be obviously exciting. It could be our largest Q1 ever, as you can see by our guidance, we feel...
    
19. SOA done right: the Amazon strategy - 2007-06-27 02:04:19-04
    I survived the Google Seattle scalability conference And Seattle's "summer" weather! The conference was titled "The Seattle Conference on Scalability". The Google hosts were wonderful. I met some fellow bloggers and a lot of smart folks from massive scale websites, and some that hope to become massive scale websites. What is the leading edge of scalability? 1,000,000 node clusters in five years, up from 25,000 node clusters today. Another spoke of 100x current scalability in the next few years. New plumbing to enable 10 GigE to handle massive clusters. Programming tools that enable a few dozen lines of code to put thousands of nodes to work. Rather than summarize the entire conference in a few paragraphs or pages, which would...
    
20. Apple stores open until Midnight Friday - 2007-06-27 02:06:24-04
    Our own Tom Krazit reports that while AT&T Wireless stores will only be open and selling iPhones from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Friday night, Apple Stores will be open until Midnight. "Apple is promoting the "iPhone World Premiere" from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday night outside its retail stores around the country," Tom writes, noting that Apple announced earlier today that its stores would be closed from 2 to 6 p.m. on Friday to get ready for the iPhone launch. That's two more hours, by my reckoning. Always knew there was a reason to master 'rithmetic!