FAIL

I really have to give them credit...the big blue monster has come a long way...

First they weren't going to mess with cloud offerings, now they're banking their future on the cloud (Live Framework, Windows Azure, Mesh, Office Live, etc.). They use-to guard their code like a proprietary pitbull and shun opensource, now they have a site set-up for the sole purpose of facilitating distribution of open source code (codeplex.com). And the difference between the philosophy behind IE6 vs. IE8? Night and day.

Say what you will about Microsoft (with much of it being true), they are making an effort at evolving, and it's an effort that you don't see very often out of similarly positioned companies (look no further than the U.S. automakers for a perfect example of this).

Props to high dollar execs being able to both admit they were wrong and make a change to fix it.

Care to elaborate, or are you going to take the "it's wrong 'cause I say it's wrong" stance?

My kingdom for some mod points...

Somebody please mod this awesome comment up...nicely done, Em

Not a d@mn thing...which is why I haven't opened my iTunes in over 6 months and have saved tons of money in the process. With the specials that Amazon runs on album downloads (new releases for $2.99/3.99), massive compilations for $5.00, never more than $0.99/song, AND DRM free...I don't see myself ever opening iTunes again...

But, then again, that's just me...

"Hello? Umm, yeah...just a second...

Hey Apple - there's somebody at the door for you. He says he's with the Justice Department..."

True, other vendors force you to sign a 2-year contract in exchange for subsidizing your phone purchase BUT ONLY AT&T (to the best of my knowledge) forces you to extend your current obligation to another 2-years and forces users to pay an un-subsidized chunk of change to get the new phone.

Man, it is precisely this type of stupid @ss, spoiled brat, "don't-touch-mysh!t" mind-set that is so wrong and the cause of so many problems that I can't even...ok, before I get lost in my disgust, let me just state the following:

1. Apple is merely the handset maker, not the service provider, which is why I was bagging on AT&T about the service restrictions, not Apple (though plenty could be said about the wisdom of Apple choosing AT&T).
2. The government should not have to force businesses via regulation to act in a customer-friendly manner. Merely because the regulation does not exist doesn't mean that a business should do it. If a business chooses to do something ethically-questionable solely because nobody told them that they couldn't, that says a great deal about that business.
3. Example of practical "non-hacker" backgrounding: I ride my bicycle, using a FREE APP to track my GPS route and getting audible mileage updates throughout my ride, while listening to a streaming podcast (on a FREE APP) AND am able to get audible notices of my new emails received via Exchange (on a FREE APP), any new instant messages/SMS messages/calls. I can also answer a call while leaving everything running. I'm afraid that your lack of understanding about concurrent processes is the only reason why you fail to see the importance.
4. Your lack of experience with Android and the Android Market is clear in your feeble assessment. Everything I did on my iPhone, as well as everything I currently do on my iPod Touch, I can easily do on my Android G1 phone. Further, I can do way, way more on my Android G1 and do it much more easily.
5. The iPhone's OS isn't evolving any faster than Android...the main difference is that OS upgrades are free on Android and that Android started by providing core, base-line mobile phone functionality in addition to all the advanced functionality. How's that photo SMS functionality on the iPhone working for you? Oh...that's right...

6. Spec for Spec, the Pro line is CHEAPER than the competition!

   What competition? Apple won't allow any direct competition!

You like your iPhone, I like my G1...we shall clearly have to agree to disagree. However, don't go blaming the government, AT&T, the Easter Bunny or whomever for the failings of Apple and/or Apple's products. Steve & Co. are big boys...it's about time that they start being held accountable for their decisions.

Amen. And I'm a former iPhone user...

Personally, one of my fav Android apps is Locale, which monitors your GPS location for user-designated locations and assigns the appropriate settings to your phone. For example, I walk into work and my ringer automatically turns off...I leave work, my ringer turns back on. No worrying about forgetting to turn my ringer back on and missing calls...and this is just one example.

I get phone calls and my auto reverse-lookup gives me caller-id for non-contacts (even cell phones), I can move data from one program to another without closing either...the list goes on and on.

The sad thing is that there are so many users who have been stupefied with Apple's "Whiz, Bang, WOW" marketing and will never know what it's like to have a mobile phone that truly allows you to do more, without limitation.

Again, maybe it's just me, but I prefer performance over pretty packaging...

Therein lies the rub...you just trapped yourself into another 2-year AT&T (assuming you're American) contract for upgrading to the 3G S...a phone that is unable to perform the simplest of mobile phone tasks and, apparently, is difficult to make a call on it without receiving 3rd degree burns on your face.

If you're happy with that, more power to ya'...personally, I chose to do a little research, compare core functionality (current and future), and bought the best phone on the market, not just the prettiest.

I attended a presentation on Tuesday, hosted by the Kansas City AMA chapter (marketing, not medical). The presenters were Chris Haas of Google and Drew Mitchell of YouTube. I was immediately struck by how frequently both presenters mentioned augmented reality, something that (in my experience) has been relegated to sci-fi stories and hypothetical tech discussions.

Now, I'm not intending to make some sort of "Google is going into augmented reality" statement, as I am clearly in no position to make such a claim, but what I can say is that it is clearly on the radar for them (especially when put within the context of Wave). I just think that it is a very dynamic time, almost frighteningly so, for technology. It will be interesting to see where we go from here and how quickly we get there...