Use a Google number which rings all my other phones? I don't know what century most of you live in, but I have only two phones in my entire life now: my wireless which is for friends/family, and my work phone. No land line at home, local telco can kiss my ass. I use my wireless to check mail and voicemail from work, well organized and easy to access. I see NO need to forward my work phone to home, which is discouraged by most employers anyway, and when I'm at work I must use the work phone for business calls, especially LD. So why would I need yet another number? Oh, the insanity, the pain... the pain... RUBBISH!!!

I know what you mean. Just woke up after a long night on the town, discovered a few pics I can't recall taking in my iPhone camera roll and uploaded to Acquine. It analyzed and each photo got an Acquine rating of "Ugly Whore". Wow, this thing is not only amazing, it's accurate. Time for me to switch off.

AMD isn't exactly hurting, they netted a cool $1.177B of revenue in the first quarter of 2009 (ending 3/28) alone. But fair is fair and it is obnoxious, aside from being extremely profitable, to pay companies to use your product or lose their licensing agreements. Tony Soprano would be proud of such tactics. BTW, this sure sounds familiar, doesn't it? Think of one Mr. Bill Gates and his anti-Christ, sorry - I meant anti-trust, adventures that ultimately hurt the consumer via "frustrated innovation" as Neelie Kroes, head of the European commission's competition bureau deftly describes this case.

Sorry, meant to say Cisco owns WebEx Communications, not Oracle.

It can be disabled via profile settings using ActiveSync, if I recall. Even if not, Apple is aware of this and should add that option to any management software. But Oracle, who now owns WebEx, demonstrated their iPhone app version of the popular web conference software and folks in government actually asked if the camera could be put on the other side (smile) for remote video conferencing.

Unfair, sure. True? Also quite, quite sure.

This isn't about Bold or Storm which do not dominate the government sector and never will. Please bear in mind I mentioned iPhone is only 20+ months old to disclaim it's youth, and don't forget I also made clear that Blackberry is ahead of iPhone in encryption by government standards. My diatribe was to let folks know that likely sooner, not later, iPhone will be cracking the CrackBerry market share, as it already has dominated other sectors such as wireless broadband and Wi-Fi. I also should mention there is no central server in the network topology for an iPhone office network. Only management servers for initial configuration, rollout and remote wipe. Besides all that, iPhone is so intuitive that IT managers will also likely see a substantial drop in HelpDesk calls. This has already been proven in the limited markets iPhone dominates now. That's a very important matter in the government sector.

Mr. President, it's the red button on the left side of the suitcase. No, the left, move the cuffs out of the way, please. [10 seconds go by] Sir, you're other left. Now insert and turn the key at the same time and press that... yes, that key... now turn it...the other way, sir... and at the same time... the SAME, meaning you need both hands, sir. [10 minutes of silence] Sir, target destroyed. Thank you for calling the Defense Departments Help Desk. You call has been logged as ticket number 198324344334-E and have a nice day.

I'm anxious to see when Apple will implement both data and transmission mandatory encryption on the iPhone for government and medical use. I attended an "iPhone and Government" meeting at one of Apples facilities in Reston, Va. the other day, with corporate representatives on hand to listen to the feedback of various agency IT/CIO folks and the concensus was Apple is working the DHS, OMB and other agencies to determine how Apple will pursue this. Being the iPhone was introduced only 20 some months ago, and version 3.0 of their OS is due later this year, their growth has been phenomenal, and finally they are devoting resources to the very vocal government sector who has hounded Apple to fully encrypt with sensible remote management and rollout.

For those not aware, the iPhone accounts for 60% of all combined wireless web traffic, offers Wi-Fi support in addition to 3G, and there are over 30,000 apps developed by 50,000 registered app developers. All apps reside in a sandbox, i.e. each has its own keychain of data and content and each requires a signed Apple security certificate authority to even run on the iPhone.

Many enterprise level apps already use proprietary encryption of data and transmission, password authentication and offer remote wipe, but we in the government await complete standardization of those (i.e. FDCC) as well as a vetted C&A process to ensure data integrity and performance.

It's just a matter of time, according to Apple, that Obama and the White House IT Dept. might consider trading in his Crackberry for the much more powerful and user friendly iPhone.

We all know PG-13 is box office gold compared to an R rating for movies like this. But what exactly is an "R" rated superhero?

According to the MPAA, the superhero resides in a film that "contains some adult material. An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously." http://www.mpaa.org/FlmRat_Ratings.asp (source)

As you see, it's not just language, it's HARD language which of course is unspecified. It's not just violence, but intense and persistent. Nor is it just nudity, i.e. "naked women", it's nudity presented in a sexually oriented nature, and it's not just using drugs, but abusing them.

And even after all that:
"Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures," says the MPAA guidelines.

This is all entirely subjective and as a result most movies are not faithful to their source screenplay or origin book due to cuts and re-edits to satisfy the MPAA so the most revenue can be squeezed from the largest possible audience. What you end up seeing onscreen is the result of a board of 10-13 individuals, each working periodically, each with their own agendas under a chairperson who has unlimited power to select anyone they choose - the qualifications being no more or less than experience with parenthood as an adult member of the community. Film producers are also under no obligation to submit a film for rating, but the industry as a whole has learned an unrated film squashes advertising revenue, reduced media exposure and opens up the door to lawsuits and negative publicity from special interest groups. So they play the system, often re-submitting films over and over after copious edits to try to satisfy the MPAA for that "gold" PG-13 rating. Any industry member knows it's not about being faithful to their art, it's all about that rating and the resulting increased revenue.

And the MPAA site states, "No one in the movie industry has the authority or power to push the Board in any direction or otherwise influence it."

We all know that the public influences the MPAA, society influences it, and the constant pushing of the envelope by film producers clearly influences how ratings are classified and assigned to those who "volunteer" for the MPAA's stamp of approval. There is no alternative, so this is how the system works until the industry and society as a whole puts enough pressure on the MPAA to put their loose standards to the test.

Is this system as described above corrupt? You're damned right it is.

Of course there is a likelihood of mistrial if the jurors are on their PDA's browsing the web to research their trial. But on the other hand, if you were a defendant and such research revealed you were innocent - I'd take the mistrial, wouldn't you? This goes both ways, is my point.

Did you know the Space Shuttle is comprised of 2.5 million parts making it the most complex machine ever built? Of these parts, steel valves are considered critical and of the highest order to resolve before launch. It's shameful that NASA has so technical snafu's that result in launch delays but one must be reminded the Shuttle program is nearing extinction and suffered severe underfunding and mismanagement since 2004. There is no story here, we're not dealing with "go fever" or lack of engineering ethics. This is simply a sensible delay called by a beleaguered but pragmatic administration responsible for human lives and a machine that still gets the job done. The shuttles help construct the ISS, launches satellites, documents space/Earth observation and serves as a taxi service and escape vehicle for astronauts and cosmonauts. Yes, all it takes is one part in a million (or two) to bring the shuttle and the entire program to an instant extinction faster than a legislative body can do by simply denying funds. In life there is risk and only in risk is there achievement and glory. The entire program was a risk. As we learn of yet another delay, one should never forget the great endeavor which was and for now still is the Space Shuttle.

Yes, the subject of this reply is tasteless. Just as tasteless as a corporation releasing personal health matters under the guise of "full disclosure" or a government agency's "review" without any evidence of malfeasance whatsoever. The truth is Mr. Jobs simply suffered a misdiagnosis which led to rampant speculation opening the door to all this insane over reaction. Let's all wish the man good health and offer support in his time of physical crisis, and maybe offer a damned apology for the burden of all this unnecessary and additional emotional baggage. He's earned better than this.

DOS=Linuxware
Windows 3=Crawlware
Windows 95/98/ME=Crapware
Windows NT=Oldware
Windows 2000=Repeatware
Windows 2003=ThickCockware
Windows XP = Bloatware (Classic)
Windows Vista = MorbidlyObeseware
Windows 7 = Beware

All that's really changed over time is the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH is now finally rendered in 3D. Big whoop-de-fucking-dah.

Wait... the Universe doesn't revolve around us? Since when? Lord, am I the victim of public education or what. And this Galileo is a MAN?