Tom Yager (infoworld.com) expects gobs “of great software for iPhone and iPod touch” by the end of the year. All thanks to the recently released SDK, which Yager describes as “the simplest, best-documented, and most enjoyable experience for mobile application developers.” Comparing it to other mobile software environments, Yager says the iPhone SDK “blows them away.” In fact, Yager contends that once available, iPhone 2.0 software “will instantly transform high-end consumer phones and music players, and it will gradually alter the landscape for commercial mobile devices.”
Март 2008
Settlement Reached in Verizon GPL Violation Suit
23.03.2008eldavojohn writes “A settlement has been reached in the Verizon GPLv2 violation suit. The now famous BusyBox developers, Erick Andersen and Rob Landley, will receive an undisclosed sum from subcontractor Actiontec Electronics. ‘Actiontec supplied Verizon with wireless routers for its FiOS broadband service that use an open source program called BusyBox. BusyBox developers Andersen and Landley in December sued Verizon — claiming that the usage violated terms of version 2 of the GNU General Public License.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
MacBook Air “a pleasure to use”
23.03.2008Phil Baker (sandiegotranscript.com) calls MacBook Air “the sleekest, thinnest and most beautiful notebook ever.” He admires its construction: “Fit, finish, and workmanship are superb,” he says. “Whether sitting back in a lounge chair outdoors or at a desk indoors, the brilliant, sharp and high contrast screen has no equal in brightness or readability. Its comfortable full-size backlit keyboard is a pleasure to use, and the housing never gets hot as other Mac notebooks sometimes do.
Palm Centro Launched in India
23.03.2008
According to news reports, Palm has launched the Centro smartphone in India. The Cento is priced at Rs13,990, and will be available at IT retail stores in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, and Chandigarh. TechTree reports, Palm has associated with mobile networks like Vodafone and Airtel in India to widen its reach in the country.
Livemint.com has a few quotes from Olivier Rozay, regional director, Asia Pacific, Palm Australasia Pty Ltd. Rozay says “With the launch of phones such as Centro, which is priced at Rs13,990 in India, we now have a much more affordable product for Indian users.” Previously Palm had been selling the Treo 680 there for Rs18,000.
Rozay also goes on to remark “We are also going to launch the next version of Palm operating system by end of this year, which will be more suited for our sleeker and better-looking devices.”
CaseMate Treo Case Review
23.03.2008
Vaja’s i-Volution case line is legendary for not only its styling and leather quality, but also its scarce availability and high price tag. Fortunately, as we’ve all seen so often in the mobile tech world, imitation always remains sincerest form of flattery-and affordable imitation is always worthy of discussion. In my quest to find a slim, lightweight, and affordable daily case for my new 755p I decided to give this latest contender from Case-Mate a shot.
Let’s see if the affordable Case-Mate Signature Series Treo hard shell case is a viable and affordable alternative to the classic Vaja i-Volution!
Weekly Wire with Lisa Hoover (Video) 3-21-08
23.03.2008Debian Cluster Replaces Supercomputer For Weather Forecasting
23.03.2008wazza brings us a story about the Philippine government’s weather service (PAGASA), which has recently used an eight-PC Debian cluster to replace an SGI supercomputer. The system processes data from local sources and the Global Telecommunication System, and it has reduced monthly operational costs by a factor of 20. Quoting: “‘We tried several Linux flavours, including Red Hat, Mandrake, Fedora etc,’ said Alan Pineda, head of ICT and flood forecasting at PAGASA. ‘It doesn’t make a dent in our budget; it’s very negligible.’ Pineda said PAGASA also wanted to implement a system which is very scalable. All of the equipment used for PICWIN’s data gathering comes off-the-shelf, including laptops and mobile phones to transmit weather data such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, cloud formation and atmospheric pressure from field stations via SMS into PAGASA’s central database.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The REAL Reason We Use Linux
23.03.2008Vlad Dolezal writes “We tell people we use Linux because it’s secure. Or because it’s free, because it’s customizable, because it has excellent community support… But all of that is just marketing BS. We tell that to non-Linux users because they wouldn’t understand the REAL reason.” The answer to his question probably won’t surprise you.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Kudos for the “outstanding AirPort Express”
23.03.2008“If you use iTunes,” writes Eliot Van Buskirk, “you should consider the AirPort Express.” That’s because the diminutive base station not only “supports faster 802.11n wireless networks” and “enables easy printer sharing.” It also facilitates “quick-and-easy iTunes streaming.” Just “plug the Airport Express into a wall outlet near your stereo, run a single cable” (analog or digital) “to your sound system, run the configuration software, and you’re all set.”
Palm Earnings and Quarterly Conference Call Tomorrow
23.03.2008Palm Inc. will report its Q3FY08 results tomorrow. The company will also hold its quarterly earnings conference call with investors and analysts. The call will be webcast to interested parties, details can be found here.
Of course, stay tuned to PIC for the details and highlights from the call. You can catch up on details from the last call here.