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Rumors are now circulating the web thta the iPhone will be getting a 1.1.3 update by the end of this week and with it two new features: voice recording and hard drive storage capabilities.  Nothing too revolutionary, but a great step forward that shows Apple will continue to enhance an already successful product.

Of course, for those of you that have hacked your iPhone… expect the usual problems.

Geek

I don’t know that I should be excited about it, because I do realize that the point of the internet and blogging as a whole is to allow researchers to easily quote and reference other works, but I am very excited that I was recently quoted in It World Canada. Apparently Briony Smith liked what I had to say about Microsoft’s sacking of CIO Stuart Scott, and I’m glad for it! Thanks for the mention, guys.

Michael

I can’t be alone in thinking the iPod mania has gone on for more than the normal 15 minutes of fame, and while I do believe that the personal media player is the one of the greatest inventions of the last 50 years, I’m quite done seeing all the iPod docks and accessories that come across the wire every day.  And, now, moving the iPod accessories into “fine furniture” just seems to me to be over the top.

Pottery Barn (one of my favorite stores) is now selling the Piedmont iChair, which is being marketed as “one of life’s classic comforts.”  Come on, it’s a chair with some speakers built into the headrest.  Somehow I doubt that this is going to create the “first-rate listening experience” that is being claimed.  What I really think is that companies have gone too far followingthe fanfare that Apple has created with their star.

~geek

According to media reports, select users of both Photobucket and Picasa were sent an email saying their onlnie image collections could now be viewed from their TiVo.  Because they already have an internet connection required, TiVo will be able to leverage that to allow users to browse through their entire online media catalogs.  I’m hopeful that this will ultimately mean that users can share their photos with others, too, as that would truly be a panacea to my family always calling to demand new photos.

~geek

In what may soon prove to be a sign of the times, Verizon announced Thursday that it would be using LTE (Long Term Evolution) as it’s fourth-generation wireless technology, aligning it for the first time with AT&T and European carriers.

Up until now, Verizon Wireless has been part of a different crowd, backing technologies based on Qualcomm’s CDMA standard. LTE would be a departure from this and would move Verizon to the global GSM standard.

What does this mean for you and me? In the short term, nothing. Verizon isn’t suggesting that they’re going to roll out a new GSM network and scrap their current CDMA, but instead that they will take baby-steps (think 2010, 2011) to move into the LTE standard. In the long term, this means a lot, and I’m very excited about the potential. And that potential starts with the obvious - handsets galore. Companies like Nokia, that has long been weak in CDMA and Apple could offer products on Verizon’s network without having to completely change their product-line. Considering that Nokia is the world’s #1 mobile phone manufacturer, this might leave many thinking “about time.”

~geek

There’s a lot of talk this morning that the Apple iPhone customers in Germany can “purchase” an unlocked iPhone for an additional 600 euros. The move comes on the heels of a temporary injunction against German wireless carrier T-Mobile, which is by law prevented from selling a handset locked to a single wireless network.Apple is also required to offer unlocked iPhones in France after a six month period according to local law, which may push the company to offer the iTunes unlock in that country. The iPhone will be released in France on Thursday, November 29th.

As someone that’s ruled the iPhone out because it won’t work with Verizon, my carrier of choice, I’m wondering how the iPhone evangelists will take this news.  Especially those that have jailbroken their phone in the US only to find that it voids their warranty and causes endless hassles when Apple does decide to update their software to muck with the hackers.  Of course, on the other side of that coin - isn’t it nice to know that Apple can “remotely” jailbreak their equipment?  Someone was planning ahead!

~geek 

I’ve been readng with some interest all the rumors coming out about Stuart Scott, Microsoft’s former CIO.  For those of you that have been living in the dark, Scott was recently released by Microsoft only two years after hiring him in 2005.  What’s unique about this situation is that Microsoft has publicly said:

“We can confirm that Stuart Scott was terminated after an investigation for violation of company policies, and have no further information to share.”

Of course, the rumor mill is churning about the myriad of different reasons that could have triggered this and the one with the most sticking power seems to be that Scott was having an affair with one of his subordinates, and perhaps that woman received positive reviews and/or a promotion because of her relationship with Scott.  Definitely possible, although it seems somewhat unlikely to me that it would have been handled like this and not as a structured settlement with Scott’s resignation.  Leads me to wonder if it’s not an issue business ethics, such as accepting bribes, favors, or something outside the norm.

What seems weird to me is how many people have come out suggesting that “we” the public deserve to know the whole story, and I’m not sure that I agree with that.  What’s happened, especially if it’s of a personal nature, is between Microsoft and Scott - what gives “us” the right to know anything more than he’s left Microsoft under unfavorable circumstances?  Even that means that his business life is fractured and the chance of him getting another opportunity like this is likely gone.  With a wife and seven kids - whose right is it to know anything more?  My thought - give the man some space, save him whatever small amount of dignity he has left.

~geek

I have to admit it - I love the TiVo logo.  It only somewhat looks like a television to me, but like Kleenex it’s become an integral part of my life.  Unfortunately, I don’t always like what TiVo, the company, does, and this post is going to talk a little about how they’re planning to sell consumer viewing habits and how it might ultimately affect you and your family.  Of course, not everything is a bad, and the “promotional pricing” that they’re pitching seems to be a good deal for everyone.

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Not surprisingly, I have an opinion about Google’s new Android phone operating system and their Open Handset Alliance, and as much as I don’t want to admit it I believe this is great for the consumer and even better for the phone manufacturers.  Why?  Because, finally the phone manufacturers can spend less time working on creating an OS for their phone and put those investment dollars into making their phones better telephones.  Add in to that some additional functionality on even the most generic of phones and you potentially end up with an exploding smart-phone revolution that significantly improves the end-user experience.

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In a not too unexpected announcement, Covad Communications has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Platinum Equity in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $1.02/share.

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