One of her other commercials is about her tenure at eBay. One of the many re-framed “achievements” was being a hero to small businesses because eBay allows small businesses to operate a “store” through eBay. Unfortunately, she fails to mention that she raised eBay’s fees on those small businesses SIX times…during a bad economy!

Meg Whitman is yet another ultra-conservative that sacrifices the middle class for her own gain. Meg Whitman is dangerous. Meg Whitman is a guaranteed failure. Meg Whitman’s own Republican party questions her viability. See this link.

Please don’t pass on your opinions, pass on FACTS to your friends, families and co-workers. Meg Whitman commercials plaster the media simply because once she was ousted from eBay she was able to walk away with $125 million dollars that she now uses to advertise her lies to the unsuspecting population of California.

Don’t take my word for it. Or hers. I ask you simply to check the facts, then pass on what you learn to everyone who needs to know.

After going online to view the details of all the case options available, some from Belkin and other 3rd party manufacturers. The ordering process only took a minute. It was quick and simple. So far all seemed fair and good. Then, as I completed the order, the ship date on the product appears on the screen nearly 5 weeks into the future. This didn’t sit well with me but Apple had expired their inventories. I wanted a free case but I didn’t want to have to worry about my shiny, brand new iPhone 4 getting scratched up. I had already ordered and received a Zagg invisibleShield screen protector, now I just need the Apple Bumper case to completely protect the device. Needless to say, I’m a little anxious to get my new baby fully covered and waiting over a month will not be easy.

Then, yesterday happens, I receive an email from Apple Shipping Notification telling me my black iPhone 4 bumper has shipped and will be here within a week! Yay! Not sure how many people out there also received a happy notification like this about their cases, I also would like to know if the 3rd party cases offered are shipping now as well.

Anyway, thank you Apple, and thank you Steve Jobs for doing the right thing.

UPDATE! 2010-07-28 – It’s arrived! EVEN EARLIER!

Guess what showed up in the mail today? Estimated delivery date showed Aug. 3rd, but here it is, almost a week early! Thanks Apple. Unfortunately my Griffin iPod USB cable doesn’t plug in all the way when the bumper is on, eeks. Otherwise, I’m completely covered now

Apple iPhone 4 bumper

Well, in America, these news reporting agencies (and you know which ones to which I am referring) are the most visible, reprinted and republished. The vast majority of Americans get their news from these kinds of sources, not just on TV but online as well. So the harm is rather significant since the information is misrepresented, you’ve now misinformed hundreds of thousands, if not millions of readers. When the true objective of News Media is actually to inform…not entertain.

Another example that’s made headlines lately is the Apple “Antennagate” issue with the new iPhone 4. After about 3 weeks Apple held a press conference (which you can view on Apple’s web site here) explaining to detail the cause of the signal problem with the iPhone. Then they proceeded to demonstrate the exact same issue with other popular phones from the RIM Blackberry to Samsung to an Android phone. Steve Jobs, who led the conference, after showing how common a problem this is, continued to make a strong point of how the media has blown this issue out of proportion. Now, this accusation is not flattering to the media, even though it is newsworthy, now do you think it was reported? Do you think the media would report news about themselves…no matter how newsworthy the story actually is? No. The media reported ONLY the parts of the conference that backed up their own original claims. Article after article, news organization after news organization reported about 1/10th of the conference’s information to protect its own image. Virtually nothing about the tests with the other popular phones, virtually nothing about how they themselves may have blown this issue up. The result of this hypocrisy? The news hungry public, as usual, is only partially informed. Ok, so we have SOME information…where’s the harm in that?

Having only some of the facts associated with a news making story can be dangerous. There’s a bright shining example of that making headlines in the last day or two. The African American, former USDA employee, Shirley Sherrod. She was fired from her job recently due to a ‘selectively edited’ video of a speech she gave not long ago appeared as if she was intentionally not assisting a white farmer. The Obama administration reacted to this report and fired the woman. However, after further investigation, watching the original video, uncut, they see they took these remarks out of context and now our President is begging for her to come back to her job with a huge apology.

So what can we do about this? How can we become more informed? Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer. Just try to get your news from multiple sources. Try to get your news from organizations other than the “big ones.” There are many smaller news reporting agencies all over our country that are non-profit and therefore have no monetary gain from reporting sensationalism and over-hyped headlines.

Now don’t get me wrong, the storm that’s not even in the Gulf of Mexico yet (as of the writing of this article) may hit “BP’s leaky well” dead on. But at this point, that’s uncertain. So, with all of the sensationalism, fear tactics and profit-mindedness the news media maintains the only problem I see with the media seems to be the media.

So why is Google trying to keep this one under wraps? Mostly because of one thing…they don’t want to stoke the successful fires of the iPhone. While Apple recently released the iPhone 4 to sell 3 million devices in as many weeks, breaking all records, RIM is seeing their market share shrink by the day. Google has seen some success with Android, although it was also just discovered that a recent estimate of Apps in Google’s App Store was over exaggerated. That kind of shady news as well as the discontinuation of the Nexus One can’t feel good to the search giant.

Although Android phones are quite functional, reports from the field indicate the customer satisfaction is quite a bit lower than that of iPhone users. Even with this latest iPhone 4 antenna debacle, Apple and AT&T are seeing HALF the return rate with the iPhone 4 as with the previous generation iPhone 3GS which had no purported antenna problem.

So, it’s no secret why Google must try and keep this secret. Goodbye Nexus One…thank you for trying.

With a history of world class customer service, and lately, unprecedented transparency and communication from CEO Steve Jobs on every issue from no Flash support on their mobile devices to this antenna issue. We’ve seen open letters and open emails on every subject. This conference is the latest in what seems to be an emerging culture of openness.

The conference started out by showing how gripping almost any mobile, wireless device in the “wrong way” can cause signal loss. The first example being quite dramatic as they show a RIM Blackberry Bold 9700 dropping from 5 bars down to 1 bar when gripped the wrong way. Other popular smartphone platforms and manufacturers were mentioned, Android, Samsung, etc etc.

Jobs goes on by showing and explaining how the way antenna signals work, that all of these phones, any wireless device, will have this bad grip problem. It’s the laws of physics. Wait! You mean Apple hasn’t innovated enough to the point of defying the laws of physics!?!? I want my money back! He then explains how the iPhone 4 also went through shielded room tests etc.

Support issues…if this is such a big deal, as the media likes to portray, then out of the 3 million devices sold since it’s launch, there must be a ridiculous number of support calls about this problem. Actually, Steve reveals, that only .55% of all iPhone 4 owners have called about this problem. A little over half of one percent. While that’s probably higher than it should be, this is not the epidemic the media and class-action legal teams would have you believe.

Return rates…Wow, the previous generation iPhone 3GS averaged a 6% return rate with AT&T stores. Jobs indicates that this is below industry average. However, with the iPhone 4 and all of its supposed ‘issues’ the return rate is at a mere 1.7%. What’s going on here?

Jobs then goes on to reveal that the iPhone 4 actually does drop calls slightly more than the 3GS, however, it’s only 1 call per 100 more than the 3GS which is an ever so slim difference. He then theorizes, that because the previous generation iPhone 3GS is the same shape as its predecessor the 3G, that people could continue to use their old cases or even go to the store to buy one of many available cases for the existing shape. The case, thus shielding the 3GS from a percentage of dropped calls. Many iPhone 4′s are still ‘naked’ due to the fact that the case manufacturers are still getting the cases out to the retailers with the new form factor products…interesting theory.

And to help us all test his theory, Steve is putting his money where his mouth is and buying everyone a free bumper who buys their iPhone 4 up until September 30th. You’ll be able to apply for the free case late next week at the Apple Store online.

Well, I think this was yet another good communication from Apple. Another successful exercise at openness and transparency. All of the information given was logical and now the media must move on to another topic…oil spill? Haiti? War? Yeah, those are definitely bigger than cell phone reception stories. What do you think?

I was chatting with friends in Australia this evening (where it’s always tomorrow) and since they are in the Southern hemisphere, it’s getting warmer down there this time of year and colder up here. They asked what the temperature was, knowing they’re used to Metric down there I used the trusty calculator that comes with Mac OS X and used the “Convert” menu to convert my 45 degrees Farenheit to degrees Celsius, then proceeded to tell them “…it’s about 7 degrees here now.”

Not expecting me to have done the conversion for them, they asked “is that in degrees Celsius?”

This conversation started me thinking about how all American kids have been taught the Metric
system in public schools since sometime in the 70′s.  So most 30 and 40-something adults in America are more than familiar with it.  Let alone the generation X and Y’s that follow.

After being somewhat impressed and thanking me for doing the conversion, I proceeded to inform the Australians that all Americans have been taught Metric in school for some number of years now.  They then asked “So how come you haven’t switched yet?” Good question Ozzie friend.

With lots of obvious reasons coming to mind, for example, laziness, priorities, etc etc…I then thought about our new President. With Obama representing “change” and “the future” and all that maybe after the wars calm down and the health care debate gets somewhat resolved, could it be possible in a few years, or the beginning of a second term, he could start a push to get this great isolationist country switched to the Metric system?  After all, at this rate, it clearly won’t happen spontaneously, there will have to be Federal law to make it happen.

I’ve been living in Southern California now for almost 3 years.  I moved from Phoenix, where I lived for 19 years. If you take the I-10 freeway out to LA from Phoenix, you will see some well intentioned “Metric/English” road signs indicating in kilometers as well as miles the distance to the next town.  The first time I saw this I got excited, that someone started doing something about it.  Then realized, those signs are THE ONLY signs of their kind. Seems like California may have tried to get the ball rolling some years ago and realized there may have been better things to spend tax dollars on.  Tax dollars this great state is coming up short on these days.

Ultimately, the thing that binds societies together, brings people together, and even makes doing business more seamless is uniform communication.  Without communication what do we have?  This huge gap in standardizing units of measurement needs to be closed, once and for all.  It may cost money.  It may take time. But I believe it is worth the investment in the long term.  Let’s do it for the kids!

Lee’s pitching wasn’t the only star of this Phillies victory, Chase Utley also hit two solo home-runs putting the Phillies on the board and keeping them in the lead.

As a 3rd generation Phillies fan, I have high hopes and would love to see them go all the way!

Maybe Hollywood is getting too excited about saving money and cutting corners by spending $15,000 on a movie and trying to turn it into $100 million in profits. This has happened in the past, but I wouldn’t think of this as a common, typical formula for success.

Another great movie “could have been” for the record books, this one had some freaky moments, and definitely was going down the right path, only to stretch out most of the nearly 100 minutes as “filler” minutes rather than scary moments.

In summary, I’d say there was enough quality content for the first HALF of a really great supernatural horror flick. So, where’s the 50% refund for half of my $11.50 ticket price? And I must say, we weren’t the only ones wishing for some cash back on this over-hyped rip-off.

Stay home, see something else, don’t even rent it.

It wasn’t a complete loss, some of the “beauty is skin deep” moral of the storyline apply to us today, with our shallow, surface values, plastic surgery, weekly visits to the salon. Have we lost something…human? If this technology existed and was affordable as it was portrayed in the movie I believe we might fall into this trap.

Normally I’d say go see this one in the theater, and that it was at least entertaining, but I can’t recommend this one. Maybe a rental when there’s nothing else to watch.

Finally, the really sad story here may be that Bruce may not have much more box office draw after this one.

I have ONE thing to say about this…

Why are they still shooting with film?

Shoot digital, get prints made in minutes with a great Canon inkjet photo printer, no weirdo, freako WalMart employees eyeballing your kids in the tub.

Moral of the story…shoot digital!

We have wildfires, unemployment, healthcare, recession, earthquake in indonesia, civil wars in Africa, protesting in PA, Iran, 2 wars in the Middle East , N. Korea, China, global warming, rising violent crime rates, swine flu, military contractor corruption…shall I continue?

So, with all of this REAL news going on in the world what does CNN show last night? For hours instead? Maybe I missed a larger news issue? What is this happening that would cause replays for hours over and over? Did terrorists attack somewhere again? No, Michael Jackson died…oh wait that was almost 2 and a half months ago.

Michael Jackson’s PRIVATE funeral for family and close friends was the event that trumped all of the other news-worthy happenings in the world for hours and hours. It wasn’t on any other news channel for as long or as repetitious. Nobody else cared. But CNN seemed to think it was the most important thing going on in the world at the time.

The FAA disallowed helicopters over the cemetery where the funeral was held to keep privacy for the family so what did CNN find it prudent to do? They had a camera floating overhead so they could peer into the service. A PRIVATE CITIZEN’S FUNERAL SERVICE. The media SPECIFICALLY was not invited to this. But they all showed up. Respect is obviously not newsworthy.

This is proof CNN is an icon representing how American news media has hit bottom. This is not about reporting news. It never really was.

CNN not only has lost it’s grasp on what’s important as a news organization (if they ever had it), but they’re now violating the privacy of American Citizens. I thought I was watching E! Entertainment Television’s News report or something. Didn’t Michael Jackson’s PUBLIC funeral over a month ago get enough air time?

What else has CNN been prioritizing over real news?

1) Paris Hilton (yes even lately)

2) Larry King interviews that rapist that “pretends” to not remember his actions. This a*hole should not have gotten air time. Shame on you Larry King.

3) Even MORE of the Carrie Prejean saga, the anti-gay marriage Miss California candidate
that’s suing the Miss USA organization…WHO GIVES A SH*T!!??

CNN is sickening. I don’t even want basic cable anymore. Getting rid of it.

Join me in this protest…it won’t change unless the consumer public shows it’s not interested in this kind of “news reporting.”

And then there are the actors. I’m not sure if it’s fair to say it’s his best ability, but may I at least put forth that Mr. Tarantino has a gift when it comes to casting? From Brad to Mélanie and from Christoph to Eli, everyone was perfect.

This may have a been a semi-silly, obnoxious, Tarantino-style, WWII flick but it was also a dramatic, intense, revenge fantasy I won’t soon forget.

Ship was a prisoner relocation ship (dropping off prisoners to mars?), prisoners briefly took control, computer locks down ship. They end up at Earth because it was nearby. This explains EVERY story hole.

1) Why aliens were initially “locked” in the ship and humans had to CUT into it.

2) Why they were vicious criminal types,

3) Why there was a “nice” alien, he was the CAPTAIN of the prison ship (and why he didn’t take any of the other aliens back with him). and finally…

4) DISTRICT 10 story line… 2.5 Million “bad aliens” and the next movie HUMANS and GOOD ALIENS (that return with original captain) fight the bad aliens TOGETHER.

Whaddaya think?

Well, a few weeks ago I was around my 1 year mark on the 2 year contract I had signed with AT&T when I got my iPhone 3G. So, I logged in to my online account, and, as I suspected, I didn’t have many upgrade options to get the newly released iPhone 3GS for a reasonable amount. Resigning myself to wait out the term of the contract and frustrated, I wrote the article about Apple, AT&T and iPhone’s with contracts being expensive.

Then, this past week, out of sheer morbid curiosity I signed in to my ebay account (of which I haven’t used in ages due to exorbitant fees and the PayPal monopoly they created) then proceeded to see what, if anything at all, a black, 16GB, iPhone 3G was going for. After all, if I could get enough for it, maybe it would be worth putting out another couple hundred to get the new phone and I was frustrated, the new toy was out and I wanted it…NOW.

It turns out, what my ebay searching showed, that a “contract” must be worth a couple hundred dollars because an OUT OF CONTRACT, Black, 16GB iPhone 3G (yes, previous generation) is going for around $275, USED! Because WITH a contract AT&T and Apple are still selling this model new for $99. So the contract is worth a couple hundred to someone. Buying an out of contract phone also allows you to jailbreak & unlock this phone and activate it freely with another carrier, e.g. T-Mobile.

Wow, I thought, if I could just get out of this contract… So I signed back in to my AT&T wireless account, clicked on “upgrade options” and voila! To my amazement and wonder, AT&T was offering the iPhone 3GS at the NEW CUSTOMER pricing of $199 and $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models respectively. Even for me, with still a year left on my previous contract. I think somebody wants me to upgrade…so of course I proceeded to do so as the planets were aligning in my favor.

So, I went to sell my 3G on ebay for $250 “Buy It Now” and it sold within hours. After seller fees and the free ground shipping I offered (that everyone seems to be offering nowadays), I took in roughly $220 for my year old, gently used, iPhone 3G.

I then went to the AT&T store who had just restocked 15 units of the Black, 16GB iPhone 3GS, paid my $199 + tax + $18 upgrade fee, totaling $250, and activated my shiny new iPhone 3GS.

It is very possible I could have gotten more for my iPhone 3G on ebay compared to the others I saw, but for $30 total a little ebay craziness and an extra year with AT&T I’m a happy camper. The phone is great and worth every penny. If anyone else has a similar story please post it here, I’d love to know about it.

AT&T is gaining over a quarter million new mobile customers every month from Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile because of their iPhone exclusivity.

Meanwhile Verizon is begging Apple to allow them to sell SOMETHING! Have you read about that? Verizon’s not even ashamed to say they want to sell “a mobile Apple product” whatever that means.

Exclusivity contracts are ILLEGAL in Australia. That’s why my friend there got her brand new iPhone 3G, *FREE* with a 2 year contract, instead of $299. The $299 was a negotiation to get the customer.

AT&T Doesn’t have to negotiate since you can’t go to another carrier to get an iPhone.

Unfortunately, it only pays to limit a consumer’s choices.

Where are our anti-competitive laws? This is America!

More creative tablet PC’s were simply sub-notebooks with a flip-around screen that would fold over the keyboard and lay flat.  Still they were bulky, lacked in power and features and the displays and battery life left much to be desired.  Ultimately these were impractical, over-priced gadgets at best.

Recently, at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference, there was much speculation that Apple has been working on, and would possibly announce a new tablet computing product.  Since then, the conference and the much hyped keynote address have come and gone.  We saw a new iPhone 3GS announced, the release of the new iPhone OS 3.0 and more details on the upcoming Snow Leopard Mac OS release.  Unfortunately, still no tablet from Apple.

Why bother with engineering ‘yet another tablet PC?’

Because most of the reasons tablet PCs were impractical in the past, most of the technical challenges that were unaddressable before can now be overcome…  Tablet PCs need to be ultra-light to be carried around easily, ultra-thin for portability, ultra-powerful so more visual applications can be used, super-bright so the device can be carried and used outdoors and super-high screen resolutions to simulate the ease of use of working with and reading print. This coincides with better graphics/visual computing power since a tablet PC is mostly useful as an interactive piece of paper.  A Tablet PC must also have extensive battery life, just like any notebook computer on the market today.  Finally, they need superior wireless capabilities and must have storage capacity as close to a notebook or desktop computer as possible.

With all of these technical requirements, and engineers having already tried to address these issues, in what ways has technology improved in even just the last 12 months to make a difference over current ‘best attempts’ that are already on the market?

Technology has improved in nearly every way that pertains to portable computing, and may finally be ready for primetime

Let’s start with ultra-powerful.  Intel is releasing ‘ultra-mobile’ and ‘lower power’ quad-core processors in August.  These processors are much faster yet draw less power than previous less capable processors.  So in a tight space you’re getting near desktop processing capabilities in a portable device.

Extensive battery life.  Most cutting edge portable devices are only recently taking advantage of ultra-efficient Lithium-Ion battery technology whose full potential has not been realized yet.  Apple’s new iPhone 3GS is a more cutting edge example.  Same size battery, however faster processing capabilities and yet even extended battery life in almost every category from the previous generation iPhone.

Durable and Sturdy.  Solid-state hard drives.  I can’t believe tablets have even been taken seriously thus far considering most of them have very fragile, sensitive parts in them.  How can you carry something around a work environment that’s so fragile?  The most sensitive part may be the hard drive.  Nothing too important, only the place where you store all of your documents, applications, the operating system and all of your settings.  If you drop that thing at just the wrong time, it’s all for naught. Do we have an effective replacement for this?

In just the past year, a solid-state form of non-volatile RAM (Memory or file storage that remains even when the power to the computer is off) has finally come to maturity.  It’s now fast enough, big enough and affordable enough to put in specialized devices like a tablet PC.  And also solves the durability problem with portable devices.  This kind of storage has been around for years but only recently has the combination of the higher speeds and available sizes (e.g. 120GB that a typical modern laptop requires) that finally make it a practical, even preferred option to a traditional hard drive.

Thinner with a brighter, high-resolution display.  These improvements can be achieved with a single innovation and this one is my favorite as it ranks highest on the coolness scale. In the last couple years, OLED (Organic Light-emitting Diode) display technology has  matured dramatically. Perhaps its greatest single benefit, OLED displays do not need a backlight as traditional LCD displays require.  With OLED technology, the pixels themselves provide not only the color, but also the light for the pixel.  In traditional LCD displays power requirements are extensive because of the separate backlight draining precious battery life.  This ‘self-lit pixel’ method not only saves power but also provides perfectly even lighting throughout the entire display as well as a much brighter picture.

Multiple benefits. OLED displays also have another significant benefit, thickness.  OLED panels are a fraction of the thickness of LCD panels simply because of how they work. OLED displays typically have smaller pixels.  If you can squeeze more pixels into the same space you have a sharper, higher-resolution display.  Some of the best LCD panels have 90 ppi (pixels per inch) resolution.  The iPhone display already sports an amazing 163 ppi.  Ideally, we could get 200 ppi or better with OLED to simulate print like the Amazon Kindle e-Ink technology, but that’s yet to come on a device like this.  And if those benefits aren’t enough, OLED displays use less toxic components in their manufacturing so they’re even better for the environment!

So where’s my ultra-thin, bright, fast, green, cheap tablet PC?

Well…Apple hasn’t made it yet.  Or at least, they haven’t announced it yet.  I say Apple, as opposed to HP or Fujitsu or other existing tablet PC makers because Apple is the only PC maker that has consistently shown it has the innovative spirit, knowhow, marketing and raw guts to try and release a super cool computing device like this.  Initial versions may not be ‘cheap’ but most cutting edge technology isn’t.  More importantly, it will be usable, sturdy, powerful and practical.

Hopefully, more to come on this topic!

VERY REAL Reality TV…Joan persists in pigeon-holing Annie until the squeaky wheel, and with blind loyalty from her supporters wins out. Par for the course, politics as usual in American Corporations. Performance again loses to politics. Another reason to love working for ones self, and another reason Corporate America is a failure.

What we witnessed this 8th season on Celebrity Apprentice was very realistic. It has also been my experience watching, co-workers, like children, bicker and fight until the “more popular” of them wins out among their peers. Be consistent, break someone down over time and gain popularity through friendship and humor. Being more effective in business, more experienced at the task at hand and more productive has nothing to do with it. Which is unfortunate, because it’s a business they’re both working for.

Pocket Aces Don’t Help Promiscuous Pit Viper

Joan, being funny and clever and having been in the public eye much longer (possibly too long) has won the popularity hand. And that’s proved better than pocket Aces for Annie Duke. You see, Joan was playing with a hand Annie simply could never be dealt.

When I was new to corporate politics, in the early 90′s, I watched a newly appointed department manager be unseated within days by someone who actually cried to their manager to steal the position. Unbelievably, the “cry baby” was rewarded. The qualified candidate’s placement was second guessed and they were demoted. I then had to work with the new manager and the demoted manager as well. What fun!  This was so unbelievably destructive to the company on so many levels, and ultimately, the endeavor was a failure due to the fact that crying has never proven to be an effective business tactic long term.

We all wonder how GM, Chrysler, Ford have unbelievably unqualified people at the top…this is how. Cry babies and kiss-asses are the general breed that want to climb the ladder. People that are good at what they do, and love what they do, by nature, simply aren’t that political. Ultimately, it is very rare that someone truly earns these upper management positions. And those that do, don’t often see failure like the typical American Corporation has been experiencing lately.

Mommy Help Me!

Finally, it was never really mentioned on the show, but am I the only one that sees a HUMONGOUS character flaw in Melissa and Joan that baby Rivers called out to mommy for help, almost as if it were a reflex, whenever she was in trouble?

This is unbelievable.  1) For Melissa to be so co-dependent on her mother at her age is embarrassing for both of them and 2) What motivates a mother to raise her child to rely on her in such ways?

It’s a Stretch

It tells me enough that someone would feel so insecure about themselves and their appearance to have their face artificially stretched out to the point it becomes painful to look at.  Let alone the butt of so many jokes.

It was already a far reach for me to maintain respect for Joan after that.  Maybe she had me convinced too.  I don’t think she’s all bad.  She’s clever and witty and has been around a long time.  For her age she’s still punching along.  There’s much to be said for that.  But it’s not enough to have carte blanche.  I’ve seen enough ego from her to last 100 lifetimes.

Annie We Love You!

Annie, I just want to say that what happened to you makes you more a real person.  Anyone who doesn’t make it through the cut-throat, back-stabbing world of corporate politics is more than OK in my book.  At the tables you have to be cold and calculating.  But I’ve seen enough to know you’re definitely the Queen of Hearts to me.

American culture truly is falling apart when an emotionally unstable individual named “Perez Hilton” dressed like a character from Mary Poppins throws the most deserving Miss USA a very controversial curve ball, ultimately costing her the crown.

It’s quite apparent that Carrie Prejean would be Miss USA 2009 if she hadn’t had the misfortune of picking the ‘gay’ question card.

The Value in Question

I believe all of us should have equal rights.  No matter what you believe, in God or otherwise.  And I believe same sex couples should receive the same benefits that straight couples receive.

However, the term marriage, the institution of marriage, was conceived by religion and is clearly stated in the oldest of texts that it is, quite specifically, to be between a man and a woman.

Have domestic partnerships, recognize them, by law.  But then we must remove the religious concept of marriage from our laws as I see it.  Isn’t this a separation of church and state?  A principal this country of ours was founded on? But that’s for yet another topic of discussion.

Carrie is our Miss USA

She was truthful and honest, and I believe, represents the majority of Americans on her values, specifically the one in question.  This is the individual that should represent America in the Miss Universe pageant in August.  Not the woman that may actually have exactly the same opinion on gay marriage but happened to choose the right card and was lucky enough not to have had to air her controversial opinions on national television.

We love you Carrie, you’re our true Miss USA.

Starting with the “it’s about time” features

Cut, Copy, Paste…it’s about time! After much too much time, the iPhone platform has gotten away without having what I believed to be basic functionality. Cut, Copy, Paste. My HTC 85xx from almost 4 years ago running Windoze Mobile had this! Anyway, it’s here, and it’s about as easy-to-use as they could make it. Beginning with a “double-tap” to select your text. This feature works automatically in all apps supporting plain text and web text. And if you make a mistake cutting, copying or pasting you can simply ‘shake’ the device to undo!

MMS Messaging…another smartphone standard NOT standard on the iPhone, Multi-Media Messaging or (MMS). The iPhone will soon get this functionality as well. Breathing an “it’s about time” sigh.

Stereo Bluetooth…trying to hold back my excitement to express a little frustration…It’s about time Apple!  Although, it will only work on a new iPhone rumored to come out in the summer.  Ok, this feature, I believe, has been a key detractor in getting someone to switch to the iPhone.  Adding this one will clearly move the iPhone into that “finally, now it does what I want, so I can switch” category.  Even though I wish I could put this under the “nifty new stuff” category, I can’t, this one is long overdue no matter how you look at it.

Ok on to the nifty new stuff

Subscriptions. Starting with iPhone OS 3.0 you will now be able to pay for apps via a subscription model. This is a common billing method for app developers on other mobile platforms and is long overdue. This in itself will open up a world of opportunity for would-be iPhone developers and should prove to be a real opportunity for even more growth for the iPhone’s market.

Bluetooth. Developers will now be able to interact intimately with bluetooth devices from their apps. This is sure to open up the iPhone to additional uses such as scientific research, external device control, medical purposes. For example, a demonstration from LifeScan showed their bluetooth glucose meter wirelessly communicating with a diabetes management application running on the iPhone. Expanded Bluetooth capabilities also include peer-to-peer connectivity without the need for availability of a wi-fi network.

Push notifications. iPhone apps can now take advanatage of a long awaited feature…Push Notifications. Have a message waiting somewhere other than email? An event or task? Custom alerts? You can now be notified without being logged into these services independently. I suspect a new version of the iPhone Facebook App, for example, to be updated with this functionality.

In-game voice chat. The iPhone has found a secondary and very powerful market as a mobile gaming platform. The new capability of in-game voice chat is sure to solidify the leadership position in this key market and enhance the mobile gaming experience, making it feel more like console gaming platforms that use similar “in-game voice” features.

Spotlight.  Apple has brought their universal search technology to the iPhone.  Adding search to almost all of the built-in iPhone apps, also added a “Spotlight” app allowing you to search the entire device in one place.  This is a very powerful, practical feature…I wonder how fast it will be.

Still missing

3G bluetooth tethering.  Another battery draining, AT&T network resource hogging feature.  I took my MacBook Pro and my 3G iPhone to a business meeting with a client at a cafe and couldn’t access the Internet.  This was inconvenient and somewhat embarassing considering I am a technology consultant by trade. Yet another capability my Windows Mobile device had 4 years ago, but the ‘cutting edge’ iPhone does not. As much as I love my iPhone I will continue to rip on my favorite technology company for blatantly leaving out a key capability of a modern smartphone.

Flash.  Another understanding is that Apple did not want limited Flash capability on the iPhone as is available on other smartphones.  The iPhone is being touted as a mobile computing platform.  I do believe Apple is working with Adobe on delivering a more complete version of Flash.

Overall, the iPhone is a great phone.  In most respects it is cutting edge, friendly and even fun to use.  The new features and capabilities unveiled today make it a more complete, well-rounded solution.  If the pricing stays the same, I think whatever new phone is being released this summer will be a hit!

iPhone 3.0 is great, when can I get my hands on it?

Developers will get a beta release of the iPhone 3.0 SDK today.  However, users will not be able to take advantage of iPhone OS 3.0 until it is released this summer.  The update will be free to all iPhone owners and will cost $9.95 for iPod Touch owners.