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Month: March 2008

iPhone: Now Worth Every Penny

I’m browsing the sites live blogging the Apple iPhone SDK press conference and what do I see?

Wait for it.

Microsoft Exchange support for email. (Cue the Geek Cheer!)

“We have licensed the ActiveSync protocol to build directly into the iPhone,” Schiller says. That’s a huge request from their customers.

With ActiveSync, the iPhone talks directly to Exchange. So the iPhone will get push e-mail, push calendaring, push contacts, global access lists, and remote wipe, all while talking to Exchange. And it’s built into the existing applications — mail goes into the same Mail program, calendar into the same Calendar, and so on.

In all seriousness – this must have feature will soon be available for all of us iPhone users who worked in an environment that is heavily littered with Microsoft Enterprise applications. We’ve been limited to IMAP and POP up til now, and while these ‘work’, they’re not the real thing. Exchange support for the iPhone will be the killer app.

Technorati Tags:
Apple, iPhone, Microsoft Exchange, Mobile Computing, Mobie Email, Email

IED in Time Square

By now you’ve no doubt heard about the improvised explosive device that was detonated in front of the U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Time Square. The blast occurred at 3:43 AM, the one time of the night when the famed Time Square is virtually empty. Some throughout the blogosphere are claiming this was a coordinated protest over military recruitment. Still others are calling it a plot born from leftist groups like Code Pink. I’m not so sure. What seems clear though is that the bombers didn’t intend to kill anyone, according to an analysis of pictures taken at the scene.

Oh, and here’s a surprise – the moonbats think the whole thing was a right wing plot.

Technorati Tags:
Time Square, New York City, IED, U.S. Army

Apple Smack

Think Apple Computers and Adobe Systems are two peas in a pod? They’ve certainly made billions of dollars from one another, so it’s easy to assume all is well in Silicon Valley between the two behemoths. Leave it to Steve Jobs, though, to pull the pin on a stink bomb and throw it in Adobe’s general direction.

Adobe Systems Inc.’s popular media player for cellphones simply isn’t good enough for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said Tuesday in the most substantive comments to date about why the iPhone can’t now be used to view a large percentage of videos on the Internet.

As Jobs put it Tuesday, Apple’s iPhone, with all its cutting-edge mobile Internet trickery, needs something much better than the current Flash player that Adobe makes for cellphones. The Flash Player option that fits the bill is made for devices like laptops that are larger than the iPhone; as a consequence, it performs too slowly on the iPhone, he said.

“There’s this missing product in the middle,” Jobs said.

An Adobe spokesman didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

Steve Jobs sure knows how to win friends and influence people. Most people see him personally as a class “A” jerk, but marvel at his ability to create the most innovative products. Still, Steve knows how to get people motivated, and this public speech directed at Adobe might just be what it takes to create the software he desperately needs for the iPhone, and future Apple mobile computing products.

Technorati Tags:
Apple, iPhone, Steve Jobs, Adobe, Flash Player

Patrick Swayze has 5 Weeks To Live

The 55 year-old actor made famous in the movies “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” was diagnosed in late January with pancreatic cancer. It’s now spread to other organs.

For the past month, Patrick, 55, has been traveling to Stanford University’s prestigious cancer center in Palo Alto for radical chemotherapy, but his doctors are no longer optimistic that the treatments will be successful.

Patrick and his wife Lisa Niemi — who both have pilot’s licenses — have been flying their private Beechcraft plane into Palo Alto’s airport, minutes away from the Stanford Cancer Center, where the actor has received outpatient treatment.

He received three doses of chemotherapy and the tumor shrank, but less than his doctors had hoped for — and Patrick was told he should prepare for the end.

“He was told he could have two more treatments, but his cancer was not responding. In short – they held out little hope for a cure,” said an insider.

Technorati Tags:
Dirty Dancing, Patrick Swayze, Pancreatic Cancer

It’s The Math, Stupid

He knows it. She knows it. The question is now, who’s going to solve the problem. Who’s going to appear as the patriarch of the Democratic party and cast judgement on how the rest of this nomination process goes? The fact is, the super delegates could do it today. They could easily put their support behind Obama and then go to the Clinton campaign with the news. But they won’t do that, because they’re intimidated by Bill and Hillary. It’s really kind of pathetic when you think of it.

It’s simple really. Either follow the rules and let the delegate count rule the day, or change the rules for the benefit of the Clintons. What’s the exist strategy for the Democratic party?

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Politics

John McCain is the Republican Nominee

With a win in Texas, John McCain has now clinched the GOP nomination.

McCain, 71, gained the 1,191 delegates needed to claim the Republican nomination with a series of primary victories, completing a remarkable comeback that began in the snows of New Hampshire six weeks ago. President Bush invited him to the White House for a show of support on Wednesday.

The former Vietnam prisoner of war is making his second try for the White House, after losing the GOP nomination to Bush in 2000.

McCain went over the top in the Associated Press’ delegate count based on his performance in the night’s primaries as well as a late show of support from Republican National Committee members who are delegates to the party convention next summer in St. Paul, Minn. Campaign aides readied an enormous banner bearing the magic number to serve as a backdrop for a victory celebration in Dallas.

Like it or not, McCain is our man. It’s time to rally around him and work to ensure his victory in November.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, GOP, John McCain, President, Texas, White House

Texas

The polls are closed in Texas and here’s what Drudge has up:

OBAMA 515,610 54%
CLINTON 427,225 45%

Official results soon.

Update: TV Networks call Texas for Clinton.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Texas

Ohio

John McCain easily wins the Buckeye State tonight, picking up 31 delegates.

As of right now, the race is too close to call on the Democratic side.

Update: Clinton takes Ohio.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Ohio

Vermont

[AP] Barack Obama has defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Vermont primary, and the Democratic rivals are dueling in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island in their race for the party’s presidential nomination. John McCain has won the Republican primary in Vermont as he reaches out to secure the GOP nomination.

The Democratic victory was Obama’s 12th straight over the former first lady, who is desperate to rebound later in the night in the other three states holding elections.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain

Will Huckabee Give Up on Wednesday?

His mathematic possibilities ran out long ago, but the former Arkansas governor has stuck around for unexplainable reasons. Some say he simply wants a voice at the GOP convention. Others claim he’s running for Vice President. Whatever the intentions, all signs point to Sen. John McCain gathering enough delegates tonight to clinch the Republican nomination. This much is clear – Mike Huckabee will have a big decision to make on Wednesday.

Update: Wow, that was quick. Huckabee drops out.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, GOP, Huckabee, John McCain, Republicans