[Mobility]

Google released the Linux-based Chrome OS a few days ago, to a largely mixed reception. Many pundits were quick to dismiss it as "unimpressive" and "underwhelming." It this a bad thing? For Google, it doesn't really seem to matter.

The Chrome OS is a revolutionary new operating system that pretty much relies on cloud computing for 99% of its work¹. A Chrome OS netbook doesn't have a hard drive -- it only has a non-volatile flash drive that processes data. All your documents, programs, and applications will be based on the cloud -- and this means a slew of pros and cons when compared to the way we currently do things.

Chrome OS Pros:

#1 - No hard drive.
That means you don't have to backup your files -- everything will be stored on secure servers on the cloud. That also means you won't have to worry about viruses and other malware infecting your system.

#2 - Speed, speed, speed.
Chrome OS netbooks can startup at a super-fast 7 seconds, which means you can start working in the amount of time it takes you to turn on the TV. The fastest Windows systems take at least a minute².

#3 - It's open-source.
That also means it's (... well.. kinda') free.

Chrome OS Cons:

#1 - Needs an Internet connection to survive.
That means when the Net connection conks out (which happens more than you think in this part of the world), you'll be left in the dark.

#2 - No installing of third-party software.
You can't, for instance, install video games. There's enough entertainment on the Internet, you might argue, but this is still a pretty limiting feature for most of us.

Google doesn't seem to mind the mixed feedback -- it would seem that most pundits see Chrome OS as Google's attempt to take over the computing world³. That's actually missing the point -- Google isn't out to beat Windows. At Chrome's infancy, Google is very likely out to start by dominating the Netbook market⁴, since Chrome OS's features seem more geared towards portable computing than anything else.

The way I see it, as it stands, a Chrome OS netbook would make an OK second computer -- one you could bring on business trips and such. Chrome OS won't officially be out until next year, meaning Google's simply letting the community take a more active part in developing it.

But no matter what Google's intentions are, there's no doubt that Microsoft is on its toes right now. Google Apps has already scored a noticeable dent on Microsoft Office -- will the Windows OS line be next?

¹ OK, I just picked that percentage figure out of the air.
² OK, that's probably not true, but it sure feels like a full minute (sometimes two, even).
³ OK, who doesn't know that yet? Dumbass.
⁴ OK. OK. They're out to take down Windows. You happy now? Geez.

Amazon did a great job getting us on our feet when it recently announced it was coming out with an international version of the Kindle electronic book reader. Readers outside the United States have long wanted to get their hands on the most popular e-reader today, and it would seem that the wait will be over in October 19. Well, for most of us, at least.

Possibly the biggest buzz-kill of the season, Amazon surprisingly isn't offering the international Kindle in some of the biggest markets in the world -- Canada, China, New Zealand, South Korea, and (you guessed it) Singapore. Readers around the world have e-mailed Amazon asking for an explanation, but all Amazon could say is that they're working to make the international Kindle available in all countries down the line.

Adding salt to the wounds is the fact that Zimbabwe, with its million-percent inflation rates, are getting the Kindle. What gives?

There are two major hurdles to offering the Kindle in a particular country -- the first are local publishers, who may argue the Kindle may be stepping on some touchy copyright issues. The other reason are the local carriers, who need to offer AT&T's WhisperNet service to reach Kindle users -- and this might take a bit of negotiation.

In most countries, local publishers are saying they're not the ones holding things up.

I'm an optimist, and I like to think that this is just the first of many stages in which Amazon plans to make the Kindle available to the rest of us. I'd like to think that Amazon is really negotiating with Singapore's carriers, and I'd like to think that I'll still have the chance of getting my own Kindle before Christmas.

Let's just hope Amazon gets moving soon, before Sony and other rivals move in with some new stuff before them.

September wasn't very nice for Google and its users. Just yesterday, Gmail was hit with its second outage in the space of three weeks, and while this one wasn't as bad as the one that hit on September 1, it's enough to make many of us question whether doing everything the Google way really is a good idea.

Google is pretty much the industry leader of cloud computing, where people can access Office applications and save their work on the Internet. It's a largely more accessible and more cost-effective business solution than, say, Microsoft Office. The success of Google Apps in the past few years has enticed other players in the industry, including Microsoft, to develop their own cloud-based offerings.

But now that even Google is having trouble keeping its servers up indefinitely, it's confirming what most skeptics are worried about -- that if Google goes, so does all your work.

I myself am not that keen about the cloud. I think I've written before that I'm not really that confident about leaving my work on the Internet and being stuck whenever I'm offline. Sorry, but I'd much rather do it the old-fashioned way.

Speaking of the old-fashioned way, Google's new offering, SideWiki, is also coming under fire. Back in the day, bloggers enjoyed the way people would comment on their writings. But SideWiki, an application that Google Toolbar users can use to comment on certain websites, might be intruding on something bloggers consider sacred.

Of course, Google plans to rule the Internet unconditionally one day. SideWiki is apparently a means of gathering information from certain sites, through viewer commentary, to accomplish that end. Naturally, bloggers aren't happy with the idea that comments that would otherwise have been posted on their sites instead end up in Imperial Google's index.

But that's okay -- it's probably only a matter of time before spammers take to SideWiki and flood it with so much useless information that Google will have to take it down. But if Google does find a way to filter out the ne'er-do-wells, THEN SideWiki just might be something to watch.

Some people expected a new camera-packing iPod. Others expected an Apple e-reader. Still others expected the rumored Mac Tablet. What they got yesterday was even better than all of those combined -- Steve Jobs was back.

Gasps were heard when Jobs walked onto the stage in Apple's press event yesterday, and the standing "welcome back" ovation lasted for a good full minute. Jobs appeared in his traditional black mock turtleneck sweater and jeans, and looked like he was as happy as everyone else to be back where he belonged -- onstage.

But eventually it became clear that cancer has really taken its toll on the Apple head honcho. He had lost a lot of weight, and his movements and speech were softer and more measured. At the beginning of his talk, he explained his condition, which has been kept under wraps for several months -- he had recently undergone a life-saving liver transplant, and was very thankful for the generous young individual who donated his organs after passing away.

But as he said himself, "But I'm vertical, and I'm glad to be back."

Later on, Jobs gave one of his signature keynote speeches, unveiling the new iPod. The 8GB version could hold 2,000 songs, 7,000 photos, and up to 8 hours of video -- the 16GB version could hold twice those numbers. And taking its cue from the latest iPod Shuffle, menus and song titles can also be spoken, letting users navigate the iPod without looking at the screen.

What's more, the new iPod now comes with the highly-anticipated camera, which is capable of recording VGA (840x480p) videos at up to 30 fps. Video-editing is also possible, with 15 special effects built into the software. The 8GB and 16GB versions should sell for around $149 and $179 respectively.

There was still no word about a "Mac Tablet", and Jobs basically dismissed the idea of an Apple e-reader to compete against Kindle at a later interview. The response at the stock market was also muted, closing at only a fraction of a percent up from the previous day.

But hey, we're just glad he's back.

Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia is about to make a splash at the Netbook scene with its own offering, the Nokia Booklet 3G. They may be a little late in elbowing into the Netbook industry, what with the market getting more and more saturated by the month. But there are many reasons to love the Booklet 3G and what it potentially offers.

#1 - The good. The Nokia Booklet 3G has all the makings of an HD media player. It has a 10.1-inch widescreen (which I'm sure can handle 1280x720p without a problem) and packs HDMI. You can play Hi-Def movies on your flatscreen whenever you want to.

Oh, and Nokia claims that this little baby will have a 12-hour battery life. Nokia has been known to create phones that are tough as nails and can last longer than most celebrity marriages, so this alone makes the Booklet 3G a good draw when it comes out.

#2 - The better. I'm more of a "function" person than a "form" person, which is why the Booklet 3G is so attractive to me. I've noticed that most Laptop and Netbook makers on the market today still have one fatal flaw -- they don't exactly know what their customers want when they're on the road.

Naturally, Nokia is different -- it's been a mobile phone industry leader for over a decade, and it knows the ins and outs of what their people want.

#3 - The sexy. Of course, a little "form" won't hurt at all. The Nokia Booklet 3G has a 2cm thick frame, a glass screen, a sleek aluminum chassis, and an island keyboard. Some people call it the Macbook Nano they've been waiting for.

What also makes Nokia's move into the Netbook market interesting is that it "seems" to have beaten Apple to it. Mobile phone sales have been disappointing over the past year and a half, and is expected to decline even further this year -- but Netbook sales are expected to double.

I tend to wonder whether the guys at Apple are slapping themselves on the forehead after this bit of news came out. It'll be interesting to see what they'll come up with in retaliation, but for now, we'll just have to wait till the 2nd of September, when Nokia will announce the Booklet 3G's price and availability in Stuttgart, Germany.

After a recent study that showed drivers are 23 times more likely to figure in a car crash when texting, US lawmakers are scrambling to ban the activity altogether. But will legislation really solve the problem? As early as now, there are already several questions about the move:

#1 - Just how easily can law enforcers catch drivers in the act?

It's fairly easy for motorists to hide the fact that they're texting, and law enforcers might not spot violators at a glance. They'll probably need more sophisticated technology to enforce the law, such as high-speed cameras -- or simply hope the driver is dumb enough to do the act in an untinted car, or with the windows down.

#2 - Will legislation really kill the habit in the long run?

While reading up about the recent study, I've come across several blogger comments that went this way:

"Really? They spent millions of dollars to prove the obvious?"

"I can't believe they spent all that money to prove what everybody has known for several years."

"Where do I sign up to get money to conduct studies? A few million will do just fine."

It's easy to think that anyone with enough common sense will know that texting while behind the wheel can put themselves in danger, but obviously this isn't the case. Banning the act may discourage some errant drivers, but will it discourage enough?

#3 - Will driver education be a more cost-effective solution?

There are other ways to make people kick the habit, such as through better driver education. Insurance companies can give bonuses to drivers who take special "don't-text-while-driving" courses, and gear such benefits towards teenagers, who don't get many breaks with insurance companies to begin with.


Seriously, I love texting technology -- while we're waiting for some real city-wide Wi-Fi technology to roll around, it'll have to serve our needs to stay in touch. But at some point, we'll have to realize that the most important thing to do is to keep our eyes on the road.

The Palm Pre had the unusual advantage over its competitors when it first came out, when users found that the new smartphone could actually sync itself using Apple's popular iTunes software. Naturally, it didn't evade Apple's radar for long, and the next iTunes update stamped out the possibility of syncing with the Pre.

Palm's next move was enough to make me raise an eyebrow. The latest software update to the Pre once again lets users sync their media with Apple's iTunes platform. When pressed for comment, the guys at Palm said what they did was completely legal -- when the Pre connects to a PC, it sends out a USB signature that's similar to the one assigned by the USB Implementers Forum to Apple devices.

What's more, they claimed that Apple was misusing the iTunes USB foundation by making it respond only to devices with Apple's assigned USB codes.

Hmm, okay. I think that's called "the way we do things around here."

Seriously, Palm may need to up their legal position a bit -- the USB Implementers Forum states that a device's USB code must match the USB ID given to its manufacturing company. Palm has already approached the USB industry standards group with their plans to make the Pre work with iTunes. So far, the group hasn't commented on the matter.

As usual, the blogosphere is divided on the issue. There are some who say Palm is doing the smart thing, since it's working around legal loopholes to its advantage, the same way Apple has done in the past. On the other hand, there are some who say that what Palm is doing is very unprofessional, and that they seriously should reconsider their position if they want to stay in the competition.

There's no doubt that the Pre has won some loyal followers, and Palm is hanging in there for a while yet. But this latest move seems to me like Palm's in a worse position than many think, and the company is resorting to even the dirtier tricks to get a leg up on the industry.

I doubt this move will make a dent in Apple's user base, which is why I'm confident that it'll get stamped out by Apple yet again, very soon. If you ask me where I stand, I'm naturally with Apple on this one. I don't intend to come across as a "hard-a**" for intellectual property rights, but that's the way it should be.

I've written a few times about how Google's products seem to assimilate many technologies into one, even if they may seem perpetually locked in beta stages. Google Voice bundles all your phone numbers into one, and Google Wave will (potentially) bundle everything we do on the Internet into a single application. With yesterday's development in the mobile phone industry, I'm beginning to wonder whether all this "bundling" is becoming a trend.

Two days ago, the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturers struck a deal with the European Commission to come up with a standard charger. It will have a mini-USB port and be usable between different brands of phones. To us consumers, that means no more drawers full of useless mobile phone chargers.

Taken at face value, it's obviously a good move -- not only do manufacturers enjoy lower packaging and manufacturing costs, but the world will also benefit from considerably less electronic waste. The Commission and the companies that made the agreement are confident that the new charger will be available by 2010.

What's surprising about this move is that Apple, which has enjoyed considerable success licensing its Dock Connectors to accessory makers, also signed up for the agreement. We all know how Apple can be pretty touchy with intellectual property. It leaves me wondering whether Apple's going to make a total switch to the mini-USB charger, or offer one in addition to its Dock Connector or maybe a mere adapter.

Is it just me who thinks Apple has something up its sleeve with this? :)

Then again, I have a feeling many of the other mobile phone companies -- which include powerhouses Research In Motion, Nokia, Samsung, LG, and Sony Ericsson -- would have been more reluctant to sign up for the agreement if Apple hadn't.

As usual, most of the reader commentary I saw on this topic turned into flame wars between Apple fans, Internet trolls, and everyone else...

In any case, I'm sure the furor will die down once this "standard charger" idea makes its way to other digital devices, such as laptops, digital cameras, and netbooks. There's just one problem with the idea though -- what if you have to charge two or more devices, each with different wattage specs, at the same time? You can't manage with one, right?

I jest.

Apple recently dipped into yet another iPhone controversy this weekend. Apparently one of its $2 Apps, called "Hottest Girls," got the axe after its developers began posting images of topless women in it. It's the second iPhone App to be approved, then taken down, in recent times.

Apple's App Store is a marvel in marketing and technology, and saw over one billion purchases by Apple device users over the past year. It has games and helpful programs, such as those that tell you when the next bus is going to arrive at your bus stop -- but it also has Apps that can run contrary to digital decency.

Many of Apple's Apps feature scantily-clad women, but the "Hottest Girls" App is the first in recorded history to show nudity. Apple immediately asked its developer to remove the offending content before taking the App off the App Store for good.

This is obviously a move on Apple's part to remind users and developers that they still have the final say when it comes to what Apps make it to the App Store. But the move did raise two points of criticism:

#1 - People complained at how Apple banned certain Apps for explicit language, yet briefly allowed the notorious "Baby Shaker" App, which many thought promoted child abuse.

#2 - Some people say iPhone users can access porn websites anytime they want anyway, so taking down the "Hottest Girls" App was a moot point.

When it comes to public decency, I guess it's all Apple can do when they screen their Apps, device features, and everything else that go into their devices carefully before offering them for public consumption. But they can't control the Internet, so digital decency rules are out of their hands.

But is it really possible to enforce digital decency?

I doubt it, but with what Google is doing these days, we just might live to see the day when the Big G controls the entire Internet.

Google is steadily rolling out its Google Voice service -- which bundles all your phone numbers into one -- and is actively working on Google Wave, which just might bundle everything you do on the Internet into one Google service. With the way Google is "defragmenting" people's digital lives these days, I think the idea of an overall Internet authority isn't too far-fetched.

All eyes in the tech and media industry were on San Francisco yesterday, as Apple held the Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC). As expected, some rumors were confirmed and others were quashed -- but while Apple fanboys would love what Steve Jobs and company has done with the new iPhone, other consumers may find the upgrades a little too catchy-uppy.

The new iPhone 3G S (the "S" stands for "speed," according to Apple's execs) is now out, touted as the fastest iPhone ever made. It'll come bundled with the iPhone OS 3, which is faster and more dependable than its previous versions. What's more, users will enjoy a nifty 3-megapixel camera (up from 2 megapixels on the previous iPhone), complete with face recognition and video capabilities.

(Yup, that's right -- iPhone users can now capture videos. Woo-errr... -hoo!)

The iPhone 3G S also came with other upgrades, but for the most part, they were all to keep the iPhone on top of the heap instead of bringing any game-breaking changes to the market. Other smartphones released almost a year ago already had 5-megapixel cameras with video capabilities, and some newer phones -- such as the Palm Pre -- already have operating systems fast enough to run more than one program at the same time.

But no matter how unflattering this article may sound to Apple and those who love their products, there's still no doubt that long lines will once again snake around city blocks leading to stores and shops selling it. One of the things Apple users will love with the new iPhone is its cost -- remember Apple's unbelievable decision to sell the 8GB iPhone 3G for $199, and the 16GB version for $299?

Well, it's topped that -- the new iPhone comes in a 16GB version that sells for $199. If you can spare another hundred dollars, you can get an iPhone with a whopping 32GB of memory. And if you've been on the edge about buying an iPhone 3G for the past 11 months, then here's your chance -- the second-generation iPhone will start selling at only $99 when the new iPhone hits store shelves next Friday.

Does the Palm Pre still have a chance?

Yes it does, actually -- it's still a bargain at $199, and I'm willing to bet that it's still faster and more reliable than the new iPhone. It also has the funny characteristic of registering as an iPod or iPhone when synced with iTunes. If the quirks at Apple's legal team don't catch this, it'll make things much easier for Pre users.

So even if the Pre doesn't have the ego boost of seeing long lines, it'll get by -- and like it -- with stores running short of Palm's smartphone.