John at myITforum.com

OK, I read Rod’s blog about “chimping” about gas gouging, but what exactly is that?  What price point is considered “gouging”?  I stopped at the pumps today on the way home, and gas was 2.999 (by the way, I STILL have not figured out why and how they price it with three decimal points).  Anyway, I pumped the gas, staring at the netherworld, until the pump “clicked” at me.  I turned around to top off (OK, who doesn’t do this?  Really?  Does anyone really pay attention to the stickers on the pumps that say don’t top off?  I mean really?  Who doesn’t round?). 

Anyway, I tried to “round”, and I ended up at $55.  $55 to put gas in my car.  Are they serious?  Who can really afford this and for how long?  I know I certainly can’t. 

The forthcoming Motorola Moto Q is the latest addition to the list of new generation Smartphones that operate on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 2003 platforms, which allow subscribers to transfer and listen to an unlimited number of tracks from Napster's 1.5 million-plus song catalog for one monthly fee. Napster To Go was the world's first portable subscription service and offers a compelling alternative to a la carte download-only offerings.

In addition to the highly-anticipated Moto Q, Napster To Go compatible phones are currently available from some of the most recognized names in the mobile industry including: Audiovox, HP, HTC, i-Mate, Orange, Palm Samsung, Siemens and Sierra. All models also offer transfer capabilities, ensuring playback of both subscription content and individually purchased downloads.

OK, call me a little biased, but this is a MUCH better solution than an “ipod”.

Well, I’m only one working day away from a 4–day weekend.  As Mr. Trent already blogged, we’re going to be having a cookout at the ranch this weekend, and he and his clan was invited.  Should be a great time as those of you who know him would know.  He’s always good for a few laughs.  How many friends do you know that you can call a $hit one day, and hang out and eat and drink the next day laughing about anything and everything (and oogling the wife at the same time)?  Not too many of those in my book, but Rod certainly qualifies as one of those.  Life can certainly throw you for some loops, as Katrina is reminding all of us, and its friends you can hang out with and laugh with that reminds you what’s important. 

Labor Day weekend has always marked the “end of the season” where I’m from.  The city is infamous for having a great fireworks display sponsored by a hard-rock radio station.  Nothing like watching fireworks and listening to Led Zeppelin, particularly when you’ve had several hard beverages or other um…things better left unsaid.  That’s how everyone talks around this time of the year.  It’s always “going to the fireworks?”, but it’s also moved to “watching the fireworks this year?” because the older we get, the fewer actually go all the way downtown to the river and most watch it on TV.  It won’t be a front row seat this year but TV certainly helps.  As the kids get older, maybe we’ll venture back down that way.  Crowds didn’t bother me in the state I was typically in, but I don’t think this is the venue for three little boys at this point.

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to this weekend.  Hopefully I’ll have some stories I can share.  Mr. Green Tea is always a hoot.

The water is getting a little muddy now with several vendors announcing availability of the new HTC Universal.  It’s all the same phone, just different branding with different carriers.  This is similar to the Siemens sx66 and Audiovox 6600, basically the same “guts”.

So, I’m keeping a list.  T-Mobile calls it the MDA Pro, Vodafone calls it the VPA IV, Orange calls it the SPV M5000, and i-Mate calls it the JASJAR (go figure).  All of these at this point are international, not US.

I just don’t know whether to believe it or not.  I think a huge part of this is hype to generate traffic to websites (i.e. I don’t get much web traffic so I’ll tell people I’ve seen a Treo 670 in hopes of generating more traffic).  For those who don’t know, the Treo 670 is supposed to be the first Windows Mobile Treo device.  I’ll believe it when I see it, or when it’s confirmed by one of the vendors.  To date, NO ONE has confirmed.

According to Gizmodo, an intrepid spy on the TreoCentral forums reports on a Treo 670 sighting he saw in a catalog at work. He says:

The company I work for gets a 4th quarter catalogue for our 4th quarter “product show” we have to go to every year to order our stuff for christmas and stuff. In the book under cell phones it has a Sprint Treo 670 listed. It also has a “new” sign showing that it is a new product. BUT it has a picture of the 650.( I guess since they don’t want to show the 670 till the show) It says more details and pricing will be avalible at the show.

Apple Computer Inc. has reinvented itself around the iPod digital music player, but the innovative computer maker Tuesday faced new questions over whether it's the mother of its own invention.

Creative Technology said it had been awarded a patent for technology used in the iPod — which means the rival manufacturer of digital music players might hit Apple up for hefty royalty payments on every iPod sold.

And it's not the only company that could take a bite out of Apple's profit.  This month, Apple lost an attempt to patent other parts of the iPod's technology because archrival Microsoft Corp. had already filed a similar application.

Read more here.

Just reading through Intellisync’s press release on operating results.  Seems they had a real good quarter, and a real good year.  Further down in the notes, I noticed a blurb that said Intellisync acquired PDAapps, Inc., makers of VeriChat, the mobile instant messaging solution for all Palm OS devices, Pocket PC devices, Symbian devices and RIM Blackberry devices.

Never heard of PDAapps or VeriChat?  It is one of my “must have” apps for my Pocket PC.  I use it to connect to all of my IM clients with ONE client.  No need to launch three or four separate applications.  It’s a great app if you need to “chat” with your PDA.  Just wondering what the impact of this will be for PDAapps.  They currently charge a yearly fee for Verichat.  $24.95 the first year, $19.95 every year thereafter.  Yes, I know, a little pricey but one of those must have’s that I can’t do without.  Hopefully Intellisync will change the pricing model.

Regardless of what this study says, I try to use a headset (wired) with my Pocket PC phone, just in case.  You just never know…

“Ten years of using a mobile phone results in no increased risk of a tumor in the nerve connecting the ear to the brain, researchers said on Tuesday.  But amid public concern about a possible link, the scientists who conducted the largest study so far on the subject said they could not rule out a higher risk over a longer period.  "The results of our study suggest there is no substantial risk in the first decade after starting use," said Anthony Swerdlow of the Institute of Cancer Research.  "Whether there are longer-term risks remains unknown, reflecting the fact that this is a relatively recent technology."  The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, focused on the risk of acoustic neuroma, benign tumors which grow in the nerve connecting the ear and inner ear to the brain, close to where handsets are held.  Research has also investigated the possible association of other kinds of brain tumor with mobile phones but scientists say acoustic neuroma would be a prime candidate to be affected.  Previous independent studies have found mobile phone radiation may have some effect on the human body, such as heating up the brain and causing headaches and nausea.”

Full article here.

SyncToy v1.0 helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers quickly and easily.

Get it here.

I’ve blogged previously…but is there no end in sight?

“Wholesale gasoline prices on the Gulf Coast broke $3 a gallon on Tuesday -- far higher than prices at most U.S. pumps -- as major refineries remained shut after Hurricane Katrina, trading sources said.  This could spell a huge spike in retail prices for drivers throughout the United States in the coming days and in particular those in the Southeast, where prices are typically the lowest in the country. "This in many ways is the worst-case scenario that the oil industry has been fearing," said Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for the AAA motorist group. "Production, distribution, and refining has slowed to a crawl through the whole area and that will mean higher gasoline prices throughout the entire United States."”

I wonder what the west coast is seeing in gas prices.  They are usually the highest.  $3 per GALLON?  It was under $2 how long ago?  Unless my math is off, that’s what exactly, about a 50% increase in costs?  And raises are typically how much?  How many got a 50% raise to pay for the increase in gas prices?  When will this end?  I also wonder how long the gulf will be shut down because of hurricane damage, causing prices to go even higher.

Interesting post on gripe2ed.com.

“In most businesses, when a product is discovered to have a defect that's likely to cause it to fail, the manufacturer issues a recall for the affected units. Is there any reason that shouldn't be true in the computer industry as well? That's what many IT mangers with large installations of Dell Optiplex GX270 systems have to be wondering right now.”

Read more.

I noticed that intraVnews 1.12 Release Candidate 2 was posted on August 3. 

Download the udpate here.

By measuring the amount of antioxidants contained in the most common foods and beverages, and comparing them to U.S. government data on food consumption, researchers found that coffee far outpaced any other beverage or food as the main source of antioxidants in the American diet.

"When you look at the quantity of antioxidants in coffee and how much is consumed, it really shines either way," said Joe Vinson, a chemist at the University of Scranton. He presented the results of his analysis Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, in Washington, D.C.

Read more.  I knew it all along.  I also noticed TEA is not mentioned, particularly the green variety some are prone to drink.

Two serious security flaws have turned up in software widely distributed with Linux and Unix. The bugs affect Electronic Mail for Unix (Elm), a venerable e-mail client still used by many Linux and Unix systems administrators, and Mplayer, a cross-platform movie player that is one of the most popular of its kind on Linux.

Read more.

I’ve seen several posts regarding spam posted to blogs.  Ron’s right, I had comments turned off, and it didn’t help.  I had a monster of a spam posting that was taking the page several minutes to load, and I couldn’t for the life of me get rid of it.  Well, as luck would have it, minutes ago the post was FINALLY removed. 

No wonder there are lawsuits against spammers.  What a bunch of time killers and time wasters they are.  If they’re caught, they ought to be banned from computers and networks for the rest of their miserable lives.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5844520.html

Interesting commentary.  Microsoft is purposely stalling so they don’t have to comply?  And they sit on the board of directors? 

Hmm. 

The problem is in Network Node Manager, an HP OpenView product that carries out auto-discovery, control and monitoring of network devices via the Simple Network Management Protocol. A patch isn't yet available, but HP has issued an advisory describing a work-around to temporarily solve the problem.

Full story here.

Vodafone Australia is now officially supporting the HP Mobile Messenger 6515.  I’ve been testing a demo unit on Cingular’s network for the past several weeks.  It appears based on the stats that it is a similar model to the one I’ve been using (square screen, 64MB of RAM, 312 mHz processor, etc). 

I think HP is after a specific market niche here, and it may be the Blackberry owners.  I’ll do another update specifically on the Mobile Messenger later (I believe its due to be released in the US sometime late September/early October time frame).  I’m not sure why they only put 64MB of RAM in it, and only a 312 mHz processor since their iPaqs have had much faster processors for quite some time.  You’ll be needing external memory for sure.  I’m also not sure why they removed wi-fi from the device, which I use all the time.  Another disappointing factor is the square screen.  I encountered several applications I use almost daily that the bottom of the screen is just cut-off.  No scroll bars, no arrows, nothing.  Just can’t get to the bottom of the screen at all.  My Siemens sx66 has worked wonders with the full Pocket PC screen, 128MB of internal RAM, 400 mHz processor, and wi-fi.  I can do just about anything with this device. 

I think I’ll wait…

What’s interesting, is that i-mate is touting this as “revolutionary”.  After just reading T-Mobile’s plans for the MDA Pro, it makes me wonder if the industry is really watching what others are doing.  The stats are identical, the clamshell design is identical, the only difference in the photos is that its a different color.  Does a different color classify “revolutionary”?  I noticed other words like “cutting edge” and “forefront”. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I think this design will be a tremendous boost to the market and am looking forward to it, but…

Maybe they thought their press release would come out first.  Catch the photos and specs here and you decide how similar it is to the T-Mobile MDA Pro. 

http://www.ameinfo.com/66596.html

It’s only available in Germany, but that means it won’t be too long before becoming available in the US. 

Further confirming its position as the foremost early adopter of new mobility software from Microsoft, mobile network operator T-Mobile today announced the September 1st availability of its MDA Pro - previously known as the T-Mobile MDA IV - communicator in Germany. Not only the first device to hit shelves based on Windows Mobile 5.0, the MDA Pro is also the first Windows Mobile device to offer 3G connectivity - as well as a swivel screen.

For pictures and more details, go here.

Remember those papers you had to write in school?  How I Spent My Summer Vacation?  Well, I’m sitting here stewing because this is labor day weekend and summer is almost over.  Why am I stewing?  I wouldn’t even fill a paragraph with how I spent my summer vacation.  Don’t even think I could use 100 words. 

Let’s see.  I painted my porch (still working on it by the way), went to Mexico for ten days.  That’s 17 words, including the parenthesis.  I’m in trouble. 

Do you like Mountain Dew?  Win an XBOX 360.

Beginning August 28, 2005, Mountain Dew and Xbox® will select a winner of an Xbox 360™ gaming and entertainment system every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for nine weeks straight! That's an Xbox 360 every 600 seconds! And there's more: Every winner receives a copy of either Madden™ NFL 06 or Need for Speed™ Most Wanted to play on their new Xbox 360. 

How do you play?  Check it out.

Significant stockpiles of radioactive material have been found at unsecured sites in south-east Asia, Australian experts have revealed.  Scientists at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) are concerned that it could be used to construct a "dirty bomb".

The countries involved “were not named”.  Now THAT is a surprise.  Normally we see some pretty irresponsible reporting.  How long will it take for the report to be stolen, or someone to offer an awful lot of money to get it so that the countries are named?

Read the rest here.

It seems like only yesterday that I was posting that I loved summer, primarily the cookouts.  This weekend is labor day weekend.  Where did the summer go?  That was way back in May, now here we sit at the end of August rolling in to the long labor day weekend.  What happened?  Where did it go? 

Of course, now I get to experience the cool evenings of fall, which is also a plus.  Lighting big fires in the backyard was always a fun time, and the beer usually flowed freely.  I just wonder now how long it will take for someone to wear a sweater with shorts.  Do those really go together?

I’ve been using Resco products for awhile, primarily their photo viewer and their file explorer.  When you seen them, you’ll know why.

Resco, a leading provider of end-user mobile applications, today announced availability of a new release of one of the best selling applications - Resco Explorer 2005. 

The current growth of external memory media capacity makes management of stored data an increasingly difficult task. We at Resco have realized that the standard File Explorer is not capable to handle all these tasks anymore and we have decided to release our own solution. Over the years, Resco Explorer has seen numerous improvements.

“RESCO Explorer is a must have application for anyone that is serious about managing their Pocket PC.  This very powerful file management utility has everything that you need to effectively and efficiently manage your file system.  An incredible array of features such as a very stable and efficient File Manager, exceptionally strong file encryption, a great network browser, ZIP Compression and a Registry Editor will make your Pocket PC do what you want it to!” said Jack Cook Senior Editor of Dave’s iPAQ.

Read more here.

Today at VoiceCon, the forum for business IP telephony, Adomo Inc., provider of a new generation of multi-vendor and technology-independent voice and messaging solutions for the enterprise, announced general availability and first deployments of Adomo Voice Messaging for Exchange. Designed as a universal voice messaging platform, deeply and seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory, Adomo Voice Messaging for Exchange efficiently addresses the increasingly disparate mix of telephony components--legacy PBXs, new Voice over IP (VoIP) technologies/IP-PBXs, and smartphones/PDAs. A stable, reliable, feature rich environment, insulated from changing technologies, Adomo voice messaging is critical to mid-size and larger enterprises planning to upgrade telecom infrastructures to support VoIP and/or wireless technologies. Adomo minimizes risks and lowers costs of deployment, by delivering voice messaging and unified communications applications that bridge from legacy technologies to the next generation.

Read more.

Interesting story from Swaziland…

“More than 50,000 bare-breasted virgins vied to become the King of Swaziland's 13th wife”

Catch the story here…the king showed up in a leopard-skin loincloth.