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“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ – Albert Einstein 1879 – 1955
Not a lot happening on the tech front for Gareth or myself, this week. Still we managed to blather on about this and that for a few minutes before we dived into the stories. We’re getting quite good at blathering, and I quite like the sound of the word…. blathering, blathering, blathering…
Anyway onto the stories…
AT&T to allow VOIP over 3G for the iPhone - In a move sure to cement it’s position as the network of the consumer. AT&T has pushed aside the barriers to allow iPhone users VOIP over its 3G network. Did it work? I was trying for sarcasm. Anyway they’re allowing iPhone users the same choice as Blackberry, and other phone users on their network. Whats next, Slingbox and Google Voice, who knows. They may allow anything but, as Mr de la Vega has intimated, throttle your connection. You greedy iPhone data users you.
Tiny ‘nuclear batteries’ unveiled – Researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a battery that could power your mobile device of choice for ‘up to hundreds of years, or more’. Sounds cool, but there is a small snag, these suckers are nuclear. “People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” Said lead researcher Dr Jae. Really you don’t say? Its claimed they will be perfectly harmless in normal operating conditions. Yeah, and so was the Chernobyl power plant.
Mossberg ‘Windows 7 nearly as good as Mac OS’ – The respected tech journalist has reviewed Windows 7 and proclaimed it ‘the best version of Windows Microsoft have produced’, and is rapidly catching up with Mac OS X. Which if you’ll contrast with his scathing review of Vista. ‘After months of testing Vista on multiple computers, new and old, I believe it is the best version of Windows that Microsoft has produced.’ Doh! Move along people, nothing to see here.
Kindle to launch internationally – Good old Uncle Jeff is letting us unworthy non-Americans buy his famed ebook reader. Aren’t we ever so lucky. In Spain with shipping and import taxes it’ll cost $350. And in the UK we’ll be charged 40% more to buy the ebooks. All in all it sounds like a really great deal. (That was a shot at irony). And I usually go to Amazon to get a good price.
Apple, taking the tablets since 2003 – If Joshua A Strickon, a former Apple engineer is to be believed, the almost mythical tablet, has been in development since 2003. Which given Steve Jobs known obsession with detail doesn’t sound unreasonable. Apparently, one such prototype was based on a PPC chip and the components alone cost $500. Which, given Apple’s very healthy margins, would have put the retail cost somewhere close to crippling.
Flash coming to (almost) everything – Adobe is building one multi-media plug-in to rule them all. Flash is coming to every device you can name. Android, Pre, Blackberry and Windows Mobile or Windows Phone or whatever the hell Microsoft are calling it this week. But with one notable exception, the iPhone. Apple is banking on HTML5 with its built in video and audio support. But, if Apple did relent and allowed flash on the iPhone, the day after will see the release of an app that blocks it.
