Mobile

Wed, August 05, 2009 - For iPhone app developers, the year's biggest event is undoubtedly Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, but it's not the only one focusing on creating apps for Apple's handheld devices. This past weekend nearly 600 people gathered at the Yahoo campus in Sunnyvale, Calif., for iPhoneDevCamp 3, the third installment of what has become an annual BarCamp-style conference where the participants are also the organizers and presenters.

Sat, August 01, 2009 - The digital nomad, location-independent lifestyle once seemed so impossible, exotic and unlikely that only a few people dared even attempt it. But now, a lot more people are doing it, and it seems like everyone else would like to, writes columnist Mike Elgan.

Fri, July 31, 2009 - Well, we can all sleep a little easier now that Microsoft and Yahoo have finally announced details of the search deal they have worked on for months (and that has kept some of us on the edge, as tidbits of the story had an unsavory habit of breaking on weekends). All of the details, and then some, can be found by following the links in this week's top entry. Otherwise, with the Black Hat conference under way, there was a load of security news, with DefCon to follow this weekend (no rest for the weary).

Fri, July 31, 2009 - What I find particularly interesting about the mobile-for-development field is how a disproportionate amount of innovation occurs in the very places where resources and funding are often in shortest supply. Just as mobile payments started off as an indigenous phenomenon long before Vodafone, the British government and Safaricom brought the world M-Pesa, numerous mobile health initiatives start off as innovative, small-scale projects before the bigger players spot their opportunity and attempt to take them to scale. One can only imagine the number that fail and fall by the wayside before they get this far -- Darwin's "survival of the fittest" can be equally applied to the mobile applications world as our own.

Thu, July 30, 2009 - At the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, an iPhone security flaw has come to light. The iPhone security flaw--which exploits a weakness in SMS text messaging to take control of the device--appears real, but will probably be addressed before it becomes a serious issue.

Thu, July 30, 2009 - I've been a strong proponent of the iPhone as a business tool. Ever since Apple implemented ActiveSync for Exchange, I've enjoyed how easy they are to use with corporate e-mail. Unfortunately, Apple has recently rejected the Google Voice mobile app, and I think this sets a horrible precedent. Google Voice is a killer app for business users. It enables an amazing level of voice customization, which allows for small business owners to sound much bigger than they are.

Tue, July 28, 2009 - My iPhone 3G normally resides in a case of some sort--the iFrogz 3G Luxe for normal use, and the Incase Power Slider when using the iPhone for GPS during a round of golf. (Sadly, the Power Slider is out of production now; you may be able to find leftovers at Best Buy, Target, or the Apple Store. It does a great job at making battery life a non-issue, even during five hours of intense GPS use.)

Fri, July 24, 2009 - Microsoft kicked off the week of news with the surprising revelation that it had submitted source code for the Linux kernel. But this being Microsoft and open source, the news set off a little back and forth regarding the company's motives. In other news, an investigation into Zer01's mobile service claims raised questions that have yet to be satisfactorily answered. Otherwise, there was a wide variety of IT news this week, including some that involves shoes.

Fri, July 24, 2009 - A transformational new generation of haptics technology is about to emerge from at least two Silicon Valley companies: Immersion and Apple. You can already feel the buzz, says columnist Mike Elgan.

Mon, July 20, 2009 - For most of us, not knowing what the weather is going to do might at worst result in a soggy barbecue or a washed-out cricket or football match. For a farmer in the developing world it could result in the loss of an entire harvest which, at best, makes life that much harder or, at worst, brings on financial ruin or considerable human suffering. If enough farmers over a wide geographical area are affected, widespread famine becomes a very real possibility.