Even Google Gets Frugal in the Recession December 8, 2008
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentEven internet superstars fall to earth eventually. While recent reports of layoffs and other cost-cutting measures at Google have been greatly exaggerated, the search giant’s culture of unbridled spending is finally coming to a halt. And that’s probably a good thing. “Hard times have forced discipline on them,” says Sanford Bernstein’s Jeffrey Lindsay, who predicts, “They’ll come back really powerfully. They can emerge as a much leaner and more competitive player.”
Read The Rest—> Even Google Gets Frugal in the Recession
The iPhone: Second Time's a Charm July 15, 2008
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a comment
The original iPhone was a high-tech indulgence. From its gorgeous touchscreen to its classy Web browser, it set a new bar for the look and feel of mobile phones. Naysayers nitpicked about its technical shortcomings — and its top-shelf price — but its breakthrough design won it millions of fans nonetheless.The new iPhone 3G should please everyone. Its look and feel are only slightly improved, but a faster network loads Web pages more quickly, true GPS functionality allows it to easily find places nearby, and the new $199 price (down from $400) makes it an affordable luxury.
Before deciding whether to buy, however, make sure you can actually take advantage of the iPhone 3G’s high-speed data network. 3G stands for third-generation, which in non-geek speak translates to Web pages and mail messages that, ideally, load about three times faster than on the original iPhone. Even better, 3G coverage enables you to make a phone call and surf the Web at the same time. That’s great, if you live or work in a place where the 3G network of AT&T (the sole wireless carrier of the iPhone) is active. (To find out, check AT&T’s virtual map.) That’s not so great in cities like New York where AT&T’s cellular coverage is awful. As one of my colleagues in New York City, who bought the original iPhone, commented, “It’s just a toy. You can’t make phone calls on it, so I carry my Verizon phone with me all the time.”
The real fun begins when you tap on the icon called “App Store” and start browsing the hundreds of add-on applications that have been developed just for the iPhone. You’ll find tons of games (I like JirboBreak, a free game inspired by the Atari classic Breakout) and mobile versions of popular websites like Pandora, Facebook, MySpace and the New York Times. Most apps will cost you, but the vast majority are $9.99 or less. The apps work on the old iPhones too, but you’ll enjoy them a lot more on the iPhone 3G because many of the programs, including Yelp (local business reviews), Whrrl (mobile social networking) and UrbanSpoon (restaurant reviews), use your exact location — provided by the iPhone 3G’s GPS chip — to make recommendations. The apps also load much faster over the 3G network.
READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE
