More Carriers For iPhone?

Is Apple looking beyond AT&T in its never-ending campaign to make the iPhone the most popular smartphone on the planet?

Rumors about a possible break in AT&T’s monopoly on the handheld are springing up, giving hope to those stricken with iPhone envy coupled with a severe distrust of the mega-telecom.

Quoting people allegedly “briefed by the company,” the Wall Street Journal said Apple is working on a new version of iPhone that will be compatible with wireless network CDMA, which is used by carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel.
“There has been lots of incorrect speculation on CDMA iPhones for a long time,” an AT&T rep said. “We haven’t seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur.”

As usual, Apple declined to comment.

It may seem like ancient history, but less than three years ago Apple wasn’t even in the cell phone business. The company released the first iPhone in late June 2007. Since then, the handheld has been credited as one of the major reasons for AT&T’s growth during the last three years. ComScore reports that the carrier has more than 43 percent of all U.S. smartphone customers, mostly because of Apple’s popular mobile.

Although industry watchers are predicting Apple will release an upgraded iPhone in June, no one is expecting the company to open up the device to more carriers until possibly later this year. But that doesn’t mean a June iPhone upgrade doesn’t figure in most recent rumors. According to the Journal, the Pegatron Technology Corp. will begin manufacturing the CDMA iPhone in September.

Channeling Beyoncé

Like many artists, Beyoncé has her own channel on YouTube. However, fans looking for the singer’s most popular videos were surprised March 26 to discover the star’s record label had ordered YouTube to remove the content, citing copyright violations.

According to entertainment news Web blog, The Wrap, Sony’s action was the first time a major label ordered video content be removed from one of its stars’ YouTube channels.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch Beyoncé on YouTube. Although her channel now carries the message, “This video contains content from Sony Music Entertainment, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds,” searching for Beyoncé on YouTube brings you to a Vevo page that looks remarkably like the singer’s original YouTube channel, minus the blocking notices.
But it’s not Beyoncé ’s channel. Instead, it’s Vevo’s YouTube page, which puts a somewhat more bizarre spin on the issue.

Co-owned by Sony and Universal, Vevo launched in December and relies on YouTube to handle much of the backend. For the most part, whenever you watch a video on Vevo, the actual streaming originates on YouTube.

So you can’t watch Beyoncé’s videos on her YouTube channel, but you can watch the star’s vids on Vevo’s YouTube page. Needless to say, copyright law is a very complex and confusing beast.

It’s Not Just A Job…

Opportunity was definitely knocking when a record label turned to a British University’s career Web site in search of interns, but whomever wins this particular gig probably won’t go bragging about it to his classmates. The label is looking for students to investigate online music piracy.

Warner Music Group’s UK division placed the ad on Manchester University’s career Web site, listing such duties as “monitoring local Internet forums and IRC” for the label’s music. Other job duties include gathering intelligence on pirate sites and groups, locating sites illegally selling the label’s wares and issuing takedown requests.

The posting also stated the successful applicant will develop and maintain search bots for rooting out links to pirate activities. The label will provide the necessary training.

Warner Bros. UK refused to comment on the posting, according to UK tech site PC Pro, but did confirm the ad’s authenticity.
As the March 31 deadline approached for applicants, many music and technology blogs picked up on the ad as did several sites devoted to news about file sharing. One such site – TorrentFreak.com – even posted a PDF of the ad, an action that was sure to draw qualified applicants.

Steve’s World

Gossip purveyor Gawker recently asked its readers if any have had a close encounter with Apple co-founder/CEO Steve Jobs. Gawker was curious as to whether a recent and very public outdoor meeting with Google CEO Eric Schmidt at a Silicon Valley coffee hangout was staged, and if the famous corporate chief is able to relate to mere mortals.

Turns out, there were plenty of people offering first-person views of the Applemeister, saying he drives way too fast through his company’s parking lot, will stand in line when necessary, will cut in line when possible, won’t shake hands with strangers, will shake hands with strangers and does his own dishes. In short, Jobs is kind of like the Internet – filled with contradictions.

In fact, most of the encounters detailed on Gawker described scenes where Jobs meets up with ordinary people and acts very, well, ordinary.

But then, maybe he’s had enough lessons in humility over the years. One Gawker reader described a scene that took place in 1998 at the first Macworld held at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Center where Jobs and his entourage were yelling at a security guard who wouldn’t let them in. That is, not without the proper entry badges. At one point one of the people with Jobs hollered at the guard, “This is Steve Jobs, he is the CEO of Apple Computer.”

To which the guard allegedly replied, “He is not the CEO of the Javits Center; he needs a badge to enter.”

Ah, yes. There’s nothing like having a New Yorker teach you a lesson in humility.