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&Tโs 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 โbriefed by the company,โ 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.
โThere has been lots of incorrect speculation on CDMA iPhones for a long time,โ an AT&T rep said. โWe havenโt seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur.โ
As usual, Apple declined to comment.
It may seem like ancient history, but less than three years ago Apple wasnโt 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&Tโs 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 Appleโs 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 doesnโt mean a June iPhone upgrade doesnโt figure in most recent rumors. According to the Journal, the Pegatron Technology Corp. will begin manufacturing the CDMA iPhone in September.
Channeling Beyoncรฉ
Like many artists, Beyoncรฉ has her own channel on YouTube. However, fans looking for the singerโs most popular videos were surprised March 26 to discover the starโs record label had ordered YouTube to remove the content, citing copyright violations.
According to entertainment news Web blog, The Wrap, Sonyโs action was the first time a major label ordered video content be removed from one of its starsโ YouTube channels.
But that doesnโt mean you canโt watch Beyoncรฉ on YouTube. Although her channel now carries the message, โThis video contains content from Sony Music Entertainment, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds,โ searching for Beyoncรฉ on YouTube brings you to a Vevo page that looks remarkably like the singerโs original YouTube channel, minus the blocking notices.
But itโs not Beyoncรฉ โs channel. Instead, itโs Vevoโs 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 canโt watch Beyoncรฉโs videos on her YouTube channel, but you can watch the starโs vids on Vevoโs YouTube page. Needless to say, copyright law is a very complex and confusing beast.
Itโs Not Just A Jobโฆ
Opportunity was definitely knocking when a record label turned to a British Universityโs career Web site in search of interns, but whomever wins this particular gig probably wonโt go bragging about it to his classmates. The label is looking for students to investigate online music piracy.
Warner Music Groupโs UK division placed the ad on Manchester Universityโs career Web site, listing such duties as โmonitoring local Internet forums and IRCโ for the labelโs music. Other job duties include gathering intelligence on pirate sites and groups, locating sites illegally selling the labelโs 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 adโs 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 โ TorrentFreak.com โ even posted a PDF of the ad, an action that was sure to draw qualified applicants.
Steveโs 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 companyโs parking lot, will stand in line when necessary, will cut in line when possible, wonโt shake hands with strangers, will shake hands with strangers and does his own dishes. In short, Jobs is kind of like the Internet โ 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 heโs 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 Cityโs Jacob K. Javits Center where Jobs and his entourage were yelling at a security guard who wouldnโt let them in. That is, not without the proper entry badges. At one point one of the people with Jobs hollered at the guard, โThis is Steve Jobs, he is the CEO of Apple Computer.โ
To which the guard allegedly replied, โHe is not the CEO of the Javits Center; he needs a badge to enter.โ
Ah, yes. Thereโs nothing like having a New Yorker teach you a lesson in humility.
