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Time for Apple to end the iPhone locking farce PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Having just returned from a family trip to Thailand, with the obligatory visit to Bangkok's famed shopping malls, I was fascinated by the abundance of new and used iPhones which could be purchased over the counters of numerous electronics retail stalls. These illicitly imported iPhones could be had totally unlocked with your own existing SIM card installed. Trade was brisk and a clear signal to Apple to end the iPhone software locking farce.

 
Has 2Clix backed-down from Whirlpool lawsuit? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
In a rather curious media release, online watchdog Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has welcomed a "decision" by Queensland based accounting software vendor 2Clix to withdraw its lawsuit against online telecoms forum Whirlpool for allowing a series of allegedly malicious postings against 2Clix on its site. The only problem is that there has been no official confirmation from 2Clix that the lawsuit has been halted.

 
IBM Lotus Notes could be tipping point in anti-Microsoft Office fray PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Microsoft arch rival IBM has thrown its considerable weight behind the OpenOffice.org open source office productivity project with a commitment of 35 staff to the effort. However, the tipping point in the concerted effort to unseat Microsoft's hold on the office space could be IBM's promise to contribute elements of its powerful Lotus Notes groupware suite to the open source project.

 
Well, well, no 3G iPhone for UK or Europe - who cares? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Apple has announced its November 9 release date for the iPhone on the UK O2 network and those who were expecting a new high speed 3G product will be disappointed at the slow Edge phone on offer. However, as iPod marketing director Greg Joswiak said early this year, Apple expects most serious Internet use for the iPhone to take place over Wi-Fi in hotspots rather than through the cellular network anyway - and access will be free in 7500 of those hotspots.

 
OLPC moving towards the $200 laptop PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
It was a seemingly noble cause initiated by Nicholas Negroponte and colleagues at the MIT media lab - make a heap of cheap US$100 self-powered Linux laptops and sell them at practically cost to third world governments to distribute to children. Except so far things haven't exactly gone to plan, including the ballooning price.

 
A Zune phone not anytime Zune PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Wednesday, 05 September 2007
Rumours come and rumours go but one rumour that will never come to fruition is Microsoft attempting to emulate Apple's entry into the mobile phone space with a device based on Zune.

 
Sony download movie move may make money PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Wednesday, 05 September 2007
While the critics decry the recently announced effort of Sony to enter the movie download space just days after the company pulled the plug on its Connect online music store, the move could well turn out to be a smart one.

 
Microsoft OOXML standards setback only temporary PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Wednesday, 05 September 2007
Those in the open source/open documents community now jumping with joy at the failure of Microsoft yesterday to win approval for Open OfficeXML from the International Standards Organization as a global standard should probably take a breather and reflect upon the fact that Microsoft is almost over the line already. In fact, come February next year, OOXML will almost certainly join ODF as an ISO standard.

 
iPhone unlocking software: open source developers where are you? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Tuesday, 04 September 2007
Last week before leaving for a short overseas trip, I asked my local carrier if I could unlock my Nokia N73 from the carrier's network so that I could replace the SIM with a cheap local prepaid SIM in the country I was visiting. No problem, I was told, the carrier's call center rep even helped me to do it. Why should it be any different for the Apple iPhone and AT&T?

 
Egg on faces of Paramount, Dreamworks over Blu-ray PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Tuesday, 04 September 2007
The move last month of Paramount and Dreamworks to give the Blu-ray HD video format the flick in favour of HD DVD for some easy money looks slightly ridiculous in the face of the latest sales figures from video mag site Home Media Magazine based on Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data. It turns out that of the top 10 best selling videos for the week ending August 26, the only two on the list from Paramount and Dreamworks were in Blu-ray format!

 
New generation Apple fans iPhone's worst nightmare and biggest opportunity PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Monday, 03 September 2007
There's no doubting that Apple probably has the most loyal fan base in the world. The problem for Apple is that the N-Geners (net generation) have a different set of values to the previous faithful. They believe in the free flow of information between consumers and suppliers and, as demonstrated by new global group of iPhone crackers, that spells bad news for Apple's closely guarded iPhone walled garden.

 
NBC Universal another iTunes abstainer, what now for Apple? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Sunday, 02 September 2007
The largest provider of video downloads to Apple's iTunes stores, NBC Universal, has decided not to renew its contract to supply videos to iTunes after December. In turn Apple has announced that it will not sell any new NBC Universal TV shows due to hit the market in September. Is this the beginning of the end of Apple's dominance over content providers or simply bluster by old world media companies?

 
Windows Genuine Advantage positively false PDF Print E-mail
Written by Stan Beer   
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Microsoft's anti-piracy spyware Windows Genuine Advantage has been shown for what it is - a dangerously flawed system which treats customers with disrespect.

 
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The Beerfiles IT BLOG BeerFiles is an in-your-face and sometimes irreverent blog concerning all things to do with IT, technology, people and the media from the point of view of a hard boiled technology journalist and commentator.

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