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Spy program snoops on cell phones | Tech News on ZDNet: “New software that hides on cell phones and captures call logs and text messages is being sold as a way to monitor kids and spouses. But one security company calls it a Trojan horse. “

I don’t like the idea of covert monitoring of family. If I’m worried about my kids doing something unsafe, isn’t better to be up front than sneaking. And what does that say about you, the monitor? If you’re worried about your wife cheating, shouldn’t you be investing your time in counseling and getting the issues addressed, as opposed to sneaking around, coward-like, waiting for proof?

Hot rival may be just what Microsoft needs

The competetion that Google is offering up to Microsoft will be the best thing that has ever happened to it. That is, of course, assuming that the Giant of Redmond will be able to rise to the challenge.

AOL’s choice to snub MS and go with Google should sting nastily. And, I imagine, that it will create quite a burn at the campus. Stings like this tend to motivate Gates and Co, so the next few months should be interesting. I wonder if this could build some passion into Vista?

One thing I would love to see: an Apple tablet PC. Apple’s interface is so much nicer, the device more stable, and Apple has some great handwriting recognition software in the form of the old Newton OS. They would make a more elegant machine. One that used bluetooth to connect a keyboard to the device, as opposed to some bizarre contorting screen/keyboard.

I also think that a device that blended a pda with this would be cool. The true converged device, which allows for separation. I would like this set up to have a Treo that integrated nicely (again, bluetooth) for modem access. It would have an Airport card for Wi-Fi access.

So, that’s my dream for the great Santa of Cupertino.

Wired News: Technorati: A New Public Utility

An excellent insight into Technorati and the emergence of the blogs. Also, Mr. Penenberg points out that the mainstream media and blogosphere are becoming quite dependent on each other. These don’t need to be competetive institutions. They are quite complementary.

Wireless, Palms & PDAs – bizjournals.com

More on the Blackberry plight. I’m pretty convinced that there won’t be a service shut-down. NTP has a lot to gain by letting RIM keep selling, and RIM has the world to lose if they screw up again with this. Besides whatever losses they would incur with the NTP payout, they would certainly be looking at a class-action suite as well as shareholder lawsuits. I can’t imagine that even RIM would be that dumb.

Software Notebook: Hotmail successor in works

The next wave in the web-based email wars. Both Yahoo and MSN have some interesting ideas, and are solidly positioning themselves to hold their leads against gmail. The most interesting idea presented was the use of RSS feeds within the new email programs. Sounds somewhat like good ol’ Usenet. We’ll see, I guess.

Now, how will this make it’s money? That, I doubt, will be terribly revolutionary. I’m sure it’ll be via ads and subscriptions. However, I am pretty excited by these developments. Good directions, and it looks like MS will be using this to springboard it’s web-based applications (which I think is an incredibly clever move).

Is the Web Killing the Newspaper Industry? – WXP News

Deb Shinder, editor of WinXPNews (if you use Windows XP, you should subscribe), is right one with her article. The web is often blamed for the slow demise of newspapers. However, the current level of subsciber decreases tracks with a 20 year trend. The real culprits are #1: 24 hour cable news and, #2: restrictions on telemarketing. Anyway, this is only one part of this. Read on!

Reading a bit about some ideas futurists have, I’m struck by the way they see the world. They only see the potential. Looking out at all the possibilities, they only consider what could be useful. Rarely, if ever, do they look at the problems; either with their ideas, or what problems the technology in question is supposed to solve. It’s not often that our society changes to perform something somewhat more effectively. There either needs to be a dramatic change, or some significant need filled, before behaviors are modified. We’re always overcoming a fear of the unknown, a mighty fear it is, too.

del.icio.us: y.ah.oo!

As someone who has used both tagging systems, and is a Yahoo afficianado, I think that this is a great move for both groups. Hopefully, this can lead to something really cool. I’ll need to explore all the other options that are out there, though.

Now this is a hell of a phone! Gads, this makes my Treo look tiny.