3.31.2008

Why IT Hates the iPhone

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Why IT Hates the iPhone

Corporate information-technology departments say the phone poses security risks. But they seem powerless to stop employees from using it.
By BEN WORTHEN
March 31, 2008; Page R4

In less than a year, the iPhone has won the hearts of users, who speak of the combination cellphone, Internet device and music player with reverence.

Indeed, the iPhone, which maker Apple Inc. says has captured 28% of the U.S. smart-phone market, seems to be loved by everyone -- everyone, that is, except those who work in corporate information-technology departments.

Designed with the consumer in mind, the iPhone is less secure than business-oriented smart phones such as those from Nokia Corp. or Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry, according to IT professionals. But that isn't stopping people from using the device for work-related tasks such as checking email, managing sales contacts and getting information about prospective clients. In fact, market researcher Nielsen Co. estimates that one-quarter of iPhone owners over the age of 18 pass their phone bills on to their employer, suggesting significant use of the device for business.

Many IT groups have banned the iPhone from their workplaces, complaining that there is no way to force employees to protect their iPhones with passwords and that they can't erase sensitive corporate data from remote locations if the device is stolen or lost. Additionally, they say the iPhone doesn't support the software many businesses use and that it only works on one cellular carrier's network.

But keeping the iPhone out of the office may be a losing battle. As a result, some technology experts say the iPhone could usher in a change in the way businesses adopt new technologies.

Shifting Landscape

Whereas software vendors and other tech suppliers traditionally pitched their products to high-ranking executives and IT managers, some are now paying closer attention to the technologies workers actually use. Some vendors say that if employees make clear that they are going to embrace a particular device -- with or without their IT department's approval -- then they will develop compatible products for it. Otherwise, they risk losing business to rivals.

"It's clear to us that power is shifting to the users" and away from IT departments, says Mike de la Cruz, a vice president at business-software maker SAP AG. "So we've changed our strategy to focus on the users."

SAP, of Germany, says it is developing a version of its customer-management software for the iPhone that will let salespeople access information about leads and customers, partly because its own salespeople prefer the iPhone. International Business Machines Corp. of Armonk, N.Y., is developing a version of its Lotus email and collaboration software for iPhone users, and salesforce.com Inc., of San Francisco, and Sun Microsystems Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., are among other companies tailoring software for Apple's device.

Some vendors are designing applications aimed at making the iPhone more business-friendly. Sybase Inc., for example, released an iPhone version of its software for forwarding corporate email and other data to mobile devices. Sybase's software is installed and managed centrally, so it gives IT departments some measure of control over what end users are doing. Overwhelming demand from managers and executives at customer companies led Sybase to create the iPhone-tailored software, according to Senthil Krishnapillai, a director of project management at the Dublin, Calif., company.

Apple and its iPhone partner, AT&T Inc., are trying to make the iPhone more business-friendly, too. In January, AT&T began to allow iPhone purchases by corporate-account holders. Previously, the telephone company would bill iPhone charges only to individuals, and they would have to seek reimbursement from their companies. "We saw business customers clamoring for the iPhone" and wanted to make it easier for them to use the device, says an AT&T spokesperson.

Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., said earlier this month that it plans to release new iPhone software in June that will allow IT departments to integrate the device with Microsoft Corp.'s email, calendar and contact-management software. The new software also will allow iPhones to connect to a corporate network in a secure fashion and give IT staffs the ability to erase data on a lost or stolen iPhone from a remote location.

Simon Yates, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc., says these moves address the biggest concerns that IT departments have about the iPhone. Another research company, Gartner Inc., said the announced changes would make the iPhone appropriate for business use.

Harboring Doubts

Despite the steps to make the iPhone more business-friendly, some chief information officers continue to harbor doubts. David O'Berry, who heads IT for the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, says his organization uses email software from Novell Inc., not Microsoft, so Apple's changes won't help him. In addition, even though Apple intends to set up a private section of its new App Store -- the service through which people download applications for their iPhones -- for business, Mr. O'Berry and other chief information officers don't like the fact that they would have to go through Apple to distribute in-house software to employees. That means giving Apple access to their computer code, which some are reluctant to do.

Most people who use their iPhones for work don't think about these technical challenges. What they see is a device capable of connecting to wireless Internet networks, with a full-fledged Web browser and a large screen that gives them access to the same Internet pages they can get on their personal computers and gives them the ability to play music and movies.

Michael King, a Gartner analyst, says that while other phones have browsers with similar features, their smaller screen sizes give them limited utility. He expects bigger screens to become more commonplace on smart phones soon.

When Mark Russell, vice president of sales and marketing at U-Line Corp., had to replace a damaged Nokia smart phone, he bought an iPhone. The phone's "cool" factor was its main appeal, but he found that its Web browser allowed him to more easily locate distributors and get directions to meetings. He says that because he is an executive, his Milwaukee company agreed to support the device, using software from Visto Corp. that allows him to access email on the iPhone.

[Image]

Productivity Boon?

Dale Frantz, chief information officer at Auto Warehousing Co., a Tacoma, Wash., company that inspects vehicles for auto makers, has been using an iPhone since the first week it was available. He is convinced that the iPhone's Web browser can boost productivity.

Auto Warehousing's systems -- everything from email to the internal software used to inspect autos -- can be accessed by any Internet-connected device with a Web browser, which typically meant a desktop or laptop computer.

But in February, while waiting for a flight in the Detroit airport, Mr. Frantz used his iPhone to check the system Auto Warehousing uses to track vehicle inspections. He found that several cars in the same plant all had scratches. He called the auto plant, where it turned out a worker on the assembly line was scratching the cars with his belt. Mr. Frantz says he wouldn't have been able to catch and resolve the problem so quickly had he been using a different phone.

Still, Mr. Frantz isn't convinced that the changes Apple announced this month to help businesspeople will have a big impact on his company, because Auto Warehousing uses Web-based software. He also has concerns about the plan requiring businesses to distribute software through the App Store.

Other technology executives aren't convinced, either. Smart phones can contain a lot of valuable and confidential corporate information, and they can be so easily lost or stolen. BlackBerrys and other mobile devices designed for the corporate market have built-in software that enables the IT department to require employees to encrypt or password-protect the devices.

None of that may matter, however. As Beth Cannon, the San Francisco-based chief security officer for Thomas Weisel Partners Group, says: Even after she explains to people why her IT department can't allow them to use the device, they "still want to use their iPhone."




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Microsoft plans mobile Zune store

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Thursday, March 13,2008 @ 12:30pm

Microsoft plans mobile Zune store, third-gen player

Microsoft is planning to launch a mobile Zune portal sometime in 2009, according to the French newspaper Les Echos. The site would extend the reach of the company's iTunes rival, the Zune Marketplace, and allow users to download games and music directly to various platforms, including computers, Windows Mobile devices and for the first time, Zune players themselves. While Zunes have always come equipped with a Wi-Fi module, they have never had Internet access, a prominent feature on Apple's competing iPod touch.

The availability of Windows Mobile access is said to be tied to the release of Windows Mobile 7, a follow-up to the yet-unreleased Windows Mobile 6.1. In the same year, Microsoft is expected to release its third generation of Zune players, still wrapped in secrecy. Compatibility with a Zune Marketplace, however, may suggest web-browsing ability. [via Generation NT]




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Creative's InPerson: The next best thing to being there?

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Creative's InPerson: The next best thing to being there?

Posted by Lori Grunin
Creative InPerson

Creative InPerson

(Credit: Creative Labs)

Video phone, videoconferencing--there's really no good vocabulary for discussing video communication over the Net without rendering your audience glazed and confused. Nor are there any glitzy new technologies to get their geek juices flowing. But Creative's doing its darnedest to spark some new life in a product category that never quite took off. And it seems like a pretty good effort, at that, with a product that strives to liberate videoconferencing from the tether of the PC or the conference room.

The company's portable InPerson conferencing system consists of a device that resembles a 1.6 pound, 10-inch laptop, with a VGA-resolution Webcam with a nice wide-angle view, built into the hinge. The hardware sits in your living room, hotel room, or any other room, running off the two-hour capacity battery or AC. The H.264-compressed video can stream on the 7-inch wide-screen LCD, or you can hook it up to your TV for a more life-size conversation. It connects to the Net via Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet, going through Creative's servers for the video and VoIP audio (it adheres to the SIP telephony standard). Creative claims it has very good low-light performance (which seemed to be true when I took a brief look at it), as well as above-average audio quality. When not in use, you can stick an SD card in the slot and use it as a really expensive photo frame.

That's really the rub: it seems quite pricey to me. The device itself costs $699.95, and there's a $10 per month subscription fee for the Web service. On the plus side, it doesn't require another InPerson on the other end; any old Webcam will do.

Can Creative InPerson save your foundering long-distance relationship? Probably not. But it has the potential to save you some money and time on the extra travel.




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Episode 3 RunDown

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Movie:
TV:
Gaming:
Tech:
Other:



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Opie and Anthony get Comedy Central show

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Opie and Anthony get Comedy Central show
By M&C Smallscreen
Mar 12, 2008, 17:57 GMT

Comedy Central is developing a TV show with Opie and Anthony, the radio shock jocks.

The show is called “Search and Destroy," and is described as a scavenger hunt in which “teams of comedians run amok in New York City with a list of assignments and head-to-head competitions.”

According to Comedy Central, projects in development run the gamut from short-form and sketch/variety to scripted narrative and animation, as well as the network's first foray into medieval comedy, and feature a cross-section of top comedic talent including Snoop Dogg, Andy Richter, David Alan Grier, Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, Nick Swardson, Daniel Tosh and Bobby Lee too.

"This year's development slate features an incredibly diverse and versatile array of talent and concepts," said Lauren Corrao. "Our core viewers expect nothing short of the best comedy options and continue to connect with the brand we've built. We're confident that these ideas will resonate with them and will continue to grow the network's success into the coming year."

The first of the 2008-2009 development slate to receive a series order marks Comedy Central's first fantasy-comedy and will premiere during 1Q 2009.

"Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire" is an outrageous, live-action, character-driven comedy that takes place in the "long ago past" and features the reluctant hero Krod Mandoon, a sensitive, clueless freedom fighter, as the last great hope in a medieval struggle. The series is written by Peter Knight and executive produced by Knight, Keith Samples, Brad Johnson, Courtney Conte and Flody Juarez.

Showalter, Nick Swardson, Daniel Tosh and Bobby Lee are attached to the programs.




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ABC digs up 'Mole' host

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ABC digs up 'Mole' host

Jon Kelley set for reality gig

Jon Kelley
Kelley

The identity of "The Mole" is still a secret, but the name of the show's new host can be revealed: Jon Kelley.

Kelley, a former weekend anchor for "Extra," replaces original "Mole" man Anderson Cooper. Cooper, an unknown at the time of the show's 2001 debut, is now a key CNN primetime anchor.

It's believed ABC is planning to air the new "Mole" Mondays at 10 p.m., starting May 26. Skein will likely be paired with another Alphabet reality revival, "The Bachelorette," which is being eyed for a possible May 19 debut.

ABC wasn't talking about its summer sked plans Friday, though it's expected the net could announce its intentions as early as today. Like its rivals, Alphabet has been stocking up on nonscripted summer skeins, with as many as eight series expected to roll out during the third quarter.

Among the shows contending for a summer berth: the Ant and Dec quizzer "Wanna Bet?," the stunt-focused "Wipe Out" and the competition skein "Big in Japan."

"The Mole" -- from Stone & Co. -- has been on an extended hiatus ... since 2004. ABC aired four editions of the paranoia-themed competition, including two featuring celeb casts. Latter editions were hosted by Ahmad Rashad.

In addition to his multiyear stint on "Extra," Kelley's credits include a gig as lead anchor for Fox Sports Net's "The National Sports Report" and "Baseball Today."

http://abc.go.com/specials/themole/index



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3.30.2008

Gears of War: The Movie

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Gears of War Movie Update
Source: ComingSoon.net
March 30, 2008


ComingSoon.net got a chance to talk to Twilight producer Wyck Godfrey about the status of the proposed Gears of War video game adaptation. "We've got our script on and a director we're about to attach. We'll hopefully make that early next year for the summer of 2010," said Godfrey.

It was announced in March of 2007 that New Line Cinema (now a unit of Warner Bros.) had acquired the feature film rights to Epic Games' award-winning video game. Stuart Beattie was attached to adapt the project and Temple Hill Entertainment set to produce.

Since its debut in November 2006, "Gears of War" has broken sales records on the Microsoft Xbox 360, selling more than 3 million copies worldwide. The game thrusts players into humankind's epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet. The story unfolds as a ragtag group of soldiers use every last ounce of strength to survive the onslaught from the forces of evil, which begins on the historic Emergence Day.

Cliff Bleszinski, the lead game designer for "Gears of Wars," worked in conjunction with Beattie to define a treatment for the film.



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Man Fatally Shoots Wife While Installing Satellite TV

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KCTV5.com

Related To Story

Man Shooting Hole Through Wall Kills Wife

Deepwater Man Fatally Shoots Wife While Installing Satellite TV

POSTED: 6:25 am CDT March 25, 2008
UPDATED: 10:38 am CDT March 26, 2008
Officials are trying to decide whether to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite TV system in the bedroom of their home.

Patsy Long, 34, of Deepwater, died after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun on Saturday. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means.

Henry County sheriff's deputies said the woman was hit by the second of two shots fired by her husband.

Long was given CPR by neighbors and family until medics arrived, police said. She was transported by air ambulance, but was pronounced dead at the hospital just after 6 p.m.

"He was under the impression that everybody was inside the residence, that he knew where everybody was at,” said sheriff's department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills.

Hills said a person involved in such a case normally would be charged with manslaughter, but that would be up to the prosecutor.

"Once we complete a diagram of the incident, we will be submitting everything to the prosecuting attorney and let him decide if he wants to press criminal charges," Hills said.

Henry County Coroner Scott Largent declined to release details about Patsy Long's death until the sheriff's department completes its investigation.

On Tuesday morning, Henry County Prosecuting Attorney Richard M. Shields said he has yet to receive the case from the sheriff's department.

Neighbor Mark Lassince said he believed it was a tragic accident.

"Bad things happen to good people,” Lassince said.

Patsy and Ronald Long were raising their children in their rural home overlooking Truman Lake.

"I was in the shower, and the son came in and told me his mom had been shot, so we went up there to see if we could help,” Lassince said.

Patsy Long worked as a carhop at a Sonic restaurant in Warsaw, Mo.

“She was a good person, you know, took care of her family,” Lassince said.



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