Google

October 6, 2009 – Verizon Wireless and Google today announced a strategic partnership that will leverage the Verizon Wireless network and the best of the Android open platform to deliver leading-edge mobile applications, services and devices. Both companies view this agreement as an opportunity to offer consumers an array of products that combine the speed of the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network with the flexibility of the Android mobile platform.

Integral to this agreement is a commitment by the companies to devote substantial resources to accelerate delivery of leading-edge innovation that will put unique applications in the hands of consumers quickly. The two industry leaders will create, market and distribute products and services, with Verizon Wireless also contributing the breadth of its nationwide distribution channels. Consumers will be able to purchase products resulting from the collaboration in Verizon Wireless retail and online stores.Read more

"'Goodbye my love.' He doesn't say it. There's no room for softness... not in Sparta. No place for weakness. Only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans. Only the hard, only the strong." – Dilios (300, Warner Bros – 2006)

The grass isn't greener on the other side of the fence. It just seems to be human nature to want your grass … and theirs! We don't just want our share of the business that is out there, we want our unfair share. That's certainly true of the PC/CE/communications industry. It's even more fun when you're tweaking the biggest bear in the forest.

Apple has always had fun pulling Microsoft's tail and then running back to their walled garden. Google had fun poking the lumbering giant because they were part of the hip, free generation (o.k., so they follow your every move, record your clicks/visits and sell the info … big deal). But suddenly, the Gates/Ballmer crew got the lumbering giant moving forward. Read more

SCRABBLE Also Available Across Mobile Devices, Social Networking Sites, Handheld Gaming Platforms, Xbox Live Arcade and Online

August 14, 2009--Electronic Arts today announced that SCRABBLE is launching on iGoogle in conjunction with the support of Opensocial, which offers users a more powerful and interactive way to play games on their iGoogle homepage, personal websites or desktop for quick pick-up-and-play fun. The new social features on iGoogle allow users to share content, play games and collaborate with friends on their personal homepage. SCRABBLE as a gadget is the 6th official version of the Hasbro owned SCRABBLE franchise launched by EA to give fans of the game a vast array of ways to play.

The SCRABBLE gadget customized for iGoogle provides the authentic game experience as well as an intuitive interface that allows head-to-head challenges against friends and family (based on subset of Google contacts). Gameplay is asynchronous and allows for up to five simultaneous games. With easy tracking of scores and statistics, one always will know where they rank against their friends as well as the iGoogle community at large. Players also can get help from extensive word lists and choose one of the several flexible speed levels to customize their level of difficulty. Read more

By Jeff Zbar
www.homeofficehighway.com

Call it a leap of faith.

Every time my family travels on Home Office Highway, I load up a flash drive with documents, files and notes for stories and columns in progress.

This year, except for a flash-drive built into a card reader for my camera, I brought no portable drive.

All my documents, files and notes were / are stored in the Cloud. Notes for my columns, interviews for pending stories, even all the notes related to our destinations, RV parks and other trip details were stored either to Google Notes, Gmail or Google Docs.Read more

Admit it. You missed Steve opening WWDC (Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference). You missed him walking out at the end of Phil Schiller's keynote where Steve walks from behind the curtain and says , "One more thing!"

No Show – Despite all of the wild speculation, Steve Jobs didn't show up at WWDC and according to his earlier statements plans to be back at 1 Infinity Circle late this month. Oh yes, the team put on a very good event focusing on business, not personalities.

There was no colored water to dazzle folks. No one sat down on the chair, whipped off the shoes and socks, held them in the air and said "today we're unveiling iSox." And five million people ran to the Apple store scooping up pairs at $50 per. There was no rush to roll-out matching laces, iSox cases, a dizzying array of toenail colors mixed. You had to focus on the announcements rather than the man. Maybe – just maybe – the PC/CE/communications industry has passed thru another stage of growth, dare we say maturation?

The business world goes through phases and the technologies industry has gone from techie gee whiz stuff to fashion statements. The business and consumer industry today changes fast. It changes more frequently than skirt length.Read more

Purloined Copy – One way or another an early copy of X-Men Origins was illegally uploaded to the web. While the copy circulated the Internet and is undoubtedly being saved/shown in various corners of the globe. Many black hatters asked people not to view the yet-to-be completed film and see it as it was intended…at the theater. We'll wait. Source – 20th Century Fox

Hugh Jackman, producer and star of X-Men, said he was "disappointed" when an early version of his movie was prematurely set free on the Internet. Wolverine on the other hand was p***ed! Oh yeah…so was News Corp's Rupert Murdock. The incident helped Hollywood strengthen their case that piracy is robbing them of revenues and hurting everyone…including consumers. Read more