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I’m such a geek…

To be accurate with the pricing we should consider that they all come with 2 year AT&T contracts. Depending on the plan it will cost roughly $100/month. So a more realistic number is $100 + $100×24(months) = $2500. Ouch! That costs more than most computers.

Before the release of the new iPhones, I had the top of the line latest and greatest smart phone in the world.  Today I have a phone that you can get for just $99.

Technology is so funny that way: Cutting edge one moment, out of date faster than you can say, “Control-Alt-Delete.”

But in an interesting twist – at the same time my phone became old – it became new. You see, Apple also released the next generation operating system. Here are the twenty new features from apple.com:

Cut, Copy & Paste

Quickly and easily cut, copy, and paste text from application to application. Select entire blocks of web text with a tap. Copy and paste images from the web, too.

Landscape Keyboard

Want more room to type? Rotate iPhone to landscape to use a larger keyboard in Mail, Messages, Notes, and Safari.

MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service)

Send MMS messages and include photos, audio, and contact info. Think if MMS as text messaging on steroids. FYI: The iPhones are ready but, AT&T and still figure how much it wants to charge for this feature.

Spotlight Search

Find what you’re looking for across your iPhone, all from one place.

Voice Memos

Capture a memo, a meeting, or any audio recording on the go. Voice Memos works with the built-in iPhone microphone or with the mic on your headset.

Calendar

Create meetings via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and subscribe to calendars with new CalDAV support.

Buy Movies, TV Shows, and Audiobooks

Download movies, TV shows, music videos, and audiobooks from the iTunes Store on your iPhone.3

Enhanced Stocks App

Get more at-a-glance information and view charts in landscape.

Safari Improvements

Enjoy faster performance, autofill user names and passwords, and more.

Internet Tethering

Share your Internet connection with your laptop with Internet tethering via Bluetooth or USB. This is another exciting feature that AT&T is disabling until they figure out their pricing.

Stereo Bluetooth

Connect compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones, car kits, or other accessories.

Automatic Wi-Fi Login

Log in to a Wi-Fi hotspot and iPhone automatically logs you in when you connect again.

Sync Notes

Never leave a note behind. Now you can sync all the notes you write on your iPhone back to your Mac or PC.

Parental Controls

Decide what music, videos, and apps your kids can access.

iTunes Store Account

Create and log in to one or more iTunes Store accounts directly from your iPhone.

YouTube Login

Log in to your YouTube account to save and sync bookmarks and rate favorites.

Shake to Shuffle

Give iPhone a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library.

New Languages

iPhone supports 30 languages and more than 40 keyboard layouts.

MobileMe Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe

Find your iPhone if you lose it and protect your privacy with Remote Wipe.

Run the Latest Apps

Run the next generation of iPhone apps, like peer-to-peer games and more.

I was hoping that iPhone 3.0 would allow me to shoot video on my current phone and to use it as a wi-fi hub.

Bummer, I can’t do either at this time. But, I’m excited to to be able Cut, Copy & Paste.

The spotlight search is very nice as well. I can now search eMails, events, contacts, music and lots more. There wasn’t ANY search available before.

I’m also glad to have my notes sync to my computer. I’m surprised at how many notes I have taken.

The parental controls are welcome as well. I don’t worry so much about my girls removing applications or playing with a file they shouldn’t.

Last, but not least is the Mobile me ‘Find My Phone’. So in the event I turn off my ringer and misplace my phone (NObody else does this, right?) I can go to me.com can have it override my phone settings and RING, so I can find the phone.

Now that is a smart phone. Until neXt time.

Oscar Myre IV is the owner and creative director at omOriginals Design Studio in Longview. 360.575.9839 or online @ omOriginals.com

For the web, the one thing that is constant is change. I’m hearing more and more people talk about Web 2.0. Lots of businesses say that they want it, though very few know what it is.

When I first read about Web 2.0 I was a little worried. The talk was that there was to be a new version of the web and that the old would be left behind. I believe I first read about Web 2.0 way back on 2005.

So what does “Web 2.0” mean today? Here is my try at brevity…

1) Technology

One ingredient of its meaning is certainly Ajax. Basically, what “Ajax” means is “Javascript now works.”

And that in turn means that web-based applications can now be made to work much more like desktop ones. And now that Javascript works new software is being written at incredible speeds. The major players are trying to keep up or buy out the software. Heard of Google Maps?! A canonical example of an Ajax app. Google liked it and bought.

2) Community

The second element is Community. This new accessibility to powerful technology has proven to level the field. With the right technology in place regular people can now do things now that can compete with an surpass major corporations. Heard of Wikipedia? The free web based Encyclopedia. So it is not perfect, but it’s free and tons of people are actually using it. It is written by the people for the people.

My good friend Ryan Yanez (a fellow geek) is hooked on Digg.com. Digg is a a technology news site that is changing the way people consume information online. It is community driven and there are no editors. So take with a grain of salt.

While Wikipedia and Digg say is that it’s good enough and free, del.icio.us says that voters do a significantly better job than human editors.

3) Gloss

The 3rd element is glossy. The design of most Web 2.0 sites is very clean and simple. Almost ever 2.0 site out there has a shiny, glossy, gui (gooey) look to it. Complete with color gradients reflections.

And a discussion of Web 2.0 and Community wouldn’t be complete without (a shameless plug) CowlitzToday. CowlitzToday.com is a project that continues to exceeded our expectations. CowlitzToday.com is the calendar for Cowlitz County. We have over 90 partners such Cities, Churches, Hospitals, Schools, Service clubs, Sports Groups,Theaters, Venues % more.. They all have access to post their own public events so as they are defined by our terms of service.  At the time of this writing (June 20th – Deadline Day) our community has posted 3661 local events to date.

CowlitzToday.com use AJAX to make it easy to add events. It uses many Web 2.0 technologies including Google Maps to help people learn about what is happening in our area.

Still don’t understand? That is OK, as soon a most people figure it out we will be learning about Web 3.0.

Valley Bugler Co-Publisher Oscar Myre IV is not only our geek he is also the creative director for omOriginals.
www.omOriginals.com

Javascript

A Web scripting language developed by Netscape. It was developed independently of the full JAVA language and is an “open” language, free for anyone to use and adapt.

GeekByte

AOL bought Netscape for $4.2 million in 1999. AOL stopped support of Netscape February of 2008. Development had ended long ago.