Real people who really care and speak in an understandable fashion make a big difference in customer service. What's your most recent nightmare story?

Curt runs Journyx, who provides timesheet and project resource management software and you can follow Journyx on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin.

There's nothing wrong with the Blackberry Torch. There's just nothing particularly right about it. The Torch is no iPhone or Android killer, that's for sure. It won't even kneecap one of 'em.

Here's why:

1. There are no features that will up everyone else's game. The specs on the Torch at best match the iPhone and Android. However, in some of the key areas it falls short. The screen is only 3.2 inches compared to the more common 4+ inch screens of the Android models and 3.5 inch screen of the irrationally beloved Apple iPhone 4. The processor is 624 MHz compared to a full gig on the iPhone and Android phones.

2. It's an AT&T exclusive. Let's face it, the iPhone 4 comes out with a design flaw in the antenna affecting reception - AND CUSTOMERS DON'T CARE. The iPhone is such a juggernaut at this stage of the game that it really has only one visible Achilles heel: AT&T. Customers love to hate AT&T and regardless of what goes wrong it usually takes the hit, not Apple. Sadly the Torch is also an AT&T exclusive. So, forget about the Torch winning over Verizon or Sprint customers that can't stomach jumping to AT&T or AT&T customers willing to dump their iPhone for another carrier.

3. Even with 6000 plus apps in its App store, that's just too thin compared to the 200,000 plus apps that Apple offers. Apple has critical mass.

The Torch, however, is no Palm Pre (the Edsel of smartphones). Keep in mind, RIM still outsells Apple ten to one in this country. The Torch will do well enough relying on an already built customer base. It needs to be winning over, however, all those cell phone users out there that haven't jumped to any smartphone thus far. There is no compelling reason to latch onto the Torch, instead of an Android or iPhone option instead.

I see the writing on the wall. This is how the smartphone wars are shaping up in this country. It's iPhone versus Android. After that, it's going to be Windows Phone 7, HP's webOS (the old Palm in Tim Burton designed packaging) and the Blackberry Torch fighting over their crumbs.

It's going to be ugly.

I haven't been this intrigued since the ShamWow came out a few years back.

Cruising a company's job postings can deliver the occasional insight as to what's really going on within a company. Example: Apple posted job openings for antenna engineers when the story first broke about the iPhone 4's antenna defect.

Apple knows press and media pick up on these little clues. Is it such a stretch to believe that maybe they are using job listings as a backdoor way to spin messages?

As always, you are welcome to follow me on Twitter @oricchio

Although RIM has not blessed the story, we do know this; it has registerd the web address "blackpad.com". Those same sources say that this is what the tablet will indeed be called.

I hope this isn't true. Memo to tech industry from a woman; anything ending in "pad" is a bad idea. If you need any evidence that these companies are still largely male-dominated look no further than this tone-deaf marketing to women.

Okay, my estrogen levels are lowering now. Back to the story.

So this "Blackpad" will presumably have the same size screen as the iPad (9.7 inches). It will have cameras front and back for videoconferencing and be tricked out for Bluetooth and WiFi. Users will be able to tether with their Blackberry phones for Internet access, as well. Pricing will start at $499 (just like another device that starts with a little "i" and ends in "Pad").

So does RIM actually have a shot with this thing?

Short answer: yes.

RIM does have its work cut out for itself. Apple has over 200,000 apps in its store. RIM has about six thousand to date.

However, it would make sense for the iPad to rule the "tablet as a toy" space, while the Blackpad positions itself as "tablet as a tool" device.

You are welcome to follow me on Twitter @oricchio

It reminds me of when I first discovered email in the late 80's. Sometimes my fingers went faster than my brain and I hit the send button a little faster than wisdom would have warranted. Almost lost a friend over one of those indiscretions. How about you?

Read more of Curt's musings on entrepreneurship, management and technology

eReader prices are sinking like a stone. I believe they are destined to be just software apps on other all-in-one devices like the iPad, other near-future tablets coming out, and smartphones. There's no need for them to have their own hardware. It's happening faster that I even expected.

eReaders are not alone. With the advent of powerful smartphones and now touch tablets coming into play, the trend is clear: all-in-one devices are in and multiple devices are just stupid.

Here's my top five list of gadgets destined to go the way of the 8 Track player.

1. eReaders (as mentioned)

2. DVD Players (including Blu-Ray): This will take a little longer because so many have so much invested in their collections. But the younger generation coming up has less of an issue with that.

3. Point and Shoot Cameras (including video): Who wants to carry around a mobile device AND a digital camera? Meanwhile, the quality of cameras on smartphones just get better and better.

4. GPS Devices: again, this is a piece of software that can house just as easily on a smartphone. Why do I need mutliple devices for this?

5. iPods/MP3 Players: see above.

Other gadgets I would also say are suspect for the same reasons; portable gaming devices and even lower end video cameras (like the Flip Camera).

The only caveat I would add to portable gaming devices is that for younger kids who wouldn't likely have their own smartphone, it makes sense to still have a stand-alone gaming device.

Forrester published the results of a new survey showing that only a pathetic 4% of U.S. adults online have ever actually used a location based mobile app. 84% of adult Americans have never even heard of them. If you are one of them, I'm talking about apps that use geographical positioning in mobile devices to target hyperlocal information to the user.

A typical location based service can be a map showing you where you are in relation to all the nearby traffic slowdowns around you on the roads. Waze is a good example of this.

It can be a targeted advertisement based on the user's exact location, like an ad for a nearby sample sale on handbags.

I use one called Locavore that allows me to opt-in my current location and I get a map showing me all the nearby farm stands where I can buy locally grown food that is in season, for example. I also get a list of what's in season in my area of the country and what will be coming to harvest soon.

It's cool stuff. Creepy if you consider the possible intrusions to privacy. But, I have to admit the possibilities make me dizzy. Many believe location based services will be the next big thing in technology. I don't disagree.

I also don't disagree with Forrester. It's still very, very early days. Only a small percentage of people are actually dabbling with these new services out there. It sounds like most people are blissfully unaware. I'm guessing there are also more than a few that actually are aware and feeling anything but blissful about it. This crowd would be more interested in protecting their privacy than finding a good place to buy a few ears of sweet corn.

Unless you are a company that has the extra cash to play with bleeding edge technology and a need to market specifically to young men (the group most likely to try a location based service), Forrester recommends businesses should hold off on LBS marketing opportunities until more people are using them.

Well, they all have (and there are many, many other digital solutions that I could name. So please don't flame me in comments because I didn't mention your favorite) eroded the need for paper.

SanDisk CEO, Eli Harari, said a little something in his company's earnings call last week that got my attention. Harari says its the flash drive that is really replacing paper.

Of course, that is something he would say given SanDisk makes flash drives. But, is he right or is that just conference call smoke-blowing?

I believe he makes a point and here's the difference. Paper (aside from the chiseled or painted rock) has got to be the world's oldest data storage device. It takes one storage format to replace another.

E-mail is not a storage tool (although most of us use it as one anyway). E-mail is a tool to create data. So are software applications.

Servers, despite being the mules of data storage, are removed and out of the hands of the user.

Portable data storage, like flash drives, are really the natural descendent of paper (and before that it's great-grandaddy papyrus).

I'm not sure if this is what Harari was considering when he made his remark.

I'm guessing the flash drive will not last nearly as long as paper has, either.

HP, of course, acquired said webOS when it purchased Palm earlier this summer. HP clearly plans to go big with smartphones and all bets are on webOS.

This makes sense. We all saw it coming a mile away when HP announced it was buying Palm back in the spring. That being said, this has to hurt for Microsoft. HP, after all, is Microsoft's biggest customer.

Dell, Microsoft's other mega-customer, is betting on Droid for its smartphones.

Where will this leave Windows Phone 7? Answer: Samsung, LG and a handful of Asian smartphone makers. That's not bad; but it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room to make the necessary splash in the U.S. market to turn heads away from the well-established enterprise set using Blackberry, the hurt-me-I'm-so-cool iPhone crew or the pick-up-a-pitchfork-and-storm-the-castle Droid mob.

I believe that ultimately choosing against "united we stand" will mean "divided we fall" for HP and Microsoft. It's hard to imagine the field having room for one more smartphone platform, much less two.

I know, I know! Some of you will undoubtedly point out to me that Windows Phone 7 will have such an edge with the corporate crowd because it will integrate so seamlessly with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft servers, its unified communication tools blah, blah.

Yup, if it were up to IT to pick employee mobile devices then it might have a fighting chance. However, it doesn't really work that way. IT will make recommendations and employees will get a Blackberry, a Droid or an iPhone anyway.

This isn't like company-issued desktops or even laptops. Mobile devices are personal. In the end, people will just get the phone they want. Windows Phone 7 may answer a need. But, I don't see it answering anybody's "want".

We all tend to divide them into their more obvious categories: PCs, handhelds or mobile devices, gaming devices, eReaders and now tablets (iPad).

There's also the either/or way of looking at them:

- Wireless or not.

- Windows Vs. Apple

- Open Source or not.

Mary Jo is an institution in tech reporting. She's been covering Microsoft for Ziff Davis since Bill Gates was in short pants. I admire her work greatly.

In a recent posting, she "confessed" that she bought an iPad and loves it. It's her first Apple product EVER (not even an iPod, Mary Jo?).

Anyway, I was struck by her breakdown of tech devices; those she uses to create and those to consume. She's enjoying the iPad for consuming information, while sticking to her Windows world where creation is more intuitive for her.

This makes so much sense.

Before you Apple zealots lose your minds. I'm not interested in provoking a debate over which world (Windows Vs. Apple) is the best for creation. Let's be pragmatic about it. The answer is the world that's familiar to you.

Windows is familiar to Mary Jo and that's where she creates. What she's learning from her iPad is that consuming information doesn't require as much of a learning curve and she is now happily jumping back and forth between Windows and Apple.

In recent days, both Apple and Microsoft have posted record quarterly earnings. Clearly Mary Jo isn't the first to figure this out. But, I thank her for articulating it in such a helpful way.

It works in a very similar way as spellcheck. You simply click on a button and it scans through the body of your e-mail copy (before you send it out - hello!) flagging any sentences or phrases with verbage coming on, perhaps, a little too strongly.

The highlighted flags first point out what may be an exaggerated emotion (too angry, too enthusiastic, etc.) and then offers alternative copy to tone it down.

Clicking through the demo screens made me laugh. The whole thing feels like a Saturday Night Live spoof. Then again, it's answering a very real need. Who among us hasn't stepped in it once or twice from a misunderstood e-mail?

I'm not sure this is the panacea for flame wars. But for the socially awkward, just the practice of stopping to read through an e-mail one more time with ToneCheck may be enough to rethink their words with or without the suggestions.

ToneCheck is free for now. Let's hope they branch out to other e-mail clients, as well, soon.

Here are six reasons to do it today:

1. It ends in "co", as in "company". How appropriate for a business's web address!

2. Your business probably already has a web site, and therefore a web address. But I recommend you register the .co version of your business's name, as well, before someone else does and then tries to sell it back to you at a premium.

3. You don't want a competitor to build a site at yourbusinessname.co hoping to mislead customers when they accidently stumble on their site while looking for you.

4. It's relatively cheap: about $30 a year. All the big domain registrars like GoDaddy and Network Solutions will be good to go at launch time today.

5. Your company web site should always have multiple addresses. The more addresses, the more paths directing traffic to your site from search engines, etc. Would you build a shopping mall with only one entrance? Notice how some mall entrances are optimized to direct foot traffic to key places of the business (a food court entrance, an entrance by the movie theater, one that drops you right into the middle of the whole thing, etc. ). Multiple web addresses can serve you in a similar way.

6. If you do business abroad, many domain names serving other countries already have a .co in their web address (Great Britain has domain names typically ending in .co.uk, New Zealand has .co.nz, India has .co.in, etc.). Site visitors in those markets type .co all the time without thinking about it.

Run, don't walk, on this one.

P.S. Run, don't walk, to follow me on Twitter, as well, @oricchio

Here's a round-up of some of the more interesting reactions and insights over the weekend, while hopefully you were sunning yourself on a beach or at least manning a grill with the ones you love the most.

Regarding Apple's "tests" claiming other smartphones have the same antenna problem:

- Nokia Press Release (specifically named at the conference)

Even more strongly worded, this is from Research In Motion (parent company of Blackberry), also specifically accused of the same problem by Jobs at the press conference:

My footnote on Apple's "tests"; they were hardly done by an impartial lab now were they?

Regarding the "free bumper" fix

FYI... The new iPhone 4 when sheathed in a bumper case doesn't fit in its charging dock.

The "free" bumper is good only through September 30th. Apple didn't say a peep about actually fixing the design flaw. So what happens to customers who purchse the iPhone 4 after September? Caveat Emptor?

Regarding Consumer Reports' don't buy it recommendation that prompted this whole thing anyway:

The folks at Consumer Reports watched the press conference too and...

Regarding that *&^%^& new antenna design on the iPhone 4:

For more than you'll ever want to know about RF engineering and cell phones that however offers some truly illuminating perspective on this whole thing:

Check out the blog of RF engineering consultant, Spencer Webb, who goes into a lengthy (but worthwhile) explanation of antenna placement in phones (in short, due to safety regulations they have to go at the bottom to avoid beaming directly into your head and unfortunately that is exactly where we tend to grip the phone). That's just one among many insights. Read it. It's food for thought.

A picture of Steve Jobs demonstrating the iPhone 4. Note how he is holding it. I'm just saying... hehehehe.

Regarding Steve Jobs' being Steve Jobs at the press conference:

I told you what I think back on Friday. Some of you left comments with a general consensus that I was too hard on the lad. Oh really? I respect your opinions. But maybe I'm not so crazy, after all. At least I'm not alone.

One of Apple's most highly respected alums, Jean-Louis Gassee (founded Apple France) characterized Jobs' performance on Friday as "whining" and "lame". Read his blow by blow posting laying out examples of how Jobs has a history of blaming the press and blowing off his customers.

And if you all think that I'm harsh, yeesh! Check out Slate's, "Here's Your Free Case Jerk: Apple's Condescending iPhone 4 Press Conference" by Farhad Manjoo

My favorite part of that piece:

"What I'd prefer, since Jobs is asking, is a company that doesn't pee on my leg and tell me it's the "most revolutionary rain storm ever!" - Farhad Manjo

Apple will not be recalling the iPhone 4, despite a flaw in the antenna design and a software bug that causes the proximity sensor to drop calls (to be fixed in an upcoming software patch, hopefully). Nor, will Apple temporarily stop selling the iPhone 4 and fix the problem at the factory before shipping them out in the first place. I'm thinking of my small business owner friend, Zelda, in Austin who pointed out that she had to wait an extra six weeks last year to get a new Nokia phone she had her eye on. There was some glitch with the phone and Nokia just stopped selling it for six weeks until they worked out the bug. Voluntarily. Hey Apple, what a novel idea!

Anyway, those are the two things Steve Jobs should have announced today, along with a big mea culpa and a "I'm sorry".

Still waiting on the "I'm sorry", too.

Here's what Steve Jobs did offer:

1. Free bumpers to cover the exposed outer band antenna. Cost to Apple: $1 a bumper, even though they retail for $30. How generous! If you bought one already, they will refund your money.

2. You can return the iPhone for a full refund. (Whoopee!)

The rest of the press conference was pretty much Jobs poo-poo'ing the whole thing. There was a long diatribe about this wasn't a big deal because so few have returned their phone and while admitting that there is a problem he lamely tried to make a case that it happens with other smartphones too. (They just have the good sense to put the antenna inside the phone away from direct grip from a human hand, so not like this, Steve. P.S. I don't see Consumer Reports recommending that we don't buy a Droid or a Blackberry.).

By the way, in other Apple news today...

The San Mateo, CA DA's office has quietly withdrawn the search warrant used to raid Gizmodo.com blogger, Jason Chen's personal home. About half a dozen computers and servers were seized in the raid in the wake of Chen getting hold of a leaked prototype of the then not-yet-released iPhone 4 and writing a review about it. An Apple executive sits on the board of directors of the cybercrime public agency that jointly filed the search warrant. P.S. California has a shield law that requires a subpoena and a damn good reason to seize a reporter's materials. There wasn't one in this case.

One last footnote as we drift into the weekend...

Apple is Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs is Apple. Steve Jobs is Apple's greatest asset and liability. That's just a fact. Steve Jobs is a genius, a visionary and history has demonstrated that Apple can't lead the blind in prayer without him (anyone besides me remember the John Scully era - insert shiver up spine). To the Apple legions, Steve Jobs is a messianic-like figure. That's dangerous. This week we got a glimpse of it.

Really big publicly traded companies need to behave like really big publicly traded companies and not like a petulant teen who can't admit a mistake, much less take FULL responsibility to fix it and make amends. Offering a limp work-around for a high end product and packaging it in a slick big screen presentation that invalidates the problem in the first place is the response of one dysfunctional person. It is not the actions of a collaborating crisis management team acting with cool ration.

One thing Apple is not, is a "flat organization". That's what I saw today.

The Droid X is a beast. It has an 8 megapixel camera on board, with a 4.3 inch screen (the iPhone is 3.5 inches). It records video in high definition at 720p, has a HDMI output. For an extra $20 a month, you can use it as its own WiFi hotspot for up to five devices (or you can get the bootleg app and do it for free. Oops, was that my outside voice.) It goes for the typical price point of $200 on a two year contract.

Verizon is promising that there will be no wait for the Droid X. They have plenty on hand.

One has to wonder if Apple took into consideration that the time lapse between the announcement of its big press conference on the iPhone 4 (last night) and the actual conference itself (tomorrow) just happens to coincide with (that is, overshadow) the launch day of the Droid X today.

Of course, they did. Is this why the conference is on Friday, instead of Monday (which would have given East Coast and foreign press time to fly into California)? Hmm... what's that witchy word that starts with a "b"?

By the way, in other non-iPhone 4 tech news this week:

1. HP is scrapping plans to put out an Android tablet this year. It was supposed to come out fourth quarter. Change your holiday shopping lists, accordingly. It's not happening.

2. And, I've been meaning to get to this all week. Thank you to my boots on the ground in Austin, TX, ZC who brought this to my attention daaaays ago now. (How embarassing or me). Anyhoo, Microsoft has announced that it will allow businesses to downgrade to Windows XP for free until 2020. I'll pontificate more on this later. It's a pretty amazing announcement on Microsoft's part and, oh my, Windows XP is just the little engine that could now isn't?

3. Worldwide PC sales are up 22%. It seems IT budgets are finally loosening up enough to allow for upgrades in the workplace. That, and I'm sure the higher confidence level in Windows 7 than the dreaded Vista has a big something to with it. Another sure sign that the business world is still revolving despite the double dip recession/dare I call it a depression, Intel posted its biggest record in quarterly profits since the tech bubble. Intel chips are in about 80% of the world's computers.

I think he will.

Being the wunderkind of PR hype, surely he recognizes that he is quickly sinking in PR doo doo. I don't want to get ahead of myself, however.

It's been a bad week for Apple (almost as bad as its been for the customer who camped out in a lawn chair overnight to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone that doesn't work right).

You know it's time to call a presser and stop the bleeding when:

1. Consumer Reports publishes an article recommending customers not buy your new iPhone 4.

2. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a tech writer demanding you recall your new iPhone 4.

3. David Letterman is lampooning your new iPhone 4 in his nightly Top Ten List (that's almost as bad as the CR article). By the way, Letterman's best joke on the iPhone 4: "They don't like to be held, like my first wife".

4. Your stock price has dropped nearly 8 percent since you launched your new iPhone 4.

5. Analyst Mike Abramsky from RBC Capital Markets estimates you may be losing as much additional $200 million every week that goes by while you fiddle.

6. Microsoft thinks it has enough moral high ground to start making fun of you. (At Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference this week, its COO Kevin Turner referred to the iPhone 4 as Apple's Vista. Oh my! That's funny on so many levels.)

You can follow me on Twitter @oricchio, if you are so inclined.

--

Curt runs Journyx, who provides timesheet and project resource management software.

By the way, file this one under "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Microsoft-owned Bing, has the missing thread from the Apple site. Here it is, if you'd like to read it. I'm sure Google has it too somewhere. You think?

More importantly, however, please read the Consumer Reports article on the iPhone 4.

Here's some of the juicy bits, if you don't have time:

CR confirms there is definitely a problem with the antenna and has a dead spot on the outer band that reduces signal strength and can drop calls.

As for Apple's mumbo jumbo that it's a merry mix up about the bars misrepresenting signal strength in the software:

It would also appear that AT&T is off the hook on this one (and there was much rejoicing on their end).

Now, here's the most trago-ironic part of the article to me. Consumer Reports, addressed those that have purchased the iPhone 4 and recommends this as a fix:

Yes, friends, just put a little piece of duct tape on the lower left rim of your uber cool iPhone 4 and no worries. Of course, you'll have a piece of butt-ugly duct tabe on your new iPhone 4 that you purchased because it was the Mona Lisa of modern design (I would argue that industrial design is to the 21st century what oil paintings were to the Renaissance).

Before I step off my soapbox this morning:

Apple, oh my Gawd, this is quickly becoming so much more than an antenna fiasco. This is your credibility and it is dropping as fast as a call on one of your new phones.

1. Your new iPhone has a problem. Actually, more than one. Fix them! You can't hype a product to the moon, encourage the faithful to camp out for the fourth coming of iPhone and then make damage control your number one priority. You have the most rabidly loyal customers (other than perhaps Star Trek fans). They deserve better than this from you!

2. Shame on you for being more committed to your launch schedule and hype machine than to your customers, in the first place. You shipped a phone that sucks and you continue to knowingly do it today. Here it is, front and center on the Apple site, "iPhone 4 is here".

3. As one blogger so brilliantly juxtaposed the screen grab from your famous 1984 ad on his blog with these most recent events, yes you have become the very thing you once promised to counter yourself to among other tech giants. Censoring bad news, knowingly shipping a faulty product, the Jason Chen affair, forcing your developers into a Sophie's Choice between your App tools and Adobe's; I would argue that you are the monster that you once protested.

Increasingly, your beautiful, sleek products are looking less as bright, shiny welcoming fruit hanging from a tree and more as Old Testament objects of craven seduction for selfish purpose.

Stepping down now...

As always, dear readers, you are welcome to follow me on Twitter @oricchio

Granted, you get what you pay for (it's free) and the apps you can build are pretty simple and limited. However, development options include using location-based features with GPS (heads up: local businesses), creating simple games (customize for branding!), quizzes (I see potential for training, product tutorials and customer surveys) and easily programming timed text messages to specific lists of users(coupons and specials alerts!).

Remember, this is the beta version. You do have to sign up and wait for Google Labs to get back to you with approval to participate. No word on the turnaround time to get up and running. Today is the first day, keep in mind.

I filled out the form myself (with the intention to use it as an educational tool in my classroom this Fall). It was all of six questions and took me 30 seconds. I'll let you know on this blog if and when I hear back.

This reminds me of free DIY web site building tools. Yes, they are boilerplate and a little amateurish. But for the self-employed or small business on a budget, it's a great way to get your name out there and customers know the score. They know the little guy can't afford to drop a ton of money on slick technology. They just want information about you and anything that makes it easier to access your business.

In the near future:

I see local pizza places creating an app to make ordering home delivery a breeze.

I see real estate agents creating customized listing alerts for potential buyers with the option to book a viewing time.

I see CPAs offering a "What's deductable this year?" quiz to rope in potential clients and retuning clients.

I see Apple getting nervous.

The iPad users surveyed are a cross section of people from around the country and skew towards owning multiple devices (smartphone, laptop/netbook, eReader, gaming devices, mp3 players, etc.).

I find the results fascinating, with some surprises and some "I told you so's".

1. File this one under "I told you so": Amazon and Barnes and Noble need to worry. After owning an iPad, the number one device that users said they could do without in the future is a stand-alone eReader (49%). For what it's worth, Mashable is predicting the coming of the sub $100 eReader. For what it's worth, I agree. I think the big question is whether it will be in time for Christmas. Or, will the Kindles and Nooks of the world instead try to up their game with color and more apps on board to justify their prices... and existence.

2. Portable gaming device makers: watch out for iPad! Remember what I said about 49% of iPad users saying they have no need for even thinking about getting an eReader someday. The number two tech toy in iPad's sites for cannibalization is the portable gaming device (38% of iPad owners say they have no need to buy one now).

3. The netbook takes a bullet, but it doesn't look fatal - for now. 32% surveyed say they wouldn't buy a netbook after owning an iPad. That's a third of iPad owners - serious stuff, but again, not enough to bury the ever popular netbooks.

4. Good news for Apple: 37% of those surveyed said the iPad was their first-ever Apple product (they didn't even own an iPod - Wow!). I'm just wondering who these folks are who didn't own ANY Apple product beforehand. My grandmother passed years ago. Perhaps Apple opened a store before the April launch on one of those remote islands in the South Pacific previously untouched by the modern world.

My take away: It's a "toy", not a "tool":

55% of owners in the survey say that they view their iPad as "a very expensive toy". Conversely, 54% of people who do not own an iPad from another part of the survey say they don't see a need for one. 46% say its too expensive. Apple is selling roughly a million iPads a month since its April launch. Imagine how much brisker sales would be if the economy wasn't in the dumper.

Because the iPad is being used as a "toy" and less of as a "tool" (28% see it as "a useful tool of productivity"), then naturally the focus is more on its capability as an eReader and/or portable gaming device. It's another reason why I say the netbook is safe for now. Netbooks are cheaper and are definitely a "tool".

The iPad has been red hot out of the gate; no doubt about it. I still argue this won't last. This isn't like the iPhone that sells like hotcakes even when it has more bugs than Southeast Texas in July. Even in a crummy economy, people can find $200 to buy a smartphone or music player or even a thousand dollar laptop (trying doing a job search without a computer of some sort). However, we've all survived up until now without a touch tablet. As "gee whiz" as the iPad may be, many of us will sit this out until the economy improves, our wallets get a little fatter and the prices come down.

Once Apple sells an iPad to all the early adopters and tech elites out there willing to buy cool on credit, expect thoe sales numbers to slow down.

I just read over what I've written. Oh Lord, I know I'm going to hear about it now from the iKool-aid crowd. Fire away!

You're welcome to follow me on Twitter @oricchio, as well.

Keep in mind, RIM (Blackberry's parent company) still outsells the iPhone ten to one in this country.

It would appear that after multiple versions of Android coming out on iPhone-looking handsets, Android is now shooting one over Blackberry's bow.

In other news...

Apple's MobileMe has a new calendar now available in beta.

Think Google calendar functionality with Apple's slick, stylistic interface. You can sign up for a beta invitation here.

The fine print on the Apple site says it works best with Safari 5, Firefox 3.6 or Internet Explorer 8, with no mention of Google Chrome (hmmm...).

It will not be immediately compatible with Outlook. But, that's coming soon.

Yes, there is an emergency software update (patch) coming out to address this. However, Gizmodo (quoting AppleCare operators who said the same thing on three different calls) is reporting that Apple's official partyline to customers is that the patch will not fix the antenna. What it will do is address the glitch in the software that's been giving us all a false reading of reception bars on the phone's interface all this time.

In other words, there's two problems with the iPhone's reception. One is a software problem that is purely cosmetic. The other is the hardware problem that speaks to a fundamental flaw in the iPhone 4's design with the wraparound antenna band on the outside of the phone.

The software problem is getting fixed. There is no fix for the hardware problem (the problem that is actually dropping calls).

Apple is offering the following advice to customers:

1. Get an iPhone case/bumper that will shield the antenna. They cost about $30. You're on your own to buy one yourself. See below for other potential problems from this solution.

2. Avoid gripping the phone on the lower left edge of the phone (the so-called "dead spot").

3. OR - Return it and Apple will waive the restocking fee.

Now, that's just the antenna fiasco. But, wait there's more:

- New "proximity sensor" disconnecting calls: The "new" iPhone has a newly designed "proximity sensor". It is supposed to detect when your face is close to the phone for a call and turn off the touch screen. This is to prevent your cheek from bumping into an icon that will hang up the phone or put it on speaker (while against your ear - ouch!), etc. There is a robust thread of customer complaints about this one on the Apple site. This is likely a software glitch that can be fixed with an update.

- Upload speeds are too slow - Lay this one AT&T's feet, not Apple's (although don't they work together on these things?). There were widespread complaints over the holiday weekend that iPhone 4 users were experiencing a severe lag in upload speeds on AT&T's 3G Network. At first, there were rumors that AT&T was capping upload speeds on purpose. AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent put out a joint statement, however, claiming it's a software problem on their end and it's in the process of being fixed. The two companies neglected to mention how long it will take to roll-out that fix.

- Some iPhone 4 cases don't fit - So for those of you who choose to buy an iPhone 4 case (or bumper as they are sometimes called) as a RX for the faulty antenna, buyer beware. Apple refuses to share the specs (like the phone's size dimensions that would determine the size of the bumpers to go around it) in advance to the companies that make iPhone accessories. Subsequently, those accessory manufactorers are shooting in the dark creating products for launch day based on rumors and leaked prototypes and beta versions. Subsequently part two, some of the iPhone 4 cases currently on the market simply don't fit. Best advice: save your receipt.

- Android 2.2 Beats The Pants Off iPhone 4's OS: Ars Technica just published today the results of its benchmark testing comparing the speeds of the new Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system and iOS 4 (iPhone 4), specifically in javacript execution. Android was two to three times faster in a variety of tests. You can geek out more about that here, if you are so inclined.

Like I say, hot mess.

-

But that isn't the worst of it.

Apparantly, these rogue app developers have been hacking into iTunes accounts and buying their way to the top of the charts. If customer comments are to be believed, feedback complaints range from penny-ante amounts charged to their iTunes accounts all the way up to more than $600 in charges on these bogus apps.

Kudos to the web site TNW Apple that skipped the fireworks this weekend and stayed on this one, instead. Their writers have a great posting further explaining these rogue "app farms". I have a feeling this term will be entering our daily lexicon soon, sadly.

Meanwhile, boo to Apple. So far, all they've done is advise customers affected to change their iTunes passwords (duh!). They have taken down the "app farm" off of the books category. But according to TNW Apple, there are plenty of others. This episode has apparantly shed a light on a whole new category of Internet scam. As usual, the hackers are several steps ahead of the rest of us.

Some advice if you suspect you've been had:

1. Change your iTunes password immediately.

2. Contact Apple on the phone line that actually gets you a live person at 800-275-2273.

3. Contact your bank that issued your card.

For the rest of us, best advice:

Stop using credit cards and debit cards and, instead, use gift cards with small, finite amounts to minimize risk.

Most people self-publish to add to their professional street "cred". There's something about adding "published author" to your CV that implies instant gravitas and it's a great way to get yourself in line for speaking engagements, as well. The benefits are endless.

Still it would be nice to get something for all that work.

Amazon is now offering 70% of net sales in royalties to authors. No publishers or agents needed to wet their beaks first, by the way.

There are some conditions.

1. The book has to be priced between $2.99 and $9.99.

2. The price has to be at least 20% cheaper than any other format's edition (i.e. paperback, softback, audio, hardback).

3. The Kindle version has to be made available "in all geographies" that other versions of the book are sold.

Keep in mind:

This is not only for all makes and models of the Kindle, but the Kindle app for the iPhone and iPad.

Ah yes, that was the same day MacRumors: Forums lit up with complaints and Youtube testimonials demonstrating that the new iPhone 4 loses reception (the bars go to nil) if you grip the phone just-so in two places on the outer metal band (that functions as the antenna).

It's been a PR disaster ever since for Apple, although it hasn't slowed down sales that's for sure (1.7 million sold in three days).

Here's part of the job description:

So what can we infer from this after our initial chuckle?

1. On the eve of the formal launch of the iPhone 4, Apple saw it would be shipping them out with a huge technical flaw. They shipped them anyway.

2. Someone high up the food chain at Apple fast tracked posting these three postions implying a vote of "no confidence" in the current iPhone engineering team's ability to fix this themselves.

3. Apple is looking for some really, really, really smart cookies to tackle this. The job requirements include at least a master's in electrical engineering, if not a Phd (this is not a 75k a year job) and ten years experience (and they want three of 'em).

A recent example is the case of two archaeologists who just made a breakthrough discovery in Central America. The husband-and-wife team used airborne laser signals to penetrate the jungle cover from the air and provide 3-D images of the ruins of a Mayan city in Belize. The data they collected surpassed the results of “two and a half decades of on-the-ground mapping,”according to the New York Times. A fellow archaeologist noted that this “lidar” technology could be used in places like Southeast Asia as well.

The technology used is called LIDAR. LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is an optical remote sensing technology that measures properties of scattered light to find range and/or other information of a distant target. I happen to know something about it because of a project my wife worked on recently with NEC (a Japanese firm).

The LIDAR technology is not cheap and similar kinds of data are now being provided by stereoscopic camera views combined with sophisticated software and excellent GPS capabilities. In Japan they use this data to quickly tell which buildings fell down following an earthquake, so that first reponders can receive pinpoint directions.

Get more of Curt's perspective on project management, technology and more

The story, though still not confirmed officially by Apple, AT&T or Verizon, was originally reported by Bloomberg News quoting two unnamed sources. Read it for yourself, if you are so inclined.

Chew on this:

- Apple sold 1.7 million units of the newly launched iPhone 4 last week in just three days (in five countries, including the U.S.).

- Since the first iPhone came out just three years ago, Apple has sold a total of 50 million of 'em.

- Verizon has over 90 million customers in the United States.

So, who wins and who loses?

Apple - Of course! Access to a new customer base of 90 million people, not to mention people who currently use other carriers looking to jump just to get an iPhone? Please!

Verizon - Duh!

Joe Q. Public, AKA Us - Now we have a choice of carriers. Competition is always a good thing.

App Developers - more customers, more money.

AT&T - The iPhone brought in 900,000 new customers to AT&T in the first quarter of this year alone and that was a slow quarter compared to others. Wait until we get the figures for this quarter with the iPhone 4 taken into account! AT&T's exclusivity deal with Apple has been a goldmine. They will surely still make money hand over fist, but will now have to share some of it with Verizon. Lots and lots of customers love their iPhone and hate AT&T's service. Let's see how many jump ship when they get a chance.

Android - Yes, you have a better teaser price. But, let's see what happens now!

Verizon customers - Memo from AT&T customers: welcome to our world. We hope Verizon's network does a better job of holding up under the weight of all those iPhone data hawgs.

The other carriers - Face it, you're screwed.

IT Departments - Groan! That many more executives wanting to access the company network via iPhone. Have fun with security.

Adobe - The Apple juggernaut only grows bigger. It's a bad day for you in the war between Flash and HTML5.

Christmas - Notice that the Verizon deal doesn't happen until January. So I guess we know what won't be the hot item under the tree while we are all on hold for a few more weeks.

Folks, for a mere $250 (cables not included) you can store up to three terabytes of data in something smaller than your sock drawer.

A terabyte is a whole lot of information. Every book, every scrap of paper, everything in the Library of Congress adds up to an estimated 160 terabytes (TB, for short). Cisco once estimted that all the data passed around the entire Internet for the entire year of 2008 was about the same - 160 TB. Imagine storing every transaction of information from all web traffic in one year in 54 boxes.

My question is how many businesses actually need that much data storage. Companies that heavily work with video and graphics come to mind. Developing an animated movie, like Monsters Vs. Aliens, requires about 100 TB of storage while in production, if that offers you some frame of reference.

The real cost of data isn't the storage part, however. It's management; how to archive it, access it, protect it and effectively use it. More fundamentally, when do you say "when" when it comes to choosing what to save and what to chuck?

The more important question, however, is where manufacturers are getting these minerals to help feed the world's insatiable need for mobile devices and other consumer electronics, like DVD players, gaming devices, laptops and digital cameras.

A good chunk of what are euphemistically being called "conflict minerals" are coming from the Congo, home to the deadliest war since World War II. The International Rescue Committee estimates that as many 45,000 people are being murdered there each month. More than five million have been killed since 1998.

Meanwhile 20% of the world's supply of Tantalum, for example, comes from the Congo and its profits are lining the pockets to arm the very same militia groups responsible for genocide and the systematic and widespread rape of women and young girls. The Congo is truly hell on earth.

It seems those $199 smartphones aren't as cheap as we thought.

So what is being done about this? So far, not much. More to the point; not enough!

Conflict minerals are reportedly being used by some of the biggest names in the tech industry, including Apple and Blackberry. Up until now, the major technology companies have felt it was enough to just go on the word of their suppliers that they don't use minerals from the Congo. To date, there is no mechanism to routinely audit these supply chains and verify where they get their materials. In other words, everyone's on the honor system.

Does that sound like doing enough to you?

Here's what you can do:

1. The latest draft of the financial overhaul bill working its way through Congress would actually do something about this; requiring tech companies to report use of conflict minerals in their products. Contact your congressmen or women and senators and urge them to make sure this part of the bill passes.

2. Note the brands on all your computer and consumer electronic devices. Contact them through their corporate web sites, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts demanding that they come clean about conflict minerals so consumers can make informed buying choices or risk losing your business in the future.

3. Spread the word.

By the way, so what would it cost companies to make sure the Tantalum in their cell phones comes from Australia, instead of the Congo, for example? According to the Enough Project, about one penny per cell phone.

I'm certainly willing to pay $199.01 for my next smartphone. How about you?

You are welcome to follow me on Twitter @oricchio

More interesting to note:

There is already a growing drumbeat online from consumers of what may potentially be a big problem. Remember the metal band around the new iPhone that is part of the antenna? Customers are already complaining that when you grip the phone in two places or more it all but kills reception. When you let go - Voila! It's back to four bars.

See this Gizmodo article by Jason Chen with a great round-up of customer testimonials demonstrating the problem via Youtube.

There's also a new study (by the sub contractor that fixes iPhones) that is reporting 26% of all iPhones break within two years.

Before you get too alarmed, the fine print of the study offers some reassurances:

1. It's getting better. Newer models, like the 3GS have a better record. The first iPhones had actually a 33% chance of breaking.

2. Most of those breakages were from people actually "breaking" the &^%$ phone. The flipside of that, of course, is the iPhone is a bit "precious" for drops, etc. But, if you can avoid dropping your phone (especially in the toilet, for example), you do have a fighting chance of keeping it intact for the long haul.

Last but not least, a joke:

Did you hear the CEO of AT&T just got married?

Good service, lousy reception.

Hope I don't get a cease and desist letter for that one.

Grand Central was a red hot webware startup company a number of years ago now. Back then, the little start-up was a web-based clearing house where you could sync up all your phone numbers and voicemail accounts. It was cool then, albeit a bit awkward to coordinate all your telephony on a PC.

Google bought Grand Central three years ago (almost to the day.. it was announced June 24th, 2007 to be exact). Since then the Grand Central brand went back to just being about the big train terminal in New York. The service itself went dormant for awhile and re-emerged as Google Voice, but in beta up until now.

Here's what it does and why you should check it ou:

1, Google Voice assigns you one master phone number to sync up with all your other phone numbers (cell, home, work, etc.). No more juggling multiple voicemail boxes or worrying which phone needs to be charged when the headhunter calls. You can program Google Voice to ring all or some of your lines, as you see fit.

2. It transcribes voicemails to text.

3. You can personalize different greetings for different contact groups (one for business contacts, one for friends, or yet even something more intimate for those, uh, more intimate relationships).

4. You can share voicemails via e-mail.

5. Use Google Voice for conference calls. Just have participants call into your Google Voice number and then put them on to the call with a touch of a button. No more long call-in numbers and access codes.

The digital world has changed dramatically since Grand Central was bought back in the summer of 2007. That was also the summer the first iPhone was released. Back then, it was all about Web 2.0. Now, its all about the apps. Google is offering Google Voice as an app for the Droid (of course), the iPhone and the Blackberry.

1. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - 25th Anniversary Edition, By Steven Levy. This has always been a classic must-read for every techie. Now it's a must-read for two reasons; the original book and the update from author Steven Levy (long-time tech writer for Newsweek). Levy revisits the original "Hacker Ethic", for example that all information should be free, and how that debate rages on today in light of issues like file-sharing on the Internet.

2. The Soul of a New Machine, By Tracy Kidder. Originally published in 1981 at the dawn of the PC era, what better time to read it than now at what some people call the eve of the PC era as touch screens and mobile devices appear to be taking over.

3. Microserfs, By Douglas Coupland. And you thought Coupland's one contribution to humankind was the term "Generation X" (his other big book)! Microserfs, I remind you, was an article in Wired Magazine in 1994 and expanded into a novel in early 1995 just before Windows 95 rocked our collective world. Microserfs argueably predicts the bursting of the tech bubble and even more visionary; the format itself is eerily blog-like, written as journal entries by the main character in his laptop.

4. The HP Way, By David Packard. The writing is dry to say the least. The story is more than a little self-serviing. But who cares? In my humble opinion, Hewlett Packard's way of managing its people was nothing less than revolutionary in the history of corporate culture. Early HP did a lot more than invent oscillators and high-end calculators. Thank HP for business casual dress, open door policies with the boss and Friday beer busts with colleagues after work. HP institutionalized openess and flexibility. HP was a flat organization, before flat was cool.

5. The Cuckoo's Egg, By Clifford Stoll. There are plenty of other tech books I could have put in the number five slot ahead of this one. I don't care. This has to go on the list, if for no other reason Cliff Stoll pulled off the unthinkable. He managed to write a page turner of a book about computers that reads like a Dan Brown novel. But, his really is a true story. Cliff Stoll is very likely the smartest human being I have ever known (even smarter than David Packard, see #4, and he was a genius!). Stoll, who I would describe as a modern day Einstein right down to the mad scientist flyaway hair, chronicles his real-life adventure of stumbling onto and then tracking down a Soviet spy working for the KGB who had hacked his way into the computers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Cuckoo's Egg came out in 1989 the year communism fell in Eastern Europe.

And here's one more that perhaps will become a tech classic...

The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains, By Nicholas Carr. Just out this month in hardback, I believe the title is self-explanatory. Carr, who asked and answered the question "Is Google making us stupid?"in a long-format article for Atlantic Monthly, is back blaming the Internet for the un-educating of Homo Sapiens.

Feel free to add to the list.

Meantime, you're welcome to follow me on Twitter @oricchio

Every year, the ARM Technology Conference presents workshops, panel discussions, demonstrations, and exhibitions on designing with the ARM architecture. This year, ARM TechCon is being held in Santa Clara, California, November 9-11, and I am the Track Chair for presentations on 'Designing with Open Source Software.'

If you're interested in presenting a 50-minute, half-day or full-day class on this or one of the other track subjects, submit your abstract by June 25, 2010.

I am very interested to see what comes out of the conference this year.

Who do you know that is smart, a good speaker, working with open source and creating hardware solutions?

Curt is the CEO of Journyx, in Texas

Yesterday, it turns out, was a busy first day of pre orders for Apple. Forget about the June 24th launch date. Those units sold out in a matter of hours. The batch due on July 2nd went within a matter of hours after that.

The next shipment date available is now July 14th. Buyer beward, however; this could be outdated information in the time it takes me to hit the "update article" button.

Apple is reporting that it processed no less than 600,000 pre orders yesterday for the new iPhone. To give you a little perspective that is ten times the number of pre orders it took for the 3GS a year ago.

So, what's driving this?

1. Yes, this is Apple's most dramatic upgrade to the iPhone since it debuted three years ago.

2. However, I think you have a lot of iPhone users who have used their older models for a couple of years and are ready to upgrade. These are the dividends of a more established product. We are officially in a buying groove; similar to how people use to trade in their cars every five years for Detroit's latest.

3. A sign that the economy is getting better?

4. All those people who didn't jump on the iPad band wagon a couple of months ago because it was just a little too rich for their blood are making themselves feel better by at least getting the new iPhone instead?

You are welcome to follow me on Twitter @oricchio

Apparantly, AT&T ran out first (within hours) and then Apple, itself, ran out as well. All this despite a major failure with the pre-ordering system in the wee hours of the morning (talk about your early adopters - ba dum dum!).

Let me be clear, you can still pre order an iPhone 4; you'll just have to wait until the next shipment date which is now July 2nd.

One last buying tip courtesy my even-geekier-than-me friend Beswick Channer (that's a compliment, Bes); check out Radio Shack.

Radio Shack is apparantly offering some serious trade-in dough for older model iPhones. Specifically, the Shack is offering a $100 trade-in for the iPhone 3G and $200 for the 3GS.

Radio Shack does require a $50 deposit on pre orders.

Privacy concerns in the United States may have slowed some of the adoption of these technologies here, but now we are seeing more and more of it.

Curt is the CEO of a timesheet software firm in Texas.

It was already free if you were already an AT&T customer or had a registered Starbucks card. For everyone else, it was $3.99 for two hours of Internet access. (Ridiculous!)

In making the announcement, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz alluded to a broader digital offering; some sort of "digital network". (Yes, do go on...)

Apparently, this Starbucks digital network will be in partnership with Yahoo! and feature unique and proprietary content just for Starbuck customers. (Unique content on the web? Now, I'm getting skeptical.)

Word is, it will be things like customized content from sources like the Wall Street Journal, Zagat and Yahoo! News (It's official, you just lost me. As if the Wall Street Journal is going to hold back its best scoops for the Starbucks network!)

Anyhoo, we can all enjoy the free WiFi regardless.

The bloggers who have so far added the "Like" widget must be loving it.

There are two versions; one "Like" widget goes in the sidebar position next to postings, the other goes at the end of each posting.

TypePad is reporting a 50% increase in referral traffic for those that use the sidebar widget. Get this; bloggers who put a "like" widget at the end of each posting are getting a 200% increase in referral traffic.

I would like to see how the "like" button compares to the "retweet" button and other social networking widgets, however.

The official reason: Google is blaming it "on a bug".

Hmmm...

Let me just add that Google's "trending topics" (that is, top searches of the moment on Google) yesterday rounded out the top five with "remove Google background".

I guess a lot of people out there really, really don't like close up shots of Christmas ornaments, desert vistas or fiesta colored piggie banks with large daisy stickers.

We dreamed about it in the 1970s and now it may be here – the completely paperless office. The popularity and convenience of web-based technology solutions, combined with the recent rise in awareness about the environment, has led many companies to print less and e-mail more. InfoTrends analyst John Shane says, “I wouldn't call it the paperless office -- that's not going to happen for ages. But the less-paper office /is/ coming.”

An additional benefit of technology as opposed to paper is democracy of information. If you have an important document on paper in a filing cabinet, the only people who have access to it must be walking distance from that cabinet. When it's on the web, your workers out in the field (or in different countries) can access it. True communication and visibility come through technology.

Now I just need to figure out who gets to be the librarian for for our wiki and our fileserver - because eventually every datastore gets disorganized. Google's answer to this is 'have a great search engine'. Social web2.0 sites answer tends to use tags to specify which documents are associated with different concepts. Both methods have issues.

Curt works for Journyx, which has solutions to help managing resources on projects.