On Smartphones... Jeff Atwood: "It's gotten to the point now where I get the shakes if I can't bust out my Blackjack and look up something on Wikipedia, any time, any place. It's like having the sum of the entire world's knowledge in the palm of your hand, wherever you happen to be. I can't understate how powerful this is. It completely and utterly spoils you."

Jeff then goes on to explain why he won't be getting an iPhone today. He does, however, predict that you and I will want a 2nd generation iPhone within 12 months.

Caller ID Wrist Watch Gadget: Bluetooth Caller ID Wrist Watch.

Leno Jay Leno, on the iPhone, "Everyone getting a new iPhone? They say the new iPhone will totally revolutionize the industry. At least until Saturday when they release the iPhone 2.0." Giddy-Up!

Vista Reliability Monitor How is your Vista machine running? Paul Thurrot highlights Vista's Reliability Monitor feature.

Vista Ultimate 'Extras' MIA Yes, Ultimate Extras (and the lack thereof) have been a huge disappointment to me. Two or three (minor ones) were delivered immediately after Vista Ultimate's release, but there has been nothing new for months. As such, I would recommend that all home users opt for Vista Home Premium until further notice. (An OEM copy of the 32-bit version is most likely all you need. For $115, you can get all of the best Vista features.)

Ten Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy an iPhone Jim Lynch: Ten Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy an iPhone . I realize this is a our grapes list, but several of the points are compelling.

iPhone Hype Glenn Fleishman is not buying it. Responding to Steve Jobs' assertion that the iPhone is the 'best iPod ever', Glenn says, "But it's not an iPod. It's a $500 or $600 communicator that requires a two-year calling commitment. Monthly charges haven't been announced, but judging by comparable offerings from AT&T and other carriers, it should run you at least $50 per month in voice service and $40 per month in data service. That adds more than $2,000 to the iPhone's price tag over two years even before buying music or movies! Consider also that Apple engineers already are hard at work on iPhone 2.0."

Citizen Kane is Still #1
I was happy to see Hitchcock's Vertigo in the Top 10 this time. In my book, The Godfather or Citizen Kane could be number one and I wouldn't complain. I would say overall, the Top 10 picks are about right.

I enjoy these 'Top Films' lists because they encourage younger folks to go back and watch the quality films that inspired their favorite modern filmmakers.

Wall Street In case you haven't noticed, Wall Street is on fire, as of late.

Kelly Clarkson: My December You can listen to Kelly Clarkson's new album here. I've made it track number 7 and I'm not impressed.

As you may have heard, her summer tour was cancelled, due to poor ticket sales. She has an incredible voice and her first two albums were great. This is just a bump in the road for her, hopefully.

Silver Surfer The second Fantastic Four movie was worse than the first one. (At MetaCritic.com, the pros actually give the sequel slightly higher marks. The original film got a composite score of 40, with the sequel earning a 47.)



Before anyone starts telling me to lighten up, because it's a comic book movie, please allow me to say this: Spider-Man, Superman and Batman. These movies are proof that a 'comic book movie' can rise above a genre film and provide solid entertainment to fans and non-fans alike.

Silver Surfer will probably not bore you, as it does provide visually stimulating escapist entertainment. However, it's so lame-brained that it may very well annoy you. Further, why does Jessica Alba look so freaky in this movie? An explanation is not given.

Here is a trivia piece for you: Laurence Fishburne provides the voice of the Silver Surfer in the film.

$10 DSL BellSouth (The New AT&T) is now offering DSL Lite for $10 per month to new customers. This was not their idea, and indeed the option is practically hidden on their website. They were forced to offer this service in order to get FCC approval for their recent merger.

This new DSL service should be a no-brainer for all of BellSouth's exisitng dial-up customers. It will provide an always-on connection that does not interfere with their phone, and it will be much faster.

Doc Searls to AT&T Doc Searls: Dear AT&T, Please go to Hell.

Big AT&T Brother AT&T: Your new Big Brother.

Why People Believe Conspiracies Dennis Prager: Why People Believe Conspiracies.

I felt it was a conspiracy until I read Gerald Posner's work. 'Case Closed', I believe, should be enough to convince most honest people that there is simply zero evidence of a conspiracy and a mountain of evidence pointing at Oswald.

Hard Drive Deal Frys.com: 500 GB Hard Drive, WD IDE, $99, Free Shipping

ZoneAlarm Free for Vista The free version of ZoneAlarm will soon be made available for Windows Vista.

Safari on Windows Leander Kahney: Who in Their Right Mind Would Run Safari on Windows? My initial reaction exactly. But, I digress. He continues,

"Safari sucks. A lot of Mac users won't run the browser (I'm one of them), so why would anyone run it on Windows? On my Mac, Safari is buggy and unreliable. It's always crashing, and it doesn't offer basic features like remembering all the tabs you have open after you quit (or more likely, after it crashes). Until now, it didn't even warn you before closing multiple tabs, although the new version of Safari fixes this."

Yahoo! Mail: Unlimited Storage When I logged into my Yahoo! Mail account, I noticed that I've been given unlimited storage. Giddy-Up!

"Take Me Home" Guilty millionaire released from jail for "medical reasons" this morning. Uh-huh.

The best justice money can buy?

June 2007 Photos I've posted some new photos in my Picasa Web Gallery.

Orthokeratology Here is an n interesting article about a new type of contact lens that is worn while you sleep, then removed when you awake.

Hard Drive Deal FRYS.COM: 300 GB IDE Drive, 5 Year Warranty, $70, Free Shipping.

Scot's Newsletter: June 2007 The June 2007 issue of Scot Finnie's Newsletter is now available online, here. This issue features a Mac vs. PC Cost Analysis, among other topics.

Mint 2.1 I've upgraded to Mint 2.1 for my web traffic statistics.