Speaking of open source, remember those new systems that Dell introduced this past week with that fanfare runway in Macy’s Herald Square, NY? Well two of those new systems can also be purchased with Ubuntu Linux installed instead of Windows Vista. The systems are the Dell Inspiron Desktop 530 N and the Dell Inspiron Notebook 1420 N.

The Inspiron 530 N features:

• Intel Pentium dual core processor E2140
• Ubuntu Desktop Edition version 7.04
• 512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz – 1DIMM
• 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
• Prices start at $499 after $100 dollars off instantly

The Inspiron Notebook 1420 N features:

• Intel® Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
• Ubuntu version 7.04
• 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
• 80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• Prices start at $774
• Choose from 8 different colors (default is Jet Black. Other color will cost you $20 dollars)

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Inspiron 530 N, Inspiron Notebook 1420 N, Linux, Ubuntu

For those of you into the software industry and in particular, the open source industry, you might be interested in knowing that GLP 3 has finally been released. The core portion of the General Public License 3 remains unchanged from version 2 which was released 16 years ago. According to GPL 3, anyone can view, modify, or redistribute the underlying source code of a GPL governed project. Should you change the source code and redistribute it, you need to publish those changes.

Here are some of the major things that changed according to News.com

• The license carries an explicit patent grant. If you provide software to a GPL project, you will grant a perpetual royalty-free license to any of your patents on that software.
• According to Brett Smith – “If you arrange to provide patent protection to some of the people who get the software from you, that protection is automatically extended to everyone who receives the software, no matter how they get it”
• Anti-tivoization – If you own a device that uses GPL software, you should be able to download the source code and modify it at will. TiVo objects to this of course because they claim this will be harmful to their business.

You can read more about GPL 3 here at News.com. You can also read the full text of the new license here.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: GPL 3

CNET’s out with their review of the Apple iPhone here on their website. Unlike other CNET reviews, this one’s actually pretty long so definitely give it a read if you’re debating about getting the phone. Overall, the iPhone received an 8 out of time and their bottom line was as follows:

Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn’t always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: CNET Review, Apple iPhone, iPhone Review

Altec Lansing is making a stronger push into the home theater market with the introduction of the new Powered Theater Series. The Powered Theater Series is designed to provide “theater quality surround sound” with bar-style speakers. The new line consists of two new speaker products – the PT8051 and the PT7031.

The Altec Lansing PT8051 is a two speaker system designed to provide the illusion of a full surround sound system. The front speaker delivers the left, center, and right channels while the the rear wireless speaker delivers the left and right channels. The speaker system utilizes matched 8″ x 1.5″ NXT digital balanced audio transducers which come with flat radiating surfaces that supposedly cover more sound and more room area than conventional cone speakers. The PT8051 has an MSRP of $999.95.

The Altec Lansing PT7031 is a single piece speaker system utilizing virtual speaker technology from Dolby Labs to deliver five channel surround sound. The speaker comes with three matched 8.5 ” x 1.5 ” NXT Digital balanced audio transducers. The PT7031 has an MSRP of $599.95.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Altec Lansing, PT8051, PT7031

Ok.. so I lied. Here’s one more iPhone related news item. Contrary to popular opinion, the SIM card within the iPhone is indeed removable. Check out this YouTube clip.

[Check it out via Crave]

Technorati Tags: iPhone, SIM card, removing SIM card

Now that it’s been nearly 24 hours since the launch of the Apple iPhone, I thought it would be neat to sit back and compile a list of some of the more interesting stories from the net regarding the iPhone. You can be sure that the iPhone media blitz will continue for days on end but hopefully things will calm down a bit over the next few days. Here’s a list of articles, blog postings from around the web in no order whatsoever:

From MacWorld/PC World – “10 things Apple did right and wrong“

Good: “The display, the display, the display. Everything looks good on it.”

Bad: “We want our AOL Instant Messaging—and Yahoo and MSN IM clients, too. What about MMS support for sending picture mail?”

From MacWorld/PC World – “How tough is the iPhone?”

There’s no need to coddle this sexy little device

From MacWorld – “Five fast iPhone impressions“

The iPhone is not the “Perfect Device.” But it is a darn cool piece of technology that does a lot of things surprisingly well. And, for those of you waiting for “Version 2.0,” it will only get better.

From PC Magazine – “Apple iPhone Gallery“

From SF Gate – “Apple’s simple versatile iPhone changes the game“

The cell phone, the most personal of technology devices, has just gotten a whole lot more personal.

From CBS – “The iPhone – Was it Worth the Wait?”

Even though there were plenty of people lined up to pay $499 or $599 to be among the first to own an iPhone, it remains a very expensive gadget that you’ve managed to live without so far. It’s very cool, it’s fun and it’s oh so very chic. But as innovative as it is, my practical nature tells me that it’s not worth skimping on groceries or dipping into your kids’ college fund.

From Time Magazine – “I Take the iPhone Home”

The iPhone isn’t just the gadget du jour, it’s a fresh new platform, an exceptionally powerful mobile computer that’s still in its infancy. There’s a full version of Apple’s desktop operating system in there. The Palm and the Treo, et al., were merely harbingers of the era of true walk-around mobile computing that Jobs has just inaugurated. Hail to the chief.

From Business 2.0 – “Apple sells tens of thousands of iPhones the first night”

The Unofficial Apple Weblog – “iPhone First Impressions”

The Unofficial Apple Weblog – “iPhone Second Impressions”

APC Magazine – “Torn apart – what’s inside the iPhone”

iFixit – “iPhone Live Disassembly”

Here’s a picture from the disassembly:

Some quotes:

Samsung chip underneath the metal shield on the left side of the board on the left. Ours reads K9MCGD8U5M. The 4 GB model that Think Secret took apart had K9HBG08U1M on it, which is a 4 GB chip.

Samsung manufactured Apple ARM chip. Numbers: 339S0030ARM, 8900B 0719, NOD4BZ02, K4X1G153PC-XGC3, ECC457Q3 716. The processor is likely stacked on the SDRAM, which looks to be 512 MB. This chip could have H.264 and MP3 hardware decoding built in.

The chip above the ARM is a Wolfson audio chip. Part numbers WM8758BG and 73AFMN5.

The chip underneath the ARM is a Linear Technology 4066 USB Power Li-Ion Battery Charger, which Apple uses in the iPods as well.

The chip on the bottom center that looks blank in our image actually has this text: MARVELL, W8686B13, 702AUUP. This is Marvell’s 802.11b/g 18.4mm2 chip.

The chip in the upper right is a Skyworks GSM/Edge Power amplifier (SKY77340)

The silver chip to the left of the Skyworks chip reads CSR 41814 3A06U K715FB. This is a CSR BlueCore4-ROM WLCSP single chip radio and baseband IC for Bluetooth 2+EDR.

The chip covered by the white sticker in the photo has the part numbers 338S0289 and 8G60710 on it.

The chip with the blue dot on it is rumored to be an Intel 32 MB NOR flash chip. Part numbers 1030W0YTQ2, 5716A673, and Z717074A.

The chip in the lower right reads 338S 0297 G0719, EL629058S03.

From ComputerWorld – “First look at the iPhone: Tomorrow’s technology today“

As for now, we have a solid product in version one, a phone that does what it says it’ll do with an interface splashy and functional enough to make even the coolest Star Trek interface look dated. While tomorrow’s technology will no doubt surpass that of the present, with iPhone, a piece of tomorrow has arrived today.

From CNET UK – “Apple iPhone Review”

Despite some flaws, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated phone and MP3 player

From newsfactor via Yahoo News – “A look into iPhone’s future”

The iPhone has launched and Western Civilization is, more or less, still standing. As the dust settles and the frenzy quells, some are looking past the first-generation product to see what adjustments Apple will make for the iPhone’s next of kin.

From Ars Technica – “iPhones iPlenty: The sell-out that wasn’t”

There were lines and crowds—a mixture of eBayers, the techno chic and the techno geeks—but once the dust had settled, once the fog of war had cleared… there were still giant piles of iPhones left.

From Reuters – “Most iPhones owners a gush but some have glitches”

From Texyt – “iPhone: Who’s the real Manufacturer (It isn’t Apple)”

From Gizmodo – “The iPhone Superfans, A Tribute”

From Gizmodo – “All of Our iPhone Launch Galleries – Chronologically”

From Engadget – “First Engadget iPhone returned”

After ten and a half hours of waiting in line — but less than 24 hours of actual ownership — iPhone number one has been taken back to the store, citing “janky keyboard” and “no money for rent” as reasons behind the return.

From NY Times – “Gave Up Sleep and maybe a First-Born, but at least I have an iPhone”

There were also the so-called early adoptors, the technophiles who habitually rush out to buy first-generation electronics. “I’m everyone’s guinea pig,” said Christopher Kokinos, a former Apple employee who now works for a marketing communications firm in New York. He spent a total of six hours in line outside the Fifth Avenue store yesterday. “All my friends say, I’ll wait until you buy it so I know if it’s any good.”

There’s much much more out there but I’m sick of looking for now. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: iPhone News, Apple iPhone, iPhone,

Yes. I actually purchased an iPhone.

I fell for the marketing hype .. Apple’s clever slow spoon feeding of information to the general public.. those tantalizing commercials.. those little tidbits of information that would pop up here and there. I fell for the lust that ensued within me. The desire to have what could be the messiah of all devices.. the one device that would complete my technological life. Yes. I fell for the device. I fell to the need to stand in line hours before the actual launch of the product.. waiting.. hoping that my hands would fall upon a single instance of the iPhone – not knowing how many were actually going to be available on launch day.. so I waited.. and wanted.. and desired.

And so.. here I am. Finally with an iPhone. My life complete? No. My life fulfilled? No. My lust for gadgets fulfilled? Somewhat. My desire to write a review? Most definitely.

But before I jump into a review (which will come out a bit later because it does take me time to write these suckers..), I thought I’d recap my day yesterday. Actually.. my adventures began the night before.

On Thursday night, I drove out to the local AT&T store near my home wondering if there was actually going to be a line building for the iPhone. I had heard that the Apple store at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica already had lines waiting so there was no way I was going to go there.. but what about this AT&T store? This particular store was at the corner of Pico and Sepulveda – a bit hidden from everything else out here so there was a chance there wasn’t going to be a line. Sure enough, at 11pm Thursday night, there was indeed no line at this store. Awesome.

Friday morning comes around and I head to work. At around 11am, I gave a call to that AT&T store to see if there was a line building and the operator on the line mentioned to me that there were approximately 30+ people in line. Hmm ok.. that’s manageable. There was still no word as to how many iPhones would be on hand at AT&T or at Apple stores.

I get to the AT&T store at around 4pm.. and get in line around on the backside of the store. There’s about 150+ people in front of me.. maybe more but I figure I have a shot at the phone. This AT&T store apparently handed out ticket stubs right before I got there and unfortunately I missed out… but did that mean I would not get an iPhone? No word.

So I waited.. and waited.. and waited.

Luckily I managed to strike up some excellent conversations with the folks around me which definitely helped pass the time. So the clock drew near. At around 5:50pm, the line started to solidify.. from a mass of people to a single file-ish formation. At 6pm.. we moved.. slowly though because AT&T was only letting in 4-5 people at a time and they were only calling the ticket numbered folks. GREAT!

To make matters worse, AT&T registers were god awful slow. Pay by credit card? You’ll be waiting.. and waiting.

Finally at around 7:15pm, I got to near the front of the line and a salesperson comes out of the store and says:

“We’re out of 8GB iPhones but you can order them here and we’ll ship them to you in 2-3 days”.

You can imagine the disappointment in the crowd (you also heard a lot of “WHAT!!??!?!” comments .. or were they WTF?). Luckily I had no plans to get the 8GB phone – sorry I just don’t believe in spending 100 dollars for 4GB of flash memory – that folks is a ripoff.

A few minutes later, I finally got in and purchased my 4GB iPhone.

The funny thing was, I used my Treo 700w from Verizon Wireless to call various Apple stores in the area – from third street to Century City to the Grove and you know what? There were PLENTY of iPhones available there. In fact the Grove had NO line whatsoever and they had both 8GB and 4GB iPhones. My plan to wait at an AT&T store was nearly foiled because Apple gave many more iPhone units to Apple stores instead of AT&T stores. Granted – there are MANY MANY MORE AT&T stores.. but somehow I still felt somewhat annoyed.

As an aside, I dropped by the Third Street location of the Apple store today and they still had 4GB iPhones in stock. The 8GB’s were all gone.

So there you have it. My experience at the iPhone launch here in West Los Angeles. It wasn’t quite as glamorous as being at an Apple store… but it was still interesting and yes.. my lower back is a bit achy as a result.. but I have an iPhone.

I repeat.

I have an iPhone.

Technorati Tags: Apple iPhone, AT&T, Bought iPhone, Apple Store

Just in time for the iPhone launch later today, iSkin has announced the release of the new revo – a protective skin for the iPhone device. The revo is designed as a complete protective solution for the iPhone. It includes a premium silicone protector, a touch compatible privacy film, and a ViSOR – an ultra clear polycarbonate scratch resistant screen guard.

What I love about the premium silicone protector is iSkin’s inclusion of an embedded anti-microbial agent called Microban. This protects the product by inhibiting growth of microbes. Very nice touch – especially when you consider how many ears could touch your phone over its lifetime.

The revo is designed to protect the entire iPhone – including the surface, ports, and controls. The skin itself sports a duotone design which complements the iPhone quite nicely if you ask me.

There will be five duotone revo designs made available in July. The iSkin revo is expected to sell for $39.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: iSkin, revo, iPhone case

Dell has announced two more portable systems in the form of the new ultra-mobile Latitude D430 notebook and the mobile workstation Dell Precision M4300. Both notebooks showcase Dell’s attempt to be mindful of the environment as they comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s newest Energy Star 4.0 standard.

Here are the main features of the new Dell Latitude D430:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor up to U7600 (1.2 GHz)
• 12 inch widescreen display with 1280 x 800 resolution
• Weight starting at three pounds
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor support
• 802.11n wireless support
• Support for Smart Security solutions using smart card, password, biometric readers, and TPM 1.2
• Magnesium alloy construction
• Prices start at $1509

Here are the main features to the new Dell Precision M4300:

• Workstation class performance
• Average performance boosts of over 100 percent over its predecessor
• NVIDIA OpenGL discrete graphics solutions
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor – up to T7700 (2.4 GHz)
• Windows Vista OS
• 15.4 inch widescreen display
• Up to 1680 x 1050 resolution display on some models
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 360M graphics
• Up to 4GB of dual channel memory
• 802.11n support
• Integrated mobile broadband technology
• Dell TrueLife technology offering up to 10 percent increase in contrast ratios compared to anti-glare coatings
• Prices start at $1750

Technorati Tags: Dell, Latitude D430, Precision M4300

Hitachi has introduced their fall lineup of high definition television sets and they all share the following characteristics:

• They’re all 1080 displays
• They’re all flat panels
• They’re all large screen displays (42 inches to 60 inches)

The 10 new Hitachi HDTV’s include the following highlights:

• A 60 inch plasma display from the Hitachi Director’s Series
• Two new 55  inch plasma displays - one H-series and one T-series plasma display offering 1280 x 1080 resolution
• Three 50 inch plasma displays – one S series, one V series, and one Director’s Series
• Four new flat panel LCD displays – a 47 inch and 42 inch S series, and 47 inch and 42 inch V Series

The actual models are as follows (and some info on the models too)

• 60-inch Director’s Series plasma (model P60X901)

• Supports Reel60 technology
• Full HD 1080 capability
• Available in August for $7999.95

• Supports Reel60 technology
• Full HD 1080 capability
• Available in August for $4299.95

• Available in September for $2999.95

• Available in September for $3299.95

• Available in July for $3499.95

• Supports Reel60 technology
• Full HD 1080 capability
• Available in August for $3999.95

• MSRP of $2999.95

• MSRP of $3199.95

• MSRP of $2299.95

• MSRP of $2499.95

Sorry – no pictures and detailed specs as of yet.. but stay tuned for more info!

Technorati Tags: Hitachi, LCD, Plasma, 1080, HDTV