The iPhone Atlas quotes an internal AT& T memo saying the telephone company will include the feature, which allows transmission of text, pictures, and potentially video to other MMS-enabled phones.

There are third party add-ins that make MMS service available for iPhone users in the U.K.

AT& T may be getting ready to add multimedia messaging service for the
iPhone, according to a new report.

But where can one buy faith in other human beings, enough faith that will get one through the first night?

I would very much like to hear from any reader in possession of such heightened common sense that he or she has used this service. Successfully or otherwise.

The only answers I can find on the site are under the “Tips” heading: “1. Use common sense. If a listing is missing data fields that are important to you (headshot, house images, or description) consider booking with other more complete listings, or message the host first to request they upload additional data.”

I just went on the site again and there was a picture of a very welcoming female face offering a $90 room in Santa Monica. It is all so commercially tempting.

The last question in the guest section is: “My host was amazing! How can I leave feedback?” To which the answer is: “After your trip has concluded, you will be prompted by AB&B to leave guest/host feedback on each other’s profile pages.”

May I quote the site, while the Hitchcockian frissons subside a little on my six typing fingers?:

I have very few friends, as perhaps you might imagine. Even fewer who would invite me to sleep at their homes. And the idea of having people you can stay with in different cities is extremely enticing, especially if the hosts follow the site’s recommendation and leave you O.J. and bagels in the fridge.

I don’t exactly know how you notice that all the hotels in a city are full. Perhaps it’s the stream of well-dressed people wearing conference name tags stopping you in the street and asking if you would make them breakfast.

(Credit: CC IndependentMan)

The idea, created by Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, is a delightfully San Francisco affair.
Apparently, Gebbia and Chesky noticed that there was a design conference in San Francisco and that all the hotels were full.

But, digipeople, I represent real people here. Data doesn’t solve everything. Really it doesn’t.

And so a business was born. As I understand it, you can offer your place up to strangers. Or you can go and sleep at strangers’ houses–presumably, with the strangers sleeping there too.

Anyway, Gebbia and Chesky, being in full command of their faculties, decided to offer their abode to a few of the conference attendees who had been insufficiently conscious to book a room. I apologize. I mean, of course, to attendees who were so into their designer selves that they had omitted to arrange for designer hotels.

There is nothing like a good idea to get you out of bed in the morning. So here’s one I just stumbled across that will help you get into bed at night.
It’s called Airbedandbreakfast.com.

This is what I fear in the middle of the night.

“You instantly meet new people instead of looking like a loner in the lobby bar. You’ll probably get full access to a kitchen so you can make ramen with boiling water (instead of warm tap water). You just may make a new friend, and overall, you’ll probably pay less.”

Make ramen? Personally, I fear I would be making rather strange noises signifying an increased level of intestinal discomfort. Still, I did enjoy the idea that I would “probably” be paying less. Less than the Waldorf? Or less than Motel 6?

So what does this service cost?
The site charges a 5 percent to 12 percent service fee at checkout. While the mustachioed woman with the angry dog and one-legged lover from Tucson gets 100 percent of the figure she thought of when she registered her attic on the site.

The site’s FAQ is so lovably extraordinary that I read it at least three times. There is a section for potential single-night landlords. And there is a section for guests.

Yet I keep seeing cocktail sticks. And Wham CDs. Can anyone help me here?

I am sitting here wishing there was one more question: How do I know my host doesn’t dismember small animals with the use of a cocktail stick and an old Wham CD?

Meanwhile, other updates fix vulnerabilities that could lead to information disclosure and allow a local user to manipulate files with the privileges of another user in Mail; allow a remote attacker to read arbitrary files related to Ruby; expose passwords supplied to sso_util to other local users when using Single Sign-On; expose user names on servers with Wiki Server enabled to a remote attacker; and not warn users before opening certain potentially unsafe content types.

It also fixes vulnerabilities that could have led to disclosure of sensitive information related to implementation of technologies including CUPS, International Components for Unicode, and CFNetwork when visiting a maliciously crafted Web site due to an issue in
Safari’s SSL client certificate handling.

Security Update 2008-003 and Mac OS X v 10.5.3 are available from Apple’s Software Downloads Web site.

The software fixes vulnerabilities that could have led to arbitrary code execution and/or unexpected application termination related implemntaton of: AFP Server, AppKit, Apple Pixlet Video, ATS, CoreFoundation, CoreGraphics, Flash Player Plug-in, Help Viewer, and iCal. The iCal vulnerability was discovered by Core Security, which last week announced it had found three vulnerabilities in iCal.

Apple released a hefty security update for the
Mac OS X and OS X Server on Wednesday that fixes more than 40 vulnerabilities, a number of which could be exploited to enable someone to run programs on the machine remotely or lead to the disclosure of sensitive data.

In addition, the software fixes a vulnerability that could lead to information disclosure when viewing a maliciously crafted BMP or GIF image and lead to unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution when viewing a maliciously crafted JPEG2000 image file.

Peter’s MessagePad 2100

(Credit:
Peter N. Glaskowsky)

The original Newton MessagePad was not a very practical product. Its handwriting recognition was inadequate, its processor was too slow, its local storage was too small. But the ultimate Newton, the MessagePad 2100, was glorious. It was powerful, reliable, easy to use, and surprisingly expandable with third-party hardware and software.

I used a MessagePad 2100 from 1997 to 2004, and I’ve written about the Newton several times here because I believe there are still many important lessons that the computer industry can learn from the Newton. Previous blog posts include an overview of my Newton experiences, a detailed summary of the Newton’s strong points, and an even longer list of problems that remained in the Newton until its final days.

Of course, the Newton isn’t really dead. There’s still an active community of Newton developers– not as many as there once were, but there’s still respectable progress being made. The NewtonTalk mailing list attracted 586 messages in January, and there are many other Newton websites including a great archive of Newton software.

Today, we’re still waiting for Apple to release the promised
iPhone developer kit for native applications (although Web-based development is already well supported). Third-party software can’t turn the iPhone into a Newton replacement; for one thing, the iPhone can’t be used with a stylus, so handwriting recognition is impossible. But if Apple wanted to, it could rearrange the components it uses in the iPhone and other products to create something worthy of being called Newton 2.0; I wrote about this topic here, too.

Will it ever happen? I don’t know. Maybe Steve Jobs still resents John Sculley’s role in promoting the Newton platform at a time when Apple should have been paying more attention to the
Mac. But the fact remains that the Newton was uniquely valuable when it was on the market, and in the ten years since then, no other product has even come close to replacing it. That adds up to a market opportunity, one that Apple is still in the best position to profit from. I hope they give it a try.

My thanks to Morgan Aldridge at the Small Dog Apple Blog for marking the date and to EDN Senior Technical Editor Brian Dipert for bringing Aldridge’s post to my attention.

(Credit:
AT&T)

A new BlackBerry Pearl has found its way to AT&T’s doorstep this morning. Available starting today, the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8110 has integrated GPS and support for the carrier’s AT&T Navigator service, which provides voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, 3D colors maps, traffic alerts, and more. Of course, if you want this luxury, you’ll have to pay an additional $9.99 per month. While the GPS is great, you lose the Wi-Fi found on the recently released RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120. (Is it asking too much to have both?)

The rest of the Pearl 8110’s features are pretty much in line with the latest models. There’s Bluetooth 2.0, a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD/SDHC expansion slot. The smartphone is also compatible with AT&T’s push-to-talk service and AT&T Mobile Music. If this sounds like your cup of tea, the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 can be yours for $149.99 with a two-year contract and after discounts and rebates, and you have a choice of a red or a titanium model.

Yep, it's gross alright, but it has to be done.

(Credit:
Staples)

Q: You mentioned on the MP3 Insider podcast about cleaning the in-ear headphones, but you forgot to talk about how to clean them if yours do not have a tool. Please help us out buy explaining how to get the dirt out without ruining the headphones. Also, please discuss how to disinfect then to kill or get rid of germs that could get into them. I know that with everyday use you can get germs, but also lots of people use them when they are sick and many more things may leak out of the ear into the headphones when one is sick, so we need to also sanitize them. –Aaron, via e-mail

A: To clean inside the earpiece of in-ear headphones, a straightened out paper clip will do the job (preferably the coated, colored variety)–just be careful. Insert gently and twist around the edges of the aperture; pull out; wipe on a tissue; repeat. Disinfecting should be done to the sleeves/ear tips ONLY. Most can simply be washed with dish soap and warm water.

Q: I’m looking for a set of iPod speakers to use while I’m the shower. I love rocking out my tunes while I take my bath but I don’t want to waste a lot of money

(Credit:
JBL) on a set of speakers just for using them in my bathroom. Sound quality is not so important and I’d rather like them to be small. They don’t have to come with an iPod dock but I’d like them to be an active set of speakers so I can hear my tunes through the noise of the shower and to be connected to the outlet so I don’t have to waste money on batteries.–Juan, via e-mail

A: Thanks to the proliferation of compact iPod speakers, you can now find several sets for less than $50–some for much less. A few that I recommend: the Logitech mm32 (a personal favorite of mine for around $40), the JBL OnTour (recently found for $29.95 online), and the IceTech Duette, which gets surprisingly loud for its size and only costs $12.

(Credit:
CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)

MP3 Mailbox Monday is a recurring feature where I answer a selection of questions about MP3 players and accessories, such as headphones, speakers, and music services and software. Check back often to see if the advice presented here might be of some use to you, or send your questions directly to me. (Note: We never include last names, but if you prefer to remain completely anonymous, please state as much in your e-mail.)

Just recently, we reported on some rumors about a Palm Treo 800, a CDMA smartphone with Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev. A, and GPS. While the feature list was pretty impressive, the picture of the reported device didn’t excite us very much. In fact, it was downright dullsville and forgettable. However, today, the Boy Genius Report has some images of another new Treo, the Palm Treo 850, and this time, it’s got our attention.

If the pictures are to be believed, the device looks incredibly slick and slim, and there’s even a comparison shot of the Treo 850 with the RIM BlackBerry 8800 to show off its comparable thinness. The full QWERTY keyboard resembles the one found on the Palm Centro, but the navigation controls seem to be brand new.

As for features, details are pretty sparse. It looks like it’ll run Windows Mobile and have a 400MHz processor and 100MB of RAM. Overall, not too shabby, right?

In July, Bill Gates will cease to be a full-time Microsoft employee. While he will remain the software giant’s chairman, philanthropy will be the world’s most famous geek’s new full-time job.

With super-rich high-tech executives like Dell, Ellison, and Jobs still gainfully employed, who pegged Gates to opt out on the “other interests” clause? Not me; I thought he’d work at Microsoft until he keeled over. And philanthropy? That was doubly unexpected.

(Credit:
CNET)

Why was I so surprised? Well, 17 years ago I worked for a software company, Stac Electronics. Gates and Microsoft effectively destroyed the company by stealing its technology. That’s not my opinion; a $120 million judgment in federal court said so.

Suffice to say I didn’t have a very good impression of the man then.

I wonder what changed him. Was it Dallas-born Melinda, who he married in 1994? The perspective of having children? Rockefeller? Buffet? Bono? Who knows?

The bottom line is this: the once arrogant, ruthless, abusive executive has apparently changed. He’s grown up. Gates has become a role model for wealthy executives-turned-philanthropists everywhere. Not only is he giving back to society in a big way, he’s inspiring others to do the same.

That, more than anything in recent years, makes me proud to be a part of the high-tech industry. And that pride comes from a most unexpected source. It’s shocking, really.

Maybe you’re shopping for a player with an FM radio, a larger screen, better sound quality, or maybe you’re just short on cash. Whatever your motivations, here’s a roundup of our favorite non-iPod MP3 players for the Mac.

Word of the browser first accidentally leaked on the Web in the form of a detailed 38-page comic book that appeared on Google Blogoscoped, an unofficial Google blog.

The browser was written with WebKit, the open-source engine at the core of Apple’s
Safari and Google’s Android. The browser is also getting a new JavaScript virtual machine, V8. It’s said to be a better solution for complex and rich Web applications, yielding better performance and “smoother drag and drops” in interactive applications.

The project should dispel any lingering thoughts that the browser wars are over. To be sure, it’s less cutthroat now than in the 1990s, but one of technology’s most powerful companies just entered the battlefield.

Even before Google’s browser became available for download, its repercussions were traversing the industry. There are plenty of implications from a company as large as Google that builds a browser tuned to advance the company’s agenda of Web-based applications.

Chrome, Google said during its launch event, is much faster at showing Web pages than the most widely used browser, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Google’s hope is that performance will open up the bottleneck that chokes the speed and abilities of today’s Web-based applications.

In short, Chrome is more of a long-term competitive threat to
Microsoft Office and Windows than it is to Internet Explorer. That may sound a little grand, but the evidence is on display in Google’s own lobby, where the search company’s computer kiosks present a browser only–no start menu, no desktop shortcuts, no operating system.

So how does Chrome actually stack up? Google was eager to toot its horn about Chrome’s performance running JavaScript, a programming language used to power many sophisticated Web applications such as Google Docs, Yahoo’s Zimbra e-mail site, and Zoho’s online application suite. On each one of these tests, Chrome clearly trounced the competition.

However, Mozilla fought back with some performance results to show a forthcoming version of Firefox outpacing Chrome in a different test called SunSpider.

Firefox 3.1, which Mozilla hopes to release by the end of the year, comes with JavaScript acceleration technology called TraceMonkey. In Mozilla’s test that pitted TraceMonkey-enhanced Firefox against the Chrome beta, Google’s browser was 28 percent slower on Windows XP and 16 percent slower on Windows Vista.

Privacy advocates objected to Chrome’s End User License agreement, which appeared to give Google a perpetual right to use anything one entered into the browser. Section 11 stated that although users retain copyright to their works, “by submitting, posting, or displaying the content, you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and nonexclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display, and distribute any content which you submit, post, or display on or through the services.”

However, Google backtracked, saying it plans to alter those contract terms. Google said the change, once made, will apply retroactively to anyone who has downloaded the browser.

Privacy concerns were also raised over the issues of what information Google plans to store on its servers. Provided that users leave on the auto-suggest feature in Chrome and have Google as their default search provider, Google has the right to store any information typed into Chrome’s Ominibox, which serves as both search bar and address bar. Google told CNET News that it plans to store about 2 percent of all such data, along with the IP address of the computer that entered the information.

Going mobile
Google co-founder Sergey Brin expects the Chrome technology to make its way to Android, the company’s mobile-phone operating system and software suite. Chrome and Android were developed largely separately, Brin said in an interview at the Chrome launch event.

“We have not wanted to bind one’s hands to the other’s,” Brin said. But you can expect that to change, now that both projects are public and nearing their first final releases.

“Probably a subsequent version of Android is going to pick up a lot of the Chrome stack,” Brin said, pointing to JavaScript improvements as one area.

When and if that happens, Google will have to contend with Apple, which has seen a large increase in the iPhone’s global Web share, according to new figures. The figures, collected by Web analytics company Net Applications, show that in June 2008, before the launch of the iPhone 3G, the iPhone had 0.16 percent share of the operating-system market, as measured by OS detection during Web browsing; and in July, it had 0.19 percent.

However, as of September 1, the iPhone had 0.3 percent of global market share, an increase of 58 percent in one month. According to Net Applications, this was due to the July launch of the iPhone 3G. The figures also showed Microsoft’s dominance steadily, if slowly, decreasing.

Meanwhile, AT&T said it had fixed a problem that caused many iPhone users in the northeastern United States to complain that they couldn’t access the mobile Web. The problem, which caused some users to not be able to surf the Web on their phones, did not affect phone calls, text messages, or mobile e-mail from devices such as Research In Motion’s BlackBerry.

And it looks as though Microsoft is joining Apple and Google in the mobile “application store” market. The software giant expects to launch “Skymarket” this fall for its Windows Mobile platform, if a recent job posting spotted by Long Zheng at Istartedsomething.com is accurate. According to the ad, posted on Computerjob.com, the Skymarket senior product manager will head a team that will “drive the launch of a v1 marketplace service for Windows Mobile.”

Tech goes to the Republican convention
While John McCain saw a flood of online donations last week, thanks to his newly announced vice presidential choice, Sarah Palin, his campaign was steering Web donors to a site that helps victims of Hurricane Gustav.

The Republican Party canceled nearly all scheduled events for the Republican National Convention on Monday, save official business, out of respect for those impacted by the hurricane. However, a few special guests remained on the docket of speakers at the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center, including Cindy McCain and First Lady Laura Bush.

“I would ask that each one of us commit to join together to aid those in need as quickly as possible,” Cindy McCain said. “As John has been saying for the last several days, this is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats.”

Republican National Convention leaders also asked convention attendees to pledge donations to hurricane relief funds via text to the code 2HELP, using the keyword GIVE.

Hurricane Gustav’s unexpected interference with the four-day event highlighted the deft communications needed to direct nearly 5,000 delegates and alternate delegates through the formal presidential nomination process. The RNC turned to cloud computing for the most efficient means of registering the delegates, and when the clouds of Hurricane Gustav threatened to throw the event off course, the RNC stepped up their communications with the delegates.

Early in the week, before the storm subsided, Republican leaders were reviewing the convention schedule on a day-to-day basis to determine whether to proceed with planned events. The party maintained a text message alert system for the delegates “to keep them fully informed not only of delegate activities but also to get them information about the storm,” McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said.

McCain got the enthusiastic endorsements of two of Silicon Valley’s best-known female executives, who said he was a far more attractive candidate than his Democratic rival on economic and tax grounds.

The pro-McCain pair were Meg Whitman, who stepped down as eBay’s chief executive officer in March, and Carly Fiorina, the chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005. Both are active in the McCain campaign; both have been talked about as receiving high-level appointments, if McCain is elected.

Also of note
Comcast is appealing a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission that found the broadband provider had illegally blocked some customers’ Web traffic…Silicon Valley start-up NebuAd has suspended plans to deploy a controversial program that displays ads based on the monitoring of Web activity while Congress reviews privacy concerns…Intel is expected to announce the “Dunnington” processor later this month, the first six-core processor and last of its Penryn chips…Apple sent out invitations for a music-related event next week, and the smart money is on new iPods.