Geekly Update - June 22

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

• AT&T began selling the new iPhone 3G on June 19th in its retail locations, including the Apple Store, in addition to shipping them to those who pre-ordered. If you plan on running out this weekend to get yours, the company recommends that you make sure you bring your account number (a copy of a recent bill,) ID with name and billing address, your social security number and plenty of patience. Only one is allowed for each new customer, while existing costumers can get one per number.
• In a related story, AT&T has responded to the firestorm of angry customers upset about iPhone upgrade pricing. AT&T has decided to let *some* current iPhone owners to upgrade to the new 3G S model for the same price that new customers will pay. AT&T had the bright idea of charging their loyal customers an extra $200 "Customer Hostility Surcharge" (my words) to purchase the phone, and giving the discount to new customers only. The updated pricing knocks the price down from the original $399/499 price to $199/299 for (almost) everyone.
• Facebook users can now get a personal Web address. Last weekend the site began offering the vanity URLs, a million of which were snapped up in the first fifteen minutes. Trying to be more like MySpace, if you started your account before June 6, you are eligible to grab your own with a username. I must have waited a bit too long, but still was able to grab http://www.facebook.com/bobr3 as my own FB vanity plate. Is your name available? Meanwhile, MySpace has cut its staff by 30%. Probably feeling the pinch of the recession, it remains to be seen if it will affect its service.
• Much as the government tries to thwart it, Iranians continue to stream information to YouTube, Twitter (search for '#iranelection') and other social sites. It is amazing that so many continue to persevere and that what's happening over on the other side of the planet affects us all.
• LG has its first 3D TV ready for the Korean market. Set to come out next month, the 47-inch 47LH50 LCD will surely be a source of a new trend. The company estimates that the market will exceed 30 million units by 2012, good news for movie moguls who dig making 3D movies.
• Firefox has released an updated browser, adding some new features and fixing a bunch of security holes. Firefox 3.0.11 includes fixes for security and stability problems, upgrading to a newer version of its SQLite internal database and addressing a bookmarks problem.
• Microsoft has issued their June 2009 security bulletins. A total of 31 vulnerabilities were found, 17 of which are considered critical. If you notice any problems with Windows, IE, Office, Works or any other product, check out the list to find how to fix the issues. But you're already getting automatic updates via Microsoft Update, right? I thought so...
• By now you have probably experienced Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, but you may not be aware that it was receiving many complaints because the Video Preview feature allowed porn to be viewed in the search results, effectively bypassing some filtering software. To correct the problem, MS has created a separate domain to serve those images and videos, making it easier for filtering software to block the unwanted content.
• It's easy to see why the new Palm Pre is so coveted, if you can find one. The smartphone was launched only a couple of weeks ago, but is already giving the iPhone some stiff competition. Based on webOS, Palm's Linux-based operating system, it plays media, has GPS, a QWERTY keyboard, a camera, and browsing with local WiFi. So far Palm and Sprint claim up to 100,000 units sold the first week alone. But wait, it's yet another device that works with only one mobile provider. Wake me up when the iPhone is available for Verizon customers...
• And I just had to share this Venn diagram t-shirt from DespairWear. For $19.95, you can show the world that you have balance in your social networking life.

Did I miss anything important? Post a comment below...