Apple are the masters at marketing, at hype, and at creating products that, quite ‎simply, ooze sex. Well done to them on this front.‎
Their latest release – the iPhone SDK downloads – has proved Apple’s marketing skills. Within ‎four days of the announce of the apps for iPhone SDK beta more than 100,000 people had ‎made the effort to apps download the pack. I’m willing to wager that a fair proportion of ‎those had no idea what an SDK was, never mind what they were going to do with it (it ‎stands of “Software Development Kit”, for those of you that have it and don’t know ‎what it is).‎
The enormous number of iPhone downloads of the apps that can be downloaded iPhone SDK – along with more than one ‎million views of the Apple video describing the release – put so much strain on ‎Apple’s servers that they gave up the ghost and packed in for the day. Ooops!‎
The iPhone SDK when downloaded has (rightly) excited developers. Expect classic games from Capcom ‎and PopCap to start appearing in the Apple iPhone apps in download store any time soon. Game on!‎

Free music downloads really are here to stay. That’s the good news. What is the bad news? There is none. The really, really good news is that free music downloads now have a legal basis and are starting to become accepted by big businesses.

Sony’s recent deal with Peter Gabriel’s fledgling Internet outfit We7 to offer all the publisher giant’s back catalogue for free streaming from its website is a shock to all those involved in the industry. A shock perhaps, but absolutely grade A fantastic news to anyone who ever wanted to partake in free music downloads.

The deal comes at the same time as other industry players begin to seek out partnerships that will bring them into the world of free music downloads – the realization that this is a real industry with a real future has clearly hit home. Finally. – recent movements by Napster and O2, Napster and Vodafone, 24-7 Entertainment and an unknown Nordic provider all point to free music downloads being available on a number of mobile platforms very soon indeed.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security today initiated enhanced security procedures for international travelers visiting the U.S. through San Francisco International Airport, the agency announced.

Since 2004, non-U.S. citizens arriving at the airport’s International Terminal were subject to photographing and a digital scan of two fingerprints.

Today, visitors will have all 10 fingerprints scanned, a procedure that according to Homeland Security officials will more accurately verify identities and stop criminals or potential criminals from entering the country.

The scans are crosschecked against records of immigration violators, FBI criminal records and known or suspected terrorists, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to “stopping potential security risks,” according to officials, the program is designed to help prevent the use of false documents and protect visitors from identity theft.

The 10-fingerprint scanning procedure is already in effect at airports in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Houston, according to officials.

The program is scheduled to be implemented at all air, sea and land border ports of entry by the end of the year.

Mobile technology is just what the name suggest: technology that works while on the move. Previously this attribute was restricted to just basic forms of communication like cellular telephones. While notepad computers are somewhat mobile they have never been considered fully mobile due to the inability to last for over a few hours without recharging. Availability of the Internet is also a factor and for a device to be mobile application now it should be able to connect from almost anywhere.
Now the introduction of impressive pieces of kit like the iPhone download technology and UMPCs technology is truly mobile. Tasks that were once the reserve of computers stuck under the desk are being carried out on buses, trains and planes by mobile devices. This combination of Mobile Technology and computing power is MobiCom. The MobiCom revolution blurs the once distinct lines between computers and mobile devices.
The iPhone is a perfect example – and one that is known to almost everyone thanks to Jobs’ marketing efforts – of what MobiCom technology can do. Pushing this iPhone technology to its limits is the job of scientists over the next few years.The downloads in iPhone application is just in its inception.

SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT/COMMUNITY ROUNDTABLE

The Community Roundtable consists of elected representatives from 45 municipalities
near SFO. Their monthly meetings are the forum for public discussion
about airport noise abatement activities, and the motivating force
behind multiple programs.