You can’t blame Verizon for trying to repel against the iPhone frenzy of June 29th, but in truth, short of giving phones away tomorrow, no carrier will be able to steal Apple’s spotlight away from it. Try, try, as it may, Verizon is flaunting how it is open all day tomorrow and giving a deal on the VCAST LG VX9400 phone. The deal? $50 off and a free “Music Essentials Kit” which includes, “a stereo headset, a cable for music transfer from a PC to the LG VX9400 and a 2GB memory card that can store up to 1,000 songs.”

So if you’re not lucky enough to get an iPhone tomorrow by 6:05 when all 20 at your local AT&T store sell out, you can drive over to the Verizon Wireless store and grab a true 3G phone instead.

Surprise, surprise. David Pogue of the New York Times got an iPhone and has released this wonderfully entertaining iPhone review and gives us great insight on the iPhone just days before its release. The bomb that we said was going to be a tough impact on users has now been confirmed by Pogue. “EDGE is slow and horrible.” (Walt agrees, too.) Got that folks? When you’re not near a hotspot and you have to rely on AT&T’s dated EDGE network, that Google map trick ain’t going to work half a bean for you. You may find that four star restaurant faster on foot than by the iPhones EDGE connection! Or how about those inline photos in your E-mail? Hope you don’t have friends that don’t understand how to resize large photos before hitting that send button to you. Basically, the only time you’re ever going to want to use the iPhone data features is when you’re in a hotspot. Just like Steve did at Macworld.

Just something to think about while in line and waiting to plop $500 down for a phone with a slow data connection (with that required monthly data plan). Oh ya, don’t forget, all third-party apps are, yup, Internet driven.

While Business Week stated the iPhone would only be available from Apple Stores and AT&T corporate stores on June 29th, Apple’s own online store confirms that you will be able to purchase an iPhone online on the same day as the brick-and-mortar stores will have them. Reading from the Apple Online Store, directly:

iPhone, the revolutionary combination of a mobile phone, widescreen iPod, and Internet communications device, is coming to the online Apple Store and retail Apple Stores on June 29, 2007, with AT&T as the exclusive U.S. carrier partner.

Plain and simple, folks, you can get it online next Friday. While there is no specified time, it would suppose that the online orders will not take place until the 6 PM time like the rest of the stores. Just which time zone Apple will go with is the question, though Pacific would make the most sense since Apple headquarters are in Cupertino. Additional, Pacific time is one of the last time zones (outside Alaska and Hawaii) of the day, so this would continue to add to the presumption for 18:00 -8 GMT.

Sharp, the world’s leading provider of solar cells, has provided solar modules for the largest commercial solar electricity system in the U.S. to date, recently installed at Google’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California. In addition to roof-mounted arrays, the system also features a new structure that encompasses two carports under which employees can park - and if they drive a plug-in hybrid, recharge - their cars.

“Sharp shares a common goal with Google, which is to create products and technologies that benefit society and improve consumers’ lives,” said Ron Kenedi, vice president of Sharp’s Solar Energy Solutions Group. “With this system, Google is setting an example for other corporations as to the tremendous environmental and financial benefits of solar energy. But even more so, Google is demonstrating that solar electricity is just like regular electricity, and it can power anything - from computers and copiers to servers and hybrid electric cars.”

Sharp provided 9,212 208-watt modules for the project, which was designed and installed by EI Solutions of San Rafael, California. The 1.6-megawatt system is designed to feed into Google’s overall operations, reducing the amount of electricity the company purchases from its local utility. The system utilizes almost all available roof space on the Googleplex campus. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been an XM customer since day one way back in 2000. I’ve since left my subscription behind when I purchased a new vechicle and went with Sirius for the NFL programing. It’s tough being a Steelers fan in California. My wife still has her XM and I often do an audio comparison. I like XMs sound better, but prefer Sirius’ programming. Both ditched its Christian Alternative stations (another reason I left XM because at the time, Sirius DID have one,) which sucks, but Sirius still weighs better for my needs than XM.

When SvenOnTech received the press release on the proposed merger and we reported on it, I must say, I was bummed to read the release. I do not need a single satellite provider in my wife’s and my car. Nope. Don’t need higher bills and less choice. That’s what you get with a monopoly and that’s what you’ll get with this merger. Thankfully, there are some Democrats and Republicans in Congress that feel the same way. Finally! In fact, they have signed a letter and sent it to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin urging both to stop the merger, stating:

On its face, we believe that sanctioning the marriage of the only competitors in the satellite radio market would create a monopoly, which would be devastating to consumers.

This letter wasn’t just signed by a bunch of junior lawmakers either, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) where among the 72 names on the letter. Let’s hope the letter comes in loud and clear.

HP today announced that it has settled the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation regarding the company’s disclosure of Tom Perkins’ resignation from its board of directors in May 2006.

HP agreed, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, to the entry of a cease-and-desist order by the SEC. In the order, the SEC concludes that HP should not have limited its disclosure to the fact that Perkins had resigned, as it did, but also should have reported that he resigned because of a disagreement with the company’s operations, policies or practices and provided a brief description of the circumstances around the disagreement.

The SEC imposed no monetary or other penalty in connection with the settlement.

“HP acted in what it believed to be a proper manner,” said Michael Holston, executive vice president and general counsel, HP. “However, we understand and accept the SEC’s views and are pleased to put this investigation behind us.”

The order requires HP to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations of the public reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

It seems technology is about to prove that technology is not the reason for the global warming Earth is experiencing. Automobiles, coal burning factories, and aerosol cans are not the reason for our half degree celsius temperature increase in the last twenty-five years. Nope, now with Mars heating upand Neptune warming up, too, it seems a bit hard for many well known scientists to agree with what they once did. In other words, many respected people of science no longer believe that people are the reason for Earth’s global warming.

Botanist Dr. David Bellamy, a famed UK environmental campaigner, former lecturer at Durham University, said “global warming is largely a natural phenomenon. The world is wasting stupendous amounts of money on trying to fix something that can’t be fixed.”

Climate scientist Dr. Chris de Freitas of The University of Auckland, N.Z wrote, “At first I accepted that increases in human caused additions of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere would trigger changes in water vapor etc. and lead to dangerous ‘global warming,’ But with time and with the results of research, I formed the view that, although it makes for a good story, it is unlikely that the man-made changes are drivers of significant climate variation.”

With more examples of others now changing their mind about global warming, the U.S. Senate has made available its findings that steered it toward not passing a heavy-handed business punishing bill this week. It’s an interesting read and may add more credence to article such as this about Gore’s movie that may be soon labeled fiction.

Relient K will be playing a FREE acoustic show Saturday April 14th, at The Apple Store in Downtown San Francisco, CA! It’s all part of Absolutepunk.net’s AbsoluteAcoustic series! The show starts at 1PM is open to the public. For details and directions, check out the AbosluteAcoustic web site..

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