Monday, June 15, 2009

Clay Aiken is Gay? So What?

One of our fav American Idols is finally out of the closet. Clay Aiken appears on the cover of the latest People magazine holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: “Yes, I’m Gay.”The 29-year-old former pc tech support Idol” runner-up, multiplatinum recording artist and Broadway star credits his son, conceived slow broadband speed in-vitro

When the Nintendo Wii came out in the Fall of 2006, people of all ages, shapes, and sizes were fighting to get their hands on one and stores were back ordered for months, unable to keep up with the demand. Nintendo was going to revolutionize the way games were played wireless customer service having a wireless, motion sensing controller that got the player more involved in the game than ever before. A slew of new games that utilized the Wii's interactive capabilities got gamers excited in anticipation of having the console for their own. On the outside, it sounded like the Wii had PS3 and XBOX360 beat by a long shot: it was only $250 compared to PS3's $600 and XBOX 360's $400 and you got the added benefit of exercise while you played. Now, two years and some odd months later, the Wii charm seems to be wearing off. People still had good things to say about the system, but do they really play it anymore?

When I went to a friend's New Years party, his girlfriend fired up their Wii with a couple friends and played Cooking Mama for half an hour. While watching, I realized how childish Nintendo had become by making games that only appealed to little kids and check broadband connection speed people; people, best internet security suite don't normally play games. Not to mention the fact that little improvement in graphics was made from the jump from GameCube to Wii, at gprs internet not as much as PS3 and XBOX360. Appealing to a large demographic and getting all the consumers that PS3 and XBOX360 missed may sound like a good idea, but when you think about it, the people who own a PS3 or 360 www tmnet streamyx much more dedicated to their consoles and play more than the causal Wii owner. Nintendo has also kept up its long running tradition of having short, childish games that don't appeal to the gamers who grew up with old-school classics like Chrono Trigger on the SNES.

Wii Fit couldn't live up to the hype; people thought it could actually be considered exercise. Trying to combine fitness and video games is like trying to eat peanut butter smeared on a steak; the combination doesn't work, or at least doesn't work yet with current technology. Call me old fashioned, but I actually like to enjoy the game I'm playing and not have to worry about breaking a sweat. If I want a workout, I'll go to the gym or go for a run.

While the console itself sold well, the Wii doesn't have the strong game library that PS3 and XBOX360 have. Besides the slew of Wii Fit, Wii Tennis, Wii Music, Wii check broadband connection speed Care games, there aren't memorable games for the Wii that give players a rich gaming experience. Most of the games are topical, short lived games that focus on quick bursts of multiplayer gaming. Of course, nothing is more fun than having friends over and playing Rock Band until the neighbors complain, but I also enjoy an engaging one-player game with a deep story and complex characters to keep me riveted to the screen; Wii just doesn't cater to that sort of gamer.

The Wii continues to put out game after game that market to a casual crowd who, more often than not, only play the game once. If you want exercise, go outside, or at least develop technology as such that we can play games while wearing virtual reality headsets; and kids already have games made specifically for them, they are on those commercials where the kid sticks in a controller shaped as a bat and tries not the bash in the TV while playing baseball. Gaming consoles should stick to the people who made them successful in the first place. So while the Wii consoles gather dust next to the DVD player, I'm going to happily wait for Final Fantasy XIII.

My name is Brendan and I grew up playing video games, so whether I like it or not, they are a part of my life and many other people's as well. I enjoy discussing the topic of video games so check out my internet secrets to see more articles that talk about the gaming industry http://brendanigan.com.

Friday, June 12, 2009

New From the GAO

New GAO Report and Testimonies (PDFs)Source: Government Accountability Office11 June 2009+ Report1. Public Housing: HUD’s Oversight broadband availability Housing Agencies Should Focus More homecall broadband Inappropriate Use of Program Funds–+ Testimonies1. EPA Chemical Assessments: Process Reforms Offer the Potential to Address Key Problems, by John B. Stephenson, director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on

The user can go to many websites which sell broadband company devices and get to see some of the best mobile offers being made during Christmas. This season witnesses many Christmas special offers on mobile phones tmnet streamyx password all of them being wonderful but the ones which feature the BlackBerry Storm 9500 are even better.

An overview of the BlackBerry Storm 9500 is essential for having an idea aztech wireless modem the magnificence of this mobile phone. The features of this handset are not only good but they are in fact the some of the best features that have ever better than streamyx included in any handset.

The user, while using the BlackBerry operating system is able to access and use all the features of this mobile phone. The various assets of this widget in fields like connectivity, multimedia, user interaction and global usage are all wonderful.

This mobile device uses the frequencies that have given by the 2G and the 3G network. Hence, it is able to work marvellously dish internet Furthermore, with the assistance provided by a GPS receiver, the user is always aware of his current 'geographical' location. The technology of assisted-GPS increases the performance of the receiver to amazing levels.

The user always dsl 305eu to have the element of smoothness in his activities. This element is present in the handling of this mobile phone due to the presence of a TFT streamyx speed test Taking a picture is a process which has the smoothness akin to the act of gliding in mid-air. This is possible with a camera which is capable of taking pictures with an image resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. This mobile phone is, therefore, a 'golden' feather in the cap being worn by Christmas mobile phone offers.

Mistletoe is one of the decorations that is used to enliven the house with the feeling of Christmas. The clear black sky with full of stars is also another visible feature during Christmas. The colour of this handset is similar with that of 'this' night sky. The user is, therefore, reminded, time and again of the fact that Christmas is about to come.

The fantastic features of this handset along with the features which are given, make most of the Christmas mobile phone offers featuring this widget, absolutely heavenly. BlackBerry has created a handset which is a perfect gift with its array of marvellous features.

The user is able to harvest lots of wonderful and also useful items whenever he acquires the BlackBerry Storm 9500 using one of the numerous Christmas special deals on mobile phones. The usb wireless internet items are of course given away for free. This is,however, not their sole attraction. They also are quite useful and this is evident in items like free and extra talktime and also facilities like unlimited internet access. Hence, magnificence and usefulness are some the assets of Christmas mobile phone offers.

Santa Claus,therefore, has another powerful member in his arsenal of 'Christmas bestowers of happiness'. The spirit of Christmas is given to children and also adults all over the world not only by Santa Claus. In fact he is now being given an helping hand by mobile manufactures. They along with mobile retailers are bringing out awesome Christmas mobile phone offers.

Issac Brandon is an internet provider of Xpert4u a Price comparison site that provides the relevant information on Latest computer Games, and Christmas phones.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Would Smoking and Drinking Affect My Gym Training?

Dear dailymuscle,

I'm 21 years old Streamyx Zone trying to quit doing the unhealthy things I do to my body and here's my problem. I started smoking and drinking a couple of months ago (vodka), and last night was one of the nights I went overboard and drank way too much. I hate the terrible, worthless feeling I get the next day as I don't feel like training at the gym today due to this feeling. I just feel like staying in bed all day..

I know this is a stupid question but would smoking and drinking affect my gym training (I know it affects cardio cause it screws up your lungs)?

~the thirsty trainer

Dear thirsty trainer,

Thanks for writing in.

Drinking and smoking while trying to achieve practically any fitness goal are the exact opposites and dont mix. Drinking can compromise your goals especially if fatloss is one of them. I've read that the liver can take days to get rid of the alcohol in ones body and so one of its main jobs of filtering fat comes to a standstill and it packs it away for processing later (which never comes of course).

Still not convinced? Okay try this - have a can of beer (or any other alcoholic beverage) just before your workout and let me know if you have a productive workout.

It's a matter of priorities, especially at your young age of which path you want to choose. Many people think that they can counteract their smoking and drinking habits by doing enough exercise, not realising that they are only fooling themselves of the harm they are doing to themselves.

There is research out there that says alcohol in moderation has benefits, but I would not recommend anyone that doesn't drink to start solely for these benefits. Hey, Schwarzenegger smokes cigars too, however, I believe that they are the exceptions. I'd rather stay away from it if I were you.

You know what the right decision is - otherwise you wouldnt be asking Business Broadband Streamyx it here ;)

Good luck!

Josh Stone, also known as DM, is the author behind the site http://www.dailymuscle.com which offers the author's personal views on real-life fitness, bodybuilding, sports nutrition, cardio, fat loss, training information, and on all things that surrounds fitness.

* GDP shrinks 0.8 pct in Q1 from Q4, less than expected * Investments plunge 12.6 pct, leading quarterly slump * Govt spending, family consumption growth limit GDP slump * Rate futures, real jump on better-than-expected data (Adds central bank president's comments) By Elzio Barreto SAO PAULO, June 9 (Reuters) - Brazil's economy shrank less than expected in the first quarter as domestic consumption and government spending helped cushion the impact of the global downturn, putting the country on track to emerge from recession sooner than major economies in the United States and Europe. The surprise figures could further increase President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's approval rating as...

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Nozawa-Onsen Fire Festival, Japan

We were living streamyx hotline Suzaka at prepaid reseller time streamyx 1mb the fire festival, which takes place in mid-winter (mid-January) in the small ski-resort town of Nozawa-Onsen. This peaceful place slow broadband surrounded by rice paddies, natural onsens (hot baths) broadband reseller small wooden huts, which are standard in many rural Japanese towns. It just seems to make it all the more blissful, and serene seeing it all covered by a thick blanket of snow in the Winter. It was a calm, refreshing -27 degrees on the night of the festival.

Nozawa-Onsen is famous for it's snow. The skiing here during Winter is second-to-none, and the small town becomes a bustling hive of activity during streamyx office period. The main festival over the Winter period is the fire festival. This has run for many years, and involves the men of the test my internet speed (I think 25 year olds) who cut a tree down during the day and drag it through the village. They chant as they go, finally erecting it in the village square by means of a series of ropes, and with men holding on all sides, they lift and plunge the log into the ground with sheer force. No mechanical diggers here.

Once this feat has been accomplished, a shrine is built on top of the log and covered by ferns for the older men to streamyx combo registration on when the time is right. The end result is a kind of miniature temple on top of this log, with ropes hanging down. When night comes, the older men (42 year olds) of the village sit on top of this shrine, drinking sake and chanting as they throw bundles of twigs down. The younger men (25 year olds) hold onto the ropes to protect the shrine. A bonfire is lit, and this is gradually pushed apply customer service and closer towards the shrine. As this is happening, people from the village, starting with the kids, take the bundles thrown from above, run to the bonfire, light these bundles and run towards the shrine to try and set it on fire. Madness I hear you say? You're damn right, it's insane.

The night slowly intensifies, as the flakes of snow grow larger, and flurry down around the fiery laughter. Men with sake bottles around their necks (cup attached) amble through the crowd giving free sake to all, and sipping on a fair few themselves I must say. As the fire streamyx logo closer to the shrine, the heat and atmosphere of the festival intensify. People were grabbing bundles of fiery twigs and smashing them into the poor, blackened faces of these young men holding for dear life from the shrine. Protecting it like brazen soldiers on a golden castle. Bugger it I thought, I'm going to smash them in the face too!

I got a few looks from the locals, as I don't think it's fully 'allowed' for geigin (Westerners) to run the gauntlet. I ignored the drunken stares, and jumped in there. I fought with the other guys, vying for a bundle to fall from above. As it came down, I found that my somewhat small stature in the western world was a tall advantage in the short world of Japan. 'I am a giant!' I roared as I jumped through the seething Japanese mass, to claim my woody prize. I turned and made my way back to the bonfire which was roaring away, as it got closer to the shrine. I plunged my bundle into the flames where the heat was so intense I had to turn away.

As my hands began to swell with the heat, I pulled my flaming bundle out and turned to face my challengers, swaying from their ropes, with charcoal faces, and hotel ipoh blood showing from their scratches. Eyeballs still intact thank god. I bared my teeth and charged full steam at the young, burnt men flailing the fiery mass above my head like a mad man. There were screams, and shouts as I smashed the burning bundle into the faces of the men, protecting their 'castle'. It was all to no avail though, as my bundle fell to pieces in my hands, the men triumphant in their cause. I walked back to where I had come from, stopping for a compulsory malaysia forum of sake on the way. I was still 'man'.

The festival comes to a close, when the fire gets right up to the shrine. They get the drunken men off the top, and basically set fire to the whole thing. The fire is huge. We stood their smiling and enjoying the atmosphere of these beautiful, crazy Japanese people, all enjoying themselves in the snow and fire. As the shrine streamyx connection speed we turned to go, having a shot of sake on the way, and laughing at the state of the sake man himself. I guess in life there are some things that just have to be seen to be believed....and appreciated. The Nozawa-Onsen fire festival is definitely one of those things.

My name is Gareth, I work freelance in Film/Photography/Writing and am based in Melbourne, Australia.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Kyocera Cell Phones - Mobile Style

One phone that is making waves in the cell phone market is the Kyocera cell phone. These Kyocera cell phones are attractive, well formed streamyx linksys easy to use, and are full streamyx business package features The choice Streamyx phones and plans are practically unlimited and can be confusing adsl streamyx the first time cell phone buyer. Camera phones, phones with internet capabilities, pocket PCs, phones with PDA features or for checking email and, surprise, phones that only Streamyx you to make and streamyx main calls are all available. You can even get them with MP3 players.

Make Good Plans With a Kyocera

It is a good idea to go on line and check out comparisons of cell phones and cell phone plans, in such topics as coverage, reliability, minutes and costs, roaming and long distance charges. All of these factors should be taken into consideration when you are evaluating different cell plans. Phones also need to be evaluated for cost, durability, service and repair policy, ease of use and features. Kyocera phones are reliable, look good and are loaded with features.

Selling at a Good Rate

Kyocera produces a full range of phones, from the basic no frills models to the camera/pocket PC phones with a full keyboard, Kyocera has them Streamyx The bright and popular Kyocera 2100 series has lots of features including changeable face plates, like the CMDA digital PCS Kyocera 2119 cell phone or the CMDA digital and analog Kyocera 2135 cell phone. The affordable Kyocera 1100 series, including the Kyocera 1135 cell phone and the Kyocera 1155 cell phone, are good buys. A high end Kyocera 6035 cell phone, which has CMDA and Palm OS installed, is ideal for the business person who needs to keep track of contacts and the ability to send and receive email.

Many accessories that are sold as optional, are truly necessary. Most phones come with a battery charger but you will most likely want a car charger too. Others that may be considered necessities are hands free car set, longer lasting and/or extra batteries, microphones, joysticks for gaming, antennas, antenna power boosters and cameras. streamyx promo of at least a couple of these accessories will enhance your cell phone experience.

Martin Smith can help you. streamyx dealer out how thousands of people have been helped with the advice and information. Visit this link for details: Mobile Phones Ireland

Saturday, May 30, 2009

How Does 900MHz Spectrum Re-farming Impact the Femtocell Business Case?

I have not heard a lot of chatter on how the various 900MHz spectrum re-farming proposals impact the femtocell business case. The thought crossed my mind when I was reading the update to the UMTS900 Global Status Information Streamyx published by the GSA, the Global mobile Suppliers Association. This paper reports on network deployments, launches,

Sony's PS3 has indeed gained so much popularity because of the excellent features incorporated in it. It even acts as a PC if Streamyx just know how to install a Linux Operating System. But with all these features, you are bound to face problems with plenty of PS3 repairs. The first thing that anyone does id contact the manufacturer or the vendor.

Instead of spending money on your PS3 repairs, you can perform some simple, easy do it yourself steps that will sure help you get rid of all the problems as troubleshooting this game console is not so difficult. Hard to believe, it is yet true. Streamyx need to be equipped with a self help PS3 repairs guide and following each and every letter on it will make sure that you have all your problems solved.

There are several problems that need PS3 repairs, which include freezing, problems with the video, disk problems etc. The main reasons why all this occur is because of the over heating that occurs. With all the small components being built into such a compact case, you will have to face such problems as there is no proper ventilation. You would have made matters worse if you have kept yours in an enclosed cabin. Make sure you do not do this.

Another problem that needs PS3 repairs is the Streamyx of dust in your console. You just need a screw driver to open the case and you can clean all the components. But make sure you handle all the components carefully.

All that you need is a repair guide that will be able to provide you with clear instructions to handle the situation. You need to make sure that this includes video instructions as well, as this makes handling the problem much easier. When you have the instruction list in your hand isn't it easy to just follow it and get your console ready?

Do you want to know the easiest methods of PS3 repairs? You are in need of a professional guide that will help you. Look up Ps3 repair guide for further details on such a reliable source and make sure you follow the instructions prescribed.

Ericsson's fashion-forward W30 series 3G routers get detailed

It's not every day Portal Template we use "Ericsson," "sexy," and "3G router" all in the same sentence, so you can understand our excitement upon learning everything there is to know about the company's new W30 and W35 models. Calling it "3G" might be an understatement, actually -- these bad boys will do a purely theoretical 7.2Mbps down and 2.0Mbps up on three hair-raising HSPA bands in addition to quadband EDGE. Both models offer 802.11b / g and four Ethernet ports for routing that high-speed WWAN data however you see fit, and the W35 ups the ante by throwing two RJ11 ports on board for VoIP connectivity. The W35 looks to be shipping in early June, so clear a nice little feng shui spot on your kitchen counter where it can sit, get friendly compliments from the neighbors, and enhance your calm.

[Thanks, Scott H.]

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Ericsson's fashion-forward W30 series 3G routers get detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 May 2009 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 things to hate about the iPhone
I took delivery of my iPhone at the start of September, the start of a trying month personally that saw me out of the office for very long periods and only in touch with the world via my phone. It was a baptism of fire for me and the device.

You will have seen the adverts, played with it in phone shops, looked over fellow commuters' shoulders, borrowed your friend's ... great isn't it? Or is it?

In this article I touch on some of the things about the device that have really irked me. Just a bit or quite a lot. And to maintain the celestial karmic balance I have a companion article on some of the things about the iPhone that I absolutely love. There's enough material for both articles, I assure you!

So here we go, in reverse order, the 10 things that you should hate about the iPhone!

10. Grubby fingers and the onscreen keyboard
The iPhone's onscreen keyboard is surprisingly effective and doesn't take long to get used to.

Just remember to wash your hands before you do so, however! This isn't just cosmetic: For some reason I manage to leave a sticky mark under my right thumb that attract dust, biscuit crumbs, or whatever, right over the erase key. Usually the crumb lands there just as I finish the 2 page email and starts to rub out the whole message character by character! This is not an exaggeration!! It is, however, not a daily occurrence!!

9. External memory
I went the whole hog and took the 16GB iPhone immediately. I don't regret it! I haven't been selective with my music collection and have more or less all my ripped CDs stored on the iPhone. That's 14GB. Which leaves precious little room for real data.

On other devices this is rarely a problem and non-volatile storage is usually flash memory of some description, the size of which obeys Moore's law and doubles in size and speed every 9 months or so and halves in physical size every 2 years or so with a new "mini" or "micro" format. I have yet to run out of space on a mobile phone or smartphone, even with an address book of over 500 names.

The problem on the iPhone is that there is no external memory slot and no way (short of wielding a soldering iron) of expanding the internal memory. A shame. The iPod Touch has recently spawned a 32GB version and I imagine that the 32GB iPhone is on its way. When that happens the legacy user base will be left wondering what to do next.

8. Battery and battery life
The iPhone is sleek - barely a centimetre thick and enticingly smooth with those rounded edges. There are few buttons, no little doors to come open and break off in your pocket and no memory slots to fill up with fluff and dirt.

One of the reasons for the smooth design is that the iPhone does not have a user removeable battery. The battery can be changed by a service centre, and over the two years I will keep this device I expect to have to change the battery at least once, but I cannot do it myself. Also the battery is surprisingly small - it has to be to fit into this neat little package.

The price you pay for this is battery life. My device is now 6 weeks old and have been fully cycled about 5 times (I tend to keep the battery on charge but allow it to run flat at least once a week). If I am not using the device constantly, just checking the device twice an hour and answering calls, using 3G and Push, I can rely on a full working day of 10 to 12 hours between charges. If I turn on WiFi this drops to 6 or 7 hours. If I use the GPS without WiFi, autonomy drops to 4 or 5 hours. If I wanted to be really frugal and last a full 24 hours, I would need to turn off both Push email and 3G, and reduce screen brightness to a minimum.

For some people this is a major issue. For me, since I usually either have a PC on and can trail a USB cable, or spend the day driving with the iPhone hooked up as an iPod and being charged by the car, it is less of a constraint. But it remains an annoyance. I haven't yet seen an iPhone equivalent of the Dell Latitude "Slice" - a battery "back pack" for the iPhone that could more than double autonomy with minimal extra thickness, but I assume that someone, somewhere, is working on an aftermarket device.

7. Document management
There is no equivalent of the Windows Mobile File Manager or Mac Finder on the iPhone so there is no way of manipulating file objects on device.

Admittedly the iPhone does a credible job of shielding you from the need to do any file level manipulation: For example the Camera has a photo album that is also accessible in other applications that need to access images (for example, the iBlogger application I use to write short articles on this site). But there are still occasions when you need to manipulate individual file objects.

One is during installation and set up when installing root certificates for SSL so that the device can talk to an Exchange server: Unless you use Apple's enterprise deployment tool (which locks down the device and prevents further configuration changes, so not always desirable), the only ways to set up the device for Exchange are to set up a temporary IMAP account and download an attachment that you open, or to set up a website with the root certificate and define the appropriate MIME types on the web server (I could not get this to work, incidentally!). How much easier it would be to download the certificate onto the device using Windows explorer (connecting to a PC via USB exposes the devices memory as an attached storage device) and to be able to open the certificate file from memory on the iPhone.

The other key need for this functionality is when manipulating attachments on email messages. There is no way of saving attachments, or attaching documents selectively to a new or forwarded message.

6. Navigating through email folders
I tend to keep a lot of emails in my mailbox. I archive once a year, and usually towards the end of the following year. I'm also fairly busy and work on a dozen consulting and business development projects at a time. That means two things: a lot of emails, and the need to organise those emails sensibly.

I organise my emails into trees - consulting projects in separate folders and these folders organised by client, all kept separate from companies I'm invested in and from my personal stuff. Probably 40 or 50 folders.

On Windows Mobile devices I can organise this quite cleanly, with the ability to expand or collapse sections of the folder tree. The iPhone recognises the tree, but gives me no means of collapsing the hierarchy. The Inbox is always at the top: Junk email is always at the bottom. Moving incorrectly junked emails means traversing the whole tree, which is a pain even using the classy flick scroll gesture. It's clumbsy and unnecessary.

5. Filtering offline email content
The other side of this complexity is managing how much of my "online archive" to take with me.

There is no need (and no space) to take it all with me: I am quite used to placing sensible limits on the section of the mail folder to take with me. Windows Mobile allows me to take 1, 2 or 3 months worth of email with me, to say whether I take attachments with me, all the email or just the headers. I can even select which folders to take or leave behind. And I don't need to worry if I go away and find I am missing a crucial folder - I can change the parameters and the device will download what's missing.

The iPhone is slightly less flexible. It won't let me download attachments pre-emptively: It will only load the message header and leave the attachment behind unless and until I select the email manually. I can define how many days of emails I download from 1 day to 1 month, but beyond that I cannot specify a limit. I have a filter on the number of messages within a folder that I display from 25 to 200 messages but the interaction between this setting and the time limit is not entirely clear. If you are a light user this is less of an issue: For a heavier email user with a complex folder hieracrchy you have less control and can run into memory management issues as a result.

4. Message management and Exchange
The worst problem with message management on the iPhone is actually specific to Microsoft Exchange.

I am an expert user and really love Microsoft Exchange. It isn't just my mail server: It's a full collaboration engine, with group and resource scheduling, rich address book, "to do" lists, journaling, contact histories etc. I don't use it for fax and voice mail yet, but that is just a question of not having made the time to buy the interface box to the PBX and turn that feature on. So I am up there with the other 60% of enterprise mailbox users that are hooked on Exchange.

When the iPhone first appeared the Exchange interaction story was weak. It could do IMAP, but that's just a fraction of the story. No problem, that wasn't Apple's intended primary audience either, but the enterprise users clearly wanted the iPhone, so Apple got to work.

To be fair to them, Apple have done a lot with iPhone 3G to improve the Exchange story. Most of the security protocols are there, including critical features like remote wipe and SSL, and it supports Push. Enterprise deployment is straightforward too with a dedicated enterprise setup tool that supports remote device configuration. Unfortunately Apple seem to have stopped halfway through the API and a lot of Exchange functionality is overlooked. Some of this, like losing some data richness within Streamyx and contact items, doesn't affect all users equally. Other elements are more critical, however.

The best way to describe this is how you forward email messages with attachments. The Exchange API permits clients to forward the message without the message content being stored locally: You can forward the header and the server will attach the attachments and other rich content before forwarding. The iPhone doesn't understand this: First it has to download all of the message and attachments from the server to the iPhone, then it has to add the forwarding address and send the entire message back to the server. Moving a message between folders is the same and involves the same telecommunications overhead. A nuisance for me, but no more than that: If you aren't on a data bundle and pay by the MB then you need to be wary of this.

[Another side effect of this issue is that server-side disclaimers and signatures get placed at the end of the forwarded message, rather than under new message text.]

3. Reading HTML and rich text messages
I love HTML emails. I know that is considered a cardinal sin in some quarters, but as someone once said, if email had been invented after http would email have been done any other way? HTML is ubiquitous, it is clean and it works.

And of course being the best mobile web device on the market, the iPhone should be a fantastic HTML email reader, shouldn't it?

Well, it very nearly is. It does some things really well. It gets the layout, it renders inline graphics, it'll even show some background. But what if the text is really wide? It'll wrap won't it? No, it won't. It'll shrink the text to fit. It'll make the text really, really small. And you can't cheat by rotating the device, making the screen "wider" and the font larger, because the mail client doesn't support landscape presentation (why?).

Of course you can zoom in, because it's HTML, but then you have to scan the whole line, whizzing across the page to the end of the line, then whizzing back again to get the start of the next line. Oh dear!

2. Task switching
The iPhone is a lovely, clean design. And part of the cool, clean look comes from the absence of nasty short cut action buttons.

The iPhone has only three buttons on the edges of the device: the on/off button on the top, the volume up/down toggle on the side and the excellent single button mute button above the volume toggle. That's it. The only other button on the device is the "home" button on the front, below the screen.

The home button stops whatever application you are engaged on and takes you to the home page of the device - the pretty page full of icons that start up each application on the device. Good job it's pretty, because you see an awful lot of it.

There is no way to jump straight to your calendar, or address book, or email. Apart from the one Streamyx Customer Service click" action (user configurable to either select phone favourites or iPod controls), the only way to start a task is to go back to the home page and up again into the application you want. Find an interesting URL in an email that you want to look at in Safari? Memorise it well, or write it down, because unless the text has been created as a link you'll have to go back to the home page, start Safari, type the URL, realise you've got it wrong, press the home button again, start email, open the email, find the URL ... and start again.

Or you could just select the URL and cut and paste it into the browser address bar ... except ...

1. How on earth do you cut and paste?
Once Xerox had invented the mouse, the GUI and WYSIWYG editing, it was up to Apple to take that technology and make it affordable with the Lisa and the Mac. And Microsoft to make it ubiquitous, of course.

One of the joys of using the mouse, or any pointing device, is that it gives you a third dimension as you move around the page. You aren't constrained by the line or the word or the paragraph - you can jump straight to any part of the document. And you can select parts of a document by dragging over a word, a line, a paragraph, and do something with it. Like cutting it out. Or copying it. Or dragging it. It's normal. That's just what you do. You don't have 3 hour seminars and training courses on using a mouse (or a stylus) to point and select, click and drag. You demonstrate it once, the student understands and does it.

But the company that helped the mouse escape from the lab and get into the shops seems to have forgotten all about it. Get out your iPhone. Write a sentence. Write another one. Oops - that second sentence would make more sense BEFORE the first one. I'll just cut and paste the sentence. Oh no you won't! Because there is no cut and paste on the iPhone. Hear that? No? Well, I'll say it again! THERE IS NO CUT AND PASTE ON THE IPHONE.

Google around a bit and you'll find dozens of articles on the subject. You'll find surprise, indignation, horror. You'll even find brave Apple gurus explaining sagely that you don't need cut and paste because the iPhone gives you more direct ways of using information, like linking URLS, or detecting phone numbers, or, er, something.

The most likely explanation is that once Apple has decided to do away with the stylus, the only UI gesture was to use two fingers and drag that over the page to select some text. But that gesture had already been taken with the excellent pinch zoom movement used on large documents and web pages.

There is a way out, however. Some very credible proof of concept demonstrations have been put on the web showing how a sustained point and drag with single finger (like the stylus selection action in Windows Mobile) would be workable and not conflict with any other screen action on the iPhone.

Let's hope that the concept demos work and we see cut and paste implemented in an upcoming firmware release. In the meantime, at least twice every day I bet every iPhone user will silently curse, shrug and give up writing that urgent memo because they just can't be bothered to type it all again.

So that's it. Please don't get me wrong, I think the iPhone is a wonderful, iconic and transformational device. As with the Mac, it has changed our perception of what a mobile device should be. Mobile phones and smartphones will never be the same again.

It's just that for all it's brilliance, it remains flawed. The iPhone is the product of a prolific and brilliant yet highly introspective group of engineers. Streamyx Latest Promotion free to innovate, unrestrained by any notion of reality or practicality or what the user currently thinks he or she wants, Apple have created a concept device. I'm grateful they have, but I fear that it will be up to other companies, with a clearer grasp of what the user can use, in particular what ELSE the user is doing, to take the iPhone to the next step.

Stephen Oliver is Director of Expraxis Limited http://www.expraxis.com a consulting company that works with academics, entrepreneurs and inventors who need help bringing new ideas to market. We help people set their priorities, plan for their business, build relationships with partners that can help them, and work with them to help turn those ideas into reality.