App Stores Are Not Democracies

Analysis: If handsets are becoming PCs, then why is the software distribution model so different?

I’m not sure we should be thinking of handsets as little PCs and trying to get a zillion applications running on them, but, OK, if we’re going to run apps on our handsets, then what’s the right model for distributing those apps? Apple has shown that the vertically-integrated hardware/software/services model has real legs, and other app stores from handset vendors, carriers, and OS developers are appearing. This of course leads to two key questions: do app stores concentrate too much power (even to the point of monopoly) in one place, and what’s the best model for the app store itself — handset vendor, carrier, OS developer, or perhaps something else altogether?

I have for some time argued that any given vendor should not be allowed to monopolize a “natural” interface in their products. Openness has traditionally been the case with PCs, where one is free to run whatever OS one wants (assuming one builds one’s own PC or otherwise ignores the expense associated with a bundled OS that is not used), and equally free to run whatever applications one wants, whether self-developed or obtained from any (and I do mean any) source. The natural interfaces of the hardware and OS APIs encourage innovation and ultimately enable the offering of the greatest flexibility and value to the consumer. They also prevent too much power from being concentrated in the hands of any given player in the hardware/systems software/OS food chain, which could (and, in Microsoft’s case, does) result in an effective monopoly. In other words, vendors, build what you want, but keep in mind that you’re here first and foremost to serve a customer and optimize for the customer experience and to satisfy, at the lower possible cost, customer needs – and not just to make money via the artificial restraint of trade.

App stores run by a handset manufacturers, OS vendor, or carriers violate this ideal if the consumer is left with no other choice to obtain apps. So, as long as we have a competitive market in apps and app stores, all is well. In the case of the iPhone, however, we don’t. Apple sells you the hardware, but you’re bound to a single carrier and a single source of apps. Sure, there are tens of thousands of applications, but certain apps, like Google’s, are just plain banned, while others of questionable (to say the least) value and taste get approved. Remember, this is the only place to get apps for your iPhone. Is there too much power concentrated here for the purpose of simply boosting profits at the expense of the customer? Um, duh, yeah. No question about it.

If you, dear user, want to play in this world and you do not find these restrictions objectionable, then go right ahead. But I think it’s time for the regulators (do we still, by the way, have regulators? It seems they’re really on the side of business, not the consumer who pays the bills. I mean, we bailed out a lot of very rich people on Wall Street, perhaps in the interest of saving jobs, but the bills we’ll have to pay in the form of higher taxes and serious inflation make it look like the government really doesn’t give a crap about mere workers and consumers anymore. But I digress.) to separate church and state, and make sure that natural interfaces remain open.

In the meantime, I think we need more app stores like the venerable Handango, that are independent of vendors. Competition, as is always the case, is the key to making sure we’re getting the most, and the most for our money.

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Is the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520 Right for You?

Research In Motion’s (RIM) brand new BlackBerry Curve 8520 is now on sale in the United States, through T-Mobile. The Curve 8520, RIM’s third iteration of the Curve, falls directly in the middle of both RIM and T-Mobile’s Curve product lines.

After T-Mobile initially released the Curve 8320 in September, 2007, it quickly became one of the carrier’s best selling smartphones. More than a year later, T-Mobile was the first U.S. carrier to release RIM’s second-generation Curve, the BlackBerry 8900. And today, the carrier is first to offer the next Curve, the BlackBerry 8520.

Tuesday, I attended RIM’s Curve 8520 launch event in New York City, where the company showed off all kinds of up-and-coming wares along with the new device. I spent quite a bit of time with the new Curve and was able to mostly size it up.

Now, on to the Curve 8520 features and technical specifications, as well as my breakdown of why the new Curve could be a perfect fit for you–or not.

And if you’re interested in additional BlackBerry devices, check out my takes on the BlackBerry Curve 8900 or Tour 9630.

How to Tell if the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is for You

First and foremost, are you a T-Mobile customer or are you considering switching to T-Mobile? If not, you’ll want to pass on the new Curve 8520, since it’s currently a T-Mobile exclusive. (Additional carriers, including Verizon Wireless, are expected to release the Curve 8530, dubbed “BlackBerry Aries,” in the future, and AT&T will likely get its own 8520 variant.)

If switching your carrier to T-Mobile is a possibility, you’ll want to make sure that T-Mobile provides adequate service in the areas where you live, work or spend most of your time.

The best way to determine if you reside or work in an area with strong T-Mobile coverage is to speak with a friend, colleague, neighbor, etc., who uses the carrier on a daily basis. Get general impressions of each carrier’s coverage in your areas. Then check out the appropriate online coverage maps. And visit a T-Mobile retail location to speak with company representatives. In other words, do a bit of research.

If you find that T-Mobile coverage isn’t up to snuff where you roam most often, you’ll probably want to avoid the BlackBerry Curve 8520–at least for now.

Next up, some quick technical specifications from RIM:

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900MHz)

• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)

• UMA support; T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Wi-Fi calling

• 2.0 MP camera with 5X digital zoom and video recording (No flash)

• 256MB Flash Memory

• High-resolution 320 X 240 pixel screen

• 1150 mAHr removable/rechargeable cryptographic Lithium cell battery (same as Curve 83xx family)

• DataViz Documents To Go

• Support for BlackBerry Media Sync (iTunes playlist sync)

• BlackBerry OS v4.6.1

• Expandable memory slot for up to 16GB of storage

• Support for the messaging capabilities of the BlackBerry platform, including push e-mail, popular instant messaging applications and premium phone features

The feature that really jumps out at me about the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is the brand new trackpad that replaced the traditional BlackBerry trackball found on the majority of RIM’s newer devices. The Curve 8520 is the first BlackBerry to sport the trackpad, and I like it very much. It’s not quite as sensitive as a BlackBerry trackball, so I bumped up the sensitivity settings, but it didn’t take long before I felt like I’d been using it for years.

Next, Curve 8520 pricing. Make no mistake about it: This is a BlackBerry, and BlackBerrys are typically associated with business users. The Curve 8520 lives up to its BlackBerry name, offering RIM’s tried-and-true messaging and security features, but this device is aimed at any entry-level smartphone audience, both enterprise and consumer. As such, it should be priced accordingly.

My take: Whoever sets T-Mobile’s pricing on new devices needs a very long nap or something else restorative, because the company’s introductory price of $129.99 with a new service plan is ridiculous. (The higher-end Curve 8900, which has a number of features left out of the new Curve, including a much better camera and flash, as well as both Wi-Fi and GPS, sells for only $20 more.)

Thankfully, Wal-Mart has stepped in and decided to sell the new Curve for a much more reasonable–and appropriate–price: $48.88 with a new two-year service contract. That’s a great price for a new BlackBerry, and I suspect T-Mobile will soon be forced to drop its price to compete.

The Curve 8520 is also the first BlackBerry to feature dedicated media player controls. The device has three media-centric buttons on its top side: Play/Pause, Rewind and Fast Forward. These should be valuable to anyone who frequently uses a BlackBerry to listen to music via headphones or via stereo transmitters like RIM’s BlackBerry Speakerphone Visor Mount. (Note: The Curve 8520 also has a standard, 3.5mm headset jack, so you can use your favorite headphones.)

T-Mobile’s great HotSpot @Home Wi-Fi calling service is also available to Curve 8520 users, enabling them to make free Wi-Fi calls whenever they’re at home. (Read about the pros and cons of dual-mode, “VoWi-Fi phones” like T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Curve lineup.)

The new Curve is speedy; it packs the same 512MHz processor found in its elder-Curve-8900-brother. The Curve 83xx family features 312MHz processors.

Like all of RIM’s devices since the Pearl Flip 8220, the Curve 8520 has a microUSB port for charging and syncing data.

It comes in two colors: Frost blue and black. And a variety of colorful skins are available for customization.

And the device ships with a 1GB microSD memory card.

Finally, my two minor gripes: the underwhelming two megapixel camera and the fact that the Curve 8520 doesn’t come with any sort of case.

Two megapixel quality is not enough for this device. All of RIM’s new devices–except the Curve 8520, of course–have 3.2 megapixel cameras, with features like autofocus. But that’s not even the worst part. The Curve 8520 has no flash, let alone auto-focus functionality.

For a consumer-oriented device, the lack of a flash is significant, to say the least. The iPhone has been repeatedly blasted for its lack of a camera flash, but I suspect RIM justified its decision to leave out the Curve 8520 flash because of the iPhone. (Hey, if the iPhone doesn’t have it, not ALL of our devices need it either, right?)

I asked RIM why it decided to forego the flash and was told it was to reduce manufacturing costs. That’s understandable, and the $50 Wal-Mart price point sure is nice, but I still think the Curve 8520 should have a flash.

Finally, the Curve 8520, Storm and the Pearl Flip 82xx are the only current BlackBerry devices that don’t come with any sort of case. I’m sure the decision not to include a holster, slip-case or skin is related to cost-cutting, as well, but it rubs me the wrong way, just the same.

There you have it, a quick breakdown of the brand new BlackBerry Curve 8520 from T-Mobile. Still looking for additional smartphone options? Check out “Forget iPhone 3G S: Eight Great New iPhone Alternatives.”

Microsoft Boosts Windows 7 Graphics With Hardware

Microsoft is trying to improve the visuals in Windows 7 by working with hardware makers on a software interface that maximizes the use of graphics cards.

The OS will support a new API (application programming interface) called DirectX 11 that enables better gaming through more realistic graphics and faster playback of multimedia files. The software giant is working with top graphics chip makers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices on those features.

The DirectX 11 graphics drivers are designed to help Windows 7 effectively break up tasks over multiple cores to boost application and graphics performance. For example, Windows 7 will process video faster by unloading the task from the CPU to graphics processor cores.

Nvidia has been able to use DirectX compute capabilities in Windows 7 to accelerate tasks like manipulating images or playing DVDs via its graphics processing unit, said Ned Finkle, vice president of strategic marketing at Nvidia, in a video posted on Microsoft’s Windows 7 Web site.

“Microsoft did a number of things within the operating system that allow us to take the computing horsepower we developed for visual computing and apply it to a range of tasks that have never been seen before,” Finkle said.

Beyond simple multimedia tasks, AMD said DirectX 11 harnesses the massive parallel processing capabilities of GPUs to improve gaming on PCs, said Neal Robison, director of independent software vendor relations at AMD.

“We’re going to see gaming at a whole new level of realism that you’ve never been able to experience before because it just hasn’t been possible,” Robison said.

He also said that Windows 7 could speed up conversion of video for playback on portable devices. Users will be able to drag and drop video from PCs to portable devices, with DirectX 11 enabling video conversion on the fly.

While Microsoft has built native DirectX 11 support in Windows 7, users will benefit only with capable hardware. AMD in June showed off a prototype DirectX 11 graphics processing unit, but is yet to formally announce a product.

In a blog entry posted Thursday,

AMD’s Robin Maffeo, a Microsoft alliance manager, wrote “there are plans to make native DirectX 11 hardware from AMD in its ATI Radeon GPUs available when Windows 7 is released.”

Current graphics cards and integrated graphics on chipsets carry support for DirectX 10 or 10.1.

The ability to break up tasks is an evolutionary step for Microsoft in developing operating systems, said Dan Olds, principal analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. As users demand heavier graphics from PCs, it is in Microsoft’s best interests to offer an operating system that breaks up tasks across multiple graphics cores and CPUs, he said.

“In order to be able to get performance from succeeding generations, you have to have a multicore-aware operating system,” Olds said. Execution of tasks on a single core isn’t highly efficient, which was a problem that plagued earlier operating systems, Olds said.

The DirectX 11 enhancements could also encourage more developers to build games for Windows 7 and help the company keep pace with competition.

One company competing with Microsoft is Apple, which has changed the basic architecture of its upcoming Mac OS X 10.6 OS, code-named Snow Leopard, to include new features that divvy up graphics and other tasks over multiple CPU and graphics cores. It builds in support for OpenCL, a set of programming tools to develop and manage parallel task execution.

Nvidia and AMD have said they would support DirectX 11 and OpenCL. Intel, which offers integrated graphics on chipsets, in June released updated graphics drivers for Windows 7, but it carried support for only DirectX 10.

Why Attack Twitter?

Twitter and Facebook were hit today with denial-of-service attacks that can knock a site offline, but don’t steal information or cause permanent damage. The question is, why?

Both sites have lately become attractive targets for online crooks who try to trick users into installing malware on their PCs. Malicious tweets or Facebook messages might promise some great new video, but instead install fake security software. Kaspersky today posted about the most social engineering attacks used by the “Koobface” malware against Facebook and Twitter users.

But today’s attacks against the sites are different. Denial-of-service attacks, or DoS, overwhelm a site or service with so much garbage data that it can’t respond to normal requests. Your browser might ask a site to send the text, code and images used to display its Web page, but during a DoS attack the site is snowed under and can’t respond. So you don’t see anything.

These types of attacks are usually distributed attacks, or DDoS, meaning the flood of data comes from many different sources. Usually that means a botnet – a botnet controller can order every infected PC in the botnet to send garbage data to a particular site. When a given botnet might comprise tens or hundreds of thousands of bot-infected PCs, that ends up being more than enough garbage data to overwhelm many sites.

But while crooks can and do make a good deal of money with malware and fake security software, and use any number of tricks to get it on PCs, denial-of-service attacks don’t install malware. They don’t steal data that might be sold, and while DoS attackers have in the past used the assaults to demand a ransom from the victim sites, there’s no word of such a request from either Facebook or Twitter. And large sites aren’t usually the target for such (already uncommon) extortion attempts. So why are they happening?

Malware wants to quietly steal and make money, but DoS attacks are generally meant to hurt their target in a very public fashion. And one commentator, Randy Abrams of ESET, which makes antivirus software, guesses that Twitter in particular might have ticked off the bad guys by fighting back against malware attacks. He notes that Twitter has recently begun filtering URLs to block those used in malicious tweets, which might have hurt the crooks’ bottom line.

But Abrams also writes that “there are still other ways thieves can make money and they make none at all if Twitter is down,” and that the DDoS attacks might come from someone more interested in notoriety than immediate gain. A “look-at-me” idiot, or even someone who wants to advertise the power of their available-for-hire botnet.

We’ll likely get more clues as to the why of these DDoS attacks, but right now it’s mostly a guessing game. Check PC World’s home page for further updates, as well as Twitter’s status page. McAfee has also posted some commentary on the attacks, and says it’s researching to find out more.

Send Anonymous Criticisms from NiceCritic.com

Problem: Your sister-in-law talks too much. Your co-worker has deadly coffee-breath. Your neighbor leaves his barking dog outside at all hours of the day and night.

Solution: Three quick shots of whiskey and one of those ring-the-bell-win-a-prize carnival mallets.

No, no, no, that’s terrible! I’m kidding. Kidding! The solution is NiceCritic.com, a site that lets you send gentle but helpful criticisms anonymously.

All you do is pick a category (Appearance, Personal Hygiene, Office Behavior, etc.), choose a canned message from within that category, and then provide the person’s name and e-mail address.

Presto! Your criticism gets delivered, the offender adjusts his or her behavior, and the world becomes a better place. All thanks to you.

Seriously, I think services like this are great for dealing with awkward situations in a harmless, non-confrontational way. And, yes, a NiceCritic message may cause hurt feelings, but I’d certainly want to know if my behavior or actions were bugging someone. (I’m really considerate that way. Modest, too!)

My only complaint is that you can’t send a custom message–though I suppose there’s a rationale behind that. NiceCritic’s messages are polite and straightforward; yours might be, um, less so.

What do you think? Is NiceCritic the answer to a prayer, or should people step up and say what’s on their minds? Speak yours in the comments.

Model Geeks: Not a Passion for Fashion, but a Taste for Tech

These ‘lifestyle models’ are enjoying their technologies in ways you can’t possibly fathom.

Microsoft’s Azure Moving out of Washington

Microsoft will soon move its Azure services off its data center in Washington, due to changes in the way such facilities are taxed in the state.

In a blog post earlier this week, the company informed early users of the Azure platform that they’ll need to move their applications off the data center located in Quincy, Washington. Microsoft said it will soon offer users an automated tool that will help them migrate to its Southwest data center, most likely a reference to one in San Antonio, Texas.

“This change is in preparation for our migration out of the northwest region,” the blog post reads. “Due to a change in local tax laws, we’ve decided to migrate Windows Azure applications out of our northwest data center prior to our commercial launch this November.”

However, the company will continue to use the data center for other online services, a Microsoft spokesman said. He did not respond to a question about why Microsoft would pull the Azure services from the facility but still host others there.

The relevant tax issue began to unfold in late 2007 when Washington’s attorney general wrote an opinion stating that data centers do not qualify as manufacturers, which in some areas of the state are exempt from paying taxes on new projects, including buildings and the equipment in them. Manufacturers in rural areas also get new employee business and occupation tax credits. Before that opinion was issued, some data center operators believed that they could be considered manufacturers and thus get those tax breaks.

After the attorney general’s opinion made it clear that the data center operators would have to pay those taxes, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire drafted a bill that would have handed data center operators a discount on their taxes for equipment in the facilities, but the bill did not pass.

Politicians and residents in Washington regard the data centers with mixed feelings. Though hundreds of people may be employed to build the facilities, typically very few jobs are required to run and maintain them once they are built. “While the legislature considered several bills to extend favorable tax treatment to these centers, none passed due to concerns that the amount of tax that would be forgiven was very large compared to the few jobs that would be created,” said Mike Gowrylow, a spokesman with the state’s Department of Revenue.

Plus, tax incentives were not the only reason that companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Intuit built data centers in Washington. “There are a lot of other advantages here that I think outstrip the sales tax,” he said. Hydro electricity is cheap and plentiful in the region, keeping operating costs for the data centers low. Land is also cheap, and people with high-tech skills are available from Seattle, which is near Quincy, he said.

Yahoo and Intuit did not reply to a request for comment about the tax situation in Washington.

An executive who used to run Microsoft’s data center operations said these types of tax disputes will continue in the future. “You are essentially seeing the beginning of a cat and mouse game that will last for some time on a global basis,” Mike Manos, senior vice president for Digital Realty Trust, wrote on his blog.

“States and governments are currently using their blunt, imprecise instruments of rule (regulations and taxes) to try and regulate something they do not yet understand but know they need to play a part of,” he said.

He has worked on three data-center site selection programs and said that tax and regulation play a significant role in the decision process. “The reason is pure economics over the total lifetime of an installation,” he wrote.

The OakLeaf Systems blog was one of the first to report on the Azure announcement, and the post includes some background on the tax issue.

Sony Adds Exmor Sensor, G Lens to New Cyber-shots

Sony is the latest big-name company to announce point-and-shoot cameras for the fall. Two new Cyber-shot models offer high-end features previously found only in the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 megazoom camera.

n particular, both the Cyber-shot DSC-TX1 and the Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 include the Exmor R CMOS sensor, which the company says produces excellent low-light shots at high ISO settings due to a revamped design. Sony says the Exmor R sensor captures more light in dark environments, due to the fact that light-blocking circuitry has moved to the bottom of the sensor.

The Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 also features a “premium” Sony G Lens; previously, until the debut of the bulky DSC-HX1 earlier in 2009, the G Lens was available only in the company’s digital SLR cameras and high-end camcorders. Now, the DSC-WX1 offers the same optics in a pocketable frame.

In addition to the company’s unique Sweep Panorama mode (also in the DSC-HX1), both upcoming Sony models feature a couple of new in-camera tricks. The DSC-TX1 and the DSC-WX1 each have a “Handheld Twilight” feature that takes six pictures in rapid succession at different exposure settings and then combines the images to create low-light shots with increased dynamic range.

Both cameras have ISO levels ranging from 80 to 3200. Although many point-and-shoot cameras generate a noticeable amount of noise at ISO settings of 800 and above, I took a few quick test shots during some brief hands-on time with the cameras, and the “Handheld Twilight” mode produced surprisingly sharp images at high ISO levels.

Aside from the shared features, the new Cyber-shots are very different animals. The 10-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-TX1 is a fashionable, ultraslim (0.66 inches thick) camera with a 3-inch-diagonal touchscreen LCD, a 4X optical zoom (35mm to 140mm) bolstered by optical image stabilization, and 720p HD video recording (MPEG-4 files at 30 fps). Other than the shutter button, zoom, and playback buttons, controls for all camera operations are on the touchscreen. A stylus is included with the camera; but during my hands-on time, I found the screen responsive to finger gestures.

The DSC-TX1 will be available in gray, blue, pink, and silver for $380 starting in September.

Despite carrying a lower price, the Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 is a higher-end compact Cyber-shot, geared toward performance-minded buyers.

It offers a wide-angle, optically stabilized Sony G Lens with a 5X optical zoom (24mm to 120mm), 720p HD video recording (MPEG-4 files at 30 fps), and a 2.7-inch LCD screen. The DSC-WX1 will be available in black starting in October for $350.

EFF: Technology Can Help in Absence of Privacy Laws

If you’re a developer and you’re worried about digital privacy issues, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has a job for you.

On Wednesday, EFF Civil Liberties Director Jennifer Granick put out a call for new technology.

“We need technology. Citizens need technology to protect themselves because the law is not doing it,” she said in an address to privacy experts at the Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium held at the University of Washington in Seattle.

She described several scenarios created by modern technology where legal privacy protections are absent because laws have not kept up. She’s hopeful that developers will build tools that people can use to protect themselves from undue invasion of privacy by the government.

Perhaps the most worrisome issue she described is the use by law enforcement of GPS tracking technologies. GPS radios have become so cheap and small that agents are using blow darts to attach them to cars, she said.

“There’s no statute that controls [GPS monitoring], so if the Fourth Amendment doesn’t protect you, you’re out of luck,” she said. The Fourth Amendment, which protects people in the U.S. from unreasonable search and seizure, will only protect people from GPS tracking in their homes. So law enforcement can use GPS to track people in other places, where legal precedent says people don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy, she said.

A couple of states, including Washington and New York, have laws that require law enforcement to get a warrant before using GPS to track people.

The bigger issue is the potential for law enforcement to engage in mass surveillance. Granick imagines at some point every car, for example, is required to have GPS so that agents can track people’s movement. That issue has not been examined in court.

Another scenario that she finds troublesome is the right of agents to search computers and phones of people crossing borders. In the U.S., the borders are considered an exception to the Fourth Amendment, so agents are not required to get warrants to search essentially anything a person has. “The idea is that a sovereign has the right to protect the border. And I can see why it’s important to protect the border,” she said.

But the EFF has tried to argue in court that laptop searches are invasive because computers contain special and personal information, but it has lost using that argument. It has also tried to use the First Amendment, arguing that people have the right to protect information about who they talk to and about what, but the court disagreed.

It’s unclear yet if using simple passwords to restrict access to data on computers or phones can protect people from searches at the border. Granick said she’s had lengthy debates with her colleagues on the issue, which has yet to be tried in court. One case in Connecticut approached the issue but had unique characteristics, so the outcome should not set a precedent, she said.

So far, the border authority has declined to reveal its policy for handling situations where people refuse to give up their passwords, she said. “I think they haven’t had to confront it because they’re so good at making people talk,” she said. Agents may convince people to reveal their passwords by suggesting that they’ll be detained until they do.

“There have to be ways that normal people can avoid search and seizure and maybe some way to avoid the password problem,” Granick said. People should have an easy enough way to come into the U.S. with trade secrets or confidential client information and be able to keep that data private, she said.

Another issue she finds troublesome is the lack of privacy laws around e-mail and other data that people store online. “We are in a very fundamental debate with the government now in a variety of cases about what level of protection the Electronic Communications Privacy Act provides,” she said. That law, set in 1986, provides “extremely low protection” for some information like subscriber details, she said.

The EFF argues that as with a letter or a phone call, the content of an e-mail should be protected. “The government argues different,” she said. The government believes that if you’ve opened an e-mail and left it on the server, they can access it without a warrant. In addition, if a user leaves an e-mail on a server for more than 180 days, officials don’t need a warrant to retrieve it.

But the reasoning behind that policy, set in the 1986 act, is antiquated, she said. “The theory is, in 1986 if you left something lying around that long it was like garbage, it wasn’t important to you. Now we know that with Gmail and cheap storage it’s quite the opposite. You keep stuff that’s important to you and throw away what’s not,” she said.

Until new laws are set to deal with modern developments, technology can help, she said. “We civil libertarians are doing what we can to make the law better, but we have a really long way to go. We have huge gaps and we need technology to fill that void. We need good, secure technology that works but is simple enough for normal people to use,” Granick said.

Top 10 Reader iPhone Annoyances (And How to Fix Them)

Who knew there were so many iPhone annoyances? Last week we listed ten common failings of the iPhone and discussed how to correct them. Maybe it was naïve to restrict the list to ten entries. Reader feedback suggests that iPhone users have no shortage of annoyances they’d like to see solved.

After reviewing the comments posted to the original story, “10 iPhone Annoyances (And How to Fix Them),” we offer you a sequel. Once again, we’ve compiled workarounds to the iPhone annoyances listed. Oh, and because one snarky (we love snark!) reader suggested that you should “get rid of the suckerphone,” we’ve also included several problems that you can solve only by jumping ship and buying a nonsuckerphone alternative.

10. You Can’t Schedule Day-of-Week Meetings (griped by rjnerd)

The iPhone’s built-in calendar lets you set up recurring appointments–but with one notable flaw: There’s no way to schedule meetings for, say, the first Monday of every month.

The bigger problem: Overwhelmingly, in response to our previous article, iPhone users complained about the calendar. Among the sources of grievance aired were the inability to view the calendar by week, the inability to copy and paste appointments, and the inability to send event invites to other users.

The workaround: Set up a recurring weekly event, and then delete the unwanted extra entries for that month. It’s not pretty, but at least you won’t have to reenter all of your data for each scheduled event.

9. The Screen Keeps Rotating During Bedtime Reading

Image: Courtesy of Macworld

Most of the time, we love having an accelerometer on the phone. Being able to tilt into landscape mode is great for viewing photos and sending text messages, but it does get in the way when you’ve curled up for some e-reading.

The bigger problem: The inability to lock iPhone rotation is problematic in general. Users complain that the phone extemporaneously switches to cover flow when it’s resting in the car; and sometimes you just don’t want the screen to rotate, regardless of your posture.

The workaround: Only jailbreakers can activate ‘Rotation Inhibitor’ in Sbsettings to lock the screen settings in place. The rest of us must employ a method previously discussed at Macworld. The iPhone screen will automatically rotate 90 degrees clockwise when you’re lounging on your couch, causing text to rotate from horizontal to vertical and making reading unduly difficult. A Macworld reader suggests that you rotate your iPhone another 90 degrees counterclockwise. “Since the iPhone doesn’t offer 180˚ rotation, this left the text rotated 90˚ in alignment with my head.”

8. You Can’t Create Usage Profiles (griped by deftdrummer)

In this hectic world, who can be bothered to silence the iPhone at work, turn on Wi-Fi at home, and make battery-saving adjustments when the phone is running out of juice? It would be nice–and worth paying for, even–to have a utility that managed all of those things for you.

The bigger problem: The iPhone’s lack of usage profiles is another consequence of its inability to multitask (and run apps in the background). For the same reason that the recently released Google Latitude Web app can’t constantly update your location, an app like Locale (from Two Forty Four a.m.) simply can’t function properly on an iPhone unless you jailbreak the phone.

The workaround: On the iPhone, there is none. Android users can pick up Locale, an award-winning (and PC World-praised) app that knows where you are and adjusts your phone settings accordingly. Symbian users can try AutoProfiles, which adjusts phone settings based on time of day.

7. You Can’t Send Text Messages to Groups

Avid texters know that blasting a message to multiple friends is the best way to find out where they are and what they’re doing. Unfortunately, to group-text on the iPhone, you must hit the plus sign (+) and tap on the contact name for each person you want to add.

The bigger problem: The iPhone isn’t particularly good at dealing with things in bulk. As we noted in last week’s article, it’s also takes a rather inept (or at least dull-witted) approach when you want to delete or manage large amounts of e-mail; and circling back to the calendar issue, it offers no easy way to create several appointments at a time.

The workaround: Suck it up and manually add everyone to one text message once–but don’t delete that message. Instead, every time you want to send a message to that group, revert to the original message thread, add a new message, and send. Tip: For easy future access, keep the master message near the bottom of your sent messages.

6. Web Apps Don’t Have Push Notification

f you followed our earlier advice and switched to the Web version of Gmail instead of the iPhone’s built-in Mail app, you don’t receive notifications from the Home screen when new messages reach your inbox. That’s because your iPhone accesses the app through Safari, which on its own has no means of telling users what’s happening in the browser.

The bigger problem: Web apps are second-class iPhone citizens. The ability of Web apps such as Gmail to accept touch gestures suggests that further integration with the iPhone OS is possible, if only Apple will allow it.

The workaround: If you have a computer up and running, you can use a free PC version or Mac version of a program called Growl and a $3 iPhone app called Prowl. The former lets you set up notifications for all kinds of things, including incoming e-mail, and the latter pushes those alerts to your iPhone.

5. Spotlight Search Doesn’t Include Text Messages (griped by andrewsam)

Apple was kind enough to include a search tool in the iPhone’s 3.0 OS, but for some reason the company omitted the ability to look through text messages. This can be a nuisance for heavy texters who need to look up addresses or other details from past conversations.

The bigger problem: Though searching through text messages seems like a no-brainer function, there is no way to do it on the iPhone. Like copy and paste, this feature should exist, but it remains another checkpoint on our list of nuisances.

The workaround: Jailbreak or defect. On the iPhone, a jailbreak app called iSMS will search through your text messages; unfortunately, it got blocked from the App Store–probably because it would replace the iPhone’s built-in texting app. For Android, you can use Search SMS, an app with a self-explanatory name.

4. Safari Is a Greedy King (griped by kill953)

Surprisingly, the App Store allows you to download other Web browsers, even though Safari comes built-in–as long as they’re built with Apple’s open-source WebKit browser engine. Nevertheless, browsers such as iCab Mobile still take a backseat to Safari, since other apps that rely on a Web browser can’t use anything but Safari (the iPhone default browser).

The bigger problem: Apple’s tight control over its operating system is in full view here. Some users want the iPhone to act like a computer, with greater room for customization, including the ability to set a default Web browser.

The workaround: So far, there is no workaround. Got one? Let us know in the comments.

3. Push Notification Delivery Is Too Rigid (griped by s2ggutke)

Apple resisted calls for multitasking on the iPhone, opting instead for push notification–a system that alerts you to happenings in an app when it’s not open. It’s helpful but imperfect, because sometimes you don’t want a big blue message popping up while you’re in the middle of another task. We’d like to be able to change how these are delivered, with options for notifications that drop down from above, for instance.

The bigger problem: This isn’t so much a fault in Apple as a dilemma that the company faces as people demand more from their smartphones. Enabling iPhone users to move push notifications around the screen would appease power users, but it might confuse the masses that Apple is trying to reel in.

The workround: The push notification system is arcane. Since the iPhone is the sole smartphone that even needs such a system, users who consider it a deal-breaker should look to the Palm Pre, which handles multitasking swimmingly.

2. The Home Screen Is a Mess (griped by jessepps and videoflyer)

It’s great that Apple wants its interface to be simple and intuitive; but if you’re an app fanatic, finding what youneed on your iPhone’s multiple home screens can be a daunting task. The cries for a folder system on the iPhone aren’t new, but we never tire of hearing them.

The bigger problem: To keep things simple, Apple must devise a better way to organize iPhone apps. For people who want quick, up-front access to their apps, folders might not be the answer; but what about some sort of filtering mechanism that let you quickly jump to games, music, or productivity tools?

The workaround: You can make do by grouping similar apps on their own page, regardless of how full that page is. Jailbreakers can try a program called Categories, which lets you throw programs into folders. And Apple apostates can turn to Blackberry or Android, both of which fully embrace the folder mentality.

1. iTunes Is Overprotective of Your Password

If someone were to steal your iPhone, the crook could conceivably enjoy an iTunes shopping spree on your dime. For that reason, you must enter your iTunes password before purchasing a download, even if you’ve stepped away from the phone for only a few minutes.

The bigger problem: Security options on the iPhone are inconsistent. Collective freak-outs over SMS attacks notwithstanding, it’s somehow okay to store a goldmine of personal information in e-mail and text messages with no authentication required (and you need a $99-per-year MobileMe subscription to detonate all that data), but iTunes is on lockdown.

The workaround: This is one of those nags for which a solution isn’t worth the time you could spend angrily typing out your password. But that’s why we saved this annoyance for our final point: As Macworld reader robogobo writes, “Complaining on Macworld changes nothing.” We’d love to hear your gripes, but why not send them along to Apple as well?