Short Takes: October 15, 2008
By SD Times News Team
October 15, 2008 —
(Page 1 of 2)
Oracle greens it up
Among the San Francisco conferences, Oracle's has long been the largest and most lavish. With swanky parties, a conference schedule that slots events into every nook and cranny offered by the Moscone Center, and enough attendees to choke every hotel in the city, OpenWorld is its own little world.
This year, Oracle provided bicycle-powered laptop and cell phone chargers, and biodegradable food containers, and it spent a great deal of time bandying about the word “green.” It was an interesting evolution for the company. Overall, I'd say Oracle did a good job of loosening up its image. Conferences in the past had always felt somewhat stodgy and out of touch, but this year's felt down to earth, accessible and friendly.
That could be why I noticed more bloggers and online writers there than in years past. Because, let's face it, in a world where new iPhones and tiny laptops are the most popular blogging topics, it's not exactly sexy to talk about half-ton racks of database servers.
Alex Handy
The iPhone tops the BlackBerry
Google Maps with GPS is outstanding. My iPhone helps me find my way to off-the-wall places in Manhattan that I would otherwise miss while wandering around aimlessly.
The user experience of the iPhone is far better than my BlackBerry was, and I am willing to deal with the phone’s few shortcomings. I particularly like how frequently and easily my applications are updated. Updating an app on my BlackBerry meant a long reboot.
It would be nice to be able to zoom my camera, but that’s really not entirely necessary. The battery needs serious work, however; I am recharging it daily.
David Worthington
Log on, tune in…
Nearly one-fifth of American households that use the Internet watch television broadcasts online, according to research from the Conference Board. The amount is double what it was in 2006.
This is hardly a surprise. I’ve actually gotten into the online TV shows. One of the few television shows I watch with any regularity is ABC’s “Lost,” and when I miss it, I will watch it online. I like the fact that it only has a handful of commercials, but staring at a laptop or PC screen is nowhere near as comfortable as stretching out on the couch in the traditional lazy fashion to watch shows on the big (or bigger) screen.
Related Search Term(s): green computing, mobile development, security, BlackBerry, Google, Oracle, Secure Computing
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