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Prices for period 20th November to 5pm Thursday 27th November have been uploaded. 
Google fixes world's most stupid bug
Android demonstrates inability to conquer world
Posted in Mobile, 10th November 2008 16:42 GMT
By Bill Ray
Google has issued a fix to the G1 handset, to stop it executing commands just because they appear in an entered text message - preventing punters from rebooting the handset just by typing the word "reboot".
The bug can hardly be called a security problem, given it requires access to the handset, but the fact that until the fix was issued today any G1 user typing a text message containing the word "reboot" would see their phone resetting is truly stunning, and it reflects badly on the quality control and testing of the Android platform.
Of course, not many messages contain the word "reboot" - though probably more than contain the word "cancer", which also appears in the T9 dictionary, and at least one G1 user discovered that the proclivities of the handset could drive you to use the word in a text message. It's hard to imagine the circumstances under which one would want to send a message containing "rm -r", but stranger things have happened.
To its credit Google has already got a fix out, though it seems some related issues still exist, but such a stupid flaw should never have made it into a released product - perhaps Google is taking the idea of the perpetual beta a little too far.
SMBs split on tech spending plans
IT glass half empty, half full
Posted in Small Biz, 12th November 2008 17:52 GMT
By Timothy Prickett Morgan
Just as The Meltdown was ramping up to full swing back in September, the Computing Technology Industry Association thought it was a good time to bug small and medium businesses in the US, Canada, and the UK about their businesses' prospects and their IT spending plans in the next twelve months.
The news from CompTIA is not as bad as you might expect. Then again, this was September and things look a little less rosy now in the middle of November. The financial bailout hangover has not set in yet, and some of us hoping for a more reasonable US now that Barack Obama has been elected President are still a little high from the euphoria of the election. Reality is starting to settle in. And that might mean IT shops asked the same questions today as they were back in September by CompTIA might answer differently - perhaps a lot differently.
CompTIA surveyed 772 small and medium businesses (companies with between 10 and 999 employees) in those three countries, and 85 per cent of those surveyed said they plan to hire new employees (not just in IT) in the next twelve months. Given the 6.5 per cent employment rate, which is anticipated to rise to 8 per cent or higher in the US, this is comforting if it turns out to be true for 2009.
Some 54 per cent of those polled said they expected to have revenue growth of at least 10 per cent over the next year and 40 per cent said they would add new locations. While this sounds like good news, CompTIA did not reveal how many companies were expected to cut employees, experience revenue declines, close locations, or at least put a freeze on new locations.
On the IT spending front, the news is mixed. Across all industries in the three geographies polled, 51 per cent of SMBs said they would be increasing their IT spending in the next twelve months, while 49 per cent said they expected it to be flat or down. That represents a cooling of IT spending. In last year's survey, looking ahead into 2008, 62 per cent of SMBs in these three countries said they expected to increase spending on IT, while 38 said they expected flat or declining budgets. Without knowing the magnitude of the spending, it is hard (alright, impossible) to gauge from these statement if there is a net increase or decrease in IT spending expected in 2008 or 2009.
"Small andmid-sized businesses have made significant investments in technology over the past dozen years," explained Todd Thibodeaux, president and chief executive officer of CompTIA in a statement accompanying these figures. "In the past, tech spending might have been one of the first line items slashed in a tough economy. Today, SMBs are savvier because they rely on technology for an increasing amount of their core business operations. It's encouraging to see that the majority of SMBs plan to maintain, if not increase, current tech spending during this time of economic uncertainty."
We'll see.
Google 'Voice Search' hands-on verdict: Awesome
November 17, 2008 7:49 PM PST
Posted by Rafe Needleman
The new voice-activated Google Mobile app for the iPhone is finally here. Whatever the reason for the delay, it was worth the wait. As we wrote last week, the search app knows when you bring the phone to your face to speak into it. It beeps, you talk, and it executes a Google search on what you said. (If you're using a headset, you have to press a button. You can type in your queries, too, if you want.)
It is freakishly accurate. It's not perfect, but it's extremely good. Good enough to be used frequently, I'd say, although this review is based on only 15 minutes of experimentation.
I searched for names of people I knew, businesses nearby, airline information, and other miscellaneous data. The service bungled one nearby restaurant, but got everything else right. It uses the phone's location data to narrow down results. Try searching for "sushi" and you'll get your closest sushi restaurants at the top of your search results.
The Google Mobile app gives you its answers in text, which makes for a very quick experience. If your result returns phone numbers, you can dial the phone by clicking on one. But if you're driving in your car and need a quick connection, use Goog411 instead, which is a full voice-in, voice-out experience.
As others have noted, Google Mobile doesn't let you do voice dialing from your own contact list. It's frustrating to be able to search the entire Web with your voice but not be able to search your own phone. But it's still a useful and very cool little service.
To get the app, go to this link or visit the iTunes Application Store and search for "Google Mobile App." As I write this, the description for the page is old, but the app you get is the new one.
Office Web Apps won't work offline
November 17, 2008 3:26 PM PST
Posted by Ina Fried
SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft's forthcoming Office Web Applications will allow users to create and edit spreadhseets, presentations and Word documents through a browser--but only so long as there is an active Internet connection.
In an interview Monday, Microsoft senior vice president Chris Capossela said that, at least initially, the browser based versions of Excel, Word and PowerPoint won't have an offline mode.
"In the first generation we are certainly looking at having them be connected," he said. "For offline usage of course the Office suite is incredibly powerful."
Google has been working to add an offline ability to Google Docs, while Zoho was even earlier to add the ability to work within a browser while offline.
Capossela's comments came following the launch of Microsoft Online, the company's hosted versions of Exchange and Sharepoint.
Microsoft confirmed at last month's Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles that it was bringing to market browser-based versions of its Office applications. The company has said that a technology preview version should be available still this year.
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