I saw an interesting article over at Apple Insider that said that some of the movie studios were considering an iTunes release for all of the Oscar Best Picture nominated movies this year. Honestly, I really like this idea.  It’s the best I’ve heard in a while.  Here’s why.

I love things like Netflix.  Being able to get the movies I like anywhere I want is really cool. I can sit in the family room with my family and they can watch whatever they want on the big screen TV (except when my Steelers play football!!).  I can grab my iPad, my MacBook (or any other Netflix compatible computing device), plug in a set of headphones and watch MY stuff whenever I want.  I’m still "with" the fam, even though we’re watching different programming. 

Is iTunes the digital media answer?

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Getting ready for work today, I’m very amused by this comic found on p. 6 of the January 24, 2011 edition of ComputerWorld.  Talking with some co-workers, many are ready to jump ship from AT&T.  Verizon, which has an excellent network should be ready for the influx of traffic.   Learning from all of AT&T’s mistakes should and deploying later should help for a very successful launch.    Verizon launches its iPhone on February 10 with preorders for existing Verizon customers starting on February 3.  But if you are planning to make that switch so you can get a rate of $30 a month for unlimited data, you better do it soon as according to NetworkWorld:

Verizon’s McAdam said that the $30 unlimited data plan for the iPhone 4 would be a temporary offer, and that the company would, like its rival AT&T, shift to a more granular tiered pricing model soon.

"This is part of the play by Verizon to get customers to move to the iPhone quickly, and to give AT&T customers a reason to jump ship," Gold said. "It’s not a bad move."

Many believe that Verizon will raise the price of the unlimited data plan to $120 a month.  Current Verizon rates are $15/month for 150MB and $30 for unlimited data with voice plans of $40 for 450 minutes and $69.99 for unlimited minutes.  Couple an iPhone with a service like Line2 for $10 a month or some other VoIP alternative and TextFree for unlimited texts and you have a potential winner – (Line2 I have not tried with a cellular network only my local WiFi but the results are mixed).  So for a potential $80 a month with a VoIP solution or $100 a month for unlimited data and voice (and with TextFree add unlimited texts)!  This deal seems perfect for the IT professional especially with the mobile hotspot where you can get internet linked out (hopefully without further charges from Verizon for tethering but extremely unlikely as they charge for Droid tethering at an extreme rate) to a machine when a client location doesn’t have internet yet.

I’m seriously considering getting an iPhone.  Right now I’m relying on my iPod Touch for everything such as banking deposits, VoIP, credit card processing, texting, Google Maps (load maps first and then leave WiFi area),  contacts, and scheduling.  With Verizon’s deal, I may just be enticed enough to switch carriers and go with an actual iPhone rather than my iPod Touch 4g.

I saw this cool article over at Computerworld by Sharon Gaudin on Google’s parting gift to Eric Schmidt – $100M in stock and options, vested over four years.

Wow!  That’s one heck of a thank you card. I’d definitely say, "you’re welcome!"

The article goes on to state that the management change is likely due to an agreement that Larry Page and Sergey Brin had with Schmidt – You run the company while we gain business experience, then one of us will take over. Larry Page obviously thinks that now is the time.

What to the changes at Google mean..?

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When Steve Jobs took his first medical leave of absence, the entire world held their breath for six months.  Would the company survive?  What implications would his absence have on the company’s product pipeline?  What would the industry say?  What would the industry do?  (and the million dollar question…) How would Wall Street react?

Now that Steve is going out again, this time, with no announced return date, the world is again holding their breath, asking all of the above questions, and EVERYONE seems to be waiting to see what Wall Street is going to do, say, and most importantly, who is gonna wet their pants first and pull out. Everyone seems to be sitting on pins and needles waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the stock to crash.  All I have to say to all of this is –

Will Steve’s cancer take a bite out of Apple?

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It is fascinating to see why people pirate software.  ZDNet had an article about just why younger people tend to pirate stuff.  Reasons include financial, the thrill, and just because it’s out there.  The article goes on to talk about how many legal options are not as readily available or is not consistent enough to access.  For example, a game is launched in Japan first, but users in the U.S.A. want to play too…as it’s not legally available, they’ll make there way to obtain it via illegal means.  Malware whether we like it or not is coming heavily towards Mac users.  Read on past the jump to find out why!

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