The new iPhone 3G cannot be activated using iTunes. Consumers must visit an authorized retailer to activate the phone.
In the USA, that means a trip to the Apple Store or an AT&T store, and not to a gray market retailer or an eBay seller.
The jailbreakers will find ways around this new rule, I’m sure.
Of course, Apple hasn’t announced what will happen if an iPhone 3G isn’t activated within 30 days of sale. The serial number is already on a bar code on the package, so Apple would know when and where each iPhone is sold.
There is a loophole for enterprise customers: corporate accounts can activate iPhones without a trip to a retailer. Every mobile telecom carrier offers similar privileges to their large corporate customers.
Apple has unveiled the iPhone 3G, which I had been calling iPhone 2.0.
The new iPhone will support 3G data connections, which should provide faster service when users cannot access a WiFi network. Om Malik thinks that some carriers, including AT&T, may not be ready, which I find hard to believe.
11 July 2008 is the first day of sale in the US and several other countries, with availability in 70 countries by 2009.
The new iPhone is slightly thinner, so it should fit inside current cases and accessories.
The back of the phone is black plastic. Bye-bye, aluminum metal back.
The headphone jack is no longer recessed, so almost any standard headphone should work.
The US price has been lowered to $199 for 8GB, $299 for 16GB of RAM. There must be some factories in China that are humming with activity this summer.
Enterprises will be apple to authorize iPhones and to write enterprise applications that are restricted to company phones.
The iPhone 3G will work with Microsoft Exchange 2003 and 2007 servers.
The .mac email and file sharing service has been renamed to MobileMe, and given better compatibility with Windows machines
Steve Jobs claims the iPhone 3G will have decent battery life, with 300 hours of standby time, 10 hours of 2G voice, 5 hours of 3G voice, and about 6 hours of web browsing.
CIOs and IT managers tend to focus on preserving data. But what happens when companies need to destroy data?
It’s easy to shred paper data, but destroying digital files may require more tools than a sledge hammer and a blowtorch.
For many companies, data removal or sanitizing is a bigger concern. Hard drives are expensive, and sometimes removing the data from a drive is a better choice.
Many people have asked me how they can erase data from their hard drive or USB device, so that they can sell or give the device to someone else.
Formatting the device won’t do the job, at least with the default settings. Erasing the file using the standard tools in the Windows and Mac operating systems usually leaves behind some or all of the files.
Mac OS has a “secure empty trash” command that will overwrite files, as described in these articles from MacGeekery and MacObserver.
Blancco provides enterprise tools to help companies destroy and remove digital data. This chart from DataErasure.com, a Blannco marketing web site, lists some Federal fines and penalties that are related to data privacy and disclosure.
This video from DataCenter.tv is a bit long, but it’s got some good information about Blancco’s business model.
Image provided by JcMaco under a Creative Commons license.
Here’s another example of a web-based application suite for enterprises: Google has announced a new version of Salesforce for Google Apps.
Salesforce is a sales management suite that lets companies manage customer lists, related email and other sales-related information.
Connecting Gmail’s enterprise edition and the Google Calendar to Salesforce helps companies keep control of sales information. Data from other Google Apps, including spreadsheets and presentations, can be connected via Salesforce and stored in Google’s servers, not on vulnerable mobile computers.
I wonder how long it will take Microsoft, Oracle, ACT and other competitors to respond.
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