Software developers round the globe are probably sitting on cloud nine right now.  How many of them?  Somewhere in the ballpark of 100,000 according to my sources, as Apple iPhone’s new SDK development kit has been officially downloaded over 100,000 times since its release last week.  Wow.

Following in the same basic idea Facebook of letting all of you develop your own applications, Apple hopes that a whole slew of new, exciting, handy and helpful little apps start making their way around the planet.  Knowing it’s popularity, I don’t see how it won’t happen.

So, we know it’s good for a few reasons, but the bad news is, and this is very bad for a lot of reasons, there is also quite a few things that are “crippling” this SDK.  According to the article I just read,

“Third-party applications can’t run in the background which means they can’t multitask. Apple written application can run in the background. ‘The Apple SDK, as many have come to find, has arguably crippled much of the functionality that set the iPhone apart when first released. Even simple features like the ability to run a program in the background have been crippled in the Apple SDK…’ “

Bottom line is, there are some tweaks that need-a-tweakin’ if this thing is going to appease the masses.  They made some pretty drastic changes after the initial launch, don’t be surprised if they do it again.

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College students and young business professionals around the world…get ready to spend even MORE time Not doing your work.  That’s right, one of the world’s most up-and-coming companies is now coming to another platform that will make it even More up-and-coming, and have even More people spending even More time on it.  Facebook, my friends, is coming to BlackBerry.

You hear right, the ever-so-helpful and time consuming social networking site is now going to be accessible on your very own BlackBerry.  According to new reports,

“BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) has launched Facebook software designed especially for its smartphones to make it easier for users to browse the popular social networking Web site. T-Mobile has been chosen as the first carrier to provide the new software to its customers. The application leverages the push-based BlackBerry system architecture and Facebook Platform to create a unique mobile experience for Facebook users.” 

Hold onto your hats mobile warriors because your social networking life just got a whole lot more mobile.  All you BlackBerry users are going to be reaping the benefits of Facebook, everywhere you roam.  Enjoy…now try to get something done.

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What do you get when you merge a ridiculously hot and popular wireless platform with a ridiculously hot and insanely NOW phenomenon like social networking?  Yeah, a pretty darn sweet merger, that’s what.

Basically what we’re talking about is taking the ease, comfort and convenience of personal data transfer in the social networking world (think how easy it is to flirt, open lines of communication, or even profess your undying love for someone on Facebook or MySpace, the fear of rejection is just not there!) and manifesting it in the actual physical world.  Say what?

That’s right, according to the article at TechCrunch:

“UK based First Move is a dating site where you create a private profile then buy black or pink credit-card sized cards that have your First Move user code on them, costing about £1 each. When you see someone that takes your fancy you hand over the card with your anonymised profile on it, they view your profile and contact you. “You Caught My Eye!” is printed on the back of each card.”

Wow, smooth.  The fact is, the idea is catching resistance from various sides, stating that if people have the courage to slide them the pink card, they’d have the courage to talk to them, but this is not always the case.  I guess time will tell…well, time, and the success rate of lonely computer guys across the planet.

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Attention everyone sitting inside a Starbucks/Library/Gas Station/Motel Lobby/Airport…If you’re on Wi-Fi, you’re taking a much bigger risk than before, and your data might not be as safe as you once believed.

You heard me right, but before you get all up in a panic, chill out and let me explain a few things first.   According to the article I just read, this new security risk was highlighted quite effectively at the Black Hat hacker conference.  Basically, the attacks use cookies, which are generally less protected, and that, in turn,  “gives attackers access to mail messages or the page someone maintains on sites such as MySpace or Facebook.  While this sounds terrible, which it is, there IS some good news.

The good news is, webmail clients like GMail let you, if you so desire, encrypt your data that is sent back and forth, thereby rendering a cookie theft (man that feels funny saying that) useless.   More good news is that really great hackers are onto this, and have now alerted makers of various computer software programs of the vulnerability.  Hopefully, with enough warning some major attack, or new style of data-theft can be successfully thwarted.

Cross your fingers, and keep those passwords fresh friends!

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