Google Blogoscoped is reporting that Google has begun rolling out Gmail 2.0, the latest and greatest version of its popular Gmail web application. You’ll know if you have access to the new Gmail 2.0 if you see options for “newer version” or “older version” in the upper right-hand corner when logged into your Gmail account.

In terms of the new features and functionality available within Gmail 2.0, the system supposedly runs much quicker, and there is a new, much more detailed “Contacts” section. The new Gmail Contact Manager includes the option to import photos from Picasa Web.

It is worth mentioning that the new features/functionality described above are merely from preliminary reports, and that there may be additional, undiscovered as of yet enhancements included with Gmail 2.0.

Here are some screen shots of the new version of Gmail:

I don’t know that many Americans truly thought FOX News was a fair and balanced news network to begin with, but now a video has emerged featuring former FOX News employees speaking out against some of the tactics used by the network.

The video is a bit long — nearly 10 minutes — but well worth every second of your time. Here it is:

The LA Times is reporting that security officials at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) missed 75% of fake explosives in a series of 70 tests. What makes it further embarrassing is that LAX screeners are given four hours of security training each week, with the final hour concentrating specifically on detecting explosive devices.

To their credit, Nico Melendez, spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), says that the tests were conducted in 2006 and that the data should be considered old. However I can’t imagine that the situation has improved much over the past year. As a frequent business traveler who flies through airports around the country, I must say that LAX does have one of the most expedient security lines, especially given the size of the airport.

If you really think about it, we are lucky that there haven’t been any additional incidents since the horrific attacks on 9/11. I don’t think any American will concede that we’re doing all we can in terms of airport security. That being said, it’s a fine-line between strong security and excessive police-state like security.

In any event, let’s hope the TSA can improve on this figure, for yours, mine and everybody else’s sake. Our lives just might depend on it.

Apple announced today that Mac OS X Leopard, their latest and greatest operating system, will go on sale Friday October 26th at 6:00 P.M. at Apple stores and authorized Apple Resellers. Leopard — Mac OS X version 10.5 — will cost $129 for a single-user license and $199 for a five-user license. However, the standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac from Apple or an Apple Reseller on or after October 1, 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95.

Leopard includes over 300 new features including Stacks, Quick Look, Spaces, Time Machine and more. For a complete rundown of all the new features of Mac OS X Leopard, visit Apple’s new Leopard features site.

It will be nice to finally have Leopard released into the wild — no pun intended — given the 4-month delay in development so that Apple could hit the target iPhone release date. This seems to be just another instance of Apple pushing-the-bar in terms of advancing the technology available in the marketplace, as Leopard brings to the table features never seen before on any operating system. I hate to sound fanboyish, but their products really are amazing.

Let’s end with a little forward-thinking, how about the multi-touch technology of the iPhone and iPod Touch in a future version of Mac OS X with a touchscreen monitor?

As an update to an earlier post in which the exact date was not known, the iPhone will be available in France beginning November 29th exclusively to customers of Orange. It will be sold via Orange’s online and retail stores, and it is unknown whether the Apple’s local online store will be selling iPhones.

The French iPhone will come in an 8GB model for €399 including V.A.T. for any subscription to one of the dedicated rate plans and will work with either a PC or Mac. And as is the case here in the U.S., activiation will require an Internet connection and iTunes store account.

À bientôt iPhone!

Apple Insider and numerous other Mac-related sites are reporting that the iPhone and iPod Touch contain water-damage sensors at the base of their headphone jacks. The sensor is a white disc that will irreversibly change colors when put in contact with water, thereby voiding your warranty from Apple. So do yourself a favor, and keep that iPhone in your pocket when near aquatic environments.

Apple has launched an official directory of iPhone and iPod Touch web applications. The directory, which currently includes over 200 third-party Web-based iPhone/iPod Touch-optimized applications, breaks down into categories such as Games, News, Sports, and Weather. Each application offers a description, developer name, web address, and date of inclusion to the directory.

The iPhone and iPod Touch web applications directory can be found at apple.com/webapps. Those interested in developing their own applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch can read this guide on how to get started.

I for one am very excited about this directory. Although I’ve used a number of the applications included in the current directory, there are many I’ve yet to check out and more will constantly be added.

Now if only they’d let us write non-Web-based applications…

AT&T announced today that it will purchase spectrum licenses from Aloha Partners LP to the sum of $2.5 billion. The move, which looks to enhance AT&T’s spectrum positioning by adding 12 MHz of spectrum at the 700MHz range, will increase AT&T’s ability to provide its customers with voice, data and video services.

In addition to enhancing AT&T’s services, it will also boost coverage, as the 700MHz spectrum covers 196 million people in 281 different markets — including all of the top 10 and 72 of the top 100 markets.

Forrest Miller, group president of Corporate Strategy and Development for AT&T, said that “customer demand for mobile services, including voice, data and video, is continually increasing.” With respect to the spectrum, he added “Aloha’s spectrum will enable AT&T to efficiently meet this growing demand and help our customers stay connected to their worlds.”

The only thing barring a done deal between Aloha and AT&T is government approval, which is expected within six to nine months. If the deal goes through this would likely silence critics of Apple’s iPhone who claim that the AT&T network on which it runs is inferior to others such as Verizon.

So today is a pretty significant milestone in my life, I turned 25 years old. I remember wishing for this day when I was younger, thinking that this would be the last great birthday as it would be the time I could finally rent a car. However, with the emergence of Enterprise onto the rental car scene and some company contracts with rental car companies which bypass the whole “no renting until 25″ thing, much of the aura of becoming a quarter centurian has vanished.

It goes without saying that my life has changed drastically over the course of 25 years, but what strikes me as particularly amazing is how much the world has changed in 25 years. I didn’t intend on writing a post of this nature in the days leading up to today, however now I feel like a bit of reflection is appropriate for the situation.

Back in 1982 — from what I can remember — we used VCRs, had home telephones only, changed ribbons on typewriters, drove 55mph on freeways, had Reagan as President, supported Saddam, thought professional sports had integrity, drove station wagons, watched sitcoms, wore neon colors and incredibly short shorts.

Now, we use HD-DVD or Blu-Ray Discs, have more cell phones than home phones, change computers every few years, drive 65mph on freeways, have Bush as President, executed Saddam, criticize professional sports scandals, drive SUVs and hybrids, watch reality television, wear t-shirts with sayings on them and incredibly baggy shorts.

What I really want to focus on with this post, though, is technology. As I write this I am heading North on highway 95, about 20 miles outside of Washington, D.C., while my girlfriend Carin is driving. 25 years ago this would be impossible. The laptop that I’m writing on, the aircard that gives me Internet, and the blog that stores this information online, none of them existed when I was born.

Today, in just 25 years since my birth, so much has been accomplished from a technological standpoint that it’s quite difficult to grasp everything. The World Wide Web has completely turned our lives around, as now we can do everything from banking, grocery shopping, making travel plans, getting directions and much more right from the seat of our home. Satellite technology has evolved much as well, and now usage in activities such as weather tracking and flight management has enabled us to increase the safety and security of our everyday lives. And of course, the emergence of the personal computer has made nearly every single aspect of life easier and more efficient.

I could go on forever about the technological advancements of the last 25 years, but that is out of scope for this post and I just wanted to make the point that it has evolved more than anyone could have anticipated.

However, with all of the technology success stories it is easy to forget that much of the time technology is used for malicious purposes. For example, to develop increasingly lethal weapons, or to enhance the ability of the government to spy on its citizens. With all of our new technology, the world has seemingly become a much smaller place, and thus the potential for conflict has risen sharply.

Technology has the ability to make human life better than anyone can ever imagine. Conversely, it also has the ability to destroy every single one of us. While I absolutely hope that I will be able to write another post of reflection in another 25 years, I hope more that humanity will not allow technology to be used with harmful intent.

To a more peaceful 25 years,

Jon

Today Verizon announced its official fall lineup, consisting of four new phones: the Juke, Pearl, Venus and Voyager. The final one, the Voyager from LG, is Verizon’s much anticipated response to the overwhelmingly popular Apple iPhone. The Voyager is a clamshell device that sports a full touchscreen on the outside and a second screen on the inside across from a QWERTY keyboard. It has a microSD slot and 2 megapixel camera, as well as VCAST Mobile TV. No word yet on availability or pricing, but speculation is to look for the device around Thanksgiving.

I gotta be honest, despite my iPhone fanboyism, when I first saw this phone I said to myself, “wow, that thing is beautiful.” But after I read a little more about the device and did some pondering, my excitement subsided. For one, I’m not a big fan of clamshell phones. My last clamshell was an old school Motorola Razr. Since then I’ve had a Sidekick (slide/flip), Dash (flat) and now iPhone (flat), so I really can’t see myself going back to a clamshell. Secondly, menu design and layout is clearly a ripoff of the iPhone, which I don’t quite understand. LG is a brilliant and innovative company, and I’m sure they could have come up with their own presentation style just as revolutionary as the iPhone. And finally, a friend of mine sent me a related AP article earlier today in which a Verizon executive said in more words that this was going to kill the iPhone. I could not disagree more with that statement. What some people fail to understand is that apart from people buying the iPhone for its revolutionary features, a significant amount of people bought it just because they are loyal to Apple and it was the latest and greatest Apple gadget. Cell phone companies don’t carry similar fan bases, as usually the sentiment associated with them is negative. Thus, while Verizon will surely sell a number of these due to the undeniable chicness of the phone, it’s not going to sell one million in 74 days like the iPhone.