MacBook Air; Wow. Just Wow.

It's thin. Very thin, and quite fast, possibly very fast (a quick play in the Regent Street store isn't a good test but there was no obvious difference between the operation of the Air and the Pro). It switches off and on pretty much instantly (by the time the screen is open it is lit and ready for use) so you'll be up and running as soon as you get it out of your bag and it's ridiculously light. The screen is pretty good, the keyboard is physically present (unlike the iPad) and it looks fantastic.

Downsides? It's not cheap at £849, and 64Gb storage isn't going to be enough for the MacBook Air to be a primary machine (try storing your movies, photos and music in such a small space). For power users the screen is too small, the processor too slow (editing movies is probably a no-no) and the lack of an optical disc drive could be an issue.

Would I buy one? I think the answer is a definite "Yes, if I didn't already have an iPad". As it is I'll probably wait for the new MacBook Pros (a refresh is due any week now if Apple stick to their normal MBP upgrade cycle) before making a decision.

iPhone Feature Request: Wifi Dumping

Not the best title but all I could come up with this early in the
morning. The problem is that the iPhone will try to connect to any
wifi hotspot through which it passes, which is fine as long as it
succeeds but far too often the hotspot doesn't allow the connection.
When this happens it can take ages for the phone to realise and revert
to 3G which prevents data downloads and interrupts whatever it was you
were trying to do.

This problem is particularly apparent when you at in an area with lots
of hotspots or when you're moving around a lot. I notice it when I'm
on the bus in South London - there's a lot of wifi coverage but most
of it isn't open for casual use.

The answer, I think, is for these random hotspots to be presumed
closed until they deliver data, at which point 3G download can end.
Until then the 3G service should be used so that data availability is
maximised.

Researchers Claim Some Android Apps Covertly Send GPS Data to Advertisers

Do you really want an Android phone if the apps can send private data to unknown third-parties without your knowledge? It would worry me...

http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2010/09/some-android-apps-found-to-covertly-send-gps-data-to-advertisers.ars