The Evangelist

With all of the modern smartphones and push-email devices on the market now, a device dedicated to just email may seem like what a pager is to a cell phone. That, however, is exactly what the Peek, a device now on sale at Target stores, is.


The Peek is a device specifically designed for mobile email. It is a good example of the classic concept of doing one thing, and doing it well. It operates in the United States using a nationwide GSM network, which will cost you $19.95 a month in addition to the $79.95 for the device itself.

Because it is designed just for email, the device is very slim and light (at just 3.8 ounces). It features a full QWERTY keyboard that promises to be easy to type on. It also has a decently-sized (and high contrast) screen (2.5 in. QVGA at a resolution of 320x240) which makes it easier to read emails. The Peek's website also says that it lasts around 4-5 days under typical usage. While 'typical' is a bit ambiguous, it seems likely that this device will get pretty good battery life.

To give the specifics, the device has a total of 8MB of memory for storing emails and sports a 104MHz ARM7 chipset from TI and an operating system called "Peekux" (no relation to the open-source Linux).

So far, the device has been reviewed favorably, with Time calling it one of the "50 Best Inventions if the Year 2008." I'm not at all surprised; I can't help but like the device myself for its simplicity and reasonable price. While I do a fair deal of instant messaging, I still like to use email for a good deal of my communications.

For more information on the peak, or to purchase a device, you can visit the Peek website at http://www.getpeek.com/.

The Pirate Bay, a popular torrent site that allows users to download material such as music, movies, and more (much of the time illegally, hence the name of the site), has posted a technical proposal for "Transparent end-to-end encryption of the Internets," which they shorten to "IPETEE."

Instead of working on the same level as programs, IPETEE would work on the network level, effectively encrypting all traffic possible on the internet. Therefore, IPETEE would even be able to encrypt applications that don't support encryption some of the time.

This, of course, would help to make sure that local and federal governments can't go snooping into any possible illegal pirating activities, and this is clearly one of the main reasons that The Pirate Bay has begun work on this system. However, IPETEE would also be better for legitimate web traffic. With so many security concerns now, especially over transmissions over wireless networks, especially wireless "hotspots," IPETEE could help make the average user feel more comfortable using the internet, and make it so that businesses and corporations would not have to spend as much making sure that their information remains confidential when sent over the internet.

While this will likely be opposed by governments and corporations with interests in keeping the internet unencrypted, this would be a big step forward. While the entire "Web 2.0" movement is just fine, the new technologies involved have presented numerous security concerns. IPETEE would help bring internet security up to the level of protection users need against a whole new world of "hackers" (script-kiddies) who are exploiting new technologies to collect personal data and make web browsing a possibly painful experience for all but the most experienced power users. And while these hackers will likely try to find a way around IPETEE, through reverse-engineering or other methods, perhaps the people behind IPETEE, including the Pirate Bay, will have a better idea of who they are dealing with then a company such as Microsoft, Apple, or Symantec.

For more information, see the technical proposal at http://www.tfr.org/wiki/index.php?title=Technical_Proposal_(IPETEE).

If you have been wondering why I haven't been posting for a little while, it's because of this post. Since I don't want to bombard you with a million articles relating to the iPhone 3G, I will keep it to one, comprehensive article.

As you probably know, Apple released its new iPhone 3G to the public last friday, touting it as the only phone better than the original iPhone. And then there were the problems. People had problems activating them early Friday due to errors with the activation servers. This meant that those who bought the iPhone 3G early had to activate them using iTunes on their own computers because they could not be activated in Apple and AT&T stores.

Apple has also been blamed for the iPhone 3G being in short supply while thousands of consumers want to get their hands on the new gadget right away.

And then there is the entire argument that the iPhone 3G is not selling as well as the original iPhone and won't in the future. This seems to me like a continuation of the "only Apple fanboys would buy the newer iPod when they already have one" argument, although I stay neutral when it comes to that (it's not worth getting involved).

All in all though, the iPhone 3G is a pretty cool new little device. The 8GB model comes in black, while the 16GB model comes in both black and white. The models sell for $199 and $299, respectively, a definite improvement from the original iPhone.

Of course the iPhone 3G comes with all of the features of the original iPhone such as iPod functionality, phone and SMS capability, an internet browser, and all of those features. However, by Apple's claims the device's connection will be twice as fast. The new iPhone also features GPS capabilities that track your location, adding a hodgepodge of new features, some of which are actually third-party applications.

Speaking of third-party applications, Apple has released iTunes 7.7 with the release of the iPhone 3G. The new version is mostly a minor upgrade. It does, however, add the App Store, where you can find applications for your iPhone. Some of them are even free of charge.

The iPhone 3G also includes push email, calendar, and contacts, making it more ideal for enterprise and business use. If you aren't in it for business, you can get Apple's MobileMe service for $99 a year for an individual or a family pack for $149 a year. The service replaces Apple's .Mac, and offers push email, just as you could get with Microsoft Exhange or another service on the iPhone, except for personal use.

Other new features include support for email attachments (yay) and a scientific calculator.

A software update is available for the original iPhone which adds many of the iPhone 3G's software features without needing to buy a completely new unit. Keep this in mind before getting the iPhone 3G if you already have an iPhone.

Personally I think it will be interesting to see what apps developers churn out for this platform. The possibilities truly do seem endless.