I'm sure that iPhone 3G users would have heard of the persisting network problems users have been experiencing. Perhaps you may even be one of them. I even heard of one woman who sued Apple for false advertising over the speed of the iPhone 3G's connection.

A new independent research says that it doesn't have anything to do with the device's hardware at all - the problem lies with the carrier networks. More in the full article.

You guys might not be able to purchase your very own Microsoft Surface, but you can definitely get to experience it in a few weeks time. AT&T has just announced that they will be utilizing this particular display technology in retails stores in order to enhance mobile shopping experience. Find out the details in the full article.

Glu Mobile has recently announced at the ongoing Game Developers Conference in San Francisco its plans to release three games to Nokia's N-Gage platform.

Wondering what sort of titles the publisher is planning to offer up? Visit the full article for details on each!

Being a driver entails a lot of responsibility, not only for your own safety and your passenger's, but to other drivers and pedestrians as well. That's why we have this strong advocacy against getting behind the wheel when you've had something to drink, and if you are too tired and sleepy. Bottom line is, we want to avoid any untoward accidents that may cost you your life and others'.

Senator Carole Migden is one of those who firmly adhere to this, hence she voted for the ban of use of mobile phones that do not come with a hands-free device while driving. But irony sure has a funny way of showing up at your door. While driving, the San Francisco Democrat reportedly rear-ended a woman as she was reaching for her ringing cellphone last week. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt or injured.

According to recent studies on cell phone use among drivers conducted by David L. Strayer and Frank A. Drews of the University of Utah, it's not the gadget itself that distracts the drivers or is the one causing the accident. Rather, it is the conversation that results to an "inattention blindness" that leads to this unfortunate event. Having a normal conversation with a passenger while driving, on the other hand, still allows drivers to pay attention to their driving environment.

So to remind you all out there, it is understandable that there really are some instances when you would have to answer the call. But of course, while you believe and trust in your multitasking skills, it still wouldn't hurt to follow the safety recommendations provided by the AAA. It is for your own good.

• Recognize that driving requires your full attention.

• Before you get into the car, become familiar with the phone's features.

• Use the phone only when absolutely necessary.

• Use the phone only when and where it's safe to do so.

• Ask a passenger to place the call for you and do the talking.

• Keep the call short.

• Tell the person at the other end that you're driving.

• Get off the phone as soon as possible - especially in traffic or bad weather.

• Don't combine a phone conversation with other distractions.

• Secure your phone so it doesn't become a projectile in a crash.

Remember, safety first.

It's only been mere hours since Game Developers Conference 2007 opened its doors and yet news of next year's event are already circulating in, how do you say it, teh intarwebz. It's been a real crazy day here at the QJ quarters, what with all the GDC updates pouring in (in torrents, if I might add). Personally, I'd just like to deal with the ongoing GDC first, but just so you guys are way ahead of everybody else, we'll share with you the details we scored on next year's GDC.

According to DevelopMag, show organiser CMP has already confirmed this early on the dates and venues for GDC 2008. If things go as planned, the Game Developers Conference 2008 will take place on February 18-22, and will be held once again at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's shift the focus back to this year's event. GDC Mobile,the Serious Games Summit, Casual Games Summit and Independent Game Festival are the front acts for GDC 2007, with the main conference and expo scheduled to hit the stage on Wednesday. That said, allow this writer to sneak out and get back to insane GDC news reporting. Stay tuned for more.

The Windigo is dead. No, not the mythological creature, but Intel's 3G HSDPA module (codenamed "Windigo"). APC reports that the module, which was being developed by Intel alongside Finnish mobile giant Nokia, has been axed due mainly to - you guessed it - money matters.

"We have, together with Intel, cancelled the HSDPA module cooperation in the form we formerly announced," said Nokia spokeswoman Eija-Riitta Huovinen. As for Intel's side, spokeswoman Connie Brown said, "After doing further analysis, we decided it wasn't a good enough ROI to bring that product to the notebook market now."

Brown noted, however, that the removal of HSDPA "doesn't change the value proposition of Santa Rosa at all" and that they will "continue to look into embedding 3G capability at some time." "Santa Rosa" is the codename for Intel's upcoming Centrino platform, which is expected to roll out around April or May of this year.

The 3GHSDPA module was first announced at Intel's IDF/Fall gabfest in San Francisco in late September last year. It was a 3G mini-card module supplied by Nokia and intended to be an OEM option for Santa Rosa notebooks. It would have provided users with immediate city-wide and roaming-friendly wireless broadband to complement local 11n wi-fi networks under Santa Rosa's support for the Draft N spec.

IBM, together with the Macronix and Qimonda research team, has demonstrated a device that claims to be the "Flash-killer." Why? Apparently, the prototype storage device is 500 times faster than Flash and uses less than half the power of Flash memory and can be built in super thin form factors.

The prototype would be showing what its got on the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineer's (IEEE) conference in San Francisco which happens this week. For those techies who want details, the IBM thingamajig uses a new Germanium-Antimony semi-conductor alloy in a device with a 3nm by 20nm cross section.

In layman's terms - it is smaller than today's flash and it is something that would take ages to perfect. Aside from that, the 500 time faster than flash memory is also blessed with a less than one-half the power consumption. Commercial availability - 2015

The IBM-Macronix-Qimonda project isn't the only one trying to do this. Samsung is also developing their very own phase-change RAM (PRAM) which is 30 times faster than flash and is targetted for a 2008 release. Intel and ST Microelectronics are doing the same thing and Elpida is targetting for a 2010 start of commercial PRAM production.

AC Transit is about to roll out a free Wi-Fi scheme on all buses travelling within the San Francisco bay area, becoming the first public bus system in Northern California, and one in a handful that offer a free Bus-Fi system. It is predicted that free internet access via public buses will encourage more people to use public transport, as Aram Boyd, senior marketing representative for AC Transit said "folks will be able to surf to work and back."

So when can you expect this free Wi-Fi to start? Testing is scheduled to begin as early as next week, with the goal to have a full Bus-Fi service running by mid-fall, Boyd said. A few local transit agencies either already provide Wi-Fi service or are planning for it, including Caltrain, the Altamont Commuter Express and some ferries. It is already available on public buses in Seattle, Riverside in Southern California, Cincinnati, Tampa and Cedar Rapids. The above logo may coming to a bus near you this fall.

It sure pays to prove you're not just all talk, especially when trying to bid for something. This is what PalmSource seems to know rather well, as it surges ahead its competitors for a robust mobile device Linux platform.

TrollTech of Norway and a la Mobile also have made announcements about upcoming reference handsets for developers or new Linux phone platforms, but it was PalmSource alone who was present at LinuxWorld in San Francisco to show off their new operating system on real handsets. Duly noted as well was the fact that they were the only one to give developers a full day hands-on tutorials in which they built and debugged native applications for mobile Linux.

PalmSource reports that it is meeting its schedule on its year-end deadline for delivery to licenses. In the presentation, PalmSource delivered a tastefully themed launcher not only from the Palm OS Garnet and native GTK applications, but also applications written against PalmSource's new MAX framework. MAX is "Mobile Application eXperience".

A developer tool suite is now available, based on the popular Eclipse platform. Typical target devices for the OS are "QVGA (240 X 320) screen resolution, a standard phone keypad, and preferably a touchscreen". Also included are multitasking and similar PIM applications.

At the recent LinuxWorld Conference and Expo held in San Francisco last August 13th, officials of PalmSource Inc. have announced that they will be releasing a brand new software library known as "libsqlfs" under a Lesser General Public License or LGPL.

Originally built for the ACCESS Linux Platform, libsqlfs will be an add-on to the popular SQLite package, a space-saving database management system which stores an entire database as a single standard file on the host machine, instead of having lots of smaller separate files.

The libsqlfs software, with its nearly-impossible to pronounce name, was designed "to provide a more flexible and convenient way to implement an Open Mobile Alliance-Device Management (OMA-DM) compliant registry."

The libsqlfs library, developed by PalmSource, also provides an easy way for applications to put an entire read/write file system into a database as a single file in the host file system. This means that such a file system can easily be moved around, backed up or restored as a single file. In addition, the file system in a single database file can be more space efficient than many small individual files.

The libsqlfs software library is now available for download.

Download: [libsqlfs software library]