I was going to talk about something else, anything else but the iPhone this week. That was naive of me. The iPhone mania is overwhelmingly ubiquitous here in the states. How big is the iPhone news? Paris Hilton got out of jail this morning and nobody cared. They'll catch up on Friday, when they can see footage of her release on YouTube. On their iPhone. If Paris wants some press this week, she's going to have to do more than just walk out of jail. She's going to need to turn in her Sidekick for an iPhone.

There are other things happening in the world of hi-tech right now that are being overshadowed. Shakeup at Yahoo! Google vs. Yahoo! to see who can be greener. Yahoo! + MySpace. Palm layoffs. Bill Gates is in Peru for the Festival of the Sun.

Oh, and somebody at Apple just said something about iPhone. Yes, Apple knows a little something about how to hype a product. YouTube on iPhone! Ooh, aah! Word and Excel docs on iPhone, wheee! Price plans are out, cha-ching!

My favorite news from the iPhone slow bleed of information leading up to Friday's release is that you don't have to sit around an AT&T or Apple store to pick your plan, etc. You go in, you buy your phone, you leave. When you get home, you plug your iPhone in to your computer, fire up iTunes and figure out which plan works for you. I love it from a logistics perspective, a UI perspective, and most of all from an I don't want to wait around while a clerk tries to help me figure out how much I should or shouldn't be SMSing. Order one online and have it delivered to you, then figure out your plan. Want to add SMS minutes? No need to go back to the store or figure out what your password for AT&T.com. Or is it att.com. Just open iTunes and go from there.

Really, I can't contain my glee over how smart this is, and it will be glossed over with all the other iPhone related hubub. There are people lined up already in New York, waiting to buy one. When was the last time somebody lined up five days ahead of time for a phone? People line up for Star Wars movies and concert tickets, not phones.

So maybe next week we'll talk about something other than the iPhone. By then, maybe Paris will be back in jail. And we can watch it on YouTube. On our iPhones. Maybe instead we'll turn our attentions to more worthwhile topics, like addressing Jim Fruchterman and Gregg Vanderheiden's four key pieces to delivering technological capabilities to everyone:

1. Cheap & powerful cell phones and computers. The iPhone is powerful, but cheap?
   
2. Access to broadband connectivity.
   
3. Accessibility and usability. We need to make sure that everyone can use the cool new tools that are out there. While we love AJAX interfaces that make things like Google Maps possible, there's a growing awareness of the need to improve access to these interfaces for those with disabilities.
4. Relevant content and applications. We'll take care of the content end of things here on Social Edge.

Last week's WWDC was a bit overwhelming. A lot of the content was way over my head, most was comfortably comprehensible and some of it was even pedestrian, which made me feel good after trying to digest the rationale for migrating from Carbon to Cocoa application. And the constant reminder that everything revealed in the sessions was being presented under strict non-disclosure rules was a bit intimidating too. And of course there were the people lining up to see Global X:


Let me tell you, were they ever disappointed when they found out that they were waiting to hear from some guy named Jobs instead of X. Live and learn. (I wasn't the only guy who thought the goldenrod shirts with black pants and shoes made the Apple staffers look like Star Trek extras. And then the next day, they switched out the goldenrod for red. "Number one... Engage!"

So there are so many things I'd love to tell you about, were it not for that pesky NDA...

The most interesting things Apple announced (to me at least) had nothing to do with the iPhone, however. Not even with the very slick new Leopard OS client version. They saved the best info for the little touted Mac OS X Leopard Server. If you are looking for a low-cost, low-maintenance, in-house server, I would seriously recommend checking this out. I've dealt with Exchange servers, Lotus servers, file servers, VPN's, and the likes for years and I've always cast a glance towards Apple to see if they would put out a solution that would ease my myriad headaches. Alas, there were always holes in their server platform that were difficult to overcome. The lack of a calendar server, just as a small example.

With Leopard Server, it looks like they've filled in the gaps and thrown in a lot of extra goodies that will become essential as well:

• iCal Server, which integrates with Outlook if you or your office are so inclined
  
• Mail services with SPAM/virus protection, Listserve and web access
  
• Apache based web hosting, with PHP, MySQL, Tomcat, JBoss, SOAP/WSDL support and enough other open source technologies to make any  web geek smile
•  An elegant and integrated Wiki solution
• PodCast Producer, the application that I didn't know I needed until I saw it. I'm worried that Apple is going to undersell this app. They need to streamline this and include it with every copy of the Mac OS.
  
• Directory services - again, seemingly not such a big deal, but it's the integration that makes this key
• iChat Server - makes IM as essential as email, and allows you to do screen sharing, document sharing and so much more.

If I were a start-up looking for cost-effective web communications tools and services, (which is to say if I were a start-up,) this is where I would start. If you're looking to migrate from Google Mail, Blogger, AIM and WetPaint to your own in-house apps while limiting costs and IT consultants' billable hours, this will do the trick. If you're looking at a more robust and extensible set of solutions, this gives you a good foundation to build on too.

As for the client version, well, I'm liking it a lot so far. Some bugs, as you would expect with a Developer's release, but the UI enhancements alone are worth the price of admission. No, not the 3-D dock, Coverflow in the finder or even being able to turn yourself into a holographic Jedi in iChat. They have done the hardest thing possible in UI design, which is to be deliberately consistent throughout the UI.

Although I do love playing at being a Sith Lord. Luke, I am your father...

Apple's 2007 World Wide Developers' Conference started yesterday with Steve Jobs' keynote speech that introduced new features of Leopard, the upcoming version of Mac OS X as well as the release of Apple's web browser, Safari, to Windows XP and Vista. All attendees received an advanced 'feature complete' version of the new OS, along with a copy of the server version. I haven't upgraded my MacBook yet, but plan to do so between now and next Tuesday, so if you're interested in a rundown on the install and initial impressions, I'll try and blog about it as soon as possible. I'll also blog about anything noteworthy that I garner from the sessions, though there are signs about some of the presentations being of a non-disclosure nature. Maybe I'll just have to wait until October to fill you in.

While standing in line to hear the keynote, the gentlemen in front of me were discussing the One Laptop Per Child project, including the feasibility of something like the iPhone working in that space, with modifications to bring down the cost. I think that the 3.5" screen is not nearly sufficient, but the underlying technology could be adapted and will be eventually - but the iPhone and other portable devices could learn a few things from the OLPC too. Being 100% recyclable, for one. Apple may be greener, but the whole industry can do better.

The first day was really focused on the upcoming OS, and the changes that they've made to improve it. There were ten that were focused on in the keynote. Let's see how many I remember:
1. Desktop update
2. Finder update
3. QuickLook
4. 64 bit
5. Back to my Mac
6. Spaces
7. Time Machine
8. iChat update
9. Core Animation
10.

Okay, 9 out of 10 is pretty good for the day after. A lot of this is really geeky stuff, and not that relevant to most users, except for what they get out of the changes. Okay, being able to turn yourself into a Jedi hologram in iChat is fun for everyone, but how many of us really know what the difference between a 64 bit and 32 bit OS are? It's faster. The desktop and finder are prettier, but... why does this matter?

The changes that Apple is making are foundational and extend throughout the OS. They have made the changes available to the developers of 3rd party apps so that they can be incorporated everywhere. Something like Coverflow is fun in iTunes, but when extended to the Finder is a bit more interesting and useful. Extending it to any app that wants to take advantage of it? That's leverage. QuickLook is useful when applied against a few key document types, but the ability to leverage it in any app? This is what Apple does best. They make innovations in the OS and then make those innovations available to everything that runs on the OS.

It works with technology, but it works really for any information system where people and/or systems interact and exchange data. If you own the data and control the method of exchanging data and you are unable or unwilling to share your method with others, you may be missing out on an important way of leveraging your assets. In the tech world companies release API's that detail to other organizations and individuals how to access their data, products and toolsets. Standards for data interchange are agreed upon by the community and published so that everyone can play by the same rules and benefit collectively from increased efficiencies.

How does this work in the real world? Wherever people and organizations interact, there are opportunities to leverage that interaction and extend the methods of interaction to others in a mutually beneficial way. If you have methods of interacting with customers, suppliers, etc. that work for you, share them with the community, perhaps via a community web site for social entrepreneurs? I'm all for the power of one to change the world, but I think the power of community can do the job a whole lot faster and comprehensively.

Last week, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates took the stage together at the Wall Street Journal's All Things D conference, and what resulted was a nice look back at their history together. Not quite a lovefest, but no PC vs. Mac commercial smackdown either. An interesting interview from a historical perspective at least. Those wanting to look forward needed to watch the product announcements from both companies, along with one from Palm, to get a glimpse of what's next. Even if the announcements were more yawn than glee for the geek-inclined.

Microsoft announced the most ambitious tech product with their Surface line of tabletop PC's for commercial purposes. Great technology, but we've seen the demos from Jeff Hahn that showed us the promise of what this technology would be capable of once we - pun intended - got our hands on it. The Microsoft implementation shows us what T-Mobile and other large pocket companies will be able to do with it. I'm sure the world really does need an easier way to compare cell phones or order dessert, but until I can edit photos and go through my email on it this announcement doesn't really mean anything to me. Fabulous technology, can't wait until somebody let's the rest of us play with it.

Palm introduced the Foleo, a SmartPhone companion piece. Even without its obvious shortcomings, I'm not really sure what the point is. Yes, it's hard to type on the Treo - why bring attention to it? I wanted to like it, but... that same $500 will net me an iPhone. Which one would you buy? Yeah, me too.

Apple introduced YouTube integration with AppleTV, and a bigger hard drive in it too. They also added iTunes Plus capability to their music store along with Paul McCartney's back catalog. This week they've already announced a release date for the iPhone, and an update to the MacBook Pro line. I'm as excited as can be about the mercury free LED screens in the 15" MacBook Pro, and I can't wait to see Apple fulfill Job's promise of an all LED line of laptops and monitors, but Steve seems to just be clearing his palate ahead of next week's World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC). I'll be there cramming my head full of all the new technologies and will report back anything that is relevant to the rest of us.

I was feeling a little disheartened by all of this, feeling like the tech world wasn't really paying attention to real people when I happened across  this post about the second annual NetSquared conference. It reminded me that there are people out there who are putting technology to use for the betterment of their communities. If you only pay attention to the headlines and don't dig a little deeper, it's easy to forget that it's not all about connecting teenagers to each other more - as if that's a problem to be solved anyway. It's not all about who can post the cutest animal clip on YouTube. It can be about enriching your community, or a community like yours on the other side of the world. It can be about making connections and making information available faster, easier and more broadly than ever before so that those who want to act on it will. It's even about letting the youngsters know that you're still around: