Test Center Tracker: Apple rings in iPhone era

iPhone’s no Blackberry killer: Apple unleashed its much-anticipated iPhone at the Macworld 2007, but InfoWorld Mac enthusiast Tom Yager declares that Apple’s latest gadget isn’t a match for the ever-popular Blackberry, which boasts are far more impressive feature set from for the average mobile worker. Further, Apple has tied iPhone users to Cingular/AT&T service, rather than giving them the freedom to choose for themselves.

Don’t be a tool: Database Underground blogger Sean McCown has some good career advice for DBAs out there: Actively and freely volunteer the wealth of your knowledge at your company to ensure better job security. “If I hear someone talking about an Excel sheet they do every month, I ask them questions about it to see if it’s smoething that could be brought into the DB to make their job easier.”

Call IT like you see it: 2006 marked an important turning point in the IT world observes aforementioned Tom Yager. Rather than letting themselves be swayed by vendors as to what was right for their shops, IT managers set their own respective courses, then made vendors deliver the necessary solutions. Expect that to continue this year, he writes: “This will be a year during which vendors adjust to the fact that convenience, risk aversion, and status quo are not permanent IT priorities.”