Let's start with the obvious: No Exchange server means no corporate push email. This didn't catch us off guard, as there were rumors that the G1 would launch without it. However, we were surprised by the sheepish looks on the Google executives' faces when reporters pressed the matter. "We expect this to be solved by third-party developers," was all that they said. Yes, it is true that some very nice mobile email management has come from third parties such as Good (now owned by Motorola). But the fact that the Android team isn't spearheading the integration of push email means it doesn't think of enterprise apps as a priority.

Jump from there to the lack of desktop syncing. I am with all the people who like the fact that mail and calendar data syncs over the air (for "free")—it is a great consumer service. But if you can't connect to an exchange server and desktop ActiveSync to Outlook is out of the question too, well, that means hordes of suit-wearers will simply have to say "no" to this device.

As if that wasn't enough of an ix-nay for IT buyers, Android's security issues are pretty significant. Because of the open-source nature of the OS, programmers have access to core functionality they wouldn't be able to access when dealing with platforms such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile or the iPhone's OS X. True, like Windows Vista, the system is designed to ask you to grant new applications permission for each and every capability that an app desires, as you can see above. But it's easy to say yes to things you wouldn't necessarily understand. Is it bad that an app I don't know well can "modify global animation speed"? Honestly, I don't know.

Update: What we meant was open, not open source, as in more freely accessing parts of the hardware that apps don't necessarily need to access. An example would be a rogue flashlight app that you happened to grant permission to access your microphone, and it theoretically records your conversation with your coworkers.

More importantly, apps with that kind of access can easily muck up the rest of the system, like so much crapware on a new PC. An app full of weird conflicts doesn't have to be malicious to be disastrous. The Android Market is a place to get Android apps, but Android apps will be available from any source, and you'll be able to install them directly. It's good news for tinkerers who know what they're doing, and it does support the free-market approach for distributing software, but it could easily lead to brickage of company property.

IT pros look for certain security features too, such as the ability to remotely wipe a lost or stolen phone's memory, or to establish a virtual private network. Trusting third party apps for this isn't a problem on paper, though shopping for, vetting and deploying competing applications as they're developed could easily create as many problems as they're supposed to solve.

The trouble with leaving core features to third-party developers is that it often leads to nasty blame games. Microsoft has gotten in the most trouble in the past when it launched software platforms—a good example would be the PlaysForSure music DRM—then refused to take responsibility when third-party developers failed to implement it successfully for users. It's a built-in cop-out, and that may work for daring nerds with extra cash and a disdain for status-quo devices, but it doesn't work for mass-market consumers, and it certainly doesn't work for the most skittish buyers of all, corporate IT dudes. Sorry Google—I for one would like to see a little more stewardship, and an acknowledgment that if Apple can implement Exchange, VPN and other corporate goodies, well, you got no excuse.

What would the deal mean for Apple fans? Think iTunes content that hits your iPhone/iPod/iMysteryDevice in data rates faster than Wi-Fi. And of course, think voice transmission without relying upon the AT&Ts of the world.

But the purchase would mandate a lot of infrastructure and busy work. Presumably Apple would farm out logistics to another firm, but still...it's a commitment that brings you directly into the wireless service world, which is full of headaches and federal regulation.

And who says $9 billion will take this spectrum? How the hell do we know how much cash is needed when some of the richest, most leveraged technology companies in the world are duking it out for US data dominance?

So who do you want to take the spectrum? [businessweek]

The retired colonel from the French army reserves last gave it a go in 2003, and was sitting in his insulated capsule just minutes away from take-off when the balloon that was going to take him up to his jump level exploded. Now, with a new, three-ply balloon that is, according to the manager of the Canadian side of operations, Claude-Jean Hurel, "really solid," although it has yet to carry a human being, Michel has a three-week window in which to make the jump. Thank heavens it is always in August, when there is no other news to write about.

Fournier has been training for the free-fall attempt since 1988 when, as a 41-year-old, he was selected to be on the Herm s shuttle, part of the French national space program which was canceled due to budget cuts. Undeterred, Fournier left the military and raised money by selling off all his worldly possessions in order to buy the abandoned equipment from the French government.

Aided and abetted by various aerospace scientists, Fournier has kept rigorously in shape, making over 8,500 parachute drops, spending time in hyperbaric pressure chambers and refrigeration units—even keeping his hands and feet in icy water to get used to the sub-zero conditions he will have to endure. At 40,000 metres, the temperature is around minus 100 centigrade, and the air is so thin, Fournier must inhale pure oxygen for hours beforehand, in order to get rid of the nitrogen in his blood.

Once the balloon has taken his capsule up to the jump height, our intrepid sexagenarian must leap head first out of the receptacle and free-fall for seven minutes. When he hits 1,000 metres, he pulls the chute—if he still can—and enjoy a leisurely descent of eight minutes. Before ripcord time, he will be breaking the sound barrier at speeds up to 932 mph, and enduring temperatures as low as minus 115 C.

Like many young boys, Fournier has always wanted to be an astronaut. "My passion has always been to fly, to jump," he told an interviewer. "My objective is test out a way to save astronauts." Perhaps you should start with yourself, mate. Bonne Chance, Michel, and let's hope you don't run out of puff before you've finished blowing up the balloon. [Canada.com]