MacNN purports that the iPhone is in the top five of e-disappointments this year. Part of their argument relates to the problems folks faced after they deliberately cracked the security of their device to load unsupported apps and then tried to keep up with official patches. That's just silly.

I've written some poor posts, but that author really needs some time off to find that lost clue.

The Zune isn't exactly a wholesale failure or disappointment either (tho the iPod Touch wins with a KO in round #1 of any battle between it and the Zune).

It may not be Amazon.com or the NYT, but our paper on the Vista firewall is now #1 over at the SANS Reading Room. (Phil gave me the nod on this today).

We may have some updates when SP1 comes out. Watch here for more info.

(Click on the image for a larger view of the screen capture)

No time for a full write-up, but LifeHacker mentioned Sandboxie today and that led me to look at Altiris SVS. I've been espousing file system and registry virtualization in Vista quite a bit lately and this just kicks it up a bit.

When I get time (after my final) to play with this, I'll post a more complete review or see if SF is interested in a full feature. Meanwhile, grab the tools and give them a go!

Sony has updated it's CONNECT Reader software to work with Vista - finally! The other surprise is that they've made it available for download by anyone who wants it. No longer do you have to buy a PRS-500 to have the privilege of using such a fine piece of digital craftsmanship.

It seems to be working well on Vista Business under Parallels on my OS X box. First thing the client did was download the latest version of the update software (never a good sign). I then quit the program and let Parallels take control of the "Sony Portable Reader System" USB device. The drivers and reader found each other sans incident, so I fired up the CONNECT software and it saw the reader and the inserted SD card (yay!). Book purchases went smoothly (Worlds of Deep Space Nine, if you must know). Transfers also went smoothly.

The CONNECT Store is as ugly, slow and annoying as ever, but at least everything works with Vista now. Unless they make significant changes, they really should steer clear of an OS X port. Crappy software and the Mac just don't mix well (look at Garmin's first attempt with their Training Center).