11 cool new apps for the iPhone download free

8 hours July 14, 2008 (Computerworld) With the release of the iPhone 2.0 software on Friday and the opening of the App Store -- where hundreds of third-party applications are now available -- Apple Inc.'s iPhone has taken a major leap ...

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Since the iPhone's arrival last year, one of the constant complaints about it was that the hardware was a technological marvel but the software was lacking. A little over a year after its debut, Apple released not only the most significant hardware upgrade since the iPhone's inception, but also the most significant software release to date. Best of all, the apps work on the first-generation iPhone as well as the newer iPhone 3G, and on the iPod Touch. (You have to pay $9.95 to update the iPod Touch so it can run third-party applications, though.)

While new hardware is important for attracting new buyers -- what with a lower cost of entry and the 3G chipset -- it's the software and the arrival of the App Store that allows the iPhone to transcend being just another mobile phone. Officially opened on July 11, though accessible the day before, the App Store sprung to life with more than 550 third-party applications ranging from games to sketch pads to medical applications.
To get you started, we've chosen 11 applications that are decidedly worth looking at, though you should check out the App Store yourself and weigh in below with your own favorites. The first six are free; the rest will cost you a few bucks. All are worth a look:
AOL Instant Messenger (free)
This handy application provides a fast and easy way to talk to your peers via AOL's instant messaging system, as well as buddies on ICQ and .Mac/MobileMe. Already one of the most downloaded applications on the App Store, this program is a simple and straight-forward way to connect to the AIM network with your iPhone.
Upon first launch, the application presents you with three login options: AIM, MobileMe, and .Mac. Once the service is chosen, username and password is entered, you're presented with your Buddy List groups, which, upon selection, displays your buddies, their availability and their status messages. From the main Buddy List, there are arrows beside your Buddy names that can be tapped, bringing you to a Buddy Info screen. From this screen, you can change their display name, the group they're associated with, and even add your buddy to a Favorites list for even easier access.
This application uses the swipe gesture to switch between active chats, and the entire app is straight-forward, taking full advantage of the available screen real estate without clutter. This app is easily on my own personal must-have list, especially in light of AT&T's SMS price-gouging on its new monthly plans. (Just because AT&T isn't the only carrier to overprice on SMS doesn't make it any less wrong.)
There are a few caveats, though. AIM doesn't tie in with your Address Book and it does not run in the background. Once it's quit, you're logged off.
Apple is already working on that last issue and is devising a notification API that will allow messages and alerts to be pushed from their servers to a person's iPhone. That will eventually allow IMs to show up as alerts, just like SMS messages. Another feature this API will bring is the ability to display badges on Home Screen icons -- just like Mail does. Once released, this API will provide immediate IM notifications without cutting into battery life or wasting processor cycles, both of which are inherent to background applications. It also showcases Apple's commitment to making the iPhone a better mobile platform.

Obama to visit West Bank next week

1 hour Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama will be visiting the Palestinian Authority president in the West Bank next week, a Palestinian government official said Monday.
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Obama will be meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on July 23, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.
Obama is expected to visit Israel, but officials could not yet confirm what his plans are there. Erakat was in Paris, France, where Abbas had been attending a summit.
The Obama campaign had no comment on the report.
Abbas held talks Sunday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of a sweeping summit launching the Union for the Mediterranean, bringing together leaders of more than 40 nations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Erakat said Israeli and Palestinian officials would review the status of negotiations on the sidelines of the Paris summit, discussing Israeli settlement activity, the Gaza border and Palestinian prisoner

Boston GlobeObama Advisers Tout Tax Plan
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Advisers to Barack Obama accused Republican John McCain of having no ideas how to jump start the economy while the Democrat’s $50 billion stimulus plan is the way to go.
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Previewing a week of economic issues to be touted on the trail, former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley and Obama economic advisor Jason Furman pledged that families making under $250,000 a year will not see their taxes increase in an Obama administration. Furman added that the threshold for singles to not pay more taxes “is just a little bit lower than that $250,000.”
Furman said that Obama’s plan to increase the capital gains dividend to between 20 and 28 percent also will not affect middle income earners.
“If you make below $250,000, none of your taxes go up and, in fact, most likely you’re going to end up getting a tax cut and it’s likely one that’s bigger than what John McCain has to offer. … What Barack Obama has called for is that for families making over $250,000 a year, setting a new tax rate for capital gains somewhere between 20 and 28 percent. He said (it) will probably be closer to 20 percent and we believe we can get closer to that number in the context of our overall budget. And that’s below the rate that Ronald Reagan set in 1986 and the decade following Ronald Reagan’s tax increase of the capital gains rate, the stock market went up 27 percent. So no middle class families would be affected,” he said.
The two advisers argued that Obama’s plan will help the middle class while McCain’s plan helps corporations and ignores the middle class.
McCain “essentially has no ideas to get the economy going and create jobs in the short run, and has ideas about the long run economy that are rooted in a failed economic philosophy, the belief that tax cuts for corporations and the most affluent are the way to help middle class families prosper and succeed in the economy,” Furman said.
The two also said Obama’s long-term plan would be paid for by telling “some of the most affluent families that you’ve had a lot of tax cuts from George Bush. Some of them you’re not going to get to keep.”