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We're writing this as we sit in on the 2013 Apple World Wide Developers' Conference - which sold all 6000 available seats this year in 71 seconds. Our goal here is to deliver the most relevant breaking news as soon as we are able to do so. There is a lot we'll leave out here - such as the amazing Anki Drive - a new combination of real world robotics and video games. Look for detailed analysis - especially of the new iOS in subsequent in-depth articles.

So, about that mobile device innovation we've been waiting the better part of a year to hear about - iOS? Let's be honest - no, there was nothing presented today that qualifies as truly new innovation

For someone who only about six months back decided to make the life changing decision of switching from her not-so-smart flip phone to the robust smartphone known as the iPhone 5, I can tell you that since that time a majority of the everyday tasks I complete have changed dramatically. From finding my way to a specific location via the phone’s GPS, to just browsing the Web for an important answer to a question as it arises in real-time, I now feel naked without my iPhone in tow.

While everyone likes to talk about the benefits of this product, I don’t think you hear enough about the negative aspects of it. So, ta-da—here are the top three things I hate about the iPhone 5.

It's all kind of crazy when you think about it - $1.3 billion for a 100-person company that is mostly based in Israel (though officially it is headquartered much closer to Apple in Palo Alto, Calif.). Of course Waze also happens to be nearing 50 million avid users (of which we are one) and makes great use of the social media and social networking arts to allow the Waze mapping technology to provide real time alerts of up ahead road conditions, real-time based ETAs that have, in our own experiences proven remarkably accurate, and alerts and work-arounds to traffic jams.

Very recently we were stuck in parking lot traffic on a major parkway. Just before we hit the jam, Waze alerted us to imminent danger and provided a very interesting re-route

Let’s face it, if you are an IT professional you are probably painfully aware that we live in an age where much of your time is spent dealing with corporate governance requirements. You have the responsibility of creating, managing and enforcing policies and rules to mitigate risks and assure compliance.

The challenge you face is daunting.

Last week we began to hear rumors that there might be a possible top down, company-wide restructuring of Microsoft in the works. Rumors have ranged from CEO Steve Ballmer considering such radical steps as breaking the company up to much less severe prognostications of simply moving a few leadership positions around. We've long admired Ballmer as a value CEO from an investment perspective, but we've also long stated our position that he is no longer the right CEO to drive Microsoft forward from a a new products and visionary perspective. We certainly haven't changed our position and we absolutely have to question if Ballmer can indeed pull off the sort of changes that would make a real difference for the company's future. Can Ballmer call down the needed thunder and bring on the necessary hell?

It has been the bane of professional soccer (better known as “football” outside the U.S.) worldwide that, in a sport where every goal is, to say the least, precious, that not using technology to get the call correct is absurd. The problems associated with disputed calls seem to pop up at the most inopportune times. In short, not just in regular league matches, but literally as the whole world is watching the globe’s most popular sport during events such as the World Cup.

Well finally, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of professional soccer, has recognized that there is a technological solution for assuring the accuracy of goals and it should be used, not just for the credibility of the sport but because of the passions “bad” calls can arouse. The technology will be on display and in use at the various venues in Brazil for the FIFA Confederations Cup, featuring national teams from Brazil, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Tahiti and Uruguay. Billions of people across the globe will be tuning in.

It took less than a day for the imbroglio in the U.S. over the National Security Agency (NSA) compelling Verizon (via until June 5 a secret court order) to turn over phone records to explode. As predicted, this became the top news item of the day, which meant it was only a matter of time before there would be more information, either purposely leaked or uncovered by a now totally engaged investigative news community, about NSA best/worst practices.

The latest bombshell was the revelation in the venerable Washington Post that a top-secret program called PRISM, authorized by federal judges working under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), has allowed the U.S. intelligence community to gain access to the servers of nine internet companies for a look at what I like to call, “E”verything.

Global revenues from mobile streamed music services are expected to rise by more than 40 percent to $1.7 billion, according to Juniper Research. For the first time, these revenues will thereby overtake those generated by full-track downloads to mobile devices.

But that probably is not the reason Apple is rumored to be getting into the streaming music business, something Apple has in the past deemed less desirable than downloading.

Microsoft’s future is once again in the news. Key questions are arising such as: Could Microsoft be split into smaller parts? Could the company find itself less focused on software? Will the company start to embrace new technology early rather than coming on board later – as critics have often charged?

These are just some of the questions that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is said to be considering as the company appears to be moving more toward a “devices and services” focus.

While Amazon’s huge-ticket licensing deal with media giant Viacom this week provides its streaming service children’s and comedy programming channels that Netflix subscribers no longer have access to, this move lends clarity to the strategy of the two competitors.

Consider this: Market leader Netflix is spending $100 million alone on original programming in creating House of Cards with Kevin Spacey for its service. Amazon, by contrast, is spending double that for not-original children’s and comedy programming – a category Netflix already has addressed.

It is report season in the security industry, as witnessed by my earlier item just this past week coming from McAfee on various cyber threats. In keeping with the season, it seems appropriate that Ponemon and Symantec this week released their annual 2013 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis, and it is interesting on two big fronts:

In the multiple choice world of tablets – option A is Apple and option B is Android – Intel and Microsoft introduced upgrades and tweaks this week to their offerings that will prove attractive for future buyers in both the consumer and business worlds.

So far, Intel's market share within the tablet arena has been constrained by power consumption. Products highlighted this week at Computex show the company continues to follow its roadmap and timing for improving performance and power consumption. Bay Trail, a redesigned Atom chip with four cores, was demonstrated in a Microsoft Surface-like tablet boasting all day battery life.

Ever wonder about how effective parental controls are in deterring age inappropriate content from being viewed by those too young to be looking? As we parents know, policing where our kids go is a daunting task at best, especially when they are more digitally adept than we are.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our policies and rules for viewing content that is age sensitive could be handled automatically? In fact, wouldn’t it be great if it fit nicely into the emerging market of Identity-as-a-Service (IaaS) where for a nominal fee could achieve a greater peace of mind and have to be less personally watchful? Five words may make you feel better, “Help is on the way!”

Say what you will about the Millennial generation, but we know technology. In fact, that seems to be one of the few things we can agree on, according to a study from Telefónica, which surveyed 18 to 30 year-olds in regards to their feelings about their economic, political, and technological outlooks, as well as their feelings about the future.

The new Global Millennial Survey from Telefónica spoke to over 12,000 members of that generation, in 27 countries, and has found many areas where almost all are optimistic.

It just might be time for operators of fixed line networks in places like the U.S. to take a serious look at what is transpiring in Europe. There is an interesting trend developing in the restructuring of the telecoms industry across the pond that should serve as food for thought. I am referring to the confirmation by Telecom Italia that it intends to spin off its fixed-line access network as a new company.

You read the last sentence correctly. Telecom Italia in essence wants out of the outside plant business so it can concentrate on the value-added services part of its business.

As noted in another item today, net neutrality is a hot topic in the U.S., where Verizon is trying to gut the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) entire net neutrality regime. While it is uncertain whether Verizon will prevail in it legal efforts, it must be noted that “across the pond” in Europe, the opposite is the case. As I pointed out a few days ago, net neutrality is top of mind for Neelie Kroes, the European Commission's vice president in charge of the Digital Agenda. In fact, she had made her feeling quite clear with a proposal for European Commission (EC) consideration.

While Kroes is mindful of the needs and desires of ISPs to get compensation for the use of their networks, particularly when it comes to being able to price their services based on getting a premium for assured quality of service (QoS), she also does not want to see average customers disadvantaged. Put in simple terms, the proposal is that ISPs could offer premium services at premium prices but that basic service should offer best effort Internet equally to any product that is using the network. This would include thing like VoIP and video streaming services. While competitive in nature, especially VoIP apps and services, Kroes believes “best effort” Internet will meet the needs of most people and leave the flood gates open for innovation.

The world is changing for operators of physical communications networks, and a host of regulatory issues are literally “on the docket.” And, while the intricacies of policy-making and legal maneuvering in Washington, D.C. tend to be an insiders’ game, some issues are so impactful on the future of how all of us receive and ultimately pay for services that they command attention. Such is the case with the issue of network neutrality, which goes to the heart of who controls the content that goes on a service providers’ network.

A simplified way of understanding all of this is that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) believes it has the authority, and has implemented rules, to foster an environment where network operators have to treat everyone’s content, meaning that of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), equally, i.e. in a neutral manner. The owners of physical networks have argued that their networks are their property and they should be able to use it, and charge for it, as they see fit. The FCC sees this position as discriminatory and stifling innovation, while the operators see it as the vehicle to assure their financial vitality and not enable virtual competitors to in essence get a free ride. The idea is that the cost causers should be cost bearers.

Several somebody’s had a very good first quarter of 2013. Unfortunately, according to the recently released threat report by McAfee Labs, the individuals having a good quarter were the bad guys. That certainly is not good news for any of us.

The introduction to the report says it all. McAfee Labs researchers saw things that were all too familiar. These included:

You can tell it is now nearly summer in the northern hemisphere, festival season is now underway, and there are few better ones than the annual Luminato Festival in Toronto, Canada. Stretching over 10 days, the festival literally covers all aspects of the arts ranging from traditional disciplines to tech-centric ones. It is thus not surprising that the seventh annual gathering, starting June 14, is the place chosen for a very interesting endeavor by CrowdOptic, a maker of crowd-powered mobile applications regarding the use of a new mobile app, and its employment in the world’s first crowd-powered heat map logo. To borrow an almost cliché phrase, this is “very cool!”

If you happen to be a fan of the movie “Tombstone” that starred Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp, there is a scene in which Earp shouts out the following: All right, Clanton...You called down the thunder. Well, now you've got it! You tell 'em I'm coming, and Hell's coming with me, you hear?! Hell's coming with me!

For many reasons, this scene pops directly to mind every time we consider Microsoft and its need to make changes to its businesses in order to better address the realities of today's mobile-centric marketplaces. As we write, there are fresh rumors circulating that Microsoft's obvious Wyatt Earp candidate - CEO Steve Ballmer, of course - is getting close to making some major changes to how Microsoft is structured and organized. It's all rumor and there is no way to predict what, if anything, will really take place.