After a recent conversation with an apparently well-informed AT&T sales representative, it appears all but certain that AT&T will soon carry two HTC Android devices.  It’s not clear which ones exactly; the rep claims that one of them is the HTC Hero, but it’s more likely that the HTC Legend, the Hero’s successor, will be arriving, as it’s already been spotted passing through the FCC in the correct 850/1900Mhz 3G frequencies.  He also confirmed, as widely speculated, that a new iPhone will arrive this June.  Regardless, it seems that we will be finding out more very soon!  View the full chat transcript after the break.

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As many of you know, Steve Jobs has publicly lambasted Adobe Flash.  He even wrote an open letter to explain how much he hates the ubiquitous technology that is used on 75% of the world’s websites and 98% of the world’s PCs.

Sadly, the majority of Steve Jobs’ reasons make little sense to most of us.  Jobs bashes Flash for not being open, yet comes of as highly hypocritical.  The Flash core is in fact open source, and the SWF specification is open, so literally anyone can make tools for Flash development and publish on the web in Flash format without giving a cent to Adobe.  Apple, on the other hand, is the king of the “walled garden” business model.  Every iPhone and iPad application must pass through an arbitrary process of selection, in which perfectly good apps are rejected for no apparent reason.  Apple also directly prohibits the use of third party development tools, requiring that all programmers join the $99/year developer program.  As usual, Apple comes off as highly egotistical and hypocritical. (continue reading…)

From XDA-Developers:

After months of development, member anaadoul has released the beta version of his Software Development Kit, which will allow users of resistive screens as found on just about any HTC device  to finally experience the interface-enhancing power of multi-touch functionality (every current HTC Windows Mobile device possesses a resistive screen, except for the HD2).
The SDK adds support for pinch-to-zoom, dual-finger dragging and swiping and gesture-based events. Adding support for these features may be completely revolutionary to how people use their Windows Phone: Windows Mobile does not natively support multi-touch but through this SDK, dual-finger navigation should be possible on any touchscreen device through its integration in an application.

Developers looking to find the SDK should look at the application thread, Anaadoul is also looking for developers who are willing to help him create a photo album that can showcase the dual-touch functionality made available by the new kit.

A video can be seen below.

Hey, we got linked to from Engadget!

After MapQuest and other similar services made computer based mapping second nature to millions of people, software developers decided to turn their attention to the skies, bringing “sky mapping” to the desktop. Microsoft WorldWide Telescope, Google Sky (part of Google Earth), and Stellarium offer three different takes on how to explore the galaxies from your computer. Best of all, all three are free, so the cost of entry for accessing all of this information is nonexistent. Read on to learn what differentiates each product and how good of an experience they deliver to the user.

Part 1: Google Earth with Google Sky

Part 2: Microsoft WorldWide Telescope

Part 3: Stellarium

Google Earth was the application to allow absolutely anyone to view high quality imagery of virtually any location on Earth. Since its debut in 2004, Google Earth has added feature upon feature, from GPS support to driving directions to Santa tracking, while maintaining its ease of use and refinement. One of the latest additions to Google Earth is an astronomical imagery tool dubbed Google Sky, also available through the web-based Google Maps service.

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After MapQuest and other similar services made computer based mapping second nature to millions of people, software developers decided to turn their attention to the skies, bringing “sky mapping” to the desktop. Microsoft WorldWide Telescope, Google Sky (part of Google Earth), and Stellarium offer three different takes on how to explore the galaxies from your computer. Best of all, all three are free, so the cost of entry for accessing all of this information is nonexistent. Read on to learn what differentiates each product and how good of an experience they deliver to the user.

Part 1: Google Earth with Google Sky

Part 2: Microsoft WorldWide Telescope

Part 3: Stellarium

WorldWide Telescope, a free product from Microsoft Research, offers both a Silverlight based Web application for Windows, OS X, and Linux, as well as a richer desktop application for Windows only.  Content is provided by the Hubble Telescope and other NASA sources, as well as numerous other astronomical image repositories.  The application offers excellent guided tours by leading astronomers, a very polished interface, and easy ways to learn more about a given topic and save images.

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