You Say Tomato and I Say Get the Heck Out of My iPhone

I am often asked about my taste for fast food. Well Friday I did have fried chicken from Pollo Campero. Southern fried chicken will always be my favorite, but this Latin version is very good. I made an heirloom tomato salad as a side dish. Saturday, I prepared a grilled shrimp stuffed a slice of jalapenos, cheddar cheese, and onion wrapped in bacon. Sunday we opened the day with soft boil eggs and toast points. Dinner was a grilled ham steak, mash potatoes with roasted garlic and parmesan Reggiano cheese, tomato salad and grilled ciabatta bread. As they say It was all good.” However, I committed early to sharing with you the heirloom tomato salad recipe. I had a similar version of the dish earlier in the week at a local restaurant but I thought it lacked both flavor and substance. The chef had a good idea but executed weakly. My version differs in that I add a bit more onion and jalapeno pepper as well as fresh oregano and thyme. The addition of the fresh herbs makes the salad burst with flavor and nuance. Heirloom Tomato Salad with Avocado and Onion is recipe of the week. Enjoy!

Remember the Best of the Blog 2010 is out. Learn more about the industry and read some of my favorite original recipes.

Get the Heck Out of My Phone

While I still believe that actions of Apple in storing information about where their iPhone goes each day is more egregious, it was discovered that Google is doing something questionable as well. So, for perspective, the Apple iPhone stores information about where it goes on the phone and then on the computer when it is synched. This information is not transmitted to Apple but resides on your computer and can be accessed by anyone with knowledge of it. You can see it as well with the application called iPhone Tracker. Apple insisted they never accessed the information. They didnt have to. Both Apple iOS and Google Android mobile phones periodically send location information, cell tower strength, and Wi-Fi locations back to Apple and Google. Apple collected the information but has not stated whether they could cross reference it to the phone or user. Google collected the information and could cross reference it back to the phone. In any case, both companies have not met the expectation of privacy by most of their customers. Politicians around the world are expressing outrage and demanding investigations, with the most serious investigation expected by the German government. Germany is very strict with regard to laws and rules protecting privacy.

While there has been no response from Apple, Google has stated that users opt-in and give permission for the data collection. In this case, users must uncheck the opt-in box when activating their phones. Moreover, the unique ID tied to the phone can be changed by the user to ensure anonymity. Google appears to understand basic privacy concerns and offers the user some control. The lack of a response by Apple is disconcerting and I hope ends soon. While neither company is a communications service provider, they might consider having information about CPNI Rules and Compliance read by their developers, operations personnel and key decision makers. All of us at Broadvox have had to read it and by doing so, we understand our responsibility in protecting the privacy of our customers. Not a bad thing.

David Byrd is vice president of marketing and sales for

Broadvox,

and is responsible for marketing and channel sales programs to SMBs, enterprises and carriers as well as defining the product offering. Prior to joining Broadvox, David was the vice president of Channels and Alliances for Eftia and Telcordia. As director of eBusiness Development with i2 Technologies, he developed major partnerships with many of the leaders in Internet eCommerce and supply chain management. As CEO of Planet Hollywood Online he was a pioneer in using early Internet technologies to build a branded entertainment and eCommerce website company partnered with Planet Hollywood. Having over 20 years of telecom sales and marketing experience, he has held executive positions with Hewlett-Packard, Sprint and Ericsson.