There are certainly plenty of big advantages to working for one of the biggest companies in the whole world, especially when they are also the same developers of the most widely used operating system for desktop and laptop computers. Just for example: Microsoft is going to give out free smart phones to all of its employees.

Now, we have yet to get the full scoop on this little tidbit of news, which means that nobody has any idea one what the scope and limits for the giveaway will be. Obviously, Steve Ballmer’s teams are already getting the handset, and so will everyone who is associated with working on the operating system as well.

But as for the rest of the company, it is hard to imagine how Microsoft will be able to distribute so many devices internally –though they easily have the resources for it. It is estimated that the amount could cost anywhere from 1 to 2 million Pounds (about 2-4 million USD).

Anyway, the Windows Phone 7 OS has already been given out to many developers –bringing the device to its official technical phase. Initial reactions to the new OS are both promising and disconcerting. The UI and performance is said to be top notch, and while the new layout seems a little to experimental for some, it is fully functional, responsive and runs smoother than any other OS in the market.

The big issue that many folks are having is with the integration of Facebook into the handset. The OS apparently comes without any actual contacts page –the people page is the only list that users will get and it basically combines all contacts into a single listing.

Consolidated phone books are one thing, but for people who like to keep their phone and Facebook contacts separate, this can prove to be a serious issue. Also, having several thousand Facebook friends (surprisingly, many people do) will clog up the people page so badly that browsing through the list becomes a troublesome task.

There is no denying that the upcoming Windows Phone 7 mobile platform is generating quite a buzz. The new OS is promising to deliver one of the most dynamic user interfaces, a fully comprehensive smart phone experience and of course, plenty of new integrated social networking features that does not only have access to Facebook, but also offers games and media sharing capabilities as well.

The WP7 OS was a surprise hit at the MWC last February that has gained quite a following since. In the past few months, Microsoft has slowly revealed even more details to the new OS. From the original Bing, Zune and Xbox Live Games trinity, the features of the new OS has been further expanded with new web services such as the MSN player, Silverlight and more.

According to a recently leaked document from Microsoft, it seems that retailers are being told to be prepared for a possible launch of the new WP7 handset this coming September. While a Q3 launch is not what Microsoft originally announced, it is pretty close to the original October launch date. This means that if Microsoft’s development is ahead of schedule, they might actually manage to release the OS a full month ahead of time.

However, as MS has yet to acknowledge the validity of the leaked document, we are still expecting WP7 and the first handsets to use it, to be available starting October.

Speaking of the WP7 handsets that are coming out; the LG panther is among the first of the devices to have been revealed to the public. And according to rumors, LG is already working on a couple more WP7 devices as well. So far, details on the rumored LG E900 and LG C900 handsets have not been released (nor have either two devices been confirmed).

The HTC Wildfire is finally available from mobile network operator Vodafone UK. According to the most recent announcements, the device is available for free on several contract offers by the network operator.

Our recommended pick would be the 20 Pound monthly tariff for two years which gives the user unlimited text messages, 300 minutes of talk time and about 500 MB of data allowance each month. The offer takes full advantage of the device’s social networking capabilities, which is much recommended for anyone who wants to have the full value of owning this impressive Android handset.

In terms of specs, it is hard not to be impressed with what the HTC Wildfire has to offer. First off, the device comes with a nice big 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touch screen. A typical display for a mid range handset, it handles video playback and web browsing quite easily. The screen will support multi touch gestures, has an accelerometer, a proximity sensor that will automatically shut off the screen when used for a voice call and the HTC Sense user interface. Aside from the touch screen, there is an optical trackpad on the bottom of the device as well as support for movement gestures which will allow users to instantly switch the device to mute or to “dim out” an incoming call.

With the Qualcomm MSM7225 528MHz CPU, apps run fairly fast on this Android OS. Just do not expect to get super smooth performance when running resource intensive games. But for most phone functions, the CPU is able to provide a stable and fast experience.

The Wildfire’s main features focus heavily on social networking. It has several integrated apps that would allow users to easily access accounts on Facebook and Twitter as well as file hosting sites such as Flicker and YouTube for uploading media content to be shared.

These days, getting in touch is simply a matter of sending a quick SMS message on the phone. It is handy, convenient and takes little to no time at all. This technology has allowed plenty of people to keep in touch, to arrange quick gatherings and to even hold instant celebrations. With the rise of 3G and wireless internet, more and more features have been added to mobile phones, people now have access to social networks, microblogging and of course, the rest of the internet.

The question now, is should you give a child a smart phone?

The issue may not seem like a big deal, but with most children already owning Facebook accounts and considering online interaction as more important that actually physical contact, there is the large risk that a child who is ‘unplugged’ would be ostracized and alienated by the very same people at school or the playground.

While parents may prefer to look for handsets with parental lock settings or other nonsensical features, the real concerns is how parents are capable of preparing their children for the burden of responsibility when it comes to the internet.

The answer being with actually knowing for oneself what is considered to be right, wrong, accepted and rejected on the internet. With millions of users online, the web is a very gray moral area, with people supporting various views regarding society, religion, politics and many other issues.

A child need not be knowledgeable in all these fields, but it is up to the parents to instill a strong sense of will, purpose and self-belief in one’s own moral compass for determining what is proper and what is not.

The next issue is teaching a child discipline –which is quite difficult given the impulsive and curious nature of children. The only way to surpass this is when parents show their own patience and perseverance in their goal to teach and guide their children properly.

Farmville is considered to be one of the most successful browser based online gaming applications. The game has millions of users (estimated to be anywhere from 70 to 80 million) and that number is still continuing to grow.

Thanks to the game’s simplistic gameplay and connectivity with user’s online networks in Facebook, there are plenty of reasons for people to keep addicted. First off, the game offers quick rewards for tasks –a very important factor for casual gamers. Also being able to trade produce and other farming materials with other people in one’s social network is major reason as to why people are so obsessed with making their farms larger and more successful. For others, the feeling of accomplishment in being able to expand and make their farms successful and productive is another reason why people live the game so much.

Since the game uses Flash to run in a browser, iPhone users do not have access to Farmville –this became even more realized after Apple has announced that they would never be supporting Flash at all. And with Steve Jobs’ reactions regarding Adobe and the Flash format, it seemed likely that iPhone users would not be able to access Farmville.

This however has been changed with the new announcement from Zynga. According to reports, the web game developer is working on a Farmville iPhone application that will allow users to access their Facebook Farmville accounts from the iPhone.

While this news will certainly make millions of Farmville players happy, it still does not cover the many other Flash games on the internet. Even if it is possible to re-make all the games into Flash compatible formats, the fact of the matter is that Apple’s initial lack of support for the web format is a major drawback. Not all Flash developers are as big as Zynga and could afford the time and resources to remaking an already existing game.

Facebook has been quite happy to announce that they have changed the way the social networking site will handle user profile settings and that users will now have a better way to control and manage how the information on their profile is managed.

This major revision comes as a reaction to the growing number of complaints and problems that many Facebook users have been complaining about in the past few weeks. The main concern that many users have is that Facebook’s new features have left their user profile data open and exposed for the world to see. Even for people who are not hiding any secrets, that level of exposure creates a feeling of vulnerability, and Facebook’s complicated settings page does not make it any easier for the users to gain a feeling of control.

This is why Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has already taken the prerogative to write a letter to the millions of Facebook’s users in regards to their concerns and what he intends to do with the social networking site in the future. However, experts can easily see the media friendly spin he puts with his words, the letter is mostly non-committal and there is not promise of any specific measures to actually protect privacy other than changing the way users can edit settings.

The situation as it stands is simple, Facebook still gets to control what happens to most of the information that has been entered by users of the social networking site. While the users get to have a new privacy settings page with a simplified options menu, there are still millions of other users who are not familiar with the situation and will proceed to use the site without even touching the settings page.

Unless Facebook actually defaults all settings the private unless specified by users as public, then the problem will still remain.

A 25 year old French citizen was arrested recently for “hacking” into Twitter, Facebook and Google. The man, identified as Francois Cousteix has confessed to the allegations. Under his net handle Hacker Croll, this single individual was able to get into the private user accounts of hundreds of individuals including those of famous personalities – even that of US President Obama.

The most surprising part of this news report is that François is not really a hacker. Sure, the man loves computers, it is his self-proclaimed passion and he spends a good ten hours of each day in front of the monitor. But without any formal training in programming and without the use of hacking tools such as phishing software and other similar programs, it is a miracle that the man was able to achieve so much.

The answer to his feat lies in something that we all overlook: the security of our own passwords.

Passwords in general, are meant to be security codes that are kept private so that only we may be able to gain access to it. It is like a digital key of sorts, but unlike the real world where guessing your precise key shape is close to impossible, the variations possible with letters and numbers are considerably lesser. And with people preferring to use significant, but ultimately common words or phrases as passwords, guessing becomes a matter of methodical research as opposed to something more random.

Security questions are also a good target. With specific questions such as “the name of your first pet” or “your mother’s maiden name”; it becomes a matter of checking blogs, profiles and in the case of celebrities, fan sites or magazine interviews. We as a society have to learn to value internet security more, this latest event clearly shows that it does not take a seasoned hacker to be able to get into our online accounts.

Read more about the Hacker Croll at the Times Online UK.