Week in review: Supercomputers and superheroes

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With AT&T as the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, the device's launch is likely to take a toll on wireless competitors like Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA. According to a recent poll conducted by M:Metrics, roughly two-thirds of people interested in buying the iPhone are not currently AT&T customers, but they say they're still willing to switch carriers to obtain the phone.

As for CNET News.com readers, an informal survey indicates Apple has wowed many with the iPhone's design, but most will wait for a faster, cheaper version.

"The iPhone is crippled...no Java support, missing stereo Bluetooth, weak 2-megapixel camera, no FM radio, no GPS, proprietary system, etc.," one reader wrote. "It's also locked to a single phone company, and worst of all it's not even a 3G phone."

Political hot spots
It was a week of debate for tech hot-button issues, ranging from a congressional vote related to digital ID cards to a blog standoff between News.com's Charlie Cooper and TechCrunch's Michael Arrington.

In Washington, the U.S. Senate definitively rejected President Bush's immigration bill on Thursday, just hours after senators expressed deep misgivings with portions that would have expanded the use of a national ID card.

Because the procedural vote was 46-53, with 60 votes needed to advance the immigration legislation, the proposal is likely to remain dead for the rest of the year. And privacy advocates were quick to claim that a vote against Real ID cards the previous evening doomed the bill.

During Wednesday's floor debate over a massive immigration bill, Real ID foes managed to preserve an amendment to prohibit the forthcoming identification card from being used for mandatory employment verification, signaling that the political winds have shifted from when the law was overwhelmingly enacted two years ago.

Also on Capital Hill, members of Congress on Thursday expressed reluctance to intervene in a raging conflict over new Internet radio fees scheduled to take effect in scarcely two weeks, saying they hope Webcasters and the record industry can work things out.

And a key U.S. Senate Democratic leader escalated his committee's ongoing quest for more answers about a once-secret warrantless wiretapping program, issuing subpoenas on Wednesday to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and three other Bush administration officials.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) formally requested an avalanche of documents describing the legal basis for the so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program and any other ongoing classified surveillance programs. Besides Gonzales, the senator targeted high-level attorneys at the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the National Security Council. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Leahy heads, authorized the court orders by a bipartisan 13-3 vote last Thursday.

Back on the home front, there has been a lot of heated talk around the virtual water cooler regarding last week's disclosure that several online publishers and venture capitalists lent their voices in seeming support of Microsoft's "People Ready" advertising slogan. Cooper put out the question, "Why would these guys inexplicably pimp a Microsoft catchphrase?" and some took issue with his criticism.

The brouhaha led News.com to poll readers about whether bloggers should adhere to a strict line between advertising and editorial. The results: 72.5 percent say, Yes, it's vital; 14.4 percent say the gray area is where the action is; and 13 percent say no, it's a spurious distinction.

Also of note
Google Desktop goes Linux...Making ethanol out of biodiesel byproducts...Study says cyberbullying hits one-third of teens...Dell splashes color on its laptops...A sunny hiring season for job seekers...Windows Live hits second generation...Cloud OS still pie in the sky...Next NASA mission: Twitter and Facebook.