Just as the news broke that the iPhone will be opening up to third-party applications, Sprint Nextel announced plans to offer their own touch-screen phone, the Touch by HTC. The Touch will reach store shelves November 4 for the price of $250 with a two-year contract. This smart phone is designed with only a few buttons and is meant to be controlled by touching the screen, just like the iPhone. So far, the iPhone, paired with service provider AT&T, was the first of the touch-screen phones on the market, followed by the announcement of Verizon Wireless' LG Voyager sometime before Thanksgiving. The Touch is said to be both lighter and smaller than the iPhone, measuring 2.8 inches diagonally compared to the iPhone's 3.5 inches.

As for Apple's announcement regarding the iPhone opening up to outside applications, Steve Jobs said in a posting on the company's website that the software development kit that will allow this to happen won't be available until February.

If the upcoming presidential election were in the hands of small-business owners, Rudy Giuliani would be calling the White House his new home. That's according to a recent survey by online payroll service SurePayroll. The survey, which questioned 450 small-business owners, suggested that the majority of entrepreneurs believe the Republican party is better overall for small business. Of those surveyed, 84 percent said they plan on voting in their state's primary or caucus, 59 percent of which favor Republicans. This differs from the opinion of the general American public, only about 35 percent of which favor Republicans. "This is bad news for Democrats," said SurePayroll president Michael Alter. "If they want to win, they need to do a better job reaching this community."

Even though small-business owners and the American public don't necessarily agree on their party of choice, they do agree on the matters most central to the upcoming election. Both groups selected the economy as their primary concern, followed by the war in Iraq and national security. As for candidates, 18 percent of small-biz owners will be standing behind Rudy Giuliani, while 16 percent will be rooting for Fred Thompson and Hillary Clinton.

As more SMBs rely on technology, the need for tech servicing grows. But every business doesn't have its own IT staff or an employee that's blessed with tech knowledge. More often than not, when tech problems occur, calls are made to software manufacturers, customer support lines or third party IT companies, creating wasted time that costs businesses.

However, entrepreneurs and software and computer manufacturers are catering to this problem via managed service providers. Much of their tech support can be handled remotely, made possible by software like Intel's vPro processor technology. Systems with the technology let MSPs access the network, individual computers and other inventory offsite and immediately--even if a unit is off. They can detect problems, make patches and implement updates. Not only does this create less downtime and tech-related costs for a business, but it also helps an MSP efficiently serve a greater number of clients while saving time and money.

Eric Townsend, a small-business programs manager for Intel, who led a related discussion at the 2007 Intel Digital Plumber event in Los Angeles Tuesday, explains that his company isn't saying to run out and buy the vPro technology, but to take advantage of its capabilities by looking to an MSP for tech needs. He cites a 2006 Jupiter Research study that found more than half of small businesses surveyed lowered their costs 25 percent by using an MSP.--Lindsay Holloway