Hypenotized by Apple  Watching the cloud of hype around last
week's release of the new iPhone, I was struck by the way
Apple's psychological influence over the tech industry continues
to grow. I'm having trouble thinking of any recent technology
product, let alone a smartphone, that got such heavy coverage
for both its announcement and its initial shipment.  Apple's PR
miasma is also starting to twist the thinking of people in the
tech industry who ought to know better. Apple's gradually
becoming the yardstick against which other tech companies are
measured -- and since Apple is such a unique company, it's
almost impossible for anyone else to measure up.  Case in point:
A recent commentary by a CNET reporter, writing about RIM
(link):  "There is no RIM hype machine and when a new BlackBerry
is released, hardly anyone in the major media outlets care. And
if they don't care, neither will the average consumer who
doesn't know too much about the tech industry and won't read
columns like this; they rely on the NBC