A cursory look at the Secretaries’ MySpace page was enough to inform me that I was, without question, going to like these ladies. My interest was piqued by their inclusion of “’70s Heart, feathers, and tequila” among their list of influences—things that I, too, consider influential. I Want to Be a Secretary! Sensing that there were “kindred spirits” (the kind to which Anne Shirley, aka Anne of Green Gables, kept alluding) in my midst, I sat down alone at a table with notebook in hand, feeling somewhat self-conscious.

Here at Otaku Gadgets, we are pretty grateful about the new trend in cell phones. With the iPhone and Android fighting it out and the others squatting on the sidelines, you have to admit that this is an interesting time to be using and buying cell phones in. However, in the face of all that improvement in the mobile OS arena, Microsoft is still lagging behind. If Steve Ballmer can publicly wish that they could skip 6.5 and go straight on to Windows Mobile 7, I think I am justified in saying that we feel something similar.

ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown Presented by IBM will preview the day’s matchups Sunday at 11 a.m. ET with Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson. ESPN senior analyst Chris Mortensen and NFL insider Adam Schefter will provide headlines and league news. The two-hour program will include reports from Rachel Nichols covering the Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers, Ed Werder at the Falcons – Cowboys game, and Bob Holtzman in Cincinnati for the Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals.

Earlier today a pending non-provisional utility patent application assigned to Apple Computer published.  This application, US Patent Application 20090265214, is titled Advertisement in Operating System, and covers exactly what the title implies; namely an operating system that is capable of displaying a variety of advertisements to users. You are likely to have heard of [...] Related posts: Apple Strong Q4, Will Windows 7 Cause Apple Setback? Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2009.

Here is the Cronkite News Service lineup for Thursday, Oct. 22. As the week progresses, this digest lists spot news, stories offered for use throughout the week and features suggested for weekend use. If you have questions or would like to receive the daily news digest by e-mail, please contact Steve Elliott at 602-496-0686 or steve.elliott@asu.edu. You can monitor Cronkite News Service via Twitter (@cronkitenews) and a Web feed optimized for iPhone (http://cronkitenews.asu.edu/mobile).

Few companies know this better than Nokia (NOK), the Finnish telecommunications giant that has dominated cell phones for so long that in some parts of the globe the brand itself has become …