It’s just a matter of time before Avatar becomes the highest grossing (most popular) movie ever. The regular movie is stunning. The 3D version only more so. From Movie News & Gossip:

Vatican newspaper and radio station are criticizing James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster for flirting with the idea that worship of nature can replace religion — a notion the pope has warned against. They call the movie a simplistic and sappy tale, despite its awe-inspiring special effects.

It is simplistic. Avatar is good vs. evil. And the special effects are, well, stunning. From the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore:

So much stupefying, enchanting technology, but few genuine emotions… Everything is reduced to an overly simple anti-imperialistic and anti-militaristic parable…

No emotions? Didn’t you hate the bad guys and root for the good guys? Remember, it’s a movie, not the Gospel. Vatican Radio:

(It) cleverly winks at all those pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium. Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship.

Did I mention that Avatar is a movie?

Ryan Naraine on Apple’s hire of Ivan Krstic to beef up security in OS X. Krstic was director of security architecture at One Laptop per Child and designed the highly touted Bitfrost security spec.

His hiring comes at a crucial time for a company that ties security to its marketing campaigns despite public knowledge that it’s rather trivial to launch exploits against the Mac.

Oh? And these exploits are where? Sometimes there is a misunderstanding of the difference between security and safety. The Mac is safer than Windows PCs.

Since the iPhone’s launch in mid-2007, AT&T has been roundly criticized for poor network performance, both with dropped calls, and slow data speeds. Is it AT&T’s fault? Or, are network problems caused by the iPhone? Colin Gibbs on GigaOm:

AT&T isn’t the only operator whose network shortcomings have been exposed by data-hungry iPhone users. O2 — which until recently was the only UK operator to carry Apple’s gadget — said it will spend $166 million over the next several months to shore up its network to meet ever-increasing demands from smartphone users. Additionally, the carrier said it will build 40 new cell sites in and around London in advance of the holiday season.

It’s the iPhone phenomenon.

With no major viruses or malware outbreaks for Mac OS X, what’s the point of reviewing Mac anti-virus utilities? Scott McNulty:

There have been no major viruses or malware outbreaks for Mac OS X since its introduction in March 2001 (kind of amazing, actually). That excellent track record doesn’t make a strong case for running antivirus software on your Mac.

He calls it a “thankless task.” It is. Thank Apple instead.

Rotten Tomatoes list of the 100 Worst of the Worst movies in the decade since 2000.

Battlefield Earth is #27. Gigli is #73:

Bizarre and clumsily plotted, Gigli is a mess.

That means there were 72 movies worse than Gigli.

Some people recommend that your computer be restarted every day. Derek Kessler in Pre | Central recommends daily restarts for both Windows PCs and Palm Pre smart phone users. Why?

As I’ve often recommended for my friends sporting Windows-running machines, rebooting every day or so is good for the soul. Well, it’s good for the stability of the operating system, and the same can be said for webOS.

Kessler points to Reboot Scheduler, a Palm Pre app which automatically restarts the Pre according to a schedule.

My MacBook and iPhone run 24/7 and are restarted only when the operating system is updated (every few months). No sluggishness. No slowdown. No problem. Whatever disease Windows has, maybe Palm has it, too.

Witch hunter, and hit whore extraordinaire Jim Goldman of CNBC says Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt should resign from Apple’s Board of Directors.

Apple shareholders deserve engaged board members singularly focused on the company’s business at hand… Apple investors deserve—and should expect—board members to serve their board full time, not part time.

Not so. All outside directors at that level are, by nature, ‘part time.’