The new doodle from Google marks the 57th anniversary of the day the first patent was made on the bar code.

Granted to American inventors Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver three years after it was filed, patent number 2,612,994 was for a pattern of concentric circles, rather than the set of straight lines used today.

Mr Silver and Mr Woodland, a fellow graduate student and teacher at Drexel, first tried using patterns of ink that glowed under ultraviolet light, but it proved too expensive and unreliable.

Mr Woodland then came up with the linear bar code, and later replaced the lines with circles so that they could be scanned from any angle. The pair patented their “bull’s eye” design the next year.

WASHINGTON - US TELECOM giant AT&T said on Tuesday that Apple iPhone owners would be allowed to use Internet voice calling on its wireless network, paving the way for services such as Skype.

‘Today’s decision was made after evaluating our customers’ expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer,’ said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive of AT&T mobility and consumer markets.

AT&T, the exclusive US carrier of Apple’s smartphone, said it had informed the computer titan and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of its decision to allow Voice over Internet Protocal (VoIP) calling on its third-generation (3G) wireless network.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski welcomed the move. ‘When AT&T indicated, in response to the FCC’s inquiry, that it would take another look at permitting VoIP on its 3G network I was encouraged,’ he said in a statement. ‘I commend AT&T’s decision to open its network to VoIP.

WASHINGTON - US TELECOM giant AT&T said on Tuesday that Apple iPhone owners would be allowed to use Internet voice calling on its wireless network, paving the way for services such as Skype.

‘Today’s decision was made after evaluating our customers’ expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer,’ said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive of AT&T mobility and consumer markets.

AT&T, the exclusive US carrier of Apple’s smartphone, said it had informed the computer titan and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of its decision to allow Voice over Internet Protocal (VoIP) calling on its third-generation (3G) wireless network.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski welcomed the move. ‘When AT&T indicated, in response to the FCC’s inquiry, that it would take another look at permitting VoIP on its 3G network I was encouraged,’ he said in a statement. ‘I commend AT&T’s decision to open its network to VoIP.

Dell, Android, and AT&T

The Dell-AT&T Android phone, The Journal says, could hit store shelves as soon as early 2010. The paper vaguely cites “people briefed on the plans” as having provided the information. And here you thought that kind of vaguely sourced speculation was reserved only for Apple products.

Consumers won’t see a “Qualcomm Inside” sticker on new Windows Mobile phones, but the chip supplier is playing a big role in powering the first crop of phones based on Microsoft’s new operating system.

Microsoft announced on Tuesday, the first phones to carry the Windows Phone brand and run the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system–which offers Adobe Flash support, an upgraded browser, and menus that can be navigated with a finger. AT&T has already announced the smartphones, with dozens more expected to be rolled out by the end of the year.

The Tilt 2 and Pure both use Qualcomm MSM7000 series processors, as do a number of other new Windows Mobile phones. These chips typically run at 528GHz–a fairly common speed grade for mobile phones.

But it’s at the high end where things get interesting. The Apple iPhone-like HTC HD2 and Acer neoTouch use Qualcomm’s latest-and-greatest processor, the 1GHz Snapdragon, also known as the QSD8250.

Anyone living within North America can now fill their iPod with tracks purchased from the iTunes Store, as Apple has launched the store in Mexico. Mexican residents will now be able to purchase music from the four major labels and hundreds of indie labels, take advantage of features like “Complete My Album” and snag advance tracks. Tracks will cost 12 Pesos (around 92 cents) and albums will run 120 pesos (about $9). iPhone users will be able to download tracks over the 3G network. On the video end, music videos and podcasts are available for purchase, but movies and TV shows so far are not. For Mexicans looking for an easy-out from gift-giving, Apple will be offering gift cards in 200, 300 and 600-peso varieties at a variety of outlets. [via PC World]

No sooner had we written about reports that Sony would be dropping its 80GB PS3 in Japan on August 9, that two more
PS3-related news items surfaced.

This just in: Netflix appears to be set to launch Watch Instantly for some new devices—namely, the Nintendo Wii console and the little handheld platform from Apple. The source of this rumor is “an industry executive familiar with Netflix’s plans” who spoke on (we assume) the condition of anonymity to Multichannel News. That executive says that Netflix plans to launch streaming for the iPhone, iPod touch, and Nintendo Wii very soon.