NEW NET Issues List for 27 Nov 2007

NEW NET will meet tonight at the Cambria Suites Hotel on the north side of Appleton. Cambria has free wireless, good food and a large selection of beverages. Below is the final list of issues for the Tuesday, 27 November 2007, NEW NET (Northeast Wisconsin Network for Economy and Technology) 7:00 - 9:00 pm weekly gathering at Cambria Suites Hotel, 3940 N. Gateway Drive, Appleton Wisconsin, USA.

The ‘net

1. TripIt helps track trip plans http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_hi_te/tech_test_trip_planner
2. Web site aims to help caretakers of aging parents http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071119/wr_nm/boomers_caring1_dc
3. Microsoft will face online fight on core software http://tinyurl.com/25joyz (TimesOnline)
4. Skype "could have saved London numbers" http://tinyurl.com/28vajv (PCPro UK)
5. Zoho Writer lets you edit documents offline http://venturebeat.com/2007/11/25/zoho-writer-now-lets-you-edit-documents-offline/ http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/zoho_on_gears.php

Security, Privacy & Digital Controls

1. Making malware unprofitable: economics key to slowing hackers down http://tinyurl.com/2fv2jx (Ars technica)
2. Is security software becoming a security risk? http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20071122/tc_infoworld/93601
3. Tidal wave of spam despite filters http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2007-11-22-spam_N.htm
4. Making Rules, II http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2007/11/26/making-rules-ii/
5. How desktop virtualization will save your company from Generation Y http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=675
6. Online investigations into job candidates: illegal? http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/nov/27/news.socialnetworking
7. Why the RIAA may be afraid of targeting Harvard students http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071126-why-the-riaa-may-be-afraid-of-targeting-harvard-students.html

Mobile Computing & Communicating

1. Amazon's Kindle device out of stock http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9822429-7.html
2. Nokia N810: unboxing and first impressions http://tinyurl.com/238k6u (Ars technica)
3. RIM Working on iPhone Rival? http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139880-c,iphone/article.html
4. Mobile Web: So Close Yet So Far http://tinyurl.com/36ympc (NY Times)

Open Source

1. ASUS eeePC: First impressions, GPL issues http://cliffhacks.blogspot.com/2007/11/asus-eeepc-first-impressions-and-gpl.html
2. Asus posts more Eee source code to comply with the GPL http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/26/asus-posts-more-eee-source-code-to-comply-with-the-gpl/
3. Play Pac-man (and more!) on your Linux PC http://www.linux.com/feature/121911
4. Asus Eee PC - breakthrough Linux product faces threat http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15483/1023/
5. Skype's beta videophone for Linux looks pretty good http://www.linux.com/feature/121819

SkyNet

1. Google Maps Should Push The Wikipedia Analogy Further http://techdirt.com/articles/20071119/162541.shtml
2. Bizarre politics of the Google-DoubleClick deal http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9821768-38.html
3. Workshop to boost Google skills http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071125/A_NEWS/711250314
4. Google’s Gdrive allegedly coming; Still late to the party http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=7144
5. Understanding Google http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2007/11/understanding_g.php
6. After criticism, Google confirms that it doesn't own your spreadsheets http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071126-after-criticism-google-confirms-that-it-doesnt-own-your-fantasy-football-spreadsheets.html

General Technology

1. One Laptop per Child Extends Give One Get One Program Through December 31 http://tinyurl.com/2jncgt (BusinessWire)
2. FCX: Honda’s Hydrogen Car http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2007-11-22-fcx-clarity_N.htm
3. NVIDIA launches mobile version of next-gen G92 GPU http://tinyurl.com/ytm8kl (Ars technica)
4. How AMD/ATI Can Turn the Tide http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2219803,00.asp
5. The holiday shopper's guide to laptops http://tinyurl.com/2k6wx9 (ComputerWorld)
6. Improvements: people focused on new cameras http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2007-11-20-digital-cameras_N.htm
7. OLPC: How do we gauge success? Will 490,000 units do? http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=7135
8. What is the meaning of meaning based computing? http://blogs.zdnet.com/Foremski/?p=216 http://autonomy.com
9. Don Norman: Tech design with thought http://www.news.com/2008-1041_3-6219608.html
10. Cheap sensors could capture your every move http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn12963-cheap-sensors-could-capture-your-every-move.html
11. Microsoft Quietly Readies Windows XP Update http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139826-c,xp/article.html
12. Problems with Apple’s new Leopard OSX? http://www.tomsguide.com/us/2007/11/22/more_leopard_problems_plague_apple/

Leisure & Entertainment

1. Wii Celebrates Birthday With 'Super Mario Galaxy' http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312598,00.html
2. Interactive Web videos clicking with bands http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071124/wr_nm/interactive_dc
3. Can PS3 and Xbox 360 Capitalize on Wii's Woes? http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20071120/bs_nf/56833
4. The R4 chip is only small - but it looks like a giant pirate to Nintendo http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article2933237.ece

Economy and Technology

1. AT&T calls teleworkers back to cubicle life http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/111907-att-telework-questioned.html
2. Telecommuting Improves Morale, Cuts Stress http://www.internetnews.com/breakingnews/article.php/3712336
3. Study linking broadband, job creation shows need for coherent US policy http://tinyurl.com/22pqwe (Ars technica)
4. Ten Penny-Pinching Ideas for 2008 http://www.businessweek.com/print/technology/content/nov2007/tc20071120_184990.htm
5. Intuit to Acquire Homestead Technologies http://tinyurl.com/2gdwpd (BusinessWire)
6. Go west young engineer; Silicon Valley needs you! http://blogs.zdnet.com/Foremski/?p=214
7. Russian Innovators Don’t Trust Russian VCs http://blogs.zdnet.com/Foremski/?p=215
8. Beware: Software Group Targets Small Business http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3913078

Civilian Aerospace

1. Middle East Space Camp complex to open in 2010 http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1195726585131480.xml&coll=1
2. Other spaceports reach for sky http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071118/NEWS02/711180330/-1/aftershuttle
3. Bezos, Amazon.com: Blue Origin Rocket Progress http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2007/11/21/bezos-amazoncom-blue-origin-rocket-progress/

Supercomputing & GPUs

1. Submissions Now Being Accepted for Internet2 IDEA Awards http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1903475.html
2. Acceleware Hosts Webinar On GPUs for Seismic Processing http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1904585.html
3. Team Led by IU Wins Supercomputing Bandwidth Competition http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1898101.html

*****

The Wii Shortage

One of the consumer electronics most in demand for Christmas 2007 is the Nintendo Wii.

There are two reasons for this.

1. The Wii is fun for nearly everyone to play, including women of all ages, kids, grandparents and other people who would give up after ten minutes of trying to play video games on an XBox 360 or Sony PS3.
2. The Wii, which has been on the market for over a year, is still in limited supply, and many people who want to buy them as a gift for Christmas this year will not be able to get one.

The question in my mind is why there is still a shortage more than one year after the initial launch of the Wii. One would think by now that manufacturing capacity for the Wii could have been increased to the point where everyone who wanted the video game console could buy one. At this point, though, one must wonder whether the situation is due to a conscious choice by Nintendo management or if it's come about in spite of those top decision makers.

Is the shortage due to a scarcity of components, manufacturing process challenges for one or more of the components of the Wii, or bumbling amongst the people responsible for manufacturing the consoles? The lack of Wiis in the store could be caused by Nintendo management deciding from a marketing buzz standpoint that Wii shortages would in the long run sell more units than immediately boosting production to have store shelves full of Wiis. Another possibility is Nintendo might be simply making a prudent business decision to ramp up production cautiously to prevent unsold inventory if consumers lose interest in the Wii.

One factor Nintendo may have taken into account if they are consciously limiting Wii supply is there have not been any megahit games for the Wii. In the video game console market, megahit games often drive sales of the consoles. The release of the XBox 360 game Halo in September 2007 resulted in more XBox 360s being sold than Wiis that month. It was the only month in 2007 in which the Wii wasn't the highest selling console. No megahits on the Wii yet is likely more an outcome of video game studios pooh-poohing the Wii prior to its release than a reflection on the console's gaming capabilities. Many studios are scrambling to develop and release new Wii games, and at some point the combination of wide demographic appeal and the sheer number of consoles sold will produce best seller Wii games. A lack thus far of a Wii megahit was mentioned in a recent Associated Press article on Yahoo! News:

"...A year after its introduction, Nintendo's console isn't easy to find. In spot checks of retailers (Target, Best Buy, GameStop) last weekend, I was able to find plenty of Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s, but not a single Wii. While the Wii has outsold its competitors, there have only been a few great games — "Super Paper Mario," "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" — for the system. That will certainly change as other publishers devote more resources to Wii games and Nintendo brings more of its franchise characters to the console. And Nintendo has enlisted the biggest video-game star of all to celebrate the Wii's first birthday..."

A NewsFactor.com article on Yahoo! News points to manufacturing problems without mentioning any specific issues:

"...For Nintendo, the critical question is whether the revolutionary gaming platform will continue to be a consumer favorite or a lingering manufacturing hangover will stifle sales...Given the robust sales and continued demand for the Wii, the upcoming holiday season should be a good one for Nintendo, but the company has been hampered by manufacturing delays. "Here's the good news," Roger Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo America, said in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. "The good news is we're flowing more and more product into the marketplace, and the amount of Wii hardware that will be in North American stores will be unprecedented. Substantially more than the launch, substantially more than has been seen to date."...Fils-Aime said that retail outlets would receive regular shipments, and that consumers should periodically check with retailers in their area to see when new shipments would arrive..."

Echoing the thought that Nintendo is consciously managing production rate and inventory is a NewsFactor.com article from Yahoo! News:

"...Retailers have reported that Wii units sell out within a few days, even though Nintendo has said it increased production for the holiday season. Some observers have said that Nintendo appears to be increasing supply slowly, so as not to cause a glut..."

In the end, it may simply be decided the Wii achieved that most difficult of objectives in our global economy: balanced supply and demand for a highly desired product. Luke W said although the store shelves may often be bare of the consoles, it's not all that hard to find one somewhere if you do some calling around. His opinion is echoed in an Associated Press article on Yahoo! News:

"...But this year, it looks like the gift everybody is looking for is the same as last year: the Nintendo Wii. A year after its launch, the small video game console sells out almost immediately when it reaches stores, even after Nintendo Co. has ramped up production several times. "Right now, if you work at it, it's not too hard," said John Lawrence, of Fort Worth, Texas, who bought a Wii a few weeks ago for his 9-year-old grandson. It took him some online sleuthing to find one at a local GameStop..."

As Luke W stated today, "Regardless of the reason for the Wii shortage, the console is pretty much a license for Nintendo to print money."

*****

Registering Website Domain Names

This post is for people who are interested in registering a new domain name for a website but who haven't had experience doing this.

Domain names are the website names that are typed in a browser address box located near the top center on a browser webpage. Examples of domain names are google.com, openoffice.org, or whitehouse.gov. Before putting up a new website, one first needs to register the domain name (website name).

This post is not a comprehensive overview of all the issues involved with choosing and registering domain names. Instead it gives five common and generally reliable options for registering a new domain name. If you want more registrar options to consider, do a Google search for "domain name registrar" or read the comments in this 2006 post on Lifehacker.

The five 'registrars' discussed below are:

1. directNIC
2. Go Daddy
3. 1and1
4. Yahoo!
5. Microsoft LiveOffice

The reason registrar is written above in quotes is because there are various definitions or classifications of domain registrar. Some are just re-sellers rather than the actual registrar. For example, you can get a domain name through Google, but they are a re-seller for Go Daddy and eNom.

None of the registrars listed below are guaranteed to be trouble-free. If you check out forums and online complaints about registrars, you can find negative comments and reports of problems with every registrar out there. If you ask five people for a registrar recommendation, you will get three to five different recommendations. Sometimes this is because people are looking for different services and features from their registrar. Other times it will be because they had a bad experience with one or more registrars. If you want the highest chance of a trouble-free experience, use directNIC. If you want the lowest possible registration fee, or lowest cost for registration, website hosting and other services, do online research and talk to a number of people who have registered more than one website. Just remember, though, there's a reason some of the domain registrars are low-priced.

directNIC is Luke W's domain registrar of choice. He has used them for several websites, and has a hard-core geek friend who uses them for all his domain registration. Luke has never had a problem with directNIC and is familiar with how to access and use their various services. They are not the least expensive option, but neither are they the most expensive. A dot-com domain name registration through directNIC costs $15/year, which is double or triple what some registrars charge. If you register tens or hundreds of domain names, you'd probably want to go with a less expensive registrar. If you manage hundreds of domain names, you also might want to talk with the people at directNIC about a special price. They may have high-volume pricing that I don't know about simply because I have less than ten domain names.

Go Daddy has been recommended to me by several people who have used it. It's a large registrar, well-known amongst people who register domain names, especially the retail market. Although you can find companies who register domains for less, the absolutely lowest priced registrar could well be a roll of the dice as to how reliable they are. If your primary criteria is a low cost to register your domain, I'd recommend Go Daddy or 1and1 (described next). When Luke went through Go Daddy's domain registration process, he had advertising for additional services or products continually shoved in front of him, something that directNIC doesn't do. Google must figure Go Daddy is reliable enough, though, because that's the company they chose to work with when Google started to provide domain registration.

1and1 was recommended to me by a few people as a reliable low-cost domain registrar. I've never personally used them, so I can't give you any first-hand experiences. However, when doing a survey of available registrars, they seemed to be rated about the same as Go Daddy. The likelihood of having domain registrar problems is about the same with 1and1 as Go Daddy, and slightly higher with those two than with directNIC or Yahoo!.

Yahoo! provides domain registration as a way to attract small and medium businesses to their web services, as well as to make a bit of money on consumer website services. I've registered a number of sites with Yahoo! and have had no problems. The company is stable enough that I don't worry about dealing with going-out-of-business issues. The main concern I'd have with Yahoo! is that they're so large and domain registration is such a small part of their business, it might be a challenge finding a person to talk to if you did have problems. Yahoo! charges a couple dollars more per year for domains than Go Daddy or 1and1, but less than directNIC. (I guess I'd place Google on about the same level as Yahoo! for domain registration, although depending on the terms and conditions at the time you register, Google may give you private registration for your $10, while Yahoo! and the others generally charge an extra fee for private registration.)

Microsoft LiveOffice is an attractive option for some people when registering a domain name. The reason for this is they give you the domain name for free, along with free email and free website hosting. They offer this free package with the expectation that many people will outgrow the limited free package. If individuals or companies do outgrow the free package, the easiest way to expand the website capabilities is to start paying money for Microsoft's deluxe webservices. You're welcome to keep the website domain name and use somebody else's web services, like website hosting, but at that point you'll have to start paying the annual domain registration fees. Because Microsoft requires a valid credit card when signing up for the free domain name (although they don't charge you anything for the free domain name or site hosting), it's easy for you to just tell them to start charging the monthly or annual advanced services fee to the credit card. Also, the templates for the free websites are somewhat limiting, but it's a darned good deal for what it costs you. My company's nanofiber nonwovens website domain name and website were set-up through this free deal.

Above are five reasonable choices for you to use if you just thought of a great website domain name and don't know who to register it through. There are lots of reasons to pick one registrar over another and no room to discuss those reasons in this post. But for now you at least have five choices -- so don't delay; register that domain name TODAY!

*****

Open Source Hardware

Open source hardware is at an interesting point in its development -- its infancy.

None of us knows exactly what the fledgling concept can or will develop into. A person passionate about open source hardware will have both great challenges and nearly limitless possibilities. Jumping in now as a pioneer in the field of open source hardware will enable smart and dedicated individuals to have a huge impact on this field.

I was involved in a discussion this week about a proposed open source hardware project. As a result of the discussion, I went online and pulled up information about several open source hardware projects I knew about. A short search was also done to find out what other hardware projects might have sprung up in the past year or two.

A good starting point for those interested in this topic is the Wikipedia article about open source hardware. There are links to some of projects, but it's likely a number of new hardware projects have been started in the past year which aren't listed on the Wikipedia page. If I dig up worthwhile information on this subject in the next couple weeks, I may register on Wikipedia and update the article. Although not a Wikipedia contributor to this point, I plan on collaborating on a few articles there during the upcoming month.

For those not familiar with the open source concept, one way to consider it is as

...a set of principles and practices that promote access to the design and production of goods and knowledge...with relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions...

Another way to look at open source is that people are legally and ethically free to copy and modify the item produced under open source terms. A common phrase in the open source community is that 'free software' is free as in 'free speech', not as in 'free beer.' This means people are welcome to modify open source software to make it better suited for their application. Proprietary software, on the other hand, like Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, or Adobe Photoshop/Creative Suite, prohibits the user from modifying the program.

Although the concept of free software is primarily meant to cover the freedom people have to modify how the software works (free speech), the practical result is you can get many open source software programs at no cost. It is possible to put together a computer having just about any kind of computer program you need at absolutely no cost for the software. However, people or companies are also able to sell the programs under certain conditions.

This blog post doesn't have room for a definitive discussion of open source concepts because there are so many conflicting opinions about what open source is or should be. The open source movement is also relatively young, and the definitions of what open source is and how to develop, monetize and protect it are being discussed and revised on a daily basis. No one knows just where the open source concept is taking us...

Three of the best-known open source software projects are Linux, Firefox and OpenOffice.org. Linux is a personal computer operating system. It can be used as an alternative to Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X to run your computer. Firefox is a widely-used web browser alternative to Microsoft Internet Explorer. OpenOffice.org, with a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program and drawing program, is an office productivity suite which is an alternative to Microsoft Office.

Three key features of software which enabled the open source movement to grow as large as it has are:

1. Low cost and ease of making many copies of a product (software programs)
   
2. Ability of the internet to easily distribute the product being developed
3. Ability of the internet to easily communicate about and collaborate on the project

Open source hardware projects have the difficult, but not insurmountable, challenge of having only the last of those three features listed above, the fantastic communication and collaboration tools provided by today's internet. The question thus becomes,

Are the advantages of those internet communication, collaboration, and community-building tools enough to overcome the cost and difficulty of making many copies of a complex hardware product and to overcome the inability of the internet to distribute the hardware product?

An open source software developer only needs to have a computer, software programs and an internet connection for collaborating with others to develop, produce and distribute their software product. Whilst some contributors for hardware projects may contribute only knowledge or software components, some open source hardware developers may need expensive machinery, a production facility, expensive raw materials, highly-paid skilled workers, a physical storage location and a delivery service for collaborating with others to develop, produce and distribute their hardware products.

If changes are needed to a product, the software developer often has little or no inventory losses and may be able to simply make available on the internet a patch or update to the program. This costs the developer little or nothing to distribute. If a hardware product needs to be upgraded, it may require different raw materials, it may cause inventory to be obsolete and may require expensive recalls or field changes to previously sold or distributed products. This will almost certainly cost the hardware developer a pretty penny.

One benefit open source hardware has compared to software is that the rate of obsolescence is likely to be slower. Many cars produced ten or twenty years ago are still just as useful or productive as when they were first made, are in good condition and are driven daily.

Very few software programs written ten or twenty years ago are still as effective as they were when first released, and very few are still in regular use today. There are exceptions on both sides of the fence, of course, such as twenty year old computing hardware seldom still being useful. Generally speaking, however, a well-designed and well-produced hardware product has a longer useful life than a software product.

The benefit of the hardware product's longer life is that many hardware products are not radically redesigned on a short life cycle. Much of the knowledge, skills and tools required for making a particular hardware product ten years ago will still be useful for making the current generation of that same hardware product.

Another benefit to producers of open source hardware compared to software is the increased difficulty in making copies of the hardware product. Software programs can be copied in seconds using only a standard computer. Hardware products will require raw materials, special tools or equipment, skill and information about the product such as dimensions and materials of construction.

As technology advances and the global economy becomes an established fact of life, reverse engineering and advanced tools such as 3D scanners are making it easier to copy hardware products. 3D scanners measure the dimensions of an object and incorporate those dimensions into a program or drawing which can then be used by someone to make an exact duplicate of the scanned object. This makes it easier to customize hardware products with small beneficial changes. Someone may have an idea about how to beneficially change an open source hardware product's design slightly. Rather than draw an entirely new drawing of the object from scratch, they can use a 3D scanner to generate a CAD drawing (computer aided design) of the object, then make their changes to that CAD drawing. This saves time and money and makes it easier for people to improve on hardware designs developed by others. Of course there's also the downside that it makes it easier for unscrupulous manufacturers to make counterfeit copies of non-open source hardware products. Companies in countries with weakly enforced intellectual property laws are suspected or known to use these technological tools to enable production of millions of dollars worth of illegal items. This allows those companies to participate in the global marketplace without spending much money on research and development of new products.

Three examples of open source hardware projects are the OScar vehicle, the c,mm,n car, and the Solar Heat Pump Electrical Generation System (SHPEGS).

The OScar is a project to

"...develop a car according to Open Source principles. In our opinion, a car is not a vehicle full of high-tech gadgets. Instead, we are looking for a simple and functional concept to spread mobility. Form follows function. Apart from that, OScar is not just a car. It is about new ways of mobility and the spreading of the Open Source idea in the real (physical) world."

The c,mm,n car, per the project's website, is being

"...developed by the three Dutch technological universities of Delft, Eindhoven and Twente. Their developing c,mm,n was a response to the challenge set out by Stichting Natuur en Milieu, the netherlands Society for Nature and Environment. This challenge was basically 'to develop a realistic, feasible, sustainable mobility concept for 2020'..."

The SHPEGS project goal is to

"...design and build a system that uses a combination of direct and indirect solar collection to generate electricity and store thermal energy in an economical, environmentally friendly, scalable, reliable, efficient and location independent manner using common construction materials. The project is being managed with a similar methodology to Open Source Software Development and the ideas and contributions are being published openly on the Internet without an attempt to secure patents."

As is shown by the above examples, some open source hardware projects are complex and challenging. Other projects, like the Chumby, are not as complex and have less grandiose goals.

Embracing aspects of open source hardware, or closely related in spirit to open source hardware projects are the MIT Fab Lab, TechShop, Bug Labs, and Ponoko. The concepts behind these four organizations focus strongly on enabling people to do more with open source hardware products. In northeast Wisconsin, an incarnation of the MIT Fab Lab is emerging at Fox Valley Technical College. Other technical colleges and organizations have expressed an interest in bringing similar facilities to Wisconsin and connecting with existing facilities. Participating in the building and strengthening of both statewide and global networks of labs, workshops and organizations who embrace the open source hardware concepts is a golden opportunity for those interested in the movement's possibilities.

Open Sources 2.0 is a recent book from O'Reilly Publishing. If you want to learn more about open source global activities from leaders of the movement, take time to read the essays in Open Sources 2.0.

Open source software has proven its value and will not be fading into the sunset to be only a footnote in an encyclopedia of computer science. It may even change the world and make proprietary 'closed-source' software a much smaller market -- a thought which must give Microsoft executives and other producers of proprietary software some sleepless nights.

Open source hardware's story is just in its first paragraph. It might turn out to be a very short story. It could sputter and fizzle and struggle, with the end result being a book that gets bad reviews and sells few copies. If, however, the stars are aligned properly, if the right passionate and intelligent people get involved with open source hardware, if nanotechnology and other emerging technologies pan out the way some people predict, and if the world's consumers have a bit of good luck, open source hardware will be a best seller and will change the world.

*****

NEW NET Issues List for 20 Nov 2007

Hmmmm...this is bad. Just noticed this is the first blog post since last week's NEW NET issues list. Between a couple projects and being out of town for a long weekend, the blogging received too little attention. Making up for that lapse will be a good goal for the upcoming week!

Below is the final list of issues for the TUESDAY, 20 November 2007, NEW NET (Northeast Wisconsin Network for Economy and Technology) 7:00 - 9:00 pm weekly gathering. This week we'll be back at the Stone Cellar Brewpub. It is located at 1004 S. Olde Oneida Street, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. They have good food and beverages and free wireless, although the seating is less than optimal for a NEW NET meeting...

The ‘net

1. Microsoft: Hallucinating...Or About to Buy Yahoo? http://tinyurl.com/27cwr9 (Huffington Post)
2. LinkedIn and The Future of Business Networking http://tinyurl.com/2pewsk (Read/Write Web)
3. SeatQuest lets you search for event tickets online http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9819186-7.html
4. Brookstone 3D online store http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9047459
5. Retailers Explore New Ways of Being Paid http://tinyurl.com/yuu9o7 (NY Times)
6. Best Buy Black Friday Bonus Doorbusters: Toshiba Laptop for $229 http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/black-friday/best-buy-black-friday-bonus-doorbusters-announced-324728.php
7. The Gizmodo Ultimate Black Friday Deal Guide http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/black-friday-plan/the-gizmodo-ultimate-black-friday-deal-guide-324697.php
8. 20 Essential Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog To http://www.searchenginejournal.com/20-essential-blog-directories-to-submit-your-blog-to/5998/

Security, Privacy & Digital Controls

1. House Votes for No Telco Immunity http://www.eweek.com/article2/0%2C1759%2C2218334%2C00.asp
2. Symantec's Top 10 Internet Security Trends http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071117/tc_cmp/203101766
3. Protect against external threats to your computer http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20071116/tc_infoworld/93447
4. Most computer security threats from within http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/19/42OPsecadvise-insider-threats_1.html
5. With Web 2.0, a new breed of malware evolves http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20071114/tc_infoworld/93425
6. Be your own personal privacy czar http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7101637.stm
7. Apple Secretly Tracking iPhone IMEI and Usage http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/11/12686/
8. Early report of Apple spying on iPhone users looks off-base http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/vindu/2007/11/19/another-reason-to-avoid-the-iphone-apple-spies-on-users/
9. Parents the winner in Leopard, Vista showdown http://www.news.com/Parents-the-winner-in-Leopard,-Vista-showdown/2009-1025_3-6219420.html

Mobile Computing & Communicating

1. Amazon to debut Kindle e-book reader Monday http://tinyurl.com/2fgsuu (News.com)
2. PDA Market Continues Its Downward Spiral http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20071115/tc_zd/219625
3. Bango Button Pushes Digital Content To Mobile Phones http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071117/tc_cmp/203101616
4. A Mobile VoIP Forecast & What’s Up With Jajah, Raketu & mig33 http://gigaom.com/2007/11/18/a-mobile-voip-forecast-whats-up-with-jajah-raketu-mig33/

Open Source

1. MS's Bill Hilf Reveals Open Source Strategy http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=203100965
2. Linux: Show us your Chumby http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1005712
3. Antivirus Programs For Ubuntu http://www.lockergnome.com/linux/2007/11/13/antivirus-programs-for-ubuntu/

SkyNet

1. Google to Go it Alone in 700 MHz Auction http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/11/google-to-go-it.html
2. Don't expect Google to take on AT&T http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9819183-7.html?tag=nefd.top
3. The past, present and future of email with Google Apps http://tinyurl.com/3axax2 (Google Enterprise)
4. Gmail Update Draws Gripes http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139761-pg,1/article.html
5. Google Maps Goes Wikimapia, Lets The People Move The Map Points http://searchengineland.com/071119-085023.php
6. Open Letter To Senators Hatch & Kohl About Google-DoubleClick http://searchengineland.com/071120-100056.php

General Technology

1. Students get charge out of pedal power http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/energy-laptop-1108.html
2. Abu Dhabi Takes 8% Stake in AMD http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/technology/17chip.html?ref=business
3. UN Panel Gives Dire Climate Change Forecast http://tinyurl.com/3czsgc (Washington Post)
4. 23andme: Evil Or The Way Of The Future? http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/17/23andme-evil-or-the-way-of-the-future/
5. Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill Stalled in Senate http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/11/genomics_sidebar
6. AMD Launches New Graphics Cards http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139701-c,graphicschips/article.html
7. Computer Tune-up http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/11/16/a-complete-tune-up-for-your-ailing-computer-free/
8. Metal Storm reaches Navy test range http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9819143-7.html
9. AMD betting Spider/Phenom's got game http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=203101774
10. On the Job, Everywhere http://tinyurl.com/35saf8 (NY Times)
11. Hikari Rro920, World's tiniest projector! http://www.oculon.com.tw/en/pressroom/pre-01more.aspx?nowpage=&type=1&id=41

Leisure & Entertainment

1. J Allard: Failures of the Zune http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/j-allard-the-failures-of-the-zune-and-the-record-labels/
2. New Zune media player in short supply http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071117/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_zunes_sold_out
3. Portrait: Alien Arena creator John Diamond http://www.linux.com/feature/121050
4. Nintendo Launches Wii Zapper, DS Bundles http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/14878/nintendo_launches_wii_zapper_ds_bundles
5. Exactly How Deadly Is The Wii Zapper? http://kotaku.com/gaming/nintendo/exactly-how-deadly-is-the-wii-zapper-324670.php
6. Meebo’s Got Game http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/20/meebos-got-game/

Economy and Technology

1. Google: 1 million+ Have Used the LBC http://gesterling.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/google-seven-figures-have-used-the-lbc/
2. 10 Black Friday Secrets Retailers Don't Want You to Know http://www.internetnews.com/commentary/article.php/3711701
3. Google's Huge, Risky Wireless Plan Could Crush Cash Flow http://www.alleyinsider.com/2007/11/googles-huge-ri.html

Civilian Aerospace

1. Review: The Wonder of It All http://www.thespacereview.com/article/996/1
2. Commercial Spacesuit Tailors Hire NASA Contest Winner http://www.space.com/news/0711116-private-spacesuits.html
3. Ticket for New Space Tourism Experience for Sale http://www.space.com/news/071115-backup-space-tourist.html
4. DIRECTV Offers to Install HD in the New International Space Station Module http://tinyurl.com/2sz7fv (Business Wire)

Supercomputing & GPUs

1. SUPERCOMPUTING 2007 Tutorial: High Performance Computing with CUDA http://www.gpgpu.org/sc2007/
2. NVIDIA Unveils New Version of CUDA Software Suite http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1895951.html
3. Schools Adopt NVIDIA CUDA for Parallel Programming Courses http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1895968.html
4. MATLAB's Journey to Parallel Computing http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1894516.html
5. India builds world’s 4^th most powerful computer http://tinyurl.com/37kjyj (ComputerWorld)
6. PC-era moxie lives anew at supercomputer show http://tinyurl.com/2le6qx (ComputerWorld)
7. Microsoft announces plan to simplify parallel-computing development http://tinyurl.com/339p6n (ComputerWorld)

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NEW NET Issues List for 13 Nov 2007

NEW NET will meet tonight at the excellent Cambria Suites Hotel on the north side of Appleton. Cambria has free wireless, great quality meals for those who don't have time to eat supper before coming to NEW NET and a good variety of drink choices. Below is the final list of issues for the Tuesday, 13 November 2007, NEW NET (Northeast Wisconsin Network for Economy and Technology) 7:00 - 9:00 pm weekly gathering at Cambria Suites Hotel, 3940 N. Gateway Drive, Appleton Wisconsin, USA.

The ‘net

1. Blist: Web-Based Database App http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/10/blist-prepares-easy-web-based-database-application/
2. Live Search gets gimmicky: taps prizes to lure search engine users, data http://tinyurl.com/2flhp9 (Ars technica)
3. Internet2 & LambdaRail merger called off http://tinyurl.com/2723pz (Ars technica)
4. Click a mouse, feed a mouth in U.N. campaign http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071109/tc_nm/food_dc
5. Six Days Later, 90% Of Navisite Servers Back Up http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071109/tc_cmp/202804047
6. MySpace invites Facebook to new OpenSocial technical platform http://tinyurl.com/2skjxk (MarketWatch)
7. SocialAds Implications: Facebook will Acquire iLike and Flixster http://tinyurl.com/yotsv8 (Dare Obasanjo)
8. Hack the Holidays and Score the Best Deals Online http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/11/shopping_strategies
9. OpenBox: One place to save all your stuff, everywhere http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9815555-2.html

Security, Privacy & Digital Controls

1. The Eternal Value of Privacy http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2006/05/70886
2. Russian hacker gang vanishes day after moving to China http://tinyurl.com/yo5jau (ComputerWorld)
3. PIRATE Act swashbuckles back into Senate http://tinyurl.com/2hjj5r (Ars technica)
4. Feds can get at "secure" e-mail http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071108-secure-hushmail-can-still-talk-to-the-feds.html
5. IndiaTimes.com Visitors Risk High Exposure To Malware http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071110/tc_cmp/202804433
6. Trend Micro Protects PS3 From Bad Web Sites http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20071108/tc_pcworld/139414
7. Microsoft exec calls XP hack 'frightening' http://www.news.com/Microsoft-exec-calls-XP-hack-frightening/2100-7349_3-6218238.htm
8. Seagate ships Maxtor hard drives with viruses http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/11/12/Seagate-ships-virus-laden-hard-drives_1.html

Mobile Computing & Communicating

1. Cellphone Straitjacket Is Inspiring a Rebellion http://tinyurl.com/yobwlw (NY Times)
2. IPhone goes on sale in Europe http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071110/ap_on_hi_te/europe_apple_iphone
3. iPhone Crowds? Don’t believe the hype! http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/blog/?p=750
4. ARM's CEO talks of iPhone, Android, and Acorns http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20071108/tc_infoworld/93267
5. LG Launches iPhone-Like Smartphone In Europe http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071107/tc_cmp/202802997
6. Avaya Gives iPhone an Enterprise Extension http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3710486

Open Source

1. Red Hat Taps Amazon Compute Cloud http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20071108/bs_nf/56578
2. Red Hat's Fedora 8 hope: An all-purpose Linux foundation http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9813113-39.html
3. Use open source to build your own top-class online presence for nothing http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15281/53/
4. New Yahoo! Program:Open-Source Software for Internet Computing http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=275236
5. One-stop open-source support launched in U.K. http://www.news.com/One-stop-open-source-support-launched-in-U.K./2100-7344_3-6218232.html
6. gOS: The Little Desktop Linux that Came Out of the Blue http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2216197,00.asp

SkyNet

1. Q&A With Google Android Developer http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139331-c,nonwindowsoss/article.html
2. Gas stations getting pumped for Google Maps http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9812772-7.html
3. Google's web indexing architecture targeted by patent lawsuit http://tinyurl.com/2hk35a (Ars technica)
4. That’s Your AIM in My GTalk http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/09/thats-your-aim-in-my-gtalk/
5. Google Android: we want developers but… http://scobleizer.com/2007/11/12/google-android-we-want-developers-but/
6. Google & Go Daddy Partner On Webmaster Tools http://www.internetfinancialnews.com/financialblogtalk/news/ifn-6-20071113GoogleGoDaddyPartneronWebmasterTools.html

General Technology

1. Hypervisor/flash combos mean an OS is just one way to boot http://tinyurl.com/2cl4zx (Ars technica)
2. HP Zooms Out of Camera Business http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20071108/tc_pcworld/139399
3. Skeptics raise doubts on global warming http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1111climate-debate1111.html
4. IBM: Next Phase of Autonomic Computing http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0325886.htm
5. Kansas City schools distribute MacBooks http://news.yahoo.com/s/macworld/20071107/tc_macworld/kansascity20071107
6. Intel Ships Power-Efficient Penryn CPUs http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139511/article.html
7. The Nerd Handbook http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2007/11/11/the_nerd_handbook.html
8. VMware Updates Its Free Offering http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2215586,00.asp

Leisure & Entertainment

1. John Carmack on the Nintendo DS http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/833/833894p1.html
2. AT&T Adds Pandora Music Service To Some Cell Phones http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071109/tc_cmp/202803827
3. EA to close Chicago office http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_on_hi_te/electronic_arts_closure

Economy and Technology

1. Confident in US tech sector melts away http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20071109/bs_ft/fto110920071844522767
2. Revolution Online Money Transfer Service vs PayPal http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071109/tc_cmp/202804023
3. IBM in $5B Deal for Cognos http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRoq-_O1FjF4ovX3de8sbU8tmFKgD8SS58K00

Civilian Aerospace

1. Student satellite to orbit Earth http://tinyurl.com/ypdf6t (Spartan Daily)
2. 2008 Regolith Excavation Challenge http://spaceprizes.blogspot.com/2007/11/2008-regolith-excavation-challenge_09.html
3. NASA 50th Anniversary Essay Competition http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Essay_Competition.html
4. SpaceDev to Develop New Thermal Radiator Technology for Air Force http://spacedev.com/press_more_info.php?id=209

Supercomputing & GPUs

1. AMD stream processor card goes against Nvidia’s Tesla http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34761/118/
2. RapidMind Releases Multi-core Development Platform v3.0 http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1878231.html
3. ISC'08 Previewed at SC07 http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1883727.html
4. Purdue Named NSF High Performance Computing Center http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1871601.html
5. Supercomputer researcher joins Microsoft http://tinyurl.com/2ctvxf (Ars technica)

*****