» Video: Corel’s Wordperfect Lightning is a free, lightweight collaborative word processor | Berlind’s Testbed | ZDNet.com

I suspect I could easily fill my hard disk with free rich text editing/etc. tools these days.  Interesting review, in any case, with a section covering the bigger-picture Corel business strategy/bet.

Based on what I saw in the beta version (released today) of Corel's new Wordperfect Lightning (I have a video as well as a screen gallery), the freely downloadable lightweight collaborative word processor could be a harbinger of things to come as the productivity heavyweights look to find a sweetspot between full-blown, expensive, and locally run office suites like Microsoft Office and a new breed of browser-based competitors from outfits like Google, the chief disadvantage of which is that they're unusable wherever and whenever an Internet connection is unavailable.

Source: » Video: Corel’s Wordperfect Lightning is a free, lightweight collaborative word processor | Berlind’s Testbed | ZDNet.com

Adobe Engage Notes « HighContrast

Timely and detailed Adobe reality check from Sim Simeonov; read the post for details 

The Adobe Engage event worked out well. The audience was sharp and with a broad range of perspectives. A few interesting points worth noting

Source: Adobe Engage Notes « HighContrast

New Profiling Program Raises Privacy Concerns - washingtonpost.com

Read the full article for more, e.g., on the  Disruptive Technology Office...

Bearing the unwieldy name Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight and Semantic Enhancement (ADVISE), the program is on the cutting edge of analytical technology that applies mathematical algorithms to uncover hidden relationships in data. The idea is to troll a vast sea of information, including audio and visual, and extract suspicious people, places and other elements based on their links and behavioral patterns.

The privacy violation, described in a Government Accountability Office report that is due out soon, was one of three by separate government data mining programs, according to the GAO. "Undoubtedly there are likely to be more," GAO Comptroller David M. Walker said in a recent congressional hearing.

Source: New Profiling Program Raises Privacy Concerns - washingtonpost.com

Google Operating System: Export a Notebook to Google Docs

Another offering in the Onfolio zone.  Perhaps Google, being almost exclusively focused on connected usage scenarios, will help to advance substantive hypertext innovation. 

Google Notebook has a new option: export to Google Docs. While the new document keeps the same formatting as the notebook, it's interesting to note that the images aren't saved in your document, so they still reference the original source. The transition is facilitated by the fact that Google Notebook and Google Docs use the same internal format

Source: Google Operating System: Export a Notebook to Google Docs

Ray Ozzie Speaks 'Live' - Microsoft, SaaS, Office Live, Windows Live, Software - CRN

Sounds kinda cool 

Also at the event, Ozzie said innovation is alive and well at Microsoft. He mentioned PhotoSynth software, which grew out of his Live Labs group.

The software "takes a large collection of photos of a place or an object, analyzes them for similarities, and then displays the photos in a reconstructed, three-dimensional space, showing you how each one relates to the next," according to Microsoft. "In our collections, you can access gigabytes of photos in seconds, view a scene from nearly any angle, find similar photos with a single click and zoom in to make the smallest detail as big as your monitor," the company said.

Source: Ray Ozzie Speaks 'Live' - Microsoft, SaaS, Office Live, Windows Live, Software - CRN

Parallels adds a little 'Coherence' to Windows virtualization for Macs

I wonder if anyone is using Apple's severely limited Windows virtualization alternative these days... 

Under Coherence, individual Windows applications show up as windows on the Macintosh desktop and can be docked just like any Mac app, according to information from Parallels. "Use Windows and Mac applications on your home OS X desktop at the same time ... [with] no moving between OSes," Parallels says on its Web site. Typically, users must switch between the host operating system and a guest OS in a virtual environment, in effect leaving one system's interface for the other. Coherence skips that part of the process.

Source: Parallels adds a little 'Coherence' to Windows virtualization for Macs

Sun sponsors Free Software Foundation | News.blog | CNET News.com

As an added bonus, it probably also provides some indirect ways for Sun to stick it to Linux vendors... 

The move fits with Sun's expressed fondness for version 3 of the General Public License (GPL) whose development the foundation now is leading. Sun is releasing Java as open-source software under the GPL.

Patron status gives Sun the right to market itself as such, two hours of consulting on licensing issues, and five T-shirts and baseball hats and miniature CDs that boot a version of the foundation's Gnu's Not Unix (GNU) operating systems based on the Linux kernel.

Source: Sun sponsors Free Software Foundation | News.blog | CNET News.com

Google Searches For Government Work - washingtonpost.com

A tiny team for Google at this point; see the article for details 

Google, meet Uncle Sam.

The search engine giant showed off its ambition yesterday to expand its business with the federal government, kicking off a two-day sales meeting that attracted nearly 200 federal contractors, engineers and uniformed military members eager to learn more about its technology offerings.

Source: Google Searches For Government Work - washingtonpost.com

Microsoft still trying to answer Google's wake-up call | CNET News.com

Stimulus/response... 

Beyond advertising, the second major influence of Google on Microsoft has been to point to the importance of being able to offer software-based services, he noted. Ozzie made several references to work Microsoft is doing behind the scenes to build a companywide services engine. All of its business units will be able to tap into the engine to add services components to their products, and those tools eventually will be available outside Redmond as well.

"We've been building that services platform," Ozzie said. "The economies of scale that we gain internally are going to be available to third-party developers and enterprises."

Source: Microsoft still trying to answer Google's wake-up call | CNET News.com

Corel WordPerfect Lightning - Gather ideas - Corel Corporation

From a quick skim, Lightning looks a lot like Onfolio's conceptual model; see this page for a reviewer's guide 

Corel WordPerfect Lightning lets you capture your ideas in an easy-to-use workspace.

Let's start with content. There are many tools within Lightning to copy and grab content from other applications—and take it into Notes [POK: not Lotus Notes]. You get fast access to standard word processing features, such as fonts, styles, bullets and numbering, text alignment, tables, and color. You can even insert graphics and pictures in your notes.

Source: Corel WordPerfect Lightning - Gather ideas - Corel Corporation

Corel releases beta of WordPerfect Lightning | CNET News.com

I think this is the first WordPerfect-related news I've seen in a couple years... 

WordPerfect Lightning beta, a free, downloadable word processing and note-taking software application, aims to provide a new distribution and online services model for Corel WordPerfect Office.

The WordPerfect beta builds on Corel's earlier efforts to create a hybrid platform that combines desktop and Web applications, such as its modular components. The modular Corel components are designed to work from an online environment, while the platform remains on the desktop.

Source: Corel releases beta of WordPerfect Lightning | CNET News.com

Wired: Virtual Designers Busy in Online Worlds

Strange days indeed 

When Toyota Motor Corp. wanted to promote its new Scions to young buyers, it turned to one of the growing number of digital design companies doing business in the popular online universe "Second Life."

The firm, Millions of Us, conjured up Scion City - a futuristic urban island with a dealership that sells the cars and a racetrack where consumers' online personas can take them for virtual test drives.

Source: Wired: AP Technology and Business News from the Outside World on Wired.com

Microsoft to Buy Health Information Search Engine - New York Times

Searching for healthcare solutions 

In Medstory, Microsoft is acquiring “some of the best deep technology” in the emerging field of medical search, said Esther Dyson, an industry analyst who is also an investor in Medstory. That technology, Ms. Dyson said, is “not so much a search engine, but an ontology engine,” with a capability to find and identify concepts in health and not just sort through words and Web links.

The longer-range goal, Mr. Neupert said, is to link personal information like age, sex, drug regimens, family history and even genetic markers to search. The ideal is that search results are tailored individually, identifying treatments, drug interactions and medical journal articles of interest.

Source: Microsoft to Buy Health Information Search Engine - New York Times

Kazaa’s Creators Do Latest Venture by the Book - New York Times

More on Joost and its strategy 

But with their latest creation, a Web video venture called Joost, Mr. Friis and Mr. Zennstrom, who were behind the file-sharing service Kazaa and the Internet telephone service Skype, are doing everything by the book. Revenue-sharing agreements have been signed. Licenses have been granted.

“The reason we’re doing this is because of our history,” Mr. Friis said in a telephone interview last week. “We know how these things work. And above all, we know that we don’t want to be in a long, multiyear litigation battle.”

Source: Kazaa’s Creators Do Latest Venture by the Book - New York Times

Novell's deal with Microsoft irks others in open-source software - The Boston Globe

Timely reality check; see the story for more details on the deal 

Last year's surprise partnership between software titan Microsoft Corp. and leading Linux distributor Novell Inc. was supposed to be a kind of peace treaty. Instead, it's brought the open-source software community to the brink of civil war, over a provision that could help Microsoft sue other open-source software companies for patent violations.

Source: Novell's deal with Microsoft irks others in open-source software - The Boston Globe

A closer watch over kids online: Business & Technology: The Seattle Times

Read the full article for a reality check on why such features are necessary 

Microsoft felt strongly enough about the parental controls that it took an unusual approach in marketing the features during the introduction of Windows Vista.

Chairman Bill Gates is usually protective of his family's privacy. But in an interview with NBC's "Today" show Jan. 29, the day before Vista's release, he described how he's using the parental controls.

"Our family just got to the point where our 7- and 10-year-old are just using the screen so much that we've had to set a limit," said Gates, who made similar comments in interviews throughout the day. "... And so in Vista, I can say the times that my son can get on. For my daughter, she's a bit older and in that case I'll be more flexible, but I can see the activity report, I can go and look at what Web sites she's been going to, I can decide what range of games she can use."

Source: A closer watch over kids online: Business & Technology: The Seattle Times

Media Companies Discover New Ways to Reach Readers Using Windows Vista Technology: Q&A

Cool... but I'd like to see versions from which I can easily blog 

PressPass: Can you begin by explaining the significance of the media reader applications launched this week?

Wascha: We believe we’re seeing the publishing industry changing. Publishers today want to take advantage of increasing digital consumer demand, which is reflected by patterns of online readership and, in some cases, the loss of print readership. Until now, publishers have been reliant on continuous connectivity. In other words, if you wanted to read a newspaper on-screen, you had to be online, and that was tied directly to the capabilities of Web technology. Now, with a media reader application you can be offline but still have an on-screen reading experience. With the right device, you can read a newspaper on a bus or train on the way to work. And because that experience is more like a traditional newspaper experience, it becomes more and more appealing.

Today, that experience is available on laptops and desktops, but at some point in the future we’ll be able to extend it to cell phones and reading devices that have yet to be invented. We also made sure that the technology works well on ultra-mobile PCs, where the convenience of portability is likely to make media reader applications even more appealing. These Microsoft .NET 3.0 applications are an example of a new breed of rich, occasionally connected products that transcend the limitations of the Web browser to provide compelling and unique user experiences.

Source: Media Companies Discover New Ways to Reach Readers Using Windows Vista Technology: Q&A

Once-mocked Netflix rents 1 billionth DVD - The Boston Globe

My Netflix subscription has already added the streaming feature -- seems to work well, from a quick trial. 

But Blockbuster's challenge hasn't derailed Netflix, which is now shipping an average of 1.5 million DVDs each weekday. At that pace, it will take Netflix about 2.5 years to mail out its next 1 billion discs.

But it probably won't take that long, given how fast Netflix has been growing. Management believes the service will add another 1.7 million to 2.1 million more subscribers this year, leaving it with more than 8 million customers heading into 2008.

Source: Once-mocked Netflix rents 1 billionth DVD - The Boston Globe

Technology Review: The puzzling story of why Microsoft prevents some users from upgrading to Vista

Hmmm...  Well, if someone is willing to pay the Mac price premium (relative to comparable Windows Vista PCs), perhaps a full copy of Vista or Ultimate isn't a price elasticity issue either. 

The price of the virtualization software does not include a copy of Windows. And to get that copy, buyers have to agree to Vista's license agreement -- a legally binding document. Lurking in that 14-page agreement is a ban on using the least expensive versions of Vista -- the $199 Home Basic edition and the $239 Home Premium edition -- in virtualization engines.

Instead, people wanting to put Vista in a virtualized program have to buy the $299 Business version or the $399 Ultimate package.

Macs account for less than 5 percent of personal computers in the U.S., but Ben Rudolph, Parallels' marketing manager, says they nonetheless represent a market he's surprised to see Microsoft present with roadblocks.

Source: Technology Review: The puzzling story of why Microsoft prevents some users from upgrading to Vista

Al Gore, Rock Star - washingtonpost.com

I may have to watch the Academy Awards tonight... 

"People ask him all the time what does he attribute his recent success to and Gore tells them 'reality,' " says Larry Schweiger, a friend and president of the National Wildlife Federation, who is a leader of Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, a foundation that seeks to bring evangelicals, hunters, farmers and entrepreneurs to the cause. "They used to ridicule him. They called him a tree-hugger. They don't do that anymore."

Guggenheim explains: "People say to me that Al Gore is so different now. Why wasn't he like this when he ran for president?" Meaning that Gore now appears relaxed, confident, happy, and not stiff, robotic, pinched. "They say Al has changed. But I don't think so. We've changed. The setting has changed. He's the same. When you're running for office, you're a target every moment you are in front of the camera. Now, he's in a different place and we see him in a different way."

Source: Al Gore, Rock Star - washingtonpost.com

Millions of Videos, and Now a Way to Search Inside Them - New York Times

Interesting -- read the article for more details

Today, owing to the proliferation of large video files, video accounts for more than 60 percent of the traffic on the Internet, according to CacheLogic, a company in Cambridge, England, that sells “media delivery systems” to Internet service providers. “I imagine that within two years it will be 98 percent,” says Hui Zhang, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

[...]

Mr. Chandratillake’s solution does not reject any existing video search methods, but supplements them by transcribing the words uttered in a video, and searching them. This is an achievement: effective speech recognition is a “nontrivial problem,” in the language of computer scientists.

Source: Millions of Videos, and Now a Way to Search Inside Them - New York Times

A Software Maker Goes Up Against Microsoft - New York Times

Timely snapshot 

One thing that Microsoft has lacked is a hypervisor, the lowest level of software that rests on the hardware and partitions the computer so it can cleanly and efficiently run several virtual machines. Microsoft is developing a Windows hypervisor code-named Viridian. It will be tailored for the next version of the Windows server operating system, called Longhorn, scheduled to ship by the end of 2007. Viridian will be ready shortly after that. “Virtualization, frankly, is a feature,” Mr. Neil, the Microsoft manager, said. “It’s a great operating system feature.”

Source: A Software Maker Goes Up Against Microsoft - New York Times

Patents and technology | A scrap over patents | Economist.com

See the link below for more details (no subscription required for this article) 

Threats had been more likely to come from small firms that acquire patents with the express aim of launching suits against big rich tech giants. The risk now, with the hefty award against Microsoft, is that many more firms will consider launching similar cases as the potential rewards are evidently so great. Microsoft, for example, has filed a counter-suit against Alcatel-Lucent for infringing its messaging patents. Microsoft has also in recent years been building up its arsenal of patents. That may indicate a breakdown of a system that has helped to deter the big tech firms from fighting each other and that provided the conditions for rapid and wide innovations. On the other hand, making patent law more effective could encourage precisely the sort of innovation that will deliver the next generation of devices, whatever they may be, for music distribution.

Source: Patents and technology | A scrap over patents | Economist.com

Burton Group Institute: SharePoint and Office 2007 one-day seminar in Boston April 25, 2007

See the page for details; hope to see you there!

SharePoint and Office 2007: New Enterprise Collaboration/Content Opportunities and Risks

Description: Microsoft SharePoint (composed of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007) is Microsoft's strategic collaboration and content server, and it has strategic implications -- with both positive and negative potential -- for enterprise planning. As the server-side counterpart to Microsoft Office, and encompassing everything from blogs to enterprise content management, SharePoint has the potential to help organizations more effectively collaborate and manage content. If unsuccessfully deployed, however, SharePoint can exacerbate rather than advance enterprise collaboration and content management planning, with the potential for out-of-control content dissemination and explosive growth in unmanaged workspaces.

This in-depth one-day workshop covers topics including:

• A SharePoint introduction, including a review of the enterprise challenges Microsoft seeks to address with SharePoint 2007
• Detailed analysis of SharePoint capabilities, maturity, and limitations
• Competitive landscape projections, with a focus on the emerging competitive landscape between Microsoft and IBM Lotus

Link to Burton Group Institute

Internet is a reflection of society, Cerf says - Network World

 Timely reality check from one of the people who helped to create the Internet

The Internet is a mirror of the population that uses it, said Google's vice president and chief Internet evangelist Vinton Cerf said in reference to the proliferation of fraud, social abuse and other online crimes.

"If you stand in front of a mirror and you don't like what you see, it does not help to fix the mirror," Cerf said.

Source: Internet is a reflection of society, Cerf says - Network World

Google Operating System: Security at Google

 See the post for some excerpts and the PDF link below for the full Google white paper.

To prove to the potential customers of Google Apps' business edition that Google cares about security, they released a white paper titled "Comprehensive review of security and vulnerability protections for Google Apps" (available as PDF).

Source: Google Operating System: Security at Google

Tech Giants Tussle: HP Vs. IBM - Forbes.com

 Timely reality check from Forbes

Link to Tech Giants Tussle: HP Vs. IBM - Forbes.com

Microsoft 'Casino' Search Interface Built As Google Desktop Killer - OneView, Web Search, Business Software Services - CRN

The Google/Microsoft competitive scope expands... 

Another source said Microsoft decided to offer Casino as an add-on like Internet Explorer, rather than as a Vista feature, to avoid any wrangling with the U.S. Justice Department, which is overseeing the antitrust consent decree against the Redmond, Wash., company.

However, it's clear that Microsoft is taking the search and business software services battle very seriously.

"Google is quickly moving into the enterprise software space, as well as preparing business software services, such as storage and e-mail," Microsoft said on its Web site last month in an entry about Casino. "Google is using its reputation in Web search to enter the enterprise market for intranet and desktop search. Google has the potential to both commoditize some of our core revenues and to lock us out of the new growth in online services."

Source: Microsoft 'Casino' Search Interface Built As Google Desktop Killer - OneView, Web Search, Business Software Services - CRN

Microsoft Hit With $1.52 Billion Verdict in MP3 Suit - WSJ.com

Nowhere near over... 

Development of MP3 technology was led by engineers at Bell Laboratories and Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, drawing on patents Bell held on methods for compressing data. (Bell Labs later became a part of Lucent). Microsoft said it paid Fraunhofer $16 million to license the technology.

In April 2003, Microsoft joined the case through a "declaratory action," a suit against Lucent that asked for a ruling that Microsoft and its customers didn't infringe any claims and that the patents Lucent asserted weren't valid. The patents are being reviewed in six separate jury trials in San Diego. The decision yesterday was the first.

Tom Burt, Microsoft's deputy general counsel said the verdict is "completely unsupported by the law or the facts." He said Microsoft will respond by asking the court for relief to set aside all or some of this verdict. "If we don't get relief from the trial court then we will definitely appeal this verdict," Mr. Burt said.

Source: Microsoft Hit With $1.52 Billion Verdict in MP3 Suit - WSJ.com

Microsoft Loses Big In MP3 Patent Suit - washingtonpost.com

I have a hunch this will come back to bite Alcatel-Lucent before they can collect any money from Microsoft or other firms that have licensed the technology. 

About 400 companies have similar licensing agreements with Fraunhofer, according to Thomson Technology, a San Diego company that identifies itself as the "licensing representative of MP3 patents and software of the Fraunhofer Institute." Those companies include Apple, Creative Technology, Real Networks, Palm and Samsung.

Alcatel-Lucent and its lawyers would not say whether they plan to target more companies, but Desmarais signaled that others using the audio-file technology could be vulnerable.

"For anyone who implements the standard, the same arguments would apply," he said.

Source: Microsoft Loses Big In MP3 Patent Suit - washingtonpost.com

Subscription-based Google Apps for businesses ready | CNET News.com

Yet more details on Google Apps 

The new edition also includes a guarantee of 99.9 percent uptime for Gmail and application programming interfaces that businesses can use to migrate data, enable single sign-on and do other integration. A free version targeted at educational institutions, Google Apps Education Edition, offers the same features as the premier edition except for the storage size. There is also Google Apps Standard Edition, which is free, but lacks the features of the premier edition.

Source: Subscription-based Google Apps for businesses ready | CNET News.com

Serious flaw in Google Desktop gets fix | CNET News.com

Okay maybe not a PR gold star for Google this week after all... 

It does not appear that anyone actually took advantage of the vulnerabilities and made attacks on Google Desktop users, both Watchfire and Google said.

However, Google Desktop is still vulnerable to these cross-site scripting attacks, Allan said, because of the "poor architectural decision" to include a link from Google Web servers to the Google Desktop user's PC.

"The three vulnerabilities were fixed. We also recommended to Google that if there was not a link between Google.com and my machine, then (the hacker) would not be able to connect to my computer. We believe they should remove that link or give consumers a choice as to whether someone can connect from the public Internet to their computer," Allan said.

Source: Serious flaw in Google Desktop gets fix | CNET News.com

A Google Package Challenges Microsoft - New York Times

PR gold star to Google this week, but in many ways it could be pulling a Netscape, with ironic stimulus/response actions from Microsoft in the near future...  

By comparison, businesses pay on average about $225 a person annually for Office and Exchange, the Microsoft server software typically used for corporate e-mail systems, in addition to the costs of in-house management, customer support and hardware, according to the market research firm Gartner.

Google said initial customers of Google Apps would include a unit of Procter & Gamble and SalesForce.com, a pioneer in the business of delivering software as an Internet service.

“We are in the process of phasing out Microsoft Office and Exchange from our company,” said Marc Benioff, the chief executive of SalesForce.com and a frequent Microsoft critic.

Source: A Google Package Challenges Microsoft - New York Times

Personal Technology -- Nokia's Marriange to Small Computers Still Has Its Problems.

 Walt Mossberg on Nokia's latest gadget -- the link below is to the no-subscription-required version of the column

But, like the 770, the new N800 is a good example of how hard it is for a company that grew up in one business to migrate successfully to another. I can't imagine many people carrying around this device. For one thing, the N800 is a tweener -- smaller than a laptop, but too big for a pocket. It's 5.7 inches long, 2.95 inches wide and 0.5 inch thick. It weighs 7.27 ounces. The iPhone is smaller and lighter.

[...]

We won't know until June whether Apple has been able to successfully invade Nokia's turf and make a decent cellphone. But so far, Nokia is struggling to go the other way.

 

Source: Personal Technology -- Personal Technology from The Wall Street Journal.

Google Further Tests Microsoft's Domain - WSJ.com

Meanwhile, while Google tries to have it both ways (going for desktops while continuing to assert it doesn't mean to directly challenge Microsoft Office): 

Chris Capossela, vice president in Microsoft's Business Division Product Management Group, plays down any worries about competition from Google. "My biggest concern is making sure people see what we've done with Office 2007," he says.

Source: Google Further Tests Microsoft's Domain - WSJ.com

Apple, Cisco Reach Accord Over iPhone - WSJ.com

In fewer words, I suspect, Apple iPaid. 

In a joint statement, Apple and Cisco said they will explore opportunities for making their products work better together "in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications." The companies said other terms of the settlement are confidential, declining to comment further.

Source: Apple, Cisco Reach Accord Over iPhone - WSJ.com

Google aims at Microsoft, IBM with business software - The Boston Globe

 Google makes its much-anticipated play for the desktop -- it'll be interesting to see if it gets market traction.   Free trial until April 30th.  See this page for a handy summary of the free standard edition and $50 premium edition.

Jumping into a new market, Google Inc. is unveiling a product today to compete with Microsoft Corp. and IBM Corp. in the multibillion-dollar business of providing e-mail, calendar, and other tools on corporate computer desktops.

The Web-based product, called Google Apps Premier Edition, also will include word processing and document sharing, instant messaging, and Internet voice capability. Google will offer it to large companies for $50 per employee [per year], host the applications on its own servers, and provide a service guarantee for its customers.

Source: Google aims at Microsoft, IBM with business software - The Boston Globe

Cisco spends $135 million on XML firm | CNET News.com

The competitive dynamics continue to shift...

A good day for Mitch Kapor, one of the Reactivity investors. 

The Reactivity product is a specialized piece of hardware that combines software to help companies deploy, control and increase the amount of XML traffic they have throughout their network. The Reactivity XML Gateway software helps companies support and provision new XML-based Web services, and the Reactivity XML Manager software provides real-time visibility and analysis for companies using XML services, according to Reactivity's Web site.

Cisco isn't the only company buying XML appliance start-ups. A year and a half ago, IBM, a longtime Cisco partner, bought a small company called DataPower, which also makes appliances to help companies deploy and manage XML Web services. Computer chipmaker Intel is also in this business with a company it bought in 2005 called Servaga.

Source: Cisco spends $135 million on XML firm | CNET News.com

Clearwire snags AT&T plum: Business & Technology: The Seattle Times

Never underestimate Craig McCaw... 

Clearwire will pay $300 million in cash to acquire a large swath of airwaves from AT&T to roll out wireless broadband Internet in the U.S.

The deal comes as the Kirkland company is gearing up for an initial public offering that could raise up to $575 million.

The airwaves are necessary for a nationwide network based on WiMax technology.

Source: Clearwire snags AT&T plum: Business & Technology: The Seattle Times

Viacom Deal Will Allow Its TV Clips on Internet - New York Times

Maybe they should have called it "Joust," as in a wedge between networks and Google/YouTube 

Viacom, the parent of networks like MTV and Comedy Central, which produce the types of programs that are ideal for watching on the Web, said yesterday that it had reached a deal with the Silicon Valley start-up Joost to distribute video online.

The agreement came a little more than two weeks after Viacom demanded that YouTube remove more than 100,000 clips of its programming.

Source: Viacom Deal Will Allow Its TV Clips on Internet - New York Times

Portals - WSJ.com: Cable TV's New Aim: Free Us From Tangle Of Boxes and Remotes

 It'd be great to be able to not have a 1:1 relationship between display devices and set-top boxes

The new technology, with the cumbersome name of OCAP, for Open Cable Application Platform, is software that behaves like an operating system that runs on digital cable set-top boxes and other devices. OCAP, then, is to set-top boxes what Microsoft Windows is to computers. Adding a new feature, like the ticker, is an easy task regardless of the cable system. That ease is expected to spark a flurry of creativity among software companies, as new applications will no longer have to be tailored to fit separate cable systems.

Even better, manufacturers such as Panasonic, Samsung and LG already have designed OCAP TV sets that will eliminate the need for set-top boxes, the scourge of many a home-entertainment center. With OCAP TVs, scheduled to be available as early as this year, users just have to attach a cable and the set will get video-on-demand, advanced program guides and other interactive features from cable.

Source: Portals - WSJ.com

TV Industry Clouds Google's Video Vision - WSJ.com

Detailed snapshot of recent efforts and current status. 

Four months after snatching YouTube away from rival suitors for more than $1.7 billion, Google Inc. has encountered a bigger challenge: finding allies in the television industry.

With television executives up in arms about the unauthorized posting of TV shows on the popular online video site, Google is searching for a way to dial down the tension. It sees that task as vital to YouTube's profit potential.

Meanwhile: