Jack Shafer reviews 'Googled' by Ken Auletta - washingtonpost.com

Excerpt from a Googled review 

But should Google itself be trusted? Yes, trusted to produce terrific search results, reliable e-mail service, videos aplenty on its YouTube site and economical venues for advertising. But no further. As Auletta probes the sophistry behind the Google slogan "Don't be evil" with his well placed sources in media and technology, the portrait he draws is of a rapacious, opportunistic company that seeks to disrupt -- in classic capitalist fashion -- whole industries. Its Android operating system -- and now a cell phone of its own design -- have targeted the mobile phone business. Google Voice has been assigned to conquer the telephony industry. The Chrome browser and the Chrome operating system are aimed at toppling Microsoft's grip on the computer desktop. The Google Books service is a cannon pointed at the heart of publishers. One of Auletta's top sources regards the company as a veritable "Googzilla" that intends to become a digital Wal-Mart for shoppers.

Jack Shafer reviews 'Googled' by Ken Auletta - washingtonpost.com

The $75 Future Computer - Forbes.com

Cool vision, but reading between the lines, the $100 laptop still costs $172, and the radical OLPC 2.0 is history.  Check the full article for details and more pictures.  (via Anne Thomas Manes)

That revamped machine, known as the XO-3 and targeted for release in 2012, is still more of a pipe dream than a product. But early designs for the PC reveal a minimalist slate of touch-powered electronics that drops practically every feature of a traditional computer except its 8.5-by-11-inch screen, a scheme that would shed all of the first XO's child-like clunkiness without losing its simple accessibility.

In Pictures: The $75 Future Computer

The $75 Future Computer - Forbes.com

Kindle is most gifted Amazon item, ever | Business Tech - CNET News

Amazon in overdrive

Amazon.com on Saturday released its annual post-Christmas statement on holiday sales, and made one thing clear: the Kindle was king, perhaps fueled by continued shifts in plans for shipments of Barnes & Noble's competing Nook e-reader.

"We are grateful to our customers for making Kindle the most gifted item ever in our history," said Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

In another milestone for the e-reader, the company noted that on Christmas Day, for the first time ever, Amazon customers bought more Kindle books than physical books.

Kindle is most gifted Amazon item, ever | Business Tech - CNET News

Two-Wheeled Wonder: The glory of lungs, legs, and steel - Needham Bikes

Check the full post for some bike-related stats/factoids

Eric Sorenson's book, Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet: Everyday Things to Help Solve Glob..., is a short book with seven low tech ways to improve your carbon footprint. At the top of the list, is the bicycle; in fact, on the page on the Sierra Club website promoting the book, they allow readers to vote on "the coolest" of these devices, and so far the bicycle is leading the tally.

Two-Wheeled Wonder: The glory of lungs, legs, and steel - Needham Bikes

Apple Tablet to Offer Dynamic Tactile Keyboard [RUMOR] [Mashable]

Check the full post for more details.  I think it’s a pretty safe bet that the Apple tablet won’t simply be a super-sized iPod touch.

One significant item on many a wishlist (that won’t be under the tree this year) is the famed imaginary creature — cousin to the dragon, the phoenix and the sphinx — known as the Apple Tablet. According to a veritable smorgasbord of recent legends, a.k.a. rumors, we might not have much longer to wait — a 7-inch tablet could be revealed as early as January 26.

A brace of new patents unearthed this week by Apple Insider point to a curious probability in relation to the tablet’s screen. The patent speaks of an “articulating frame” that may be raised or lowered to provide both a tactile typing keyboard and a flat surface for pointing. The device would employ some system of intelligence to help determine which mode the user was in, and dynamically adjust itself to provide a physically ridged keyboard or a flat pointing surface as necessary.

Apple Tablet to Offer Dynamic Tactile Keyboard [RUMOR]

Gray Matter : What is "Custom XML?" ... and the impact of the i4i judgment on Word

Definitive word on the implications of the i4i judgment; see the full post for more details

We do not anticipate any interruption in the availability of Word or Office 2007. Additionally this ruling has no impact on the scheduled availability of the 2010 Office version which is planned for the first half of CY2010.

Current users are not affected. If you are using the custom XML tags in Word 2003 or 2007 (these show up in Word as Pink Tags around tagged content), you are free to continue doing so with the products you have already purchased.

Open XML standards (all ECMA and ISO versions) are not affected. Even if Word's specific implementation of custom XML support does infringe the i4i patent (which Microsoft does not believe to be the case), i4i has never claimed that its patent is essential to the OXML standard.

Content Controls of Word (screen shot below) are not affected. In Word 2007 and Word 2010, this is a common method of binding document content to data stored in a custom-defined schema within a document.

Gray Matter : What is "Custom XML?" ... and the impact of the i4i judgment on Word

Book Review - History of Darpa - 'The Department of Mad Scientists,' by Michael Belfiore - Review - NYTimes.com

A timely reality check

Two years ago, in his book “Rocketeers,” Michael Belfiore celebrated the pioneers of the budding private space industry. Now he has returned to explore a frontier closer to home. The heroes of his new book, “The Department of Mad Scientists,” work for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as Darpa, a secretive arm of the United States government. And the revolution they’re leading is a merger of humans with machines.

[…]

Belfiore traces the agency’s origins and exploits from the 1957 Sputnik launching (which shocked the United States government into technological action) to the 1969 birth of the original Internet, known as Arpanet, to Total Information Awareness, the controversial 2002 project that was supposed to scan telecommunications data for signs of terrorism. His tone is reverential and at times breathless, but he captures the agency’s essential virtues: boldness, creativity, agility, practicality and speed.

Book Review - History of Darpa - 'The Department of Mad Scientists,' by Michael Belfiore - Review - NYTimes.com

The Year in Style - Fashion Bloggers Horn In on Elle and Vogue - NYTimes.com

A weird example of traditional press disintermediation

As a relatively new phenomenon in the crowded arena of journalists whose specialty it is to report the news of the catwalks, fashion bloggers have ascended from the nosebleed seats to the front row with such alacrity that a long-held social code among editors, one that prizes position and experience above outward displays of ambition or enjoyment, has practically been obliterated.

The Year in Style - Fashion Bloggers Horn In on Elle and Vogue - NYTimes.com

New Crack for Amazon’s Kindle E-Books Emerges - Digits - WSJ

You know a platform is popular when…

A blogger who goes by the name i♥cabbages claims to have created software that removes the digital rights management (DRM) software embedded into Amazon Kindle e-books PC reading application.

The Kindle’s DRM software keeps a person from sharing his or her Amazon e-books with other people, or reading them on non-Amazon platforms. Hacks for it have existed since 2008, with at least some of the early work being done by a person going by the name “Dark Reverser.” (He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.)

New Crack for Amazon’s Kindle E-Books Emerges - Digits - WSJ

Some Kindle resources and notes

Some handy links, via Kindle Nation Daily. 

Note that you don’t need a Kindle device to take advantage of the amazing assortment of free books – you can also download and read them via the free Kindle clients for the PC, iPhone, and soon Mac, Blackberry, and no doubt other device/platform types (Android, Apple tablet…).   I’ve also gotten into the habit of requesting Kindle samples, for non-free books – many of the samples are sufficiently extensive to provide a good sense of a book’s thesis and style.

An example of the sample download option – when you’re looking at a page for a Kindle edition of a book, look for the “Send sample now” button; if you have more than one Kindle client registered (I have a Kindle and have installed the Kindle PC client on two PCs), you’ll see options such as the following:

The latest Kindle Nation Daily links:

19,823 Free Kindle Books By Category

Fiction

Nonfiction

Advice & How-to

Arts & Entertainment

Biographies & Memoirs

Business & Investing

Children's Chapter Books

Cooking, Food & Wine

Fantasy

History

Humor

Lifestyle & Home

Mystery & Thrillers

Parenting & Families

Politics & Current Events

Reference

Religion & Spirituality

Romance

Science

Science Fiction

Sports

Travel

Some Kindle resources and notes

Video Interview: Blippy Co-Founder Philip "Pud" Kaplan | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD

See the full post for more details

Now in invitation-only private beta, the new service sends out messages about the type and amount of the transaction, every time you use your credit card–at least the one you designate your “Blippy” card–for others to see and comment on.

In other words, a kind of Twitter for spending.

The twist of Blippy–whose motto is: “What are your friends buying?”–is that it is more passive than the more active tweeting or texting.

Video Interview: Blippy Co-Founder Philip "Pud" Kaplan | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD

Apple stockholders get record high for Christmas | Apple - CNET News

Sign of the times

Apple's stock closed Thursday at an all time high of $209.04, up 6.94 points (3.43 percent) in a shortened day of trading on unconfirmed rumors that the company might unveil a long-awaited portable tablet computer next month.

The Apple blogosphere went wild Wednesday following several reports that the company told some of its key developers to prepare versions of their iPhone apps that will work on a device with a larger screen, in time for an event next month.

Apple stockholders get record high for Christmas | Apple - CNET News

Vonage Offers Unlimited Int'l Calling for iPhone, Blackberry - Yahoo! News

Pretty amazing, for those old enough to remember when international phone calls were incredibly expensive

Vonage now offers an unlimited $24.99-a-month international calling plan for iPhone and BlackBerry users, the company said Wednesday. The new "Vonage World Mobile" VoIP service competes with a $12.95-a-month service from Skype.

Vonage, however, offers service 60 countries, while Skype offers unlimited service to only 40 countries. Current Vonage customers may qualify for a $10-a-month discount on the mobile service.

Vonage Offers Unlimited Int'l Calling for iPhone, Blackberry - Yahoo! News

FT.com | Tech Blog | Exclusive: Apple to host event in January

Yet more Apple tablet speculation

Yesterday we reported that Apple is working to solidify a new round of content deals with TV studios. Meanwhile, publishers have been working on new versions of digital magazines that would be viewed on touch screen computers.

Apple has explored making tablet style devices for years, only to back off. The company also has a history of scrapping products very close to their scheduled launch dates.

But momentum around the tablet has been building solidly. And Apple has refreshed its iPhone, iPod and computer lines within the last year, another indication that the January announcement will be for a new product.

FT.com | Tech Blog | Exclusive: Apple to host event in January

2010: The Year of the Tablet - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

See the full article for more observations and speculation

A former Apple employee, whose name appears on numerous Apple patents, worked on an Apple tablet five years ago and recently told me when the first version of the tablet was shelved by Steve Jobs, a lot of the technology made it into other devices. He explained that components of these early stage concepts are already out in the marketplace. If you have an iPhone, for example, you’re carrying around a mini version of an early Apple tablet. He also says that one of the barriers to producing the early tablets was the lack of software. The success of the App Store and the eagerness of the publishers show that this won’t be a problem for any new devices.

2010: The Year of the Tablet - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Tablet hint? Apple developers supersizing apps for January event | Crave - CNET

Hmm…

The Apple tablet is threatening to approach Yeti status, but here's an indication that it will turn out to be real: the company has told some of its key developers to prepare versions of their iPhone apps that will work on a device with a larger screen, in time for an event next month.

Add that to the news that Apple has reportedly booked the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco "for several days in late January," according to the Financial Times, and it's pretty easy to connect the dots. It's a very good bet we're getting a look at this thing within the next 30 days or so.

Tablet hint? Apple developers supersizing apps for January event | Crave - CNET

Climate Change: A Consensus Among Scientists? | Information Is Beautiful

Think about it…

 

Climate Change: A Consensus Among Scientists? | Information Is Beautiful

As attacks increase, U.S. struggles to recruit computer security experts - washingtonpost.com

A stark reality check 

The federal government is struggling to fill a growing demand for skilled computer-security workers, from technicians to policymakers, at a time when network attacks are rising in frequency and sophistication.

Demand is so intense that it has sparked a bidding war among agencies and contractors for a small pool of special talent: skilled technicians with security clearances. Their scarcity is driving up salaries, depriving agencies of skills, and in some cases affecting project quality, industry officials said.

As attacks increase, U.S. struggles to recruit computer security experts - washingtonpost.com

On Web, Workshops to Create One-of-a-Kind Gifts - NYTimes.com

A different kind of “mass customization”

Searching for meaning beyond a price tag, more holiday shoppers are giving custom-made gifts this year.

But adding the personal touch doesn’t mean that gift-givers have to break out the knitting needles, haul out the scrapbook supplies or fire up the oven and start baking. A host of Web sites with names like Zazzle, Blurb and TasteBook are helping people quickly create one-of-a-kind products like clothing, books and jewelry. In some cases, making a custom gift can be as easy as uploading a photo or clicking a mouse. In others, the e-commerce tools shorten what would normally have taken hours of work.

On Web, Workshops to Create One-of-a-Kind Gifts - NYTimes.com

Cable Providers Move to Counter Apple’s TV Venture - Digits - WSJ

Think different…

“If Disney and CBS believe this is the model to embrace, it’s worth pondering whether they’ll embrace that for all distributors,” said Melinda Witmer, Time Warner Cable’s chief programming officer.

The Time Warner Cable comments underscore how much Apple’s possible subscription service threatens to fray the television ecosystem. TV companies make money by selling bundles of channels to Time Warner Cable, Comcast Corp., DirecTV Group Inc. and other distributors through which roughly nine out of ten American households watch TV.

Cable Providers Move to Counter Apple’s TV Venture - Digits - WSJ