Kanguru 32GB Flash Max Drive KFDM-32G at TigerDirect.com

Another gadget has snuck into the blog. 32 Gigabytes on a normal-looking thumb drive! Gadzooks!

Kanguru 32GB Flash Max Drive KFDM-32G at TigerDirect.com: "Kanguru 32GB Flash Max Drive
The Kanguru Flash Max is a high strength, high capacity USB2.0 flash drive that stores up to 32GB! The Kanguru Flash Max sports a rugged aluminum exterior housing that provides durability and ultimately extends the life of the drive. Operates on Windows, Mac and Linux, most without any device drivers.

The Kanguru Flash Drive Max comes complete with KanguruShield security software, allowing Windows users the option of password protection for secure data. The KanguruShield software allows users to resize and format the flash drive space into public and/or private partitions. Setting up the KanguruShield security software is easy and user friendly!"

furniture plus computers plus cables plus a sane family? Yes, almost

Built for the High-Tech Household - washingtonpost.com

Finally, a piece of furniture that reflects how we really live. Imagine a cabinet/desk/console that recharges multiple cellphones, docks iPods and provides Internet access and data ports for laptops.

From Clipart Blog ...

Sligh's new multitasker ($2,945).

This multitasking design is so new, it doesn't even have a name. But it's being touted as a command center for families and households because it organizes the overload of high-tech domestic gadgets and entertainment components piling up in America's kitchens and front hallways.

In a period of weak sales for most home furnishings, manufacturers introducing lifestyle solutions for 21st-century living were the ones that drew attention at last week's High Point Market, the twice-yearly design powwow that attracts industry executives, retailers and journalists from around the world. Store buyers crowded around the new designs as though they were concept cars at an auto show for one reason: They're useful.

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Oracle grabs a stack

Oracle support for Red Hat Linux is the news of the day.  Enterprise support at a reasonable price for the Linux stack gives Oracle more control over the platform, customers more security, and raises the question why Oracle support for their own product can't be as cheap. ZDNet has a feature on the issues.

» Ellison offers full support service for Red Hat Linux at half the price | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

He listed key issues that are slowing the adoption of Linux and Oracle database grids running on Linux. Most glaring is true enterprise support, which is unavailable from Linux vendors. Bugs are not necessarily fixed in the versions companies are running, but fixed in future versions, Ellison said. To get the fix you have to upgrade, which Ellison said isn't acceptable to Oracle's large customers. In addition, Ellison cited expensive support from leading Linux vendor ($1499 per year for a 2 processor server, he said) and concerns about intellectual property indemnification.

As of this moment Ellison announced full support for Red Hat Linux. "If you are a Red Hat Linux support customer, you now have a choice. You can easily switch from Red Hat to Oracle support, and we will back port your bug fixes, indemnify you from intellectual property problems, and charge way less than half what Red Hat charges," Ellison said.

"We are not trying to differentiate ourselves from the Red Hat code. We will synchronize our system with Red Hat releases," Ellison added. "We are not trying to fragment the Linux market."

Oracle is taking Red Hat code, taking out trademarked material, putting in bug fixes and compiling it for customers for whatever version they have. Oracle created an Unbreakable Linux Network and customers can receive software updates incrementally. Red Hat customers don't need to remove anything from their servers if they bind to the Oracle Linux Network, which takes about 90 seconds.

The benefits of Red Hat open source code has spawned a serious competitor to its business.

The goal is to enhance and speed the adoption of Linux and make it mission critical in the datacenter.

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55 Million Blogs, and Now a Service to Track Them - New York Times

55 Million Blogs, and Now a Service to Track Them - New York Times:
A new business model - using tools like technorati to track client's profile. NYTimes required free registration to go to article (NYTimes is worth it anyway - and they don't pay me for this).

"“A year ago, brands were saying, ‘Oh no, not the blogosphere,’ ” said Peter Hirshberg, chief executive of Technorati, a blog-tracking service that last week, in partnership with Edelman, provided results of a global survey of blog use. “Now they’re saying, ‘Great, this is an opportunity.’ ”

Now the Edelman public relations firm is sponsoring development of new Technorati sites in French, German, Italian, Korean and Chinese, involving an investment of “several hundred thousand dollars.” Several of those services, which supplement Technorati’s existing English-language and Japanese sites, began operating in beta (a kind of live test) this month. Until February, they will be available exclusively to Edelman and its clients. After that, the information they generate is to be opened to the public.

“It’s a way of determining in very short order who’s talking positively about you and who’s talking negatively,” said Richard Edelman, chief executive of the public relations firm.

Monitoring blogs can be a huge logistical challenge. There are more than 55 million of them around the world, according to Technorati, and the total is growing by thousands every week.

Some large corporations have employed specialists like Brandimensions and Nielsen BuzzMetrics to track online chatter about their products and services. And some ad agencies are moving to incorporate such services into their own offerings. Edelman already monitors scores of blogs devoted to following individual clients of the firm, like Wal-Mart Stores."

Idiosyncratic and Personal, PC Edges TV - New York Times

Idiosyncratic and Personal, PC Edges TV - New York Times:

At the time of posting, this required free personal registration and logon with the NYTimes. It's an intersting anecdotal introduction to the changes in our behaviours that have made youtube an investment. My own Institute is putting educational videos up on youtube as a combination public service and awareness exercise. It is clear that others are doing the same.

"Idiosyncratic and Personal, PC Edges TV
By DAVID CARR
Published: October 16, 2006

Last Wednesday, I was working late but left the office in time to watch the second episode of ABC’s “Lost.” But when I got home and booted the computer to check messages before hitting the couch, I happened to notice one of my twin daughters at a far-flung Big 10 campus was live on Yahoo! Messenger.

I clicked on “View my Webcam,” as did Erin, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, and suddenly I had the chance to inspect the disturbingly large ring she recently had implanted in her lip. Live video may seem straight out of the Jetsons, but I have the computing skills of Fred Flintstone. Still, between my PC and my daughter’s Mac, we managed to get a serviceable video chat going, assisted by speakerphones on cells.

My 9-year-old wandered over and, once she saw a live image of her now distant sister, acted as if I had invented electricity. We made Erin drag her new friend Sam into the picture so we could give him the once over. “He’s kind of cute,” my wife whispered sotto voce as she craned over my shoulder. (I’m reserving judgment until I can menace him in person.) Then we pinged Meagan, Erin’s twin sister up the road at University of Michigan. As soon as she accepted my invitation to view the Webcam, she exclaimed, “You’re here!”

One thing led to another and we ended up watching the strangely compelling treadmill dance from the music group OK Go on YouTube, which clicked through to a parody, which led to, well, you get the idea. It was “television” with an audience that could be counted on a single hand but compelling enough that “Lost,” my one piece of appointment viewing for the night, was quickly forgotten. Madonna might be scheduled to mud-wrestle Britney Spears on premium cable and I’d"

Paris Motor Show: Venturi AstroLab electro-solar hybrid - AutoblogGreen

I'm not sure that this item has a proper place in my blog, but an electric car that recharges from mains and photovoltaic cells is pretty exciting. Shame the price is over $100k. Even at today's prices that's a lot of fuel, although also a lot of Carbon.

Paris Motor Show: Venturi AstroLab electro-solar hybrid - AutoblogGreen: "Venturi claims it is the first electro-solar hybrid vehicle. It can charge its batteries either from the sun via the flat upper surface covered with photo-voltaic cells or by plugging it into an outlet. Questionable aesthetics aside this is a technologically-interesting vehicle. The manufacturer claims that even the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the production process will be offset by other environmental actions, hence the label 'The CarbonNeutral Company'."

Volume Activation 2.0: Another Potential Vista Gotcha? | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

As if the security concerns weren't enough for corporates! now we hear this:

» Volume Activation 2.0: Another Potential Vista Gotcha? | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com: "For those who’ve yet to hear about it, Volume Activation is a new digital-license activation technology aimed at businesses. It’s part of the larger “Software Protection Platform” that Microsoft is constructing to combat piracy.

In short, Microsoft is not going to allow enterprises to operate on an honor system, when it comes to proving how many copies of Windows they’ve paid to license. Just like it does with individual Windows users, Microsoft is going to start requiring companies to authenticate their new versions of Windows within 30 days of installing.

Microsoft is planning to incorporate Volume Activation 2.0 into Windows Vista Enteprise, Windows Vista Business and Longhorn Server. Microsoft is not planning to bake Volume Activation into Vista Ultimate – even though some customers will be using that product in a business setting."