Can Google Grow Up?

Google in Trouble?
Google is one of the best things to happen to the Net. So will its IPO, expected this spring, be a must-buy? A look inside reveals a talented company facing trouble. A fascinating look inside Google - will you invest next Spring? Got any guts? :) Here's one spooky comment from this article - "Then there's Microsoft. The company has an army of brainiacs working on incorporating web search into MSN and its new operating system, code-named Longhorn, due out in 2006. It plans to be able to index every user's hard drive and use the information to provide better searches. "All I'll say is that search is vitally important to us," says Chris Payne, Microsoft's executive in charge of search." Huh? Index my Hard Drive? How's that for an invasion of privacy? Either this is a misprint or MS is losing it's mind.  

No More Ads at the Top!

Good News - No more ads at the top of these pages. (The Ebates Ad will disappear soon, as well). Blogger was kind enough to remove them for me, so you won't have to be pestered with ad clutter. I realize this was of great concern to my readership. 

Nifty Programs from Mirek!

Here's a nifty little program from Mirek called PalMail. It takes up only the tiniest bit of memory and runs in your Systray. Will check email for you and allow you to remove Spam from your ISP's server, before it even reaches your inbox. Very simple to use and FREE! While you're there, you might as well download MWSnap as well. An excellent screen capture program and naturally, it's FREE, too! (of course the author would appreciate any and all donations, but that's up to you).I've used MW Snap for some time now and it's a great alternative to paying for screen capture programs. Certainly does everything I need it to do! 

Lots of snow in the mountains of SW Virginia

Woke to 2 or 3" of snow and then it just kept on coming. I live at 3200' and the snow fell continually, finally reaching 1'. We'll see if it continues. Temps are around 28, so certainly conducive to more. Sure wasn't anticipating this. Wish I had put my Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires on before this struck! Drove about 4 miles on some Douglas Touring M&S tires, which worked well, but not good enough as the plows were doing a lousy job and it was snowing and sleeting heavily. 

Wireless everywhere!

DailyWirelessBroadband Reports says Intel Centrino television ads have come under fire for depicting wireless users happily browsing while on Mount Everest. According to the Guardian, a television watchdog group has started an investigation into the ad after over 100 disgruntled users complained. The ad shows one climber watching wireless video via his Intel powered laptop while huddled in a snow storm. Unfortunately the watchdog group likely won't have a leg to stand on once they dig a little deeper.

Everest's base camp (at 17,400-feet) actually is wireless ready. One of the web's pioneers and creator of what may be the very first BBS system, Dave Hughes struck a deal with Cisco to wire (or un-wire in this case) the mountain. With the help of native Sherpa Tsering Gyalzen, Hughes not long ago launched Everest's first wireless cafe. This particular edition of the Cook Report tells the tale of Hughes and Gyalzens' efforts to bring connectivity to portions of the mountain. There's also this photo gallery of both the network and the the group's adventures.

If that's not depressing enough for those in civilized and more reasonable climes who still can't get broadband, there's a $250 million dollar plan in the works to run 1200 miles worth of fiber across unstable glaciers to the South Pole (BBC, Wired News).

All of this just makes me wonder if we haven't all lost our minds or something?  

A New Kind of Poverty

America is a country that now sits atop the precarious latticework of myth. It is the myth that working people can support their families Where are we heading? No place good or so it would appear. For all those "middle class" folks out there, it's a wakeup call, as you're only a lay-off away from the soup kitchen.

How often do you remember to leave some money for the woman who cleans your room in a hotel? Makes one pause, doesn't it? (I always do, but most likely, because "I've been there, done that".) That's sometimes the benefit of working in a low paying profession - teaches you respect for others who slog their entire lives in that world)