Week in review: Can Google keep a secret?

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in part because both use different means of booting up. There had been hope that the next version of Windows would make things easier, but an Apple executive last week said booting Vista on Macs may not prove that easy, either.

According to the rules, the sponsor of the contest, Colin Nederkoorn, now has the rights to publish the solution on his Web site. The solution appears to be available for download, though traffic to the site has been heavy.

Nederkoorn took a few minutes away from trying to keep the site up to talk with CNET News.com about the solution and how it was found.

Despite this contest, most Mac fans were focused on what former Apple executives were up to.

In a rather unusual stock sale, three former Apple executives received more than $140 million to set up a new technology venture. Acquicor Technology, a company launched by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Apple CEO Gil Amelio and former Apple CTO Ellen Hancock, raised the money this week. But in a twist, they will only get to use the proceeds of the stock offering if they can find a company to buy.

In the prospectus for Acquicor, the founders describe the effort as a "blank-check company" that was formed to snap up a company somewhere in the tech arena. The company said it is generally looking for opportunities created by the convergence of various Internet Protocol-based technologies.

As part of that effort, Wheels of Zeus, the start-up formed by Wozniak a few years ago, has been closed. The Ravix Group, a consulting firm that provides financial and human resources advice, is helping WoZ wind down its affairs, a representative for Ravix said. No one at WoZ could be contacted, but the company's phone number has been changed to the phone number at Ravix.

Formed in 2002, WoZ hoped to bring to market a compact, somewhat inexpensive GPS system for consumers. It also dabbled in RFID. Motorola took out a license with WoZ, but it is unclear whether Motorola, or any other company, ever used any WoZ technology in a product.

Taking sides over Net neutrality
Speculation that the two biggest phone companies in the country, AT&T and Verizon Communications, are planning to create a tiered Internet system that would require big bandwidth hogs like Google or Yahoo to pay more for their access has become a hot-button issue in the tech industry. Increasingly, it's also an issue on Capitol Hill, where some lawmakers are developing rules to maintain so-called Net neutrality--also called network neutrality--and prevent the emergence of a tiered system.

CEOs from network owners AT&T and Verizon have suggested that they are planning a system in which some companies would have to pay more for their data-intensive use of the Net, which, they argue, slows access for regular customers. On the other side of the debate are companies such as Google, eBay and Yahoo, which are against any companies taking on the role of "IP traffic gatekeeper."

However, a key senator said that a much-anticipated proposal to overhaul U.S. telecommunications laws may not require network providers to follow Net neutrality principles. Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican who chairs the Commerce Committee, told reporters that he supports the idea of Net neutrality--that is, legally requiring network providers to treat everyone equally--in principle.

Because Stevens' committee is the Senate panel responsible for updating the 1996 Telecommunications Act, his lukewarm endorsement of Net neutrality could be a setback for companies that have been pressing for it to be mandated by law.

Meanwhile, Richard Notebaert, CEO of Qwest Communications International, says it's only fair to offer some companies a "competitive edge" in Internet service, for the right price. Addressing attendees at the Voice on the Net conference in San Jose, Calif., Notebaert also said he opposes blocking traffic on his company's network.

Unlike AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre, who said that he didn't want Google to get a free ride on the AT&T network, Notebaert--whose company is the smallest of the Baby Bells--took a more tactful approach to the subject. He said he views content providers like Google and Amazon.com as customers. And he wants to work with them so they can provide better service to their customers.

Also of note
Apple is offering iTunes Music Store customers a chance to buy condensed versions of the 63 Division 1 men's NCAA basketball games...Apple released further updates on its Mac OS X security fixes...As part of its monthly patch cycle, Microsoft released fixes for six security holes in Office and one flaw in Windows.

[Betty Roper]

The Dark Side

So here's the dark side of a company that, in all good faith, aims to collect all the world's information -- both public and private:

They end up being coopted by authoritarian governments. Free market? Those who make the laws rule the world.

What's the old saying: the road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions.

What would Orwell say about all this?

[hadaso]

Web Neutrality?

Just as an ISP can limit the amount of Google traffic to their network unless Google pays, Google can limit the amount of traffic (and response time, etc.) to those same ISPs "to keep it costs down". And it can suggest that the ISP's customers who want better web experience switch to a connectivity provider that doesn't block parts of the net!

[OneWithTech]

How the heck can you say this?

"Google's activities, akin to those of an Internet service provider,
do not constitute infringement."

Google is not an Internet Service Provider (ISP)! Google provides
a search engine service that uses robots to pilfer the copy-
written information that we as web developers put on web pages
for there respected owners.

So with that said; how can Google be covered like that of an ISP
let alone covered period under "Fair Use"?

Google seems to think they work above the law to which time
will prove otherwise.

~Justin

[guyfrom2006]

NetAlter is developing an alternative Internet OS

I have been following up on a small company based in India which has been silently but actively developing an alternative to the current Internet System.

NetAlter Software Limited which is proposing such this alternative system will start development of the Service Browser and the Beta version of which would be available within 9 months.

What NetAlter is doing is converging various proven technologies such as P2P, Grid Supercomputing, Semantic Web, Rich/Smart Applications, etc into a single browser interface which will be platform independent.

NetAlter offers virtually virus and spam free operations and also provides complete protection against Piracy.

As NetAlter Software Limited is going ahead with the development of the core browser, it also plans approaching other developers and service providers for licensing out their technology to develop NetAlter native application software.

The one thing unique about NetAlter is that it aims to provide a pay per use system which means users will no longer have to pay for software they do not intend to use. Likewise, Developers will require to pay NetAlter for using their license only once they are ready to make available applications commercially.

This should cut down piracy and also protect the intellectual property rights of developers.

End users get a free Internet OS with various inbuilt features with the option to avail of other free or paid applications and services.

[guyfrom2006]

Sorry

The dual posting happened by mistake.

[guyfrom2006]

NetAlter is developing an alternative Internet OS

I have been following up on a small company based in India which has been silently but actively developing an alternative to the current Internet System.

NetAlter Software Limited which is proposing such this alternative system will start development of the Service Browser and the Beta version of which would be available within 9 months.

What NetAlter is doing is converging various proven technologies such as P2P, Grid Supercomputing, Semantic Web, Rich/Smart Applications, etc into a single browser interface which will be platform independent.

NetAlter offers virtually virus and spam free operations and also provides complete protection against Piracy.

As NetAlter Software Limited is going ahead with the development of the core browser, it also plans approaching other developers and service providers for licensing out their technology to develop NetAlter native application software.

The one thing unique about NetAlter is that it aims to provide a pay per use system which means users will no longer have to pay for software they do not intend to use. Likewise, Developers will require to pay NetAlter for using their license only once they are ready to make available applications commercially.

This should cut down piracy and also protect the intellectual property rights of developers.

End users get a free Internet OS with various inbuilt features with the option to avail of other free or paid applications and services.

[Earl Benser]

So far ......

NetAlter is all smoke and mirrors, with nebulous promises and
nothing to deliver. Maybe it will be of some significance, but right
now, it's not ever vaporware.

In a year or two, maybe worth a second look.

[BengalTigger]

pay per use isn't the end all answer

Pay per use stifles productivity. How many of you have used a Microsoft Office product simply because you already had a copy of it on your machine? I know I have and likewise with many of my peers. Pay per use will have the opposite effect in that I (and am guessing others) would avoid using a product that would better fit the need just to avoid added cost.