I wanted to briefly follow up the discussion about blurring on-line maps. I am currently reading a very enlightening book entitled Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World.

Microsoft says that Windows dominates -- and will continue to dominate -- netbooks because customers are looking for a familiar, PC-like experience, as well as compatibility with their peripherals and software such as Microsoft Office.

Cutting costs is crucial for computer manufacturers and the buying public, which explains the flourishing popularity of Netbooks -- mini-sized and budget-priced laptop computers. But how can manufacturers dice the price even further? Hewlett-Packard might have the answer: use Google's Android OS instead of Microsoft's Windows. The combination is perfect for three reasons.

Microsoft may be on its way to vanquishing Linux in the war to dominate netbook operating systems, but the ground could be shifting against Windows.

IBM and other tech companies have issued a statement of principles that calls for keeping cloud computing services as open as possible

THE One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project — an initiative whose purpose was to give underprivileged children around the world a better chance at modern education using technology — may have been stifled though a combination of disinformation and other coordinated efforts by hardware and software monopolies that needed to stop it.

Google still isn't saying publicly that they're going to deploy Android as a desktop Linux, but HP, ASUS, and other major computer makers are apparently in talks with the company about deploying Android on netbooks.