Clear out your bookmarks. You’re going to need the space for 50 offerings that are indispensable to navigating, enjoying yourself, shopping or just killing time on the Web.

Computers don’t handle visual imagery with the same native ease with which they parse text or crunch numbers. Flickr was the first site to solve this problem with something called collaborative tagging. The idea is that if everyone is allowed to tag everyone else’s uploaded photos, then a rough-and-ready categorization will naturally emerge from the wisdom of the crowd. It works because it has to — there aren’t enough librarians in the world to look after Flickr’s archive of 3 billion photos, much less file them away for future reference. But it also works because the many really is smarter than the sum of its parts. The Library of Congress has even started to poll the Flickr hive mind when cataloging its own photos.

View the full list for “50 Best Websites 2009″

Lots of hubbabaloo is going on right now at Apple’s iPhone 3.0 event in CA.  Here’s what stands out, to me, at least:

1. Support for Cut, Copy, and Paste!
2. Multi-application search via Spotlight.
3. Landscape keyboard in more apps.
4. Peer-to-peer capabilities between iPhones.
5. Tethering baked in, but capabilities to be determined by carrier.
6. MMS
7. Voice Memos
8. Free for all iPhone users, $9.95 for iPod Touch users
9. Coming Summer of 2009

Checkout Engadget for up-to-the-minute info: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/17/live-from-apples-iphone-os-3-0-preview-event/

Google has updated their Google Sync app to give iPhone and Windows Mobile users the ability to push-sync their Google Calendar and Contacts wirelessly, just like Microsoft’s Exchange OTA push feature.

Check out this article from Ars Technica for details.

HTC Touch Diamond	HTC Touch Pro

Well, HTC is making a run for it on the iPhone.  They have announced the release of two new Windows Mobile phones, the Diamond and the Touch Pro, extending their current Touch and Mogul devices.  We have been using the equivalent of the Mogul (the Sprint PPC-6700) for the past 2 years, and HTC does produce a quality Microsoft Smartphone.  The Touch Pro is due to release thru Sprint in September, 2008, and the Touch Diamond is due at the end of 2008.

Well, here it is.  The new Jawbone!!

The sequel from Aliph for their original Jawbone bluetooth headset.   We have been using the original Jawbone since they came out in January of 2007, and have been very pleased with the backgound noise cancelling system.  When using this headset, it has a sensor that touches your jawbone, which detects the sound of your voice thru the waves coming from that sensor.  It is then able to block out all other noises around you.  You could be walking down the street next to a construction site with a jackhammer going, and the person on the other end of the call will only hear your voice, and nothing else.  It is really cool, and a great addition to your current cell phone.

 The Jawbone 2 sequel is 50% smaller, and includes an improved “NoiseAssassin” technology.  Being smaller, however, means a smaller battery, so it does not include as much talk time as the original, but also takes less time to recharge.

Engadget Article “New Jawbone headset from Aliph now official” dated May 15th, 2008
Jawbone’s website

Well, the next phase of wireless networking is playing out.  This is a huge venture, with big players stepping up to improve the speeds of mobile wireless communication.   Sprint, Clearwire, Google, Intel, Time Warner, Comcast are all in on this.  It is a big deal.  You have the best in alot of worlds combining brain power and a bunch of money to working towards creating an immense national (and eventually global) WiMax network.  Very exciting..

MarketWatch article regarding the joint venture

An article in the NY Times this week ( “Hopes for Wireless Cities Fade as Internet Providers Pull Out” dated 3/22/2008 ) has focussed on the concept of free wireless Internet services in cities, and how they are fading into the sunset.  Well, to me this comes as no big surprise, for a lot of reasons.  But the main reason is that these types of groups were being squeezed out by the Telecommunications Industry, which is becoming more and more competitive in the US.

 The current technology that is cutting into the concept of free Internet is the wireless cellular broadband provided by all the major cellphone carriers.  Sprint and Verizon’s CDMA communication network, with EVDO Internet communication standards, can provide broadband Internet connections of 512 Kbps while driving 65 miles per hour down the highway.   It also makes it a lot easier for expansion of broadband internet into rural sectors.  This has made looking for a free hotspot less of a factor.

What is coming is the rollout by many of the wireless carriers of their WiMAX technologies on their cell communication towers.  WiMAX is basically long-range WIFI.  Sprint and Verizon have already begun test markets with this concept, and I believe all the carriers are getting ready for a massive rollout of this technology.  This technology will allow users to get Internet connections as fast as 2-100 Mbps, all while driving down the highway at 65 miles per hour. 

The catch to the WiMAX revolution is that the carriers will charge similar fees as their cell based mobile broadband cards ($45-$70/month).  They need to charge for this to cover their cost, and quite frankly, it is a solid money maker for them long term.

While the idea of free Internet is noble, the facts are that Internet technology changes too quickly, and costs too much, to just give it away.  Still the free WIFI hotspots at coffee shops will be around for many years to come.  They need you to buy their coffee!!

 But large scale free wireless Internet services are a cute idea of the past, which will continue to fade as other wireless technologies come to the fore-front.  So, if you need the Internet, plan on paying for it for years to come.

NY Times: “Hopes for Wireless Cities Fade as Internet Providers Pull Out” dated 3/22/2008

The early stages of the iPhone 2.0 Beta have been cataloged with some photographs and information over at Engadget.

Apparently as it stands Exchange is up and running and does push updates over the network but in Wi-Fi situations it only does a “check-in” which is somewhat slower. Contact search functionality is yet to be seen but on a good note the Cisco VPN app seems to be in place and in good working order. Other neat features include parental settings allowing you to turn off sites like YouTube as well as order your preferred Wi-Fi networks.

This definitely appears to be a step in the right direction for Apple. Hopefully all of these features make it to the post beta firmware update. Time will tell.

For more information and the pictures(!!) go here.

Monday saw the release of version 3.35.651.2 for the Sprint smartphone. What does this mean for Mogul owners and potential buyers? The revision brings the Mogul up to speed with EV-DO compliance which does a whole host of good things for the phone. A few examples are: improved data speed, GPS navigation, better bluetooth performance and voice quality.

This makes the Mogul that much more attractive for people waiting to pull the trigger on this phone. The download can be had from the HTC update page.

For more information on this update and developments check out BAW and Engadget.

On Thursday, March 6th the Silicon Valley juggernaut of late opened its doors, so to speak, to software developers for the iPhone. The long awaited release was received with a great deal of skepticism from those most eager to start “officially” rolling out applications for the wireless device. True to Apple’s form they laid down some stipulations (e.g. coders must use Apple’s programming interface, adhere to certain security protocol etc) in an attempt to control how developers conjure their applications.

Cnet has a good deal of coverage on this event and continues to update us on the situation.

Check it out here.