As expected, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, more commonly referred to as ICANN, approved the use of non-Latin characters in domain names. Concluding a week of meetings in Seoul, South Korea, the ICANN vote takes the Web a step closer to actually living up to the 'World Wide' part of its name.

The move comes rather quickly in the wake of the United States loosening its draconian control of ICANN. It was less than a month ago that the United States released sole oversight of ICANN and turned it into a global, private-sector led organization.

There has been a lot of media attention around the Verizon Droid and whether or not it's a viable competitor the formidable Apple iPhone. There has even been a fair amount of coverage regarding the Google Android 2.0 operating system that drives the Droid. The unsung supporting actor behind the Droid though is Motorola, and Motorola's path to recovery is possibly the bigger story.

Motorola had all but fallen off the radar, but has apparently regained some handset innovation mojo and is fighting to regain relevance in a tough mobile device market. Prior to recent months, the last handset success Motorola had was the Razr, which debuted in 2005. That's a long time to go without a 'win' in an industry that rolls out new devices faster than the ink can dry on the 2-year contracts they typically come with.

Microsoft says Windows 7 is the most secure version of the Windows operating system ever developed. Big deal, right? I am pretty sure that Microsoft has made that claim for every new version of Microsoft Windows in the past 15 years, and that it is a valid claim.

What else would you expect? Is Microsoft going to come out with a new operating system and make it less secure than its predecessor? I think not. Still, while the marketing around Windows 7 security may be part hyperbole, there are actually a number of significant security improvements to be aware of, especially for Windows XP users making (or considering) the transition to Windows 7. Many of these security updates existed in Windows Vista as well, so Vista users should already be familiar with them.

Verizon officially unveiled details about the upcoming Droid. The iDon't ad campaign pits the Android-based Droid head-to-head against the formidable iPhone. Based on preliminary predictions the Droid could be a real iPhone contender, but the ultimate success of Droid could be hampered by Android Market.

On paper, the Droid is more than impressive. It boasts a fast processor, a large display with almost double the resolution of the iPhone, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It packs a 5 megapixel camera with flash and zoom, and a GPS into a slick, attractive package that is certainly comparable to the iPhone in terms of aesthetics.

Facebook gathered developers together to share changes and improvements it plans to roll out over the next two quarters. The event, dubbed Facebook Developer Garage Palo Alto - Roadmap Edition, was also streamed over the Web simultaneously via Ustream.

Facebook co-founder, CEO and president Mark Zuckerberg kicked things off by providing some background regarding where Facebook is now and the vision for the future. Zuckerberg began by saying "Facebook Platform is quickly becoming, along with Connect, is quickly becoming one of the most important parts of our strategy."

Google recently announced that it is developing its own operating system based around the Chrome web browser, named appropriately enough Chrome OS. For the past week there have been rumors circulating about a leaked version being available for download. Don't believe the hype. The ‘leaked version' is a fake that is not related to Google at all.

Even a trusted source like Gizmodo has perpetuated the myth that Chrome is available. Its tough when there is so much pressure to be the first to publish a breaking news story. Gizmodo recently reported a story of alleged Chrome operating system screen shots, but later updated the story to state that it was verified as a fake. Gizmodo pushed the story of the fake download with a story titled Google Chrome OS Now Available, Go Get It .

Move along folks, nothing to see here. I know that the headlines have been overflowing with the breaking news that Google will now let you use Google Voice with your existing cell phone number, but the limited functionality of the new Google Voice option is hardly anything to get excited about.

Google developed the new Google Voice option to cater to those who want the features and benefits of Google Voice, but without having to switch phone numbers. People spend years sharing contact information and expanding their social network by sharing their mobile phone number, so it is understandable that some are reluctant to change the primary phone number people should use to contact them.

The Verizon Droid is coming. You have probably seen the clever ‘iDon't' ad campaign attacking the iPhone and ending with an ominous, you-will-be-assimilated sort of message. They left something off of the ‘iDon't' list: ‘iDon't integrate well with business tools and networks.'

Actually, Verizon did sort of put that on the iDon't list, just not in those words. The original iDon't list includes both ‘iDon't allow open development' and ‘iDon't customize', both of which imply that the Droid does those things which means the Droid provides a customizable, open development platform that business customers can work with.

Whether you upgraded just the operating system, or purchased a new computer with Windows 7, odds are good that you are making the switch from Windows XP. While the differences between the user interface in Windows Vista and Windows 7 may be minimal, Windows XP users will have a little bit of a learning curve to understand the new features and conventions of Windows 7.

Some of the functions and capabilities of Windows 7 will depend on the version of Windows 7 you end up using. Judging from the systems available from retailers like Best Buy, the Windows 7 Home Premium edition is apparently the de facto standard for consumer-oriented systems. We'll ignore features like BitLocker or DirectAccess, and focus on features that most users can expect to encounter.

T-Mobile is launching a new phone-- the Sony Ericsson Equinox. Unlike most headline-making mobile phones, the Equinox is not trying to be the next iPhone-killer. The Equinox isn't even trying to be a smart phone.

The Equinox is a feature phone, which is a polite way of saying its not a smart phone, which is a nice way of saying it's a dumb phone. The Equinox looks like it might make the feature phone fun again though. Just because your phone doesn't have an app for that doesn't mean it can't have some cool features.

Google today rolled out Social Search within the Google Labs site. Google announced the new experimental search tool at last week's Web 2.0 Summit.

The Google Labs page explains that with Social Search, you "sign in to Google and do a search. If there's relevant web content written by people in your social circle, it will automatically show up at the bottom of your search results under a section called ‘Results from people in your social circle'."

In case you missed it, Windows 7 is available now. October 22^nd was marked with a moderate amount of hoopla to introduce the new flagship operating system. Now, users are faced with the task of not only deciding whether or not to upgrade, but of choosing which of the many variations of Windows 7 to install.

Microsoft has 6 different versions of Windows 7 available: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise. The Windows 7 Starter version is aimed primarily at low-end netbook devices, and the Windows Home Basic version is only available in emerging markets, so we can rule those two out right away.

Verizon reported increased revenue, but lower profit for its most recent quarterly results. Layoffs of 4,000 employees helped to offset expenses and one-time costs incurred by the acquisition of Alltel Corp. If the Android-based Droid smart phone can live up to its pre-release hype, Verizon might be able to turn things around and increase profits next quarter.

Looking at one set of numbers, Verizon had net income of 41 cents per share, a more than 30 percent drop from the 66 cents per share earned in this same quarter last year. However, moving some numbers around and doing some accounting magic-- like excluding costs associated with purchasing Alltel-Verizon says it would have made 60 cents per share which is higher than the analyst estimate of 59 cents.

Steve Ballmer recently stated that Windows 7 is the best version of Windows ever. Now that Windows 7 is officially out, the public at large can join that debate and determine if Windows 7 is the best version of Windows yet, or even the greatest operating system of all time. Let's consider the hypothetical question of whether Windows 7 is the greatest operating system of all time.

Facebook gave its homepage a makeover ...again. Last Friday the social networking site quietly rolled out some fairly significant changes to the way information is displayed on your homepage. The updates make the default feed more like it was before the last major homepage overhaul, but the changes aren't without some issues, and they have sparked some backlash among Facebook users.

The Good

Facebook rolled out a revamped home page on Friday. The changes once again shake up the information that you see by default when you visit your home page on the social networking site. It demonstrates how Facebook continues to adapt and try to find the right balance of status updates and details to deliver to users.

Now that Windows 7 is here, the three out of four users who have rejected Windows Vista and clung to the tried and true Windows XP can breathe a sigh of relief and consider moving to the new flagship operating system.

Are you just waking up and nursing a hangover after hosting one of those wild Windows 7 launch parties? No? Well, you at least attended one, right? Invited to one but had a scheduling conflict??

The FCC voted unanimously yesterday to move forward with the debate in an effort to formalize net neutrality guidelines. Senator John McCain followed up by introducing a bill that would prohibit the FCC from governing communications.

Nokia is taking Apple to court, alleging that the iPhone infringes on 10 different technology patents owned by Nokia. Nokia is entitled to protect its investments in research and development and its intellectual property, but there is reason to be skeptical of Nokia's timing and motives.

Windows 7 is finally here. The sun can shine and the birds can chirp. Ding dong, Windows Vista is dead! Perhaps that is a bit premature. Windows 7 hasn't been officially released for 24 hours yet, so its understandable if the jury is still deliberating. There are certainly those who think Windows 7 is nothing more than Windows Vista with an extra bell or whistle thrown in for eye candy.

Today is the day. The curtain has been raised and the confetti has fallen. Windows 7 is here. After the problems with the launch of Windows Vista-- both real and perceived-- many users are cautious about jumping on Windows 7 too quickly.

Windows 7 offers little more than incremental improvements and cosmetic enhancements over Windows Vista, and Windows Vista users may be wise to simply hold off until its time for a new PC. But the majority of users are still using Windows XP and even Vista users have reason to embrace Windows 7. Let's look at 5 reasons why you should make the switch to Windows 7 today.

Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple today alleging that the iPhone violates 10 different patents owned by Nokia. Nokia claims that the technologies, ranging from speech coding to security to wireless data transmission, have been used in every iPhone since the iPhone has existed, so what is the motive behind suing now?

The Finland-based mobile phone giant--with a comfortably dominant 45 percent share of the smart phone market--claims that these same patented technologies are licensed and paid for by 40 other tech companies and it feels that Apple is infringing on its patent rights by not doing so as well.

The FCC convened this morning and voted to move forward with formalizing net neutrality guidelines. The vote was unanimous, including Republican Commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker, and initiates the process of debating the proposed rules before any net neutrality policy is actually implemented.

Both Microsoft and Google used the Web 2.0 Summit as a forum for unveiling new deals and plans to incorporate social networking and real-time search results in their respective search engines. The announcements indicate that the Bing-Google rivalry is heating up.

A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project claims that 19 percent, or nearly 1 in 5, Americans who use the Internet also use Twitter or some other social networking status update service to keep in touch and share information about themselves with others. The bigger news is that this figure is almost double what it was in a previous survey in December of 2008.

The president of Microsoft's online services division, Qi Lu, used the Web 2.0 Summit as the forum to confirm rumored deals it has made with social networking sites Facebook and Twitter to deliver real-time search results through the Bing search engine.

Let the countdown begin. We are at less than T-minus 24 hours to the general availability of Windows 7. Whether you are a die-hard Windows XP user, or a Windows Vista user (satisfied or disgruntled), or even a user of a non-Windows operating system, there is reason to look at Windows 7 and give serious consideration to embracing the new operating system.

BlackBerry is rolling out the Bold 9700 which will be available from T-Mobile and AT&T. For T-Mobile and AT&T customers who are Blackberry devotees, this is great news. For the rest of the smartphone market it is more or less not news-- at least not compared with more innovative device that have been introduced lately.

Apple announced today that record iPhone and Mac sales drove profits up 47 percent, far exceeding Wall Street expectations. News of the phenomenal quarterly results sent Apple stock to a new all-time high of $204 in after-hours trading.

It was only a couple weeks ago that Verizon announced its intentions to embrace the Android mobile OS. Now, details are trickling out about the Droid, the slick iPhone competitor built on Android 2.0 as a team effort between Verizon and Motorola.

If there was any remaining doubt that the iPhone might be coming to Verizon soon, the Droid ad campaign that hit the airwaves this weekend should put an end to it. There may not have been any bad blood or hard feelings between Verizon and Apple before, but the Droid ads go for the iPhone jugular, specifically targeting the shortcomings of the popular smart phone.

Last-minute shoppers and instant gratification junkies rejoice! Amazon.com announced that it is going to start offering same-day shipping just in time for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

Google revealed its intention to launch an online bookstore dubbed Google Editions sometime in early 2010. Google plans to open for business with about 500,000 available titles from a variety of publishers. The new service will provide ebooks in a browser-centric, eReader-agnostic manner that will muddy the eReader water even more than it is today.

The third quarter sales figures brought great news for the PC industry-- sales are up! Following declines in the first and second quarters, global sales of PC's are up 2 percent for the third quarter, seemingly signaling a light at the end of the recession and IT spending glut tunnel. However, the news isn't all good.

See, here's the thing about statistics and numbers: they say what you want them to say. Good news can be extracted by focusing on the total number of actual devices that were bought and sold during the quarter. However, that statistic does not tell the whole story.

The Wi-Fi Alliance announced a new wireless networking specification which will enable devices to establish simple peer-to-peer wireless connections without the need for a wireless router or hotspot. Wi-Fi Direct has a wide array of potential uses, many of which encroach on Bluetooth territory and threaten to make the competing wireless protocol obsolete.

Pictures have emerged of what is allegedly the Barnes & Noble eReader device slated to be available next month in time for the holiday season. Barnes & Noble's entry into the eReader fray adds another major player to the mix-- and one that has its own book distribution to compete with Amazon and the Kindle.

Nokia announced yesterday that its Booklet 3G will be available this holiday season from AT&T and Best Buy at a price of $299. When the hidden costs are calculated in the Nokia Booklet 3G becomes an expensive option in a cheap device niche.

Gartner released a slightly revised outlook for the 2012 mobile operating system market ahead of the upcoming Gartner ITExpo in Orlando next week. The new prediction still has Symbian as the top OS, followed by Android, but the next three spots have experience a little shake up since the initial report a week ago.

The relationship between T-Mobile and Danger's Sidekick service is no longer a doe-eyed love affair thanks to the epic failure of the Danger servers and loss of data for thousands of customers. As the company that markets and distributes the Sidekick mobile device, T-Mobile is taking most of the heat from the debacle, although it is not to blame.

Unless you've been vacationing off the grid at a cabin in the Rockies for the past week, you are probably aware that the popular T-Mobile Sidekick appears to have lost the contact, calendar, and other synced information of its one million users.

Facebook traffic is up nearly 200 percent from a year ago according to web metrics provider Hitwise. Analyzing online traffic of 10 million U.S. Web surfers across one million different potential destinations, Facebook emerged as the leader among social networking sites, claiming almost 60 percent of a market crowded with 154 other competitors.

United States and Egyptian authorities began rounding up 100 suspects indicted in connection with a two-year investigation dubbed "Operation Phish Phry."

Operation Phish Phry involved the United States Attorney's Office, FBI, Egyptian authorities and the Electronic Crimes Task Force in Los Angeles. The 53 suspects in the United States are concentrated in North Carolina, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, with the majority being from LA. The FBI stated that the number of individuals involved in the phishing scam make it the largest number of defendants ever charged for the same cybercrime.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke to the wireless industry at the International CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment conference this week in San Diego. During his presentation he described an impending ‘spectrum crisis' and outlined a number of initiatives the FCC is working on to ensure that the spectrum can keep pace with the exploding demand for mobile broadband.

Genachowski noted that wireless demand has increased thirty-fold in the same timeframe that the FCC has allocated only three times the spectrum bandwidth. Doing the simple math it seems like it is fair to suggest we may soon face a spectrum crunch if something doesn't change in one or both of those trends.

Mobile service providers have begun to offer devices built on the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. Despite some negative early reviews, the operating system has some impressive features and significantly enhances the operating system in comparison to its predecessor.

I am not saying that Windows Mobile 6.5 is the best mobile operating system available, or suggesting that anyone abandon their iPhone or BlackBerry in favor of the latest Microsoft mobile platform, but articles like the one by my PC World peer Daniel Ionescu don't match the reality of what the operating system delivers.

AT&T announced a change in policy to allow VoIP calls on the iPhone from its 3G cellular network. The decision may be spurred in part by a motivation to avoid proposed FCC net neutrality rules, but the move actually proves why net neutrality is necessary.

AT&T and Apple are arguably solely responsible for bringing intense scrutiny on the wireless communications industry as a result of the high-profile rejection of the Google Voice app for the iPhone. Granted, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski already had net neutrality on his to-do list, but the questionable motives and seemingly monopolistic rejection of the Google Voice app highlighted the need for the FCC to step in and take a look under the hood.

Amazon has slashed the price of the Kindle again, bringing the retail price down to a more affordable, but still arguably pricey, $259. At the same time, Amazon is also unveiling a new international Kindle for $279 to expand the market beyond the United States.

The $40 price drop brings the Kindle down 35 percent from the initial $400 price it was introduced at. That is still rather costly for a device that reads books. Even considering that the Kindle edition of books are typically available for $9.99.

AT&T has reversed its policy of blocking voice over IP (VoIP) iPhone applications from connecting calls over its cellular network. The move may be based on some strategic ulterior motives, but is still a step in the right direction for the mobile service provider.

AT&T has struggled with how to handle (VoIP) applications that enable customers to place calls over the AT&T cellular network or by using Wi-Fi connections from AT&T mobile devices. AT&T makes its money based on the number of calling minutes that customers use. If those calls are placed over alternate services it may impact AT&T's bottom line.

Verizon announced that it is joining the ranks of mobile service providers embracing devices built on the open source Google Android operating system. Landing the largest mobile service provider in the United States is a coup for Android, and proves that the mobile operating system is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the mobile industry.

More than 10,000 compromised Hotmail accounts were posted online this morning by attackers to demonstrate their success in capturing the sensitive information. The credentials displayed, including the username and password combination necessary to access the account, included accounts starting with letters ‘A' and ‘B' in alphabetical order.

There were approximately 5,500 accounts displayed for each letter. Assuming the attackers have a similar number of accounts for each letter of the alphabet, it suggests a total number of compromised accounts somewhere around 143,000.

There is much excitement and celebration today in the world of mobile phones. Adobe announced that Flash Player 10.1 will soon be gracing the diminutive screen of your mobile phone...unless you have an iPhone.

Adobe Flash is relatively ubiquitous on the Web. If you have ever tried to surf the Web with a brand new computer system that hasn't yet had Flash installed you quickly find out just how many sites rely on the technology to provide interactive multimedia presentations and interfaces.

T-Mobile has a new partner in its plan to take over the world with Android. T-Mobile has announced plans to introduce the Samsung Behold II mobile phone, Samsung's first venture based on the Google Android OS.

Vonage is expanding its horizons beyond delivering VoIP over broadband Internet, and hoping to expand its customer base and revenue at the same time. The new app from Vonage allows Blackberry and iPhone users to place cheaper international calls from their mobile phones. It also highlights the shifting competitive landscape between previously separate technologies.

Windows Mobile 6.5 is starting to hit the streets and AT&T announced that the HTC Pure, AT&T's rebranded version of the HTC Touch Diamond2, will be available soon. At $150 (after rebate, with a 2-year contract), the Pure is the most affordable Windows Mobile 6.5 device yet and it delivers some innovative capabilities.

Unlike most of the Windows Mobile-based smart phones available from AT&T, the HTC Pure does not have a physical keyboard. Similar to the LG Incite, the HTC Pure aspires to be more iPhone-like with a pure touch-screen interface.

Google is adding some new search filters in the lefthand ‘search options' panel it introduced earlier this year. The new filters enable users to quickly sift through the ‘haystack' returned by the default search to find the proverbial ‘needle' more efficiently.

Users have been able to view search results by category for a given query for some time using the links at the top of the Google search page. Conduct a search on "Tony Bradley" and the default search displays results from the Web. Clicking on Images, Maps, News, etc. across the top will redirect you to the different Google sites for those categories and display the search results for that same query.