Did anyone really think tech pundit Michael Arrington would get his CrunchPad web tablet off the ground? OK, so we weren't surprised when he announced that the project had been scrapped.

There is, for the record, no shame in having a product idea not make it market. Especially when the claims made for the product seemed to defy gravity. Stuff happens, as they say.

Don't expect the "glowing red eye" of Motorola's Droid smartphone to show up on your iPhone anytime soon. Apple has rejected an application called "iDroid," that would have save displayed the Droid's red eye on an iPhone and linked to information about the flagship Android phone.

You can imagine that Apple's app censors didn't speed too much time deliberating the fate of an iPhone app whose only purpose was to advertise its arch enemy. It is also hard to blame them, even though Apple really needs to find a sense of humor about these things.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the author's use of the term "pre-sold" to describe Walmart's pre-allocation of some sale products to customers who arrived early. These items were apparently not pre-sold, though customers who arrived prior to the sale were issued tickets that reserved them right to purchase one of the limited-quantity items when the sale began at 5 a.m. PC World regrets this inadvertent inaccuracy.]

TRACY, CA -- Black Friday customers who arrived at the Walmart store here, expecting to purchase an e-Machines laptop for the $198 Black Friday price, were surprised to find the entire shipment of 37 units had been assigned to other customers the day before.

Is four years and a $250,000 fine really the best punishment for the self-proclaimed "Godfather of Spam?" Put another way: Do we take the criminal aspects of spam seriously enough?

I don't think so. But, we're also not ready to hunt down spammers or create effective measures to stop spam at the source.

If the world needs one browser-based operating system, why not three more? With the interest Google's Chrome OS has generated, can operating systems based upon Firefox, Internet Explorer, even Opera, be far behind?

Chrome OS is potentially a major threat to Microsoft. It may also be a sideshow or even a bust, but that isn't a chance Redmond should take. If I were Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie, or Stephen Sinofsky, I'd have launched the Internet Explorer OS project months ago.

Now, I am as much against smoking as anyone. I also do not want workers needlessly exposed to hazardous substances. Still, for Apple to deny warranty claims on Macs exposed to cigarette smoke seems way over the line.

Yet, that is what The Consumerist says Apple has done on at least two occasions in recent months.

Chrome OS may lead to higher-performance netbooks, but many of them will not be running Google's next-generation operating system.

Why? Because Chrome OS could force Microsoft to stop crippling netbooks to avoid competition with more expensive notebooks.

It has been difficult for Google to explain away the seeming conflict between Chrome OS and Android.

Saying that Chrome is for the Internet and Android for devices, requires a belief that users actually make the distinction.

Barnes & Noble seemed to have it all wrapped up. Except now it will be wrapping up many fewer Nook e-readers than had been hoped.

Thanks to a supply shortage, this year's must-have techie gift has gone from fizz to flat in near-record time.

Have some extra USB hard drives you'd like to put to a good use? How using them to create an Internet storage cloud for your company, yourself, or your family?

Though marketed primarily as a media-sharing device, the forthcoming second-generation Pogoplug is a cool and useful tool for sharing business information as well. The device was introduced earlier today.

Watching Google's Chrome OS event made me realize: There is a lot in Google's OS that can benefit Microsoft--like giving it a completely new platform and one it needs. If Google is really true to its open source promises, Microsoft should join the fun.

(Take our visual tour of Chrome OS if you don't already know what the fuss is about).

Firing back at Verizon, AT&T has released a new ad that talks about the wonders of the iPhone--and then promotes two Samsung handsets. How misleading is that?

The AT&T "Side-by-Side" spot (see it here) promotes the benefits of "access to over 100,000 apps," but then sells handsets that run few if any of them (and none of the over 100,000 iPhone apps, of course).

Want to know when Apple's tablet will ship? Here is the only provably true answer: It will ship when Steve Jobs decides it is ready to ship and not a moment before.

In the words of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils: "It'll Shine When It Shines," title of a song about "a good old boy that's learned to wait."

AT&T claims Verizon is misleading customers by showing its 3G network (wide coverage) and comparing it with AT&T’s coverage map (comparatively limited coverage).

AT&T told an Atlanta federal court Wednesday that Verizon’s ads are misleading because they fail to mention that AT&T’s 2.5G network covers most of the blank areas shown in Verizon’s coverage map.

Tomorrow's hot ticket is for the Chrome OS event at Google HQ down in Mountain View. Chrome OS has already caught many imaginations, as something exciting often does, especially before the real world interrupts the fantasy.

Thursday's event may be that interruption, or maybe not. Google is expected to answer questions and perhaps even provide a developer build of its new applications-in-the-cloud, Windows-killer operating system.

Rumors are once again swirling around the idea that a Google-branded "Superphone" will hit the market next year. How stupid do these people think Google is?

Well, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington seems to think "pretty stupid," yet lays out and interesting, if not compelling, case for Google selling a phone directly to consumers. At inflated prices for lack of a subsiding carrier, no less.

Nokia says its Linux-based Maemo operating system is the future of its high-end smartphones, ending hope for Symbian OS to reign supreme. The change emphasizes how far behind the world's largest handset maker has become.

Nokia told a group of Maemo developers that by 2012 its legacy Symbian operating system would be gone from the high-end N-family devices, The Really Mobile Project blog reports.

Social networking terms abound as the Oxford New American Dictionary announced its 2009 "Word of the Year": Unfriend, as in removing someone from a Facebook friends list. Runner-up? Hashtag.

"Unfriend has real lex appeal," said Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for Oxford's US dictionary program. In a blog post announcing the selection, Lindberg also said the word "has both currency and potential longevity."

Twitter's "suggested users" list will be going away, amid a California political controversy. But, should it? Is it OK to violate Twitter's freedom to promote any user it chooses to?

The AP does a very good job of stating the facts: Basically, that Twitter has promised the drop or change the list, which is presented to people after they sign-up as a way to get them started on the service.

Google today announced the addition of templates to its Google Sites, an application used to create hosted Web sites and part of the Google Apps suite.

Available to both free and paid users, the templates include entire collaborative workspaces, employee intranets, project tracking sites, team sites, and employee profile pages.

A rumor that Nokia might purchase Palm shot the troubled smartphone company's shares up on Friday and reignited the debate: What should happen to Palm?

For the moment, nothing. With a $1.7 billion market cap, Palm seems awful pricey. It is hard to imagine anyone making such a huge investment for a company whose gloss is so rapidly wearing away.

Four colored balls now tell parents their children are protected against adult content while searching on Google, the search giant said last week. The balls appear at the top right of the screen when "strict" SafeSearch in enabled.

While much has been made of Google's holiday "gift" of free airport Wi-Fi, this new feature is likely to provide even more popular with teachers and parents. In addition, it is a gift that goes on giving long after free Wi-Fi ends on Jan. 15.

Despite brave talk, the next six months seem likely to decide whether Palm will grow or fade back into obscurity.

Alas, I am voting for the sad outcome. It will be very difficult for Palm to prosper in the shadow of giants like Google and Apple.

From the breathless media coverage, the casual observer might think that Motorola's Droid handset and Google's Android operating system are the same. They are not.

Android is much bigger a phenomenon than any handset. The operating system is capable of running the same applications on phones, netbooks, and tablet PCs. It is also suitable for specialized devices, such as remote controls.

Google's Chrome operating system could mark a turning point in computing, but many questions remain. Today's rumor is the OS will be released to developers next week, answering some questions but probably raising even more. Google had previously promised Chrome OS, in some form, before the end of this year.

Chrome OS strikes me as being just enough Linux to allow an underpowered computer to run Chrome browser and connect to cloud-based applications. How exciting can that really be?

Google has added new features to its Latitude location mapping and tracking service, allowing users to see where they have been and automatically be alerted (warned?) when friends are nearby.

"One of the most popular ideas was for Latitude to keep track of location history, allowing you (but not your friends) to see where you've been at any point in time. Another popular idea was to notify you when you're near your Latitude friends so you can easily meet up or grab lunch," wrote Google's Chris Lambert in an announcement on the Google Mobile Blog posted late Tuesday.

Today brings news of Bada, a new smartphone operating system from Samsung, product of corporate fantasy that second-tier brands can really change the world.

"Bada will be Samsung's landmark, iconic new platform that brings an unprecedented opportunity for operators, developers and Samsung mobile phone users around the world," said Hosoo Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics in a prepared statement.

In a world where computing goes "cloudy," can Firefox survive? What if Chrome OS successfully merges browser with operating system to create a new Google world order?

This is all highly speculative, but on Firefox's fifth birthday, I fear for the browser's future. (I am not alone; Tony Bradley also worries over Firefox).

Google's gift of free holiday Internet access at 47 U.S. airports only points out how backward those airports are. Don't they understand Internet access in public places is supposed to be free?

The scale of Google's announcement turned Yahoo's "free Internet in Times Square for a year" promotion, also announced Tuesday, into another example of how out-classed Yahoo has become.

On its fifth birthday, Firefox must be considered both an incredible success and somewhat of a failure. The open source Web browser is a great product and quite an achievement, but has not tremendously advanced the cause of "free" software.

Indeed, Firefox has proven both open source supporters and skeptics to be correct: Yes, you can build an excellent, widely used open source application. No, it is not going to happen very often. (Brennon Slattery wrote a nice Firefox retrospective).

There is no piece of technological wizardry that I want so much as a Droid. Yet, I have decided to hold onto my iPhone. Why? Because the iPhone is the PC of smartphones.

I mean that in the good sense of what a PC represents, namely compatibility. Yes, Google's Android operating system may someday--probably will--become the standard for comparison among smartphones.

Skype users can breathe easier, now that one of technology's greatest business blunders has been fixed. The outside chance of a Skype shutdown has gone away, messy lawsuits have been resolved, and Skype's founders are back helping run the company.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will join the consortium that is buying the company, taking a 14 percent stake, and joining the company's board.

Before naming him CEO of the Decade, perhaps Fortune magazine should have asked other successful CEOs: Could Steve Jobs run your company? The question is not meant to diminish Job's success, just put it into perspective.

Apple is a company that Steve Jobs has--twice--created in his own image. The second incarnation has been an incredible success. For that, "CEO of the Decade" might be appropriate.

If you are buying your first smartphone, which should it be: Droid or the iPhone? Both are revolutionary devices, but which revolution is for you? It is not (yet) a coin toss.

That is the challenge I was asked to solve, the choice of the perfect smartphone for a woman who had never owned a smartphone before. Until recently, the choice was easy, after tomorrow it becomes much more difficult.

Internet users are not as isolated as sociologists thought, but we've known that all along. Rather than isolating Americans, a new study finds the Internet broadens our social circle, and Facebook gets particular credit.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that "Americans are not as isolated as has been previously reported. People's use of the mobile phone and the Internet is associated with larger and more diverse discussion networks."

Good news for Droid customers: Verizon says it will support tethering beginning early next year. Tethering is something the iPhone can do, but AT&T doesn't support, though has said it will someday.

Gearlog reports that Verizon said its "Broadband Access Connect" plan will add tethering to the Droid's list of features "sometime in early 2010." But, it will also add something else: Which Gearlog guesses will be a $15 monthly tethering fee.

In a move that could spark industry-wide change, Verizon is doubling its early termination fee--to $350--making it more expensive for customers to bailout on their two-year contracts with the carrier.

Under the new agreement, which will be used for new contracts beginning Nov. 15, someone terminating in month 23 of a 24-month agreement would still owe a $110 termination fee, according to a short item today in Boy Genius Report.

America is thanking AT&T this morning for drawing attention to how limited its 3G coverage is. This is something I never paid much attention to until yesterday, when AT&T sued Verizon over a TV ad comparing the carriers' 3G coverage.

AT&T sued over Verizon's "There's a map for that" TV ad that compares Verizon's 3G coverage (lots) to AT&T's (small by comparison). If AT&T had not sued, the ad would have come and gone. I might never have seen it, but now that I have, I am sharing it with friends--like you.

Beleaguered Sony Ericsson must need good news more than sales, why else would it introduce its first Android phone months early? Just in time to hurt holiday sales of its current high-end handset!

The new Xperia X10 handset features an 8.1-megapixel camera, a 4 inch wide touch screen, and is built around Google's Android OS and Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor. Camera features include face and smile recognition, allowing the phone to associate photos with names in your contact list.

How much would you pay for a mobile device that does only one thing: Send and receive Tweets? A company called Peek is betting $199 and has created just such a device.

Described as the world's first dedicated Twitter device, the TwitterPeek offers a QWERTY keyboard, color screen, and measures 2.7 x 0.4 x 4 inches. It was introduced on Tuesday and is not unattractive.

In a move aimed at heading off those who might "Go Google," Microsoft has cut the prices of its Exchange Online service by half and its Business Productivity Online Services suite by a third.

These drops, in the per-user, per-month list pricing, appear intended to help Microsoft compete with Google Apps Premier Edition, the paid version of its online apps suite.

How many people really use Google Apps and how many of them are paying customers? That's a question Google has never quite answered, having touted a "20 million users" and "2 million companies" figure that is almost meaningless.

Here is what we want to know: How many companies actually pay for Google Apps and how many users are they paying for? Lately, Google has been trumpeting its win with the City of Los Angeles, which is dumping Novell GroupWise for Google. (Did you see Novell's snarky blog post about L.A.'s decision?)

Motorola's Droid has a tough game of catch-up to play, but not as tough as what faces Palm's Pre as both challenge Apple's iPhone. Longer term, this may be a two horse race, with Android winning in the end and BlackBerry still chugging along.

That does not mean Apple actually "loses," mind you. There is room in the market for at least two and probably three smartphone platforms. Think Android, Apple, and BlackBerry. (Here is our Droid vs. iPhone comparison report).

Sprint is out today with its first netbook, a Dell Inspiron Mini 10-inch model that sells for $199.99, but isn't quite the deal it seems to be.

• First, customers must sign-up for a two-year 5GB monthly data plan at $59.99-a-month to get the discount.
• Second, the $199.99 price is after a $100 mail-in rebate, so the up-front cost is $299. Which is what Dell sells the Mini 10 for on its Web site.
• Third, because the broadband modem is embedded in the netbook, you can't move the service from one computer for another.

Thus, customers end up with a powerful, if pricey, Internet connection permanently tied to an under-powered portable computer. And don't forget to apply for the rebate.

Just because developers are creating book applications for iPhone does not mean Apple's handset threatens Amazon's Kindle or B&N's Nook e-readers.

OK, it is a Monday and a slow news Monday, at that. Just because a Flurry study found that more book apps than games were developed for the iPhone over the past four months does not mean the Kindle and Nook are in trouble.

Windows Vista is dramatically more secure than Windows XP, according Microsoft's latest Security Intelligence Report, released Monday. The infection rate of Windows Vista SP1 was 61.9 percent less than Windows XP SP3, the company said.

The report covers the first half of 2009 and is the seventh such twice-yearly report the company has issued.

If Motorola's Milestone, a new GSM handset being introduced in Europe, looks familiar, there is a reason. It is a Droid with a different radio deck. It is also Europe's first Android 2.0 handset.

The availability of GSM could, in the future, allow a version of the Milestone/Droid to be sold through a wider range of U.S. carriers as well.