While you were wondering if they moved Saddam’s execution up in order to prove that old trope that celebrity deaths only come in threes, here’s what we were looking at for the past couple of weeks:

• Second Life, Activism, and the Digital Arena - Just because it’s virtual doesn’t mean that it isn’t real. Or real enough, as the case may be.
• Top 10 Albums Of 2006 (plus!) - A listing of my favorite albums, CDs, records, directories — whatever you wanna call it — of the past year. Highly subjective. Of course.
• Second Life, Snowballing and Solstice - It’s winter in Second Life, with snowball fights and everything.
• James Brown Finds Bridge, Crosses It - Not only did James Brown practically invent modern music, he may also have invented the way that modern musicians market themselves.
• Whatever Happened To…Rocketboom? - In the first of a series of stories that give the latest on topics that we covered during our first year online, Kassia looks at Rocketboom, post Amanda Congdon.
• Whatever Happened To Lonelygirl15? - What I really wonder is how the copy of Wired with Jessica Rose on the cover “mysteriously” made it to Kirk’s coffee table. Did Santa leave it? Was it transported from the Enterprise? Was it forgotten by the Borrowers? Was it magically dropped on the table by faries? Perhaps it was bunnies!
• Whatever Happened To The Zune? - For some reason, after months and months of coverage of the Zune, this set some people off, causing accusations of unfairness and irrationality. Pointing out the fact that Microsoft chose to make Zune incompatible with Microsoft’s previous DRM (and we cheer Bill Gates for seeing the light on DRM) is anti-Zune? Obviously these people haven’t squirted nearly as much as they had hoped to.
• Whatever Happened To Spiral Frog? - It’s in double-secret Beta!!
• Whatever Happened To The Prism DuroSport? - As it turns out, putting out the Worst Digital Media Player ever was just the beginning of their woes.
• Whatever Happened To The Origami? - The cheap joke is that it seems to have folded in on itself. However, since it’s actually not so much a product as it is a spec for a product third parties can manufacture, it really got overshadowed by Zune and Vista.

Privacy? What Privacy? Edition

Todays links of interest:

• FBI is inside every recent cellphone
  The agency reportedly has the ability to keep a phone’s microphone powered on even when the phone is turned off. Not to worry though. The FBI can only access this feature with a court order . . . wait a minute, haven’t we heard this one before?
• Galactica Direct-To-Video Movie Set To Launch
  The guess is that it will be a prequel to the existing series, perhaps a bridge from it back to the proposed "Caprica" series. Let’s hope that they handle the retcon better than "Enterprise," which pretty much wiped out entire decades of previous Trekverse history.
• Apple inquiry clears CEO Jobs of wrongdoing on stock options / Wall Street relieved, shares rise — but until federal authorities weigh in, uncertainty remains
  Still, Apple did some seriously dodgy things: for example, giving Jobs 7.5M of options at a board meeting that never actually place. You should always be wary when one of the smartest guys around claims ignorance. Just ask Barry Bonds.

Read the entire entry …

Last spring the tech blogosphere was buzzing about the impending release of a new Microsoft product code-named Origami. Like most products with code-names, details on the Origami were sketchy at first. Some speculated that it would be an iPod killer, while others thought it would be a more general purpose mobile entertainment device. The buzz was fueled by the appearance of mysterious video prior to the actual product announcement. The whole thing had a certain orchestrated quality about it.

Origami Day came and went and all we got out of it was a new acronym. Turns out the Origami is a UMPC (that’s short for Ultra Mobile PC). Essentially the Origami is a Microsoft reference specification that third party OEM’s can use to produce portable PC devices. UMPC’s are smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a Pocket PC. And according to the Microsoft site, UMPC’s can do EVERYTHING.

Read the entire entry …

Last April we reviewed the Prism DuroSport 6000 digital audio player. At the time we determined it was the worst digital media player ever produced. After spending some time with Microsoft’s Zune, I’m prepared to declare that the Prism DuroSport has retained it’s title — although that may not be the case for much longer since the company is apparently working on something it’s calling the Pütz. Pütz will apparently be a “fully integrated approach to music and entertainment.” Having seen this company’s other products that sort of talk scares us.

Read the entire entry …

Happenings Ten Months Time Ago Edition

Todays links of interest:

• Where Real Money Meets Virtual Reality, The Jury Is Still Out
  A look at the emerging virtual economy and its real-life implications. Or, designing clothes for Second Life characters can be fun, profitable, and scary.
• Some rethink posting of private info
  It’s sort of cute when people realize that they’re putting it all there for the world to see…especially when they realize what they’ve put out there!
• Sites for sore eyes
  It turns out that critics’ lists aren’t the only gauge of a show’s popularity. Go figure.

Read the entire entry …

[Lopy notes: Spiral Frog finally launched, and we finally reviewed it]

Back at the end of August, I did a piece on Spiral Frog, the self-proclaimed online music destination that was going give you, the music-loving public, FREE legal downloads from various major and indie labels. At the time, I didn’t think that — given the fact that the DRM’d, ad-supported music was free in price only — it was the type of devils bargain for which the music loving public was going to fall.

Read the entire entry …

When Microsoft announced the Zune last July, we had pretty low expectations for the digital media player. So much about the Zune just didn’t seem right:

Read the entire entry …

I was reminded of Lonelygirl15 recently when the December issue of Wired magazine mysteriously turned up on my coffee table. It was only last September that Lonleygirl’s YouTube videos were revealed to be a hoax, yet somehow it seems like decades. The fact that Jessica Rose finally made the cover of Wired in time for the holiday shopping issue says more about the limiting nature of print publication cycles than it does about Lonelygirl’s staying power. Wired might as well have run a picture of Ellen Feiss on their December cover.

Read the entire entry …

Probably I’m the last person to see this, but I opened up the latest (Dec 25) edition of the New Yorker just now, and I saw something that points out a) the danger of the lead time for even a weekly magazine; b) just how hard-working a very recently deceased icon was and c) how true one of my favorite disclaimers actually is.

Read the entire entry …

Get Out Of Denver Edition

Todays links of interest:

• AllofMP3.com Fights Back
  The battle continues to rage. Consumers offer their opinions…
• UK Mail Service Prepares For Potter Book , The Last Of The Harry Potter Books Is Expected To Require Hundreds Of Extra Trucks - The ShowBuzz
  Right. What I really want is to somehow stay unspoilt on Harry’s fate prior to cracking open the book — which I promise to do on release day — much less finishing it. Is it possible to engage with the media on nearly any level during a cultural event of this magnitude and not be spoiled?
• Unstrung’s 2007 Look Ahead
  Some 2007 predictions for the world of wireless.
• Bush declares January 2 day of mourning for Ford
  So when is the national day of mourning for James Brown? After all, he had a bigger impact on our culture.

Read the entire entry …