Ask Jeeves desktop search beta available

Yet another free desktop search offering, this time from Ask Jeeves.

Wireless Internet Access on-board by 2006?

Looks like we're going to be able to surf up in the air by end of next year! For some of us "road warriors" this will be a welcome diversion to in-flight boredom.

For details, see the story here.

Wiki News

First there was the wikipedia. Now comes WikiNews where citizen journalists from around the world can contribute to the online news digest. From their mission statement:

While Wikinews aims to be a useful resource of its own, it will also provide an alterative to proprietary news agencies like the Associated Press or Reuters; that is, it will allow independent media outfits to get a high quality feed of news free of charge to complement their own reporting. Thanks to copyleft, anyone can create their own free news source—even a non-neutral one—on the basis of our work. Even if our articles will initially be few, they will be free, permanently available and not require registration before reading.

While we are faced with many new challenges, Wikinews will adopt the key principles which have made Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia websites what they are today: neutrality, free content, and an open decision-making process.

We seek to promote the idea of the citizen journalist, because we believe that everyone can make a useful contribution to painting the big picture of what is happening in the world around us. The time has come to create a free news source, by the people and for the people. We invite you to join us in this effort which has the potential to change the world forever.

Jigsaw snagged me already

There's a new social networking site called Jigsaw that launched in December. It's basically a place to trade business contact information. THEY ALREADY HAVE MY INFO! Well, actually not my super-secret e-mail address (that I won't post here for fear of e-mail harvesting programs) but my "mass" email address. Oh yeah...they also list my title as President!

Microsoft desktop search beta not firefox friendly

I went to take a look at Microsoft's challenge to Google Desktop Search and guess what...

Warning! Your browser does not meet the
minimum system requirements. You are
recommended to use the MSN Toolbar Suite
with Internet Explorer 5.01 or later.

Don't they know we've banned their friggin' browser here?

Weblog Awards Announced!

Some of my favorite blogs won (excepting Dave's personal blog). Curiously, the Asynchrony Community Blog did not garner any. Perhaps we should demand a recount in Ohio.

Next big tech accessory: laptop condoms

First cell phones gave you cancer, now laptops make men sterile. Let's just hope those new OQO devices the JEOD team just got don't make your hands fall off or something.

Admittedly, it's anecdotal, but this laptop thing sure didn't have an effect on me...

Asynchrony receives Top 50 award take two

Bob Nate Stephanie Award
Originally uploaded by fourworlds.

Here's a photo of Nate, Bob and Stephanie receiving the award.

Nice to be recognized

A few representatives from Asynchrony went to the RCGA's Greater St. Louis Top 50 Awards Dinner to accept our award for being chosen one of the "outstanding companies" based on our "significant contributions to the St. Louis region." We were in there with the likes of CitiMortgage, MasterCard and the St. Louis Cardinals (not to mention Build-a-Bear). Very cool to be recognized, and I finally got to see the inside of the puffy building at the St. Louis Science Center!

Top 12 Dave Rutledge Inventions or Innovations

For those of you who missed my (forgettable) public reading last night at Dave's farewell happy hour. I even added a couple more to improve the humor level. Perhaps, however, I need to subtract a few -- like 12 of them!

Top 12 Dave Rutledge Inventions or Innovations

12. The one-handed topspin baseball swing
11. The Asynchrony Graphic Design Department
10. Ping-pong paddles with randomly appearing pips to ensure fair play
9. Geeklife.com
8. MadApeDen.com
7. ScrewYouI'mNotStickingAroundACoupleMoreMonthsForThatSillyJacket.com
6. The Internet (sorry, that was Al Gore)
6. Punk-Rock Band-Aids
5. Guy Fawkes Day parties -- in America!
4. BugChat: IM program that keeps up with more than 500 concurrent chats while you work
3. .css for the home (allowing you to "skin" your rooms!)
2. The DaveBug Cardinals Ticket Plan: all home games from the 8th inning on (price: $0)
1. The Heterosexual Morrissey Look

Blog declared Word of the Year

Although "inumbant" won this year's U.S. presidential election, it was beaten by "blog" in this year's Mirriam Webster.com's race for word of the year! Their top ten list in order:

1. blog
2. incumbent
3. electoral
4. insurgent
5. insurgent
6. cicada
7. peloton
8. partisan
9. sovereignty
10. defenestration