With the Kindle 2.0 on the way, perhaps it is time to pay more attention to Amazon’s e-book reader. With a redesign and a new model for college students, there is a possibility that predictions of the “iPod for readers” might deliver. However, it seems that some of the original version’s features may remain the most interesting in the new Kindle.

The sales count is given to conjecture, so numbers prediction lends itself to amusing guesswork. For more concrete information, examine the 2.0 developments. Users have complained about interface issues, so the new version is supposed to fix finicky navigation and pare down size and weight. The college model will have a larger screen, redesigned for class coursework that usually comes photocopied and bound together at local copy shops, rather than for actual textbooks. The numbers are vague, the market is vague, but the product is covet-worthy.

The most useful aspects of the Kindle is its electronic paper interface and wireless capabilities. With regular, back-lit monitors, the eyes become fatigued. Reading a 300-page novel would be possible, but extremely unpleasant, whereas the Kindle’s screen is visible in bright sunlight, and is extended-reading friendly.

As for internet capability, the Kindle has Amazon’s Whispernet incorporated into its wireless system . As Whispernet is an EV-DO system powered by Sprint, the Kindle can access the library of e-books available wherever a cell phone would have service. While the connection and included Wikipedia access are free, subscription to blogs are a paid service. Despite this caveat, the user experience seems to be greatly liberated by this aspect of the Kindle. Consumers are accustomed to a huge amount of data packaged in a small, light product, as with Apple’s iPod, but the Kindle does not need a personal computer to download and format the data. Portable quantity is not new, but the hyperbolic ease of being anywhere, as well as being able to shop, buy and read a new book in a minute is astonishing.

Approximately 2,000 children are reported missing daily, according to the FBI. Cell phone companies hope that they can help decrease this number by using their phones’ GPS as child finders.

A cell phone’s GPS can be used to find a child who is lost, or monitor where a child goes when away from home.  Companies specializing in children’s phones, including Kajeet, Wherify Wheriphone, and Disney all offer this service.

Several of the large carriers also offer child location, as well as other services designed to keep an eye on your kids. In addition to GPS locating, Sprint Family Locator offers Family Watchdog Mobile in conjunction with the Family Watchdog Web Site, texting parents when a sex offender moves into the neighborhood.

Verizon Wireless’ Chaperone 2.0 allows parents to monitor their children’s whereabouts; the service can also send text messages to parents if children leave the boundaries of a prescribed safe zone.

These GPS systems can also be used for elderly parents, those suffering from Alzheimer’s, for example.

There are a few problems using GPS as child finders. When phones are turned off the GPS can’t be read, and when they are in obstructed areas like basements or windowless rooms, their signal must be triangulated from cell phone towers, making the reading much less accurate.

Cell phones are not recommended for younger children; instead, small GPS devices which can be easily and firmly attached to the child should be used.

Or they can be in the clothes themselves. British clothing manufacturer Bladerunner – who also released the first Kevlar school uniform – has come out with a GPS jacket for children, which can send updates of your child’s location via email or text messaging

For parents concerned about their teenage drivers, companies such as Track My Kids sell vehicle tracking systems (VTS). The system ($299 + monthly service charge) monitors a car’s location and its speed. Parents can receive text messages or emails when their teen drivers break the speed limit.

GPS child tracking is also being deployed by government agencies. A pilot program in Texas has recently begun using GPS to deter truancy.

This year has been great for European and American travelers with mobile phones, with more airlines testing systems for boarding passes downloaded onto their browser-enabled handsets. Delta joined Continental in allowing domestic travelers to check-in and display their boarding pass on cell phone screens as a two-dimensional barcode. This furthers the trend begun by Air France, KLM and Air Canada, who began testing last year for short- and medium-haul flights. Air France’s system began as a simple check-in process, with an option for the user to receive a text message reminder prior to the flight date, and a confirmation afterwards.

In countries like Japan, where cell phones are used for all sorts of daily activities, this isn’t new at all. Since 2006, airlines such as ANA have enabled cell phones to manage booking, seat selection, and more. In an MSNBC article, Chris McGinnis, editor of Expedia Travel Trendwatch, says “…only a very small percentage of [US] airline passengers would ever really use their phones for this type of transaction.” Such a blanket statement sounds incredible as proliferation for mobile games and iPhone apps continues to pick up momentum.

CTIA-Wireless Association shows cell phone penetration levels at 82 percent as of the end of last year. With such a high level of saturation, the development of a cellular-based check-in system was a natural next step. Busy fliers like it because they can avoid printouts altogether. The Transportation Security Administration likes it because the 2D cell phone barcode is harder to counterfeit than the standard barcode.

The new system has its limitations and drawbacks. The TSA banned boarding without ID, so only so much waiting time in the security process has been cut out. If a cell phone does not have browser capability or the cell carrier plan has no data-download, the cell phone cannot access the site or service. As for drawbacks, the paperless check-in means that if you need proof of your flight to qualify for frequent flier miles, than you’re out of luck.

Microsoft has tagged comedian and well-known Mac user Jerry Seinfeld (picture) to star in an “image rehabilitation” campaign for Windows Vista. The star is netted to make $10 million in the $300-million campaign, Microsoft’s largest to date.

“You thought the sleeping giant was still sleeping? Well, we’ve woken up, and it’s time to take our message forward,” said Microsoft’s VP of Windows Vista consumer marketing Brad Brooks.

The campaign is a response to Apple’s popular and omnipresent “Get a Mac” ads, in which the corporate dork PC (John Hodgman) is constantly upstaged by indie geekster Mac (Justin Long), in a campaign that has increased Apple’s Mac sales while helping erode Vista’s reputation.

“We have to tell our story. You’ll hear more about that versus where Apple is coming from,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The Seinfeld campaign, “Windows, not Walls,” is part of a broader effort to revamp Vista’s negative image. The campaign is being handled by Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky, most noted for Burger King’s creepy ads with the masked Burger King. Bill Gates will star with Seinfeld in some commercials. (Gates was genuinely funny at times in the video make for CES 2008, “Bill Gates’ Last Day at Microsoft,” so the pairing might not be as bad as it sounds.)

This marks Phase Two of Microsoft’s recent efforts to rebrand Vista. The first, last month’s Mojave Experiment (view our coverage), came off as almost self-parody. Signing Seinfeld further proves that Microsoft just doesn’t get marketing.

Whether or not people think Vista is cool, few are switching to Mac or Linux because of it. Rolling back to XP is still reconfirming faith in Windows product. Instead of paying an exorbitant fee to an over-the-hill comic whose irony is not well suited to a rebranding initiative, Microsoft should cut their losses and move the public focus from Vista – clearly a loss – to Windows 7, slated to appear in 2009 or 2010.

Photo: AP/Evan Agostini

The third annual Office 2.0 conference will take place at San Francisco’s St. Regis Hotel from September 3-5.

The conference, “a unique gathering of visionaries, thought leaders, and customers using innovative online services for getting things done at the office, at home, and on the go,” will focus this year on large-enterprise adoption of office 2.0 tools.

“Office 2.0 Conference 2008 attendees will be treated to some amazing studies and insights from many, large end user organizations,” said Ismael Ghalimi, producer of the Office 2.0 Conference. “Executives from Stanford University, Sony, Tesla, Xerox, and other organizations will be speaking at the conference, sharing their personal experiences of adopting Office 2.0 technologies in an enterprise environment.”

Among the highlights are the Unconference, a pre-conference networking event held September 3rd, a keynote addressed by productivity guru David Allen, 45 demopods, and the Office 2.0 Launchpad, where small startups can meet with VCs and the public.

Perhaps most interesting to watch take place will be the Collaboratory Experiment, an interactive role-playing scenario whose goal “is to provide an environment in which you (and your team) can evaluate collaborative tools within a specific context and with the social interaction” to solve “an ecological mystery” (Florida red tides, in this case. Why not hurricanes, seeing as it’s season?).

The Collaboratory Experiment will take part September 3rd, during the Unconference.

Office 2.0 is an experiment in creating a “Cloud Conference,” known for its unique way of integrating gadgets. This year, conference data will be stored on HP 2133 Mini-Note PC subnotebooks, given away to all paying customers. The HP will be used “to support real-time interactions during the event. The device also enables the event’s 100% paperless organization, making it as green as a conference can be.” In the past, iPods and iPhones have been given away, and are vital for communicating with other conference goers.

Furthering the “virtual 2.0″ aspect of the conference will group Twitter feed on wall during conference sessions, seen by both audience and speakers. RSS and Twitter feeds, along with live internet coverage of the conference will be available at.

Learn more about the Office 2.0 conference by visiting the official website: www.office20.com.

Vienna-based Avaloop has finally released a beta version of their Social Networking Game Papermint . Until now only available in German, this hyper-stylized 3D virtual world combines familiar interactivity with a smart Internet-forward gestalt.

Bandwidth hog Second Life choked itself on realistically rendered avatars and proliferating shopping malls. Neopets’ Web-based world is nearly completely realized in paltry illustrations. Disney’s Club Penguin is waddling along with the tween set. But Papermint develops a quality that has been seldom fully incorporated into Massively Multiplayer Online gameplay: artistic expression.

The visual world of Papermint is fundamentally shaped by the palette and humor of lead artist Barbara Lippe , a native Austrian who is responsible for the candy colors and disco-anime demeanor of the customizable avatars. Her background in game theory and Japanese character design has a profound impact on the structure of the game. Thanks to Lippe, MMO design has something to say to a more intellectual audience.

Paper is the substance of the world - everything here is made from paper. This is a clever technical device, as the rendering of 2D objects requires far less processing power without sacrificing the immersion of a 3D environment. Players can have their own unique avatar and rent a home - and this is where the mint comes in. Mint grows in this world - one type of currency that can be used to buy outfits, decorations or an apartment - but the plant withers quickly. Sturdier Papercoins can be purchased by the user, like Linden dollars in Second Life.

Taking an MMO to the next level is a formidable challenge, and Papermint certainly hasn’t shrunk from it. One of the newest and most significant developments to the game is the ability of married players to become pregnant, which is achieved through a dance move-matching mini-game. The resulting pregnancy is carried by either partner, and the child is played by a newly signed up member.

Coming back from vacation, I want to get myself organized as efficiently as possible. One thing that gives me headaches is managing my different calendars. I should have thought earlier of synchronizing them automatically! So today I’m testing Google Calendar Sync.

I am juggling three different calendar applications. I am using Microsoft Outlook because that’s where I have all of my data (e-mails, contacts, tasks, and calendar). I am also using Google Calendar because I need to access my schedule anywhere and from any computer. And there’s the calendar on my Blackberry that I check when I am in transit. I have to do something.

Google Calendar Sync, released three months ago, seems to be an easy and reliable solution. It offers a two-way sync, meaning any event you create in both applications will show up automatically in the other. You can determine the frequency of synchronization (i.e. every 10 minutes), and also set up a primary calendar to create a one-way sync – i.e. Outlook to Google only, or Google to Outlook only.

Currently, Google Calendar Sync is only compatible with Outlook versions 2003 and 2007, and Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems.

If you are interested in this solution, I recommend that you check out the official website for detailed information about Google Calendar Sync.

My next step will be to synchronize the company’s Blackberry with Google Calendar thanks to Google Sync. This Blackberry client is also a two-way synchronization. Its use seems effortless. If you are interested in this as well, check the official page of Google Sync.

Android, Google’s software stack for a touch-screen cell phone may be transparent for developers, but it sure is difficult to get a definitive look at the system in action. MobileCrunch’s Android OS walkthrough seems to use an overly prototypical emulator and the YouTube video leaves few questions answered. T-Mobile’s Web Site offers no information even though they are the exclusive carriers.

With buzz centered around the iPhone, the Open Source Software Movement and Google Corp. Anything, Android and the HTC Dream were guaranteed prime attention.

Android is built by the Open Handset Alliance. Open Source to its core , it does not differentiate between proprietary and third-party programs. This manifests itself in ultimate customizability that could never have happened on the iPhone. Even its dial-and-call engine can be replaced.

The Android Developers Blog announced a beta Software Developer Kit Monday, possible spurred on by a concrete phone build in the HTC Dream. Highlights of the version .9 include new applications (Camera, Music player, Picture viewer and SMS/MMS conversation messaging) and User Interface improvements. These improvements mesh aesthetically well with the familiar GoogleMaps interface.

So what sets the Android/Dream team apart from the crowd? No screenshots and online demos will wow iPhone users so far, but its beta status signifies that developers have a lot of work to do. Even in the past two days the UI has been uniquely refined, and the Android community flourishes in typical GNU-style.

This is where the most important difference emerges. Android will not be suffering from the sort of top-heavy bug-sputtering that Apple has been stumbling from recently because of the network and system infrastructures that have already formed. Secrecy and propriety have worked for corporations in the past, but Linux and its brethren have shown a more efficient and reliable alternative.

China has given itself another black eye while the country is still on the world’s biggest stage. So far, China’s Olympic journey to the west has featured the Great Firewall, lip-syncing and gymnast age scandals, fake buildings . . . and now China is reported to have blocked its populace’s access to iTunes.

The lockout began Monday, a day after the album “Songs for Tibet - The Art of Peace” was released on iTunes. The album, obviously problematic for Chinese nationalists, includes songs by Sting, Alanis Morisette, Dave Mathews, and Garbage, as well as a 15-minute speech by the Dalai Lama.

Michael Wohl, executive director of the Art of Peace Foundation believes that its album is responsible. “We issued a release saying that over 40 (Olympic) athletes downloaded the album in an act of solidarity, and that’s what triggered it. Then everything got blocked.”

Neither China nor Apple has revealed the source of the shutdown, but its coinciding with the release of “Songs for Tibet” leads people to believe that this is yet another example of the Chinese government’s strict internet censorship.

The Chinese government’s official internet information center, China.org, said in a post August 8th that its netizens were “rallying together to denounce Apple in offering ‘Songs for Tibet’ for purchase. They have also expressed a wish to ban the album’s singers and producers, most notably Sting, John Mayer and Dave Matthews, from entering China.”

With the advent of International Relations 2.0, blocking iTunes is like a pop Berlin Wall. Blocking Apple is not just blockading a product — it’s practically blockading a zeitgeist.

One would think that, if it really is the case of Chinese censorship, they could have at least waited a few weeks, when the Olympics fade from international opinion’s eyes, to pull on the plug on iTunes. The only worse PR blunder — and this is a ’worst of all possible worlds’ scenario — is if someone were to pay Jerry Seinfeld $10 million to tout their publicly vilified product.

Intel and Yahoo have announced the Widget Channel, which will bring internet widgets to the TV set.

The Widget Channel, unveiled Wednesday at the Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco, is an interactive “snippet bar” at the bottom of the TV screen that shows weather, news, sports scores, stock prices, and Flickr photos, among (potentially) myriad other things.

Like Apple’s App Store, widgets will be available for download to TVs. Yahoo and Intel plan on releasing the development kit, which could be exactly what makes the Widget Channel a success. The participation of a heterogeneous and experimental development crowd could ensure that something potentially this awkward actually works.

Companies planning to participate with the Widget Channel include Blockbuster, CBS Interactive, Disney-ABC Television Group, eBay, GE, MTV, Samsung Electronics, Showtime and Toshiba.

Bringing the internet to TV has been tried in the past, but with little success. The key to having internet applications on the TV is to not fundamentally change the TV-viewing experience.

“For the first time we are bringing the full richness of the internet and web 2.0 and optimizing the TV while respecting the TV’s unique attributes: simplicity, ease of use, socializing and entertainment value. All the things that people love about TV,” said Eric Kim, head of Intel’s digital home group.

Intel and Yahoo must focus on and exploit what makes the television experience unique, or they risk creating a folly (in the architectural sense) like Vista Gadgets, which looks neat on the showroom floor, but is entirely inconsequential.

They also need to ensure they get their chips into as many future TV sets as possible. Paying for a stand-alone box would effectively be buying a redundancy: as there’s a good chance the buyer already has the internet, it would seem a rather frivolous purchase.

On the other hand, if Intel and Yahoo do succeed, they will not only offer a more interactive TV-watching experience, they will also marry television and internet-advertising 2.0, a powerful alchemy.