AOL and MSN: Two Paths to Milestone 8. As it turns out, both companies’ Version 8 celebrations are wildly out of proportion to the mild changes in their services.  [New York Times: Technology]

Internet telephony revisited.  As part of my research, I solicited and am now using the Vonage IP phone. It’s an eye-opener, for sure. A little Cisco box (the ATA 165) jacks into your DHCP-enabled DSL router, you press a button, and away you go. Works right through my fully-locked-down NAT. Most folks I talk to notice the difference — especially if I clog up my 256-up/256-down circuit with a DSL speed test while I’m talking — but it’s darned impressive. The bottom-line savings on long-distance charges are of course the reason why most folks might be willing to ditch their POTS line for this solution. But I’m equally intrigued by the upside: applications that intercept and work with SIP signalling and digitized voice, integrate phone presence with IM, forward call metadata to Web services, and all the other CTI (computer-telephone integration) fantasies that may finally start to come true. … [Jon’s Radio]

Standards and Profits [Fast Takes]
A reminder that most standards are not usually created for pure altruistic reasons.

Tablet PC rivalry sets in. A start-up formed by a group of Dell Computer visionaries plans to release its device next month. Will it find the right formula for success? [CNET News.com]

Jon Udell: The publish/subscribe Internet. [Scripting News]

SuSE 8.1 illustrates MS’ fear. Windows killer around the corner [The Register]

We’re being spanked by Nokia – Gates. Making a Stink [The Register]

Yahoo! News – Music industry spins falsehood [lnk.to]

Dying for God. The author of “The Martyrs of Columbine” on the strange and sometimes violent collision of religion and politics. [Salon.com]